The Draft General Plan is Ready!
Read the Draft Elements
Historic & Cultural Resources
Safety
Flood Resilience
Land Use
Housing
Mobility
Parks & Recreation
Public Facilities, Infrastructure, & Utilities
Economic Development
Arts, Culture, & Creativity
Environmental Justice, Health, & Equity
Noise
Implementation & Governance
Petaluma is wrapping up more than five years of outreach on our new General Plan, the road map that will shape the city for the next 25 years. The General Plan will guide our investments and our policies, and it impacts important elements of our lives including housing choices and affordability, jobs and economic development, mobility, and community character.
We are excited to move forward towards adopting the General Plan, and we’re proud of the time and energy the community has invested in shaping the plan. Petaluma belongs to all of us, and we are grateful to every person who filled out a survey, attended a meeting, chatted with us at a pop-up, or visited our website over the last five years. Your voices made the plan what it is today, and we couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you!
After integrating the thoughtful input you’ve provided, we have reached an exciting milestone: the public review draft of the General Plan is ready to share with the community! This page summarizes what’s in the plan and what comes next. Links to each chapter of the full plan are to the right and below. Additionally, the Draft Environmental Impact Report is also ready for review at here.
We invite you to share any final input on the public review draft of the General Plan with us by May 18, 2026, in one or more of these ways:
Online: Fill out the comment form at the bottom of this page.
By Email: Send your comments to planpetaluma@cityofpetaluma.org.
Chat with a Planner: Attend one of our Office Hours, either in person or virtually, by signing up here.
Public Hearing: Provide comments in advance or at the public hearings for Planning Commission (April 28) or City Council (May 18): For meeting details visit https://cityofpetaluma.org/meetings/.
How did we get here?
What you see in the public review draft of the General Plan is the result of five years of input across nearly 140 community engagement opportunities—including Committee, Commission, and City Council meetings, community meetings and open houses, online surveys, and pop-up events—designed to meet people where they are and make participation accessible.
To learn more about the community engagement throughout the project, check out the Engagement Details page.
What’s In the General Plan?
In 2022, Petaluma’s all-volunteer General Plan Advisory Committee established a vision to guide our General Plan update. This vision, meant to guide the City’s investments and policies over the next several decades, describes an aspirational version of our City: Petaluma is vibrant river town rooted in the relationship between our people and the land; we are caring, connected, prosperous, creative; we are forward-thinking leaders; we invest in each other, and we relish our spirited, distinctive neighborhoods.
The plan provides a roadmap for realizing that vision with goals, policies, and actions to guide us. It provides direction on a range of topics to guide growth over the coming decades while honoring the city’s distinct character and heritage. To do this, the plan aims to foster:
Preservation and protection through safeguarding Petaluma’s natural, cultural, and community assets through environmental stewardship, historic preservation, and hazard mitigation. Elements include Natural Environment, Historic and Cultural Resources, Safety, and Flood Resilience;
Thoughtful growth and development through a land use framework that directs growth to transit corridors, walkable “15-minute activity centers,” and the city core, reduces development in high-risk flood areas, and supports housing development. Elements include Land Use and Housing;
Public services through investments that prioritize low-carbon transportation, complete streets, parks expansion, sustainable infrastructure, resilient utilities, modern public facilities, and equitable access. Elements include Transportation, Parks and Recreation, Public Facilities, and Infrastructure and Utilities;
Prosperity and quality of life through a resilient, inclusive economy, support for small and emerging businesses, advancing arts and culture, reducing pollution, and improving health equity. Elements include Economic Development, Arts, Culture, and Creativity, and Noise; and
Implementation and governance through proactive implementation of the General Plan, participatory governance, regional leadership, and the effective use of technology.
To get more of an overview of what’s in the plan, check out the Draft Executive Summary:
Key Topics in the Plan
The General Plan also provides in-depth direction on many topics that are important to Petalumans. Click on the topics below to learn a little background, what we heard from the community, and what the plan says as a result of your input.
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Open space and other natural systems have been an important topic in Petaluma for decades. For example, the Urban Growth Boundary first approved by voters in 1998 established the city as a leader in growth management efforts to prevent sprawl and minimize costly infrastructure required by unchecked growth. Planning efforts such as the most recent General Plan and the River Access and Enhancement Plan include particular focus on natural systems and open space.
What did we hear from the community in the General Plan process?
Community input reaffirmed the importance of natural systems and open space. Specifically, we heard requests to continue to preserve and enhance open space, particularly along the Petaluma River. Additionally, the community requested that the City focus on building strong programs and oversight to protect these important systems.
What does the plan say about this topic?
The General Plan has a robust Natural Features, Systems, and Resources Element that includes X policies organized under four goals related to stewardship and preservation of connected natural lands and open space, water resource management, and the use of green infrastructure. Additionally, the Land Use element establishes the following goal: “Land uses along the Petaluma River advance ecological, resilience, and public access goals.” This goal includes a policy to “Preserve open space along the Petaluma River,” specifically establishing a 330-foot buffer around the river where new development is not permitted.
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Looking for more detail?
For more information on these topics and more, check out the Draft General Plan here.
Additionally, a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) was prepared for the General Plan. The DEIR analyzes the potential environmental impacts that would occur from implementation of the plan, establishes mitigation measures, and considers alternatives to the proposed General Plan update. It is available for review here.