All properties and land uses in the City are governed by the City's General Plan. The General Plan describes the long-term goals for the City’s future and guides daily decision-making. The Santa Clara General Plan is a road map to the future that encompasses the hopes, aspirations, values and dreams of the community. The time frame of the Plan is 2010-2035. The Plan contains the City’s official policies on land use and community design, transportation, housing, environmental resources and health and safety. In addition to the policies in the General Plan, different areas of the city have specific plan regulations that are applicable to them.

City of Santa Clara 2010-2035 General Plan

On November 16, 2010, the City Council adopted the 2010-2035 General Plan and certified the Final Environmental Impact Report.  These documents are available on this site in PDF format to review.

On December 3, 2013, the City Council adopted the Climate Action Plan and included it as part of Appendix 8.13 of the General Plan. On June 7, 2022, the City Council adopted the 2022 Climate Action Plan (CAP). More information available on the CAP webpage.

On December 9, 2014, the City Council approved an update to the City's Housing Element and related Land Use Policies.  The most current General Plan documents are displayed below and will be updated again when the new updates are fully integrated into the General Plan. 

The General Plan document may be accessed as a complete document at the following link: 2010-2035 General Plan (PDF, 45 MB). The document may also be accessed by individual section below:

• Cover Page (PDF)
• Table of Contents (PDF)
• Chapter 1 A Community Guide to the General Plan 2010-2035 (PDF)
• Chapter 2 General Plan Organization (PDF)
• Chapter 3 Treasuring Our Past, Present and Future (PDF)
• Chapter 4 Major Strategies (PDF)
• Chapter 5 Goals and Policies (PDF)
• Chapter 6 Local and Regional Planning Context (PDF)
• Chapter 7 Turning the General Plan into Action (PDF)
• Appendix 8.1 Index (PDF)
• Appendix 8.2 Definitions and Acronyms (PDF)
• Appendix 8.3 Matrix of Comparison of Land Use Designations (PDF)
• Appendix 8.4 Matrix of State Mandated Elements (PDF)
• Appendix 8.5 Matrix of Other Regulatory Requirements (PDF)
• Appendix 8.6 General Plan Land Use Assumptions (PDF)
• Appendix 8.7 Transportation and Mobility Assumptions (PDF)
• Appendix 8.8 Parks and Recreation Inventory (PDF)
• Appendix 8.9 Historic Preservation and Resource Inventory (PDF)
• Appendix 8.10 Heritage Tree Inventory (PDF)
• Appendix 8.11 School Facilities and Information (PDF)
• Appendix 8.12 Housing Element (PDF)
• Appendix 8.13 Sustainability Goals and Policies Matrix (PDF)
• Appendix 8.13 Climate Action Plan (PDF)
• Appendix 8.14 Noise (PDF)
• Appendix 8.15 Acknowledgements (PDF)

General Plan and Housing Element Annual Progress Reports (APRs)

• 2023 APR, accepted 3/19/2024
• 2022 APR, accepted 3/28/2023
• 2021 APR, accepted 3/22/2022
• 2020 APR, accepted 3/23/2021
• 2019 APR, accepted 6/23/2020

Final Environmental Impact Report

• Integrated Final EIR - PDF (21 MB)
• Housing Element Update Addendum - PDF (12 MB)
• Appendices - PDF (26 MB)

General Plan Land Use Maps

• Archived General Plan Land Use Diagram Phase I (2010-2015)
• Archived General Plan Land Use Diagram Phase II (2015-2023)
• Archived General Plan Land Use Diagram Phase III (2023-2035)

General Plan Map

• 2022 General Plan Map

Interactive General Plan and Zoning Maps

• Select General Plan or Zoning Data layer using the Change visible map layers option under the I want to... drop down menu.