A city (or county) is not an accident but the result of coherent visions and aims

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Education
Affordable housing is a key ingredient for the educational well-being of families, facilitating educational attainment. Stable 
and safe housing provides a learning environment. Studies indicate that stable home environments are critical to educational 
outcomes. Areas of 
socioeconomic distress
 may have additional needs for educational support. 
The housing element can provide the linkage between housing and education through identifying key resources and policies to 
promote safe, decent, stable and affordable housing and educational attainment. For example, the sites inventory of a housing 
element can identify housing opportunities near schools, libraries, and educational services, promote policies to increase 
affordable housing opportunities, and encourage affordable housing developments to include essential educational programs. 
Coordination between housing and local school districts can help achieve mutual goals and benefits. 
Infill
Housing that is affordable to a broad range of households and income groups is constrained in many communities. 
Infill 
development
 can be an attractive option for accommodating growth and providing a mix of housing choices in many 
communities – particularly as it can result in lower municipal costs for both capital improvements and long-term operations 
and maintenance as compared to “greenfield” development. Infill development provides an opportunity to revitalize 
economically-underutilized land, and also conserves resources and provides environmental and health benefits. Infill 
development also has the potential to reduce GHG emissions to the extent that it spurs more pedestrian activity, increases transit 
usage, and reduces the number and lengths of trips. Infrastructure and utilities must be able to support the infill envisioned 
through the general plan so it is important to coordinate planned infill priority areas with Capital Improvement Plans and other 
infrastructure investment planning. 
The sites inventory requirement of the housing element is one opportunity for identifying opportunities for infill development. 
The 
Location Affordability Index (LAI)
 gives estimates of the percentage of a family’s income dedicated to the combined cost of 
housing and transportation in a given location. The goal of the LAI is to help individuals, planners, developers, and researchers 
get a more complete understanding of the costs of living in a given location by accounting for variations between households, 
neighborhoods, and regions, all of which impact affordability.

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OPR Recommended Policies
These policies are an example of recommended policies adopted by varying jurisdictions, to be modified and used as appropriate 
A full list of recommended policies can be found 
here
.
Sample Policy
Example of Application
Relationship to Other Elements
[City, county] shall encourage development of residential 
uses in strategic proximity to employment, recreational 
facilities, schools, neighborhood commercial areas, and 
transportation routes.
Long Beach
Circulation, land use, healthy communities, economic 
development, climate change
[City, county] shall revise County ordinances and fees 
to encourage development of secondary dwellings, and 
further promote secondary dwellings. For example, the 
County will consider revising road requirements and 
public facility fees for secondary dwellings or according to 
home size.
San Luis Obispo County
Equitable and resilient communities, economic develop-
ment, healthy communities, circulation
[City, county] shall integrate and disperse special needs 
housing within the community and in close proximity to 
transit and public services.
Long Beach
Land use, circulation, equitable and resilient communi-
ties, economic development
[City, county] shall invest in infrastructure and public fa-
cilities to ensure that adequate water, sewer, roads, parks, 
and other needed services are in place to serve existing 
and future residential developments.
Kings County
Air quality, healthy communities, equitable and resilient 
communities, economic development, climate change
The [city, county] shall encourage the development of 
senior housing and assisted living facilities, especially near  
transit, recreational facilities, medical centers and  
hospitals, neighborhoods well served by pedestrian  
facilities, and access to healthy food.
City of Chino
Healthy communities, economic development, equitable 
and resilient communities

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Conservation Element 
Introduction
The conservation element describes the jurisdiction’s natural resources: land, water, ecosystem services and living resources, 
and the benefits that these resources provide to the community. The conservation element establishes goals and policies for their 
retention, enhancement and development. The 
open space element
 and the 
land use element
 should work in coordination with 
the conservation element to guide conservation and development, balancing community needs with environmental preservation 
and the effects of 
climate change
. All three of these mandatory elements must be consistent with the others.
Conservation of environmental and agricultural resources is one of the State’s three planning priorities, and helps to achieve the 
State’s climate goals. Land conservation policies may have many benefits. Agricultural land conservation can be a foundation 
for more permanently preserving lands at the edge of cities for their intrinsic open space values. As agricultural activities 
produce self-sustaining revenue, agricultural conservation can be amongst the most cost-effective means of protecting open 
space and promoting 
infill
 development. By maintaining a buffer zone between urban developments, agricultural lands can 
reduce sprawl and help to preserve the unique cultural character of separate communities. Prime agricultural lands also help to 
conserve key environmental values, including quality soil, air, and water. Finally, agricultural lands can provide a critical role in 
planning strategies to maintain connectivity of conserved lands, successfully preserving wildlife corridors and wetlands. 
This section describes the required components of the conservation element, and provides links to suggested policies and tools to 
help communities in their updates and help to achieve the State’s goals.
C O R R E L A T I O N S   A M O N G   E L E M E N T S
n 
Identified in statute     
n 
Closely related to statutory requirements
 
Land Use
Circulation
Housing
Open Space
Noise
Safety
EJ
Conservation
n
n
n
n
n
Government Code section 65302(d):
(d) (1) A conservation element for the conservation, development, and utilization of natural resources including water and its 
hydraulic force, forests, soils, rivers and other waters, harbors, fisheries, wildlife, minerals, and other natural resources. The 
conservation element shall consider the effect of development within the jurisdiction, as described in the land use element, on 
natural resources located on public lands, including military installations. That portion of the conservation element including 
waters shall be developed in coordination with any countywide water agency and with all district and city agencies, including 
flood management, water conservation, or groundwater agencies that have developed, served, controlled, managed, or 
conserved water of any type for any purpose in the county or city for which the plan is prepared. Coordination shall include the 

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