The General Plan describes the long-term goals for the City’s future and guides daily decisions from 2010–2035. All properties and land uses are governed by the City's General Plan. It is a road map to the future, reflecting the community's hopes, goals, values, and dreams.

The Plan contains the City’s policies on land use and community design, transportation, housing, environmental resources, and health and safety. In addition to policies, different areas of the city have specific plan regulations.

City of Santa Clara 2010–2035 General Plan

On November 16, 2010, the City Council adopted the 2010–2035 General Plan (PDF, 45 MB) and certified the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Current documents are in the following sections and will be updated again when changes are approved by the City Council.

Download the General Plan Map (PDF) or check out MapSantaClara for an interactive web version. If you're using the interactive map, go to Layers from the side navigation. Scroll until you see General Plan or Zoning Data and select the layer(s) to activate them.

These are other important related dates:

• On June 7, 2022, the City Council adopted the 2022 Climate Action Plan. Learn more about the plan.
• On May 7, 2024, the City Council adopted the 2023–2031 Housing Element (PDF, 34.5 MB).
  • On May 31, 2024, the California Department of Housing and Community Development issued a letter (PDF) indicating it was in substantial compliance with State Housing Element law.

General Plan Document

For easy navigation, the document has been divided into individual sections below:

Other General Plan-Related Documents