Zoning & entitlements
General plan
A jurisdiction's long-range charter for land use — seven mandatory elements that zoning, subdivisions, and most approvals must be consistent with.
Definition
Every California city and county must adopt a general plan — often called the constitution for future development — under Government Code § 65300 et seq., with seven mandatory elements: land use, circulation, housing, conservation, open space, noise and safety. In general law cities, zoning and subdivision approvals must be consistent with it.
The housing element is the enforcement lever: it runs on RHNA cycles reviewed by HCD under Housing Element Law, and noncompliance opens the builder's remedy under the Housing Accountability Act.
Why it matters in an underwrite
The land use element's density designation is half of every base-density calculation — and when the plan and the zoning conflict, § 65915 hands the developer the higher number. A jurisdiction with an out-of-compliance housing element also loses its power to deny qualifying affordable projects for plan or zoning inconsistency. Read the plan designation, the zoning, and the housing-element status together on every site.
Sources & related guides
See also
See the term in the law itself
Read the controlling text in the Code Library, or ask the AI how it applies to your project.
Last reviewed 2026-07-29. General information, not legal advice.