Each general plan must address the issues identified in the Planning Law to the extent that such issues are locally relevant. In fact, where a decade ago many general plans were comprised of several stand alone elements under separate covers, nearly all new plans are written as a single document. The various elements are found in separate chapters or sections of that document. Numerous communities organize their general plans along functional lines, addressing the relevant issues in the context of elements that are different from those enumerated in the state code. Most general plans also discuss non-mandatory issues such as economic development, public facilities, recreation, or community design.
Most general plans consolidate all of their elements in a single document.
More often than not, these elements combine two or more of the statutory elements with additional issues of local concern. Each chapter or section of the plan describes a set of related issues under such titles as land use, transportation, housing, public facilities, natural resources, and health and safety. Streamlining to minimize duplication and overlap is a primary goal of element consolidation. For example, the Planning Law identifies flooding as an issue of concern in the land use, open-space, conservation, and safety elements. All too often, when separate general plan elements are revised or adopted, inconsistencies seep in among the goals, objectives, policies and programs of the various elements.