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General Plan
Introduction
Since the City’s incorporation over 100 years ago in 1912, Clovis remains a community that values its citizens, its way of life, and its future as a leader and innovator in the San Joaquin Valley. This General Plan continues this tradition by building on the strengths of previous planning efforts, staying true to the community’s values and vision, and addressing future needs in a changing world.
This plan focuses on the preservation and enhancement of the existing Clovis community while allowing the continued development of three Urban Centers to ensure the long-term viability of the Clovis we know and love. The Urban Centers—key components that are carried forward from the 1993 plan—are unique sub-communities of Clovis that enable the City to grow while maintaining authentic, small town character and overall livability.
Another important focus of this General Plan is to provide a document that is approachable and easy to use. This plan focuses on providing clear, consistent, and substantive goals and policy direction to guide community members, staff, and elected officials when making decisions about Clovis’ future.
Vision
Purpose
Elements
Analysis & Plans
Acknowledgements
Vision
A City that is committed to the Clovis Community Family, their needs, their values, and a quality way of life for all; reflecting that commitment in how it develops and in the activities it undertakes.
Community Values and Guiding Principles
One word symbolizes Clovis of the past, present, and future more than any other: FAMILY—not only the conventional definition, but all of the individuals and households who make Clovis their home or work place. In other words: The Clovis Community Family.
The physical place called Clovis will continue to reflect the central value of The Community Family as it moves through this century. The Vision for Clovis is the building block of our neighborhoods, schools, and civic institutions and provides the motivation for everything the City and its leaders do jointly to shape the future.
The Clovis Community Family idea embraces the following guiding principles:
Small Town Character
Preserve the authenticity of Old Town and plan new development that creates a sense of community and place.
Education
Support access to superior lifelong education for all Clovis residents.
Long-term Governance
Create a sustainable community through incorporating long-term thinking into short-term decision-making.
Lifecycle Community
Create housing, employment, and lifestyle opportunities for all ages and incomes of residents.
Social Capital
Strengthen social networks that create pride and a commitment to action within the Clovis community.
Public Parks, Open Space & Trails
Use and design public open space resources for trails, parks, and recreation where people live, work, and play.
Natural Resources
Foster stewardship as a primary means of conserving and enhancing natural resources, and promoting connections to the Sierra.
Economic Prosperity
Foster economic growth.
Regional Engagement
Support regional efforts to work interconnectedly to improve the economy and the quality of life in the San Joaquin Valley.
These principals shaped the Clovis of today and remain valid for guiding its future. The dynamics of growth will make some dimensions of our vision easier to achieve and others more difficult. Through this Vision for Clovis, the citizens of Clovis acknowledge their ownership of these beliefs and express a unity of purpose in sustaining them.
With this Vision as its foundation, the task of the General Plan is to answer the question, “How can Clovis continue to grow and sustain the values that make it special?”
Purpose
The General Plan establishes a comprehensive framework through which the City manages its growth and development to ensure it efficiently and effectively provides public facilities and services. With great public facilities and services, Clovis delivers and continually enhances a high quality of life and a desirable business climate, maintaining its position as the premier community of choice in the San Joaquin Valley.
Great communities develop over time, and Clovis is no exception. In addition, great communities are the product of countless individual decisions by residents, businesses, investors, tourists, and organizations, as well as numerous collective decisions through elected and appointed officials and public sector staff. The purpose of the General Plan is to provide a common vision for the future of Clovis and to provide coordination for the many individual and collective decisions that, over time, will lead to the envisioned future.
The General Plan guides land use and development for the entire Clovis Planning Area and is expected to accommodate 80 years of growth. The City anticipates that the Plan will be reviewed and evaluated periodically, but that this General Plan will probably not need a comprehensive update until 2035.
The General Plan is comprised of eight topical elements and an overall Vision. Whereas the elements address a single topical issue, the Vision provides the common framework tying all of the General Plan together into a unified whole.
Elements
The elements establish the goals and policies relevant to land use, growth, and development for each topic. The goals and policies in each element are intended to provide a framework for municipal decision-making. Equally as important though, the City intends the goals and policies to guide and help inform decisions of those investing in Clovis—residents, businesses, and organizations. The specific elements are:
Analysis & Plans
This plan provides the broad policy framework for and takes precedence over more detailed zoning and planning documents. This includes the development code, specific plans, master plans, management plans, subdivisions, and design guidelines.
This General Plan is accompanied by an environmental impact report (EIR) prepared in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The EIR contains a tremendous amount of background information and analysis with which readers can use to understand the context and conditions at the time of this General Plan’s preparation. The EIR also contains an assessment of the potential environmental effects associated with implementation of this General Plan, including ways to avoid or reduce these impacts.
Acknowledgements
The City Council began this General Plan Update effort in February 2009. To ensure that this effort was guided by the citizens and stakeholders of Clovis, the City Council appointed a 21-member General Plan Advisory Committee (GPAC). The GPAC held 28 public meetings between 2009 and 2014 and assisted the Planning Commission and City Council in confirming the vision, establishing guiding principles, updating the land use diagram, and refining goals and policies.
The GPAC process, which also included substantial input from the general public, ultimately led to a general plan that reflects the interests, needs, and responsibilities of the general public, service providers, the business community, and the development community. GPAC members are listed below and are thanked immensely for their service.
- Raj Brar
- Kevin Castanos
- Todd Cook
- Dianne Dickerson
- Mike Dozier
- Tal Eslick
- Kim Grant
- Jeff Harris
- Brett Hedrick
- Brian Heryford
- Paul Hinkle
- Ike Ikeda
- Tim Ikeda
- Goldie Lewis
- Christine Lingenfelter
- Patti Lippert
- Brent McCaffrey
- Sayre Miller
- Tod Newman
- Grant Petersen
- Shawn Stevenson
- Don Ulrich
- Robert Watts, Jr.