GPA26-0001 City of Poway General Plan Public Safety Element
Summary
SCH Number
2026050810
Public Agency
City of Poway
Document Title
GPA26-0001 City of Poway General Plan Public Safety Element
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
5/20/2026
Document Description
Update to the Public Safety Element of the City of Poway General Plan. The area affected by the proposed action is the City of Poway (City) which is in San Diego County, in southwestern California. The City of Escondido lies to the north/northwest; the City of San Diego to the south and west; and unincorporated areas of San Diego County to the southeast/east. A Safety Ele111ent is a mandatory chapter of a General Plan as required by Government Code Section 65302. The City has met this requirement via preparation of its updated Public Safety Element to ensure compliance with recent regulatory changes and to reflect existing conditions. Additionally, pursuant to state law, an agency is required to update its General Plan Safety Element upon each revision of its Housing Element. The City adopted its 2021-2029 Housing Element Update (6th Cycle) In 2024. Updates to the Public Safety Element were made to provide a comprehensive framework for identifying and mitigating potential hazards for the City of Poway to reduce potential loss of life, injury, property damage, and substantial economic and social disruption. The document fulfills the state's mandate to identify potential natural and human-caused hazards and establish policies and implementation programs to reduce their risks. The Public Safety Element serves as a policy framework to identify potential hazard-related issues and to provide guidance for how such issues can be addressed with future buildout of the General Plan. The document integrates the best available data analysis, land use planning, and emergency preparedness into a single framework that addresses existing hazards related to fires, floods, droughts, geologic and seismic events, climate, and other hazards, as well as emergency preparedness and climate change considerations, and provides guidance to mitigate the risks of such hazards through actionable goals and polices to protect public health, safety, and well-being throughout the community. The Public Safety Element analyzes the risks that such hazards pose to people, property, Infrastructure, and essential services; identifies standards for emergency response, evacuation and access, and hazards education and outreach for the public; and integrates hazard mitigation goals with broader planning objectives, including long-term community sustainability and climate resilience. The Public Safety Element is part of a comprehensive approach to safety throughout the City. This approach considers other relevant planning documents, programs, and resources that pertain to hazard mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery, including the San Diego County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan, Community Wildfire Protection Plan, City of Poway Emergency Operations Plan, County of San Diego Operational Area Emergency Operations Plan, and other adopted evacuation planning measures. The Public Safely Element is also interconnected with the goals and policies identified in other City General Plan Elements, including \he Public Facilities Element, Community Development Element, Transportation Element, Natural Resources Element, and Housing Element which address such issues as emergency preparedness; effective resource management; infrastructure and facilities, resilience; and efficient evacuation routes and access
Contact Information
Name
Mary Piscitelli
Agency Name
City of Poway
Job Title
Associate Planner
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Address
Phone
Email
Name
Julie Procopio
Agency Name
City of Poway
Job Title
Director, Development Services Department
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Email
Location
Cities
Poway
Counties
San Diego
Regions
Citywide
Zip
92064
Total Acres
25,152
Other Information
Citywide
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Other
Type, Section or Code
Article 5, Section 15061(b)(3)
Reasons for Exemption
The activity is covered by the common sense exemption that CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. The proposed amendments are limited to policy updates and modifications to comport with Government Code 65302(g)(1-9) and do not authorize any physical development.
The updates to the Public Safety Element would not directly result in a physical change in the affected environment and would not change existing City policy; rather, the revisions are proposed to ensure compliance with recently adopted regulatory requirements and to reflect existing conditions. Further, the City adopted its 2021-2029 Housing Element Update in 2024; pursuant to state law (General Code 65302(g) (1-9), an agency is required to update its General Plan Safety Element upon each revision of its Housing Element.
Accordingly, it can be seen with certainty that the proposed actions would not have a significant effect on the environment, and therefore, are not subject to CEQA.
County Clerk
San Diego
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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