Palmdale officials get plenty of specifics on city’s general plan

PALMDALE — What will Palmdale look like in 25 years?

That future vision is what residents, elected officials, city staff, expert consultants and others are all working to create as part of the ongoing General Plan update.

The General Plan is the document that provides the framework for development in the city, covering everything from land use to parks and recreation, safety to community design.

The update, expected to take about three years to complete, is still in the early stages, but already much has been learned as to where things stand now and what people in the community hope to find in the plan.

The Planning Commission and the City Council received updates on the General Plan process this month, focusing on the existing conditions and community engagement activities so far and where the process heads next.

Although individual segments of the plan have been revised as recently as 2014, the entire General Plan has not had a comprehensive update for some 25 years, city officials said.

State requirements and the city’s own situations have changed in that time and need to be taken into account in the update.

“Most importantly, what’s different today is that residents may have a different set of values and priorities,” consultant Simran Malhotra of Raimi and Associates said at a City Council workshop on Dec. 17.

The update will build upon the existing General Plan, keeping those aspects still relevant, discarding those that are not and adding items that have since gained importance.

The process begins by looking at existing conditions within the city.

“These present a snapshot of Palmdale today. They’re relevant because they tell us who lives here, what kind of jobs are available, how people move around, who we should be planning for and the distribution of land uses,” Malhotra said.

Palmdale is a relatively young city, with almost a third of its residents under the age of 18, but with few in the 25- to 44-year-old category, she said.

This dip in the demographics is relevant in terms of jobs and who to plan for, she said.

The city is also racially diverse, and has a large number of residents with less than a high school education.

Compared to the rest of Los Angeles County, the median income is lower by about $5,000 and the poverty rate is higher, Malhotra said.

Life expectancy is lower than the rest of the county and about a quarter of the population reports difficulty in getting health care. Mental health care is also in short supply.

In term of land use, almost a third of Palmdale’s land is open space and parks.

“Palmdale has the benefit of having housing that is affordable,” Malhotra said, and almost two-thirds of residents own their own homes. Residential land use is primarily in single family homes.

The average price of homes is $325,000, which is lower than the county average of $500,000.

The vast majority of residents — 86% — work outside the city, Malhotra said, although this includes regional employers such as Edwards Air Force Base, not just what is typically thought of as commuter jobs in the Los Angeles area. The average commute time is 46 minutes each way, she said.

Only 25% of jobs within Palmdale are held by Palmdale residents, she said.

“I’d be more interested to see these numbers aggregated regionally,” Mayor Steve Hofbauer said, to account for large employers such as Edwards AFB or those from surrounding communities who come into Palmdale to work at Plant 42 or commercial centers such as the mall.

Aerospace remains the largest and fastest growing sector of the economy, and the city continues to be dependent on the cyclical nature of the industry.

Hospitality is also a large job category, with healthcare being the third largest.

Despite the large amount of park space, Palmdale still falls short of the city goal of five acres per 1,000 residents. Now it stands at about 2.28 acres per 1,000 residents, Malhotra said.

As part of the first phase of the General Plan update process, several avenues of community engagement have been undertaken. These include formation of a General Plan Advisory Committee, a 15-member group of citizens appointed to help formulate the update.

Additionally, input has been gathered through an online survey and numerous outreach efforts at city events and workshops. These bilingual efforts have reached more than 600 people in person and 800 more online, Malhotra said.

“We’re continuing to build on that first phase,” she said.

As a result of this outreach, priorities have been identified. These include creating more local job opportunities and diversifying the economic base to better weather cycles; develop Palmdale Regional Airport; create a more vibrant downtown area along Palmdale Boulevard; offer increased housing options and address homelessness; address crime and safety concerns; provide more transportation options, including making a pedestrian friendly environment; increase higher education opportunities; invest in school facilities; and increasing amenities for youth and young adults.

“It looks like the people who participated are really paying attention,” Councilmember Juan Carrillo said. “It goes back to quality of life and all of these amenities that people are looking for.”

Mayor Pro Tem Richard Loa also wanted to include increased medical services, including mental health, to the list of priorities, which Malhotra said had not risen to the that level in the surveys, although a lack of primary care services was mentioned.

“It is probably one the most common things I hear gripes about,” Hofbauer said, including the difficulties in recruiting medical providers here.

Contributing to that recruitment difficulty, which also applies for other industries, is the lack of social and entertainment amenities and housing options, he said.

The mix of housing options also needs to diversify, to better provide options for residents in different stages of life and ability.