Growth Management Program

Chula Vista is maintaining its excellent quality of life by carefully monitoring 11 quality of life Threshold Standards. These Standards -- which address traffic, police and fire services, park facilities, schools, libraries, sewers and storm drainage, air quality, water availability, and fiscal health -- are evaluated at the time any new development project is proposed to make sure that the project will comply with the standards. All of the city's plans and development are guided by its General Plan and its Growth Management Program.

In addition, Chula Vista's City Council has appointed a Growth Management Oversight Commission (GMOC) made up of nine city residents to oversee compliance with the quality-of-life standards on an annual basis. The GMOC reviews information provided by city departments and outside agencies such as school districts and water districts. Then an annual report is prepared for the Planning Commission and City Council indicating where deficiencies in meeting these standards may be occurring presently or forecasted to occur within the next five years, and recommending solutions which will ensure ongoing compliance with these standards.

The Threshold Standards

GMOC

The 11 topics addressed in the city's Threshold Standards Policy represent a variety of different public service and environmental issues. Several topics are related to services provided by city departments, including police, fire, libraries, parks and recreation, traffic, and drainage facilities.

Other topics pertain to services provided by agencies outside of the city -- schools are provided by an elementary school district and high school district; water service is provided by three independent water districts. Finally, the air quality and fiscal threshold standards do not relate to specific public services, but are intended to determine whether growth is having an adverse impact on two other measures of quality of life: the air quality within the region and the city's overall fiscal health.

Each of the 11 threshold standards is stated in terms of a goal, objectives, and one or more standards. The standards fall into three general categories:

Chula Vista's Threshold Standards
	Annual report required from Air Pollution Control District on impact of growth on air quality.
	Annual report required to evaluate impacts on growth on city operations, capital improvements, and development impact fee revenues and expenditures.
	Respond to 81% of the Priority I emergency calls within 7 minutes and maintain average response time of 5.5 minutes. Respond to 57% of Priority II urgency calls within 7 minutes and maintain average response time of 7.5 minutes.
	Respond to calls within 7 minutes in 80% of all cases.
	Annual report required to evaluate school district's ability to accommodate new growth.
	An additional 60,000 gross square feet of library space to be phased to maintain a ratio of 500 square feet of library space adequately equipped and staffed per 1,000 population.
	Maintain 3 acres of neighborhood and community parkland with appropriate facilities per 1,000 residents east of Interstate 805.
	Annual report from water service agencies on impact of growth and future water availability.
	Sewage flows and volumes shall not exceed City Engineering Standards. Annual report from Metropolitan Sewer Authority on impact of growth on sewer capacity.
	Storm flows and volume shall not exceed City Engineering Standards. Annual report reviewing performance of city's storm drain system.
	Maintain Level of Service (LOS) "C" or better as measured by observed average travel speed on all signalized arterial streets, except, that during peak hours, an LOS "D" can occur for no more than any 2 hours of the day. Those signalized intersections west of Interstate 805 that do not meet the above standard may continue to operate at their 1991 LOS but shall not worsen.

The GMOC's report is submitted around a fiscal year cycle to accommodate City Council review of GMOC recommendations which may have budget implications. During this process, the GMOC encourages each City Department and outside agency which has responsibility for reporting on threshold status to review the appropriateness of the threshold and whether new thresholds and/or standards should be considered.