The Seven Elements Of Fremont's General Plan

The general plan practically acts as a constitution when it comes to the development of a city. There are seven elements that usually feature in a general plan such as safety, noise, open space, conservation, housing, circulation, and land use. However, these elements may exceed the number to accommodate subject matters that are unique to a specific community. Such is the case with the city of Fremont. Apart from the elements mandated by the state, the general plan of Fremont include elements such as implementation, community plans, public facilities, parks and recreation, economic development, community character and sustainability (“General plan”). One of the relevant elements in Fremont’s general is sustainability. As an element, sustainability

Green buildings incorporates the use of recycled materials for construction where possible, constructions of structures on in-fill sites instead of green fields as well as maintenance of energy and water standards. As such Fremont can massively reduce the footprint of new structures through adopting the use of green building. This move towards sustainability is adopted in the city’s General Plan 2030 (“Sustainability”). The plan dictates the need for the city to implement a green building policy and to constantly search for opportunities to turn existing building and new constructions into environmental friendly structures. As part of the city’s goal, the reduction of green house gas emissions is also included in the plan. The city’s General Plan 2030 gives a timeframe of 5 years from now for the target of 25% reduction of the 2005 green house emissions to be achieved

Some of the energy structures indicated in the plan include parking lot shades and homes that are wired with solar panels. Furthermore, the general Plan promotes the advancement of infrastructure for vehicles that use alternative fuel. The long term goal is for the city to use alternative fuel vehicles in place of the current fleet of service vehicles that rely on fossil fuels. As part of sustainability, the General Plan also addresses solid waste diversion. Through increased reduction and diversion as an upgrade on the previous plan, the General Plan aims at the elimination of landfill waste (“Sustainability”). The need for more recycling and composite facilities across Alameda County is also featured in the plan. For future developments, Fremont plans to use innovative waste technologies that reduce waste as they produce energy such as the plasma arc treatments. In terms of water quality and conservation, Fremont has taken into account the necessary steps to include water sustainability in its Grand Plan. In the plan, the assumption of water becoming scare in the next 20 years is put into account (“Sustainability”). As a result, the plan has enhanced the importance of water conservation in Fremont. Part of the policies in the plan include encouraging the use of grey water; installing separate piping for