High Quality Jobs
The Vision theme, Diverse and High-Quality Job Options, and accompanying guiding principles are implemented through the following goals and policies in the Land Use and Community Design, Circulation and Mobility, Economic Development, Military Compatibility Elements. These goals and policies focus on expanding job training for Palmdale residents in key industries, connecting residents with job opportunities within the aerospace industry, and encouraging telecommuting within Palmdale.
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Selected Goals and Policies
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Land Use and Community Design (LUD)
LUD-14.1 Safeguarding Plant Operations. Support continued growth of Plant 42 operations in the Aerospace Industrial land use district. Maintain sufficient land to accommodate a wide variety of industrial uses to meet military and community needs.
LUD-14.2 Adjacent Use Compatibility. Continue to buffer this area from adjacent, non-compatible residential and commercial uses.
LUD-14.3 Limited Non-Industrial Uses. Prevent non-industrial uses from locating in the Aerospace Industrial area (aside from uses that directly support Plant 42 or airport operations).
LUD-14.4 Accident Prevention. Avoid residential uses greater than one dwelling unit per acre in the Accident Prevention Zones (APZs).
LUD-14.5 Circulation and Access. Maintain vehicular infrastructure and improve circulation to accommodate the unique demands of aerospace workplaces.
LUD-16.1 Healthy Balance of Jobs. Strive for a ratio of at least 1 job per employed resident (which effectively means growing jobs faster than housing during the Plan timeframe).
LUD-16.2 Employment Diversity. Support a diverse mix of light industrial, information, film, makerspace, boutique food/wine/beer processing, local food, and technology uses to provide jobs and tax revenues for the community by allowing emerging economic uses and industries within the Mixed-Use and Employment designations.
LUD-16.3 Flexible Designation. Diversify the City’s economic base by expanding the number of facilities on land designated as Employment Flex to accommodate film, technology, food/light manufacturing, and service tenants.
LUD-16.4 Makerspaces. Encourage collaborative workspaces with tools for the design, prototyping, and creation of manufactured products for sale.
LUD-16.5 Home Businesses. Support home businesses that meet City planning and permitting requirements and create jobs and opportunities for entrepreneurship.
LUD-16.6 Increased Employment. Recruit employment uses between Avenue Q and Avenue P/Rancho Vista Boulevard.
LUD-16.7 Industrial Incentives. Promote establishment of incentives for new light industrial development in Palmdale including the use of local, state, and federal programs.
LUD-16.8 Emerging Technology. Support new technologies that may increase business opportunities in the city, such as autonomous vehicles.
LUD-18.1 Flexible Standards. Establish flexible development standards in the Employment Flex designation that allow industrial uses to make building improvements and change with market conditions. Incentivize growth of office and commercial spaces suitable and affordable for local businesses through development requirements.
LUD-18.2 Middle-Income Employment. Expand a core area of light industrial and service uses that provide middle-income jobs for Palmdale residents.
LUD-18.3 Residential Adjacencies. Buffer heavy industrial uses and light industrial uses, such as general services, light manufacturing, and storage uses from residential neighborhoods.
LUD-18.4 Parking Requirements. Adjust zoning and parking requirements as necessary to ensure reinvestment can occur in buildings while maintaining industrial uses.
LUD-18.5 Parcel Aggregation. Encourage lot assembly to allow businesses to grow and expand.
Circulation and Mobility (CM)
CM-3.1 Transit reliability. Make public transit a convenient and reliable option for daily trip making on a local and regional basis.
CM-3.2 Transit access. Encourage investments and Capital Projects that reduce first/last-mile barriers to transit stops.
CM-3.3 Access to employment. Encourage investments and Capital Projects that improve the safety and multimodal options for access to high quality jobs.
CM-3.4 Transit coordination. Work with AVTA to enhance the deployment of fixed-route and flex-route transit services, including increased frequency and service spans.
CM-3.5 Regional rail. Work with Metrolink to increase the frequency of on-peak services and later service hours.
CM-3.6 Transit information. Work with transit providers to improve the delivery of transit service availability and real-time information in an easy, dependable, and accessible means.
CM-3.7 Commute trip reduction. Work with large employers to implement programs that expand access to non-drive alone commute options for all commuters, including hourly staff and contract workers.
CM-3.8 Multimodal Station. Maximize access to downtown via transit and other modes through the Palmdale Transportation Center and future relocation to accommodate a station for high-speed rail.
Economic Development (ED)
ED-1.1 Attract manufacturing employers. Attract supply chain employers for the manufacturing and defense industries to strengthen Palmdale’s economic viability and competitiveness within these sectors.
ED-1.2 Employee serving amenities. Encourage the development of business and employee serving amenities (i.e., retail, dining, hospitality) proximate to existing districts.
ED-2.1 Attract high growth industries. Target economic activities from high growth industries, including film, media and entertainment production, and clean technologies, to diversify Palmdale’s economic base.
ED-2.2 Smart City technology. Maintain and enhance smart city technology in Palmdale to support local businesses and growth of telecommuting.
ED-2.3 Foreign Trade Zone. Position the existing Foreign Trade Zone designations to attract export-oriented employers.
Military Compatibility (MC)
MC-1.1 Aerospace compatible land uses. Maintain appropriate land use designations surrounding Plant 42 to limit incompatible uses and to ensure continued safe operation of airport activities.
MC-1.2 Land use buffers. Continue to buffer Plant 42 from adjacent, non-compatible residential and commercial uses by reviewing development applications in the Military Influence Area for potential conflicts.
MC-1.3 Non-industrial land uses. Limit non-industrial uses from locating in the Aerospace Industrial area (aside from uses that directly support Plant 42 or airport operations).
MC-1.4 Evaluate existing and future land uses. Use overlay maps of the Air Installation Compatibility Use Zones (AICUZ) noise contours and Air Force Land Use Compatibility Guidelines to evaluate existing and future land use proposals.
MC-1.5 Solar energy facility compatibility. Ensure that there is no potential conflict between the operational mission of Plant 42 and any proposed adjacent solar energy facilities.
MC-1.6 Influence area development. Prohibit development in the Military Influence Area that would restrict access to military facilities, physically obstruct any portion of the Military Operating Area, or pose a health or safety hazard to military personnel.
MC-4.1 Land Supportive of Aerospace Industrial. Maintain sufficient land zoned for the Aerospace Industrial use to accommodate a wide variety of industrial, military, and supportive uses.
MC-4.2 Attract New Businesses. Encourage and recruit businesses that are affiliated with or are supportive of aerospace research and development.
MC-4.3 Land Supportive of Aerospace Industrial. Maintain and improve circulation to accommodate the unique demands of aerospace workplaces.
MC-4.4 Military Influence Area Coordination. Reference the Military Influence Area Map (Figure 8.3) to identify possible City actions in or near Plant 42 installations, operations areas, and/or military training routes and consult with Plant 42 for input, as appropriate.
MC-4.5 Legislation Support. Support State or Federal legislation that positively impacts existing and future operations at Plant 42 (e.g., changes to airspace, state tax incentives, encroachment, etc.). Similarly, oppose legislation that may have a detrimental impact.
