Yokohl Ranch will be developed in phases during the next 20 to 30 years pursuant to Tulare County's Planned Community Zone ordinance. The Planned Community Zone establishes a tiered planning and implementation framework. It provides for orderly preplanning, long-term planning and development flexibility for long periods of time on large tracts of land.

The Planned Community Zone implements Tulare County's "planned community" policy (Policy 1 LU.A.3) which has been in the Tulare County General Plan since 1964: "The development of new communities should be discouraged, at least to the extent that haphazard attempts at community development away from established urban centers should be discouraged. However, should circumstances appear to justify development of a 'planned' community with its own complex of residential, commercial, industrial, public use areas and related facilities, it would have to be judged on its individual merits and functions."

The Planned Community process includes:

Amend the Tulare County General Plan and Foothill Growth Management Plan to designate Yokohl Ranch as a "Planned Community Area."

Rezone the site to "Planned Community" zone.

Adopt a Master Development Plan (MDP) for the site. The MDP would establish land use designations, and define, in broad terms, the type and intensity of development permitted within each designation.

Adopt an Area Development Plan (ADP) for each smaller phase or planning area in the MDP. These ADPs would implement the MDP for the smaller areas and define, in detailed terms, the development parameters within each ADP.