Tulare County is home to a growing population of 397,000 people. Forecasts provided by the California Department of Finance call for the population to nearly triple over the next 50 years. In fact, the County has grown by more than 122,000 people in just the past 20 years (1980-2000), and is expected to double in size by 2030.

Given the realities of the County's population increases, long-term and prudent land stewardship requires that land use decisions be made to address a number of needs facing Tulare County, including:

Anticipate and manage the increasing demands associated with Tulare County's current and future unprecedented population growth during the next two decades;

Maintain Tulare County's proud and essential rural heritage through land use plans that place some development in the foothills on low production agricultural lands, thereby directing growth away from high production agricultural areas on the valley floor, and

Assist the County in protecting the local quality of life and retaining the character of neighboring communities while conserving natural resources and preserving habitat and open space.