Every two years, the Walnut Creek City Council identifies major community priorities. Once established, these priorities help shape the City's budget, guiding how financial and staff resources are allocated.

For 2025 and 2026, the City Council established five strategic priorities. The Council also identified Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) as an ongoing commitment, with progress regularly monitored. Learn more below or view the Mission, Vision, and Values one-sheet.

City Council Priorities (in alphabetical order)

Economic Development and Downtown Vitality

Continue to build a strong, diverse, forward-looking economy through continued implementation of the City's Economic Development Action Plan and other goals designed to: improve business attraction and support, streamline permitting, enhance downtown attractions such as outdoor dining, encourage flexible land use regulations, and focus on creating more high-paying jobs to achieve a better jobs-housing balance. Monitor progress against established performance metrics.

Environmental Sustainability and Climate Action

Remain a recognized leader in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving other sustainability goals through implementation and monitoring of the Sustainability Action Plan.

General Plan Update

Commence a multi-year community-based effort to update the General Plan to develop and/or renew policies and goals designed to achieve our highest aspirations for Walnut Creek’s physical, technological, social, environmental, and economic future.

Park and Recreation Facilities

Work to complete large and complex Measure O projects, specifically: a new aquatics and community center at Heather Farm Park; and lighting and turf improvements at Tice Valley and Heather Farm parks, respectively. As resources permit, continue the next phase of the Your Parks, Your Future planning, which may include pickleball and bocce facilities, and bicycle and pedestrian improvements.

Public Safety and Social Wellness

Ensure a high level of public safety by building on efforts to support (1) an effective and innovative police department; (2) proactive police responses to crime trends; (3) joint agency responses to homelessness and mental health challenges; (4) crime prevention partnerships and programs in neighborhoods, the downtown and other commercial areas; (5) improvements to traffic, transit, pedestrian and bike safety; and (6) community and regional disaster preparation and resiliency to meet the increasing challenges of wildfires, earthquakes, droughts, floods and other hazards.

Ongoing Effort

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging

Continue to build a welcoming and inclusive community by actively completing, adopting and implementing the DEIB strategy, priorities and policies; regularly monitor internal and external progress against clear, measurable DEIB goals; provide periodic progress reports to the community; and pursue new initiatives as needs evolve.