More than half the world’s population now lives in urban areas putting the city on the frontline of the social and environmental challenge and yet, city planning presents many opportunities to move a city towards sustainability. The city development plan (DP) is a powerful vehicle for change. This research seeks to understand the gaps between an ideal catalytic development planning process and current reality, and provide recommendations to support the attainment of a city’s sustainability objectives. The Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) was used to define a generic “Golden Standard” planning process to help the local authority better leverage its internal resources and refine governance systems to achieve long-lasting cultural change from within to accelerate the city’s progression towards sustainability. A case study with the Dublin City Council’s Planning Department in Ireland provided valuable insight and limited practical application of the Golden Standard.