What is a General Plan?

Posted By Les Conklin on Sep 15, 2015

Prologue

The Sunday, July 26th issue of the Arizona Republic published an article entitled “City, citizens spar on Scottsdale future.” The article, written by Catherine Sheffo, begins “City officials and citizen groups can’t seem to agree on their vision for Scottsdale’s future. After three years of work, the Scottsdale City Council is in the final stages of reviewing the city’s 2035 General Plan.”

The City of Scottsdale’s General Plan has been the subject of much discussion in recent months. Yet, my bet is that many Scottsdale residents don’t know what the General Plan is and why it is important. This excellent, straight-forward description of the General Plan was published in the April 1999 issue of The Peak. The article was written by Randy Grant, then a senior community planner with the City of Scottsdale. I’ve updated the information about how readers can learn more about the General Plan in 2015, otherwise the article appears as originally published. Editor

What is a General Plan?

A General Plan is a community’s vision for the future. It is an expression of how the community wants to change and develop for the next 20-50 years. Arizona State law requires that communities with a population over 2,500 adopt a General Plan, and outlines the elements the plan must contain. Scottsdale adopted its first General Plan in 1960 when Scottsdale encompassed only 15 square miles. Since then several changes to the Plan have occurred as the community grew and changed. These changes, as well as changes in State law, promoted a comprehensive update to the Scottsdale General Plan, which is slated for completion in December, 2000.

Why should I care about the General Plan? Does it really affect me?

The General Plan is Scottsdale’s roadmap to the future. Implementing the General Plan vision, through design standards, zoning changes, or other decisions, will affect how the community looks, “feels;’ and functions for decades to come. What you think about your community does matter, and without your input the community vision will lack focus.

Isn’t the General Plan just a map showing where different land uses will go?

No. The General Plan is a document containing maps and policies on a lot of issues. A map showing projected land uses is included, but land use is only one part of the story.

Who developed the General Plan for Scottsdale, and how?

An effective General Plan must be developed by the community. Because the Plan reflects the community vision, important issues facing the community must he discussed and debated. Often communities cannot reach unanimous agree­ment about these issues, but clear direction is needed if the community’s vision is to be realized. All of Scottsdale’s General Plan efforts have involved extensive citizen participation. For the soon to be initiated comprehensive General Plan update, input will be solicited through neighborhood meetings, work­shops, focus groups, surveys; public hearings, and personal contacts.

If Scottsdale has had a General Plan for so long, why do we need to update it? Hasn’t it done its job?

Periodically the General Plan should be validated, to make sure that it continues to express the community’s expectations. A General Plan can be developed with a 20-year vision, but may be reviewed every five or ten years. Scottsdale last reviewed the Plan comprehensively in 1992, and the rapid changes in the community since then indicate that a Plan review would be valuable. In addition, the recently enacted Growing Smarter Act requires that cities in Arizona readopt their General Plans to State. These elements include:

• Environment Element,
• Growth Area Element,
• Cost of Development Element, and
• Open Space Element.

Most would agree that the citizen-based planning process in Scottsdale has been a success, but there will always be changes that the community needs to plan for.

Can the General Plan be changed at other times, in between the periodic comprehensive updates?

Yes, because not all of the things that will affect the community in the coming decades can be anticipated and planned for, a process has been established to amend the General Plan. Requests to amend the maps or the written policies in the General Plan most often come from property owners, but they can be initiated by the Planning Commission as well.

What is the difference between the General Plan, Character Area Plans, and Neighborhood Plans?

City Shape 2020, a citizen-led process to review the General Plan process, recommended the creation of a three-tiered General Plan. These tiers are as follows:

• The General Plan,
• Character Area Plans, and
• Neighborhood Plans.

The primary difference between these plans is the size of the area being studied and the level of detail involved.

• The General Plan expresses city-wide policies and goals that are broad in scope. It is intended to present a vision for the community as a whole.
• Character Area Plans are prepared for different areas that have common features that make them unique from other parts of the city. These features can be housing style, land use type, development age or style, architectural design, streetscape, or defined “edges” to the area. Character Areas are typically up to 10 square miles in size. Twenty-four Character Areas have been identified within Scottsdale.
• While Character Area Plans are a building block of the community, Neighborhood Plans give citizens the tools to create an identity, promote neighborhood pride, open communica­tion between neighbors, and seek solutions to neighborhood concerns.

Where can I get more information?

For questions and comments about the General Plan email generalplan@scottsdaleaz.gov or call 480-312-3111.

Related Articles

Facts About Character Area Planning Published: July 30, 2015

Why We Have Zoning and a General Plan Published: July 19, 2015

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