| ITEM #: 2. DATE: 05/15/2023 AI #:1502 |
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CITY COUNCIL ACTION REPORT
| SUBJECT: | UPDATE ON THE GENERAL PLAN 2035 |
| STAFF PRESENTER(S): | Steve Careccia, Planning Manager |
OTHER PRESENTER(S):
Matt Klyszeiko, Michael Baker International (General Plan Consultant)
Summary
Staff will present an update on the General Plan 2035, including an overview of public outreach efforts and findings to date. (Steve Careccia, Planning Manager)
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no direct budget impact associated with this update. Funding for tasks associated with the General Plan 2035 update has been approved for this fiscal year.
BACKGROUND AND PREVIOUS ACTIONS
Arizona law requires each municipality in the State to adopt a comprehensive, long-range general plan for the development of the municipality (ARS 9-461.05). Pursuant to State law, the General Plan shall include the municipality’s goals and development policies. It shall also include maps, any necessary diagrams and text setting forth objectives, policies and standards, and a set of required elements dependent on population.
A General Plan is effective for up to 10 years. The City’s current General Plan was ratified by voters on November 4, 2014. Therefore, a new General Plan must be adopted/updated by the City and ratified by voters prior to November 2024. As such, the city began the update process in January 2022 and has been working diligently towards a special election to be held in May 2024.
As a General Plan represents the comprehensive and long-range statement of a community’s values and priorities for the development of the community, effective public participation is critical to the process of creating or updating a General Plan. Furthering this objective, the following actions were taken by the City Council on April 18, 2022:
A General Plan is effective for up to 10 years. The City’s current General Plan was ratified by voters on November 4, 2014. Therefore, a new General Plan must be adopted/updated by the City and ratified by voters prior to November 2024. As such, the city began the update process in January 2022 and has been working diligently towards a special election to be held in May 2024.
As a General Plan represents the comprehensive and long-range statement of a community’s values and priorities for the development of the community, effective public participation is critical to the process of creating or updating a General Plan. Furthering this objective, the following actions were taken by the City Council on April 18, 2022:
- Adopted a Community Outreach and Communications Plan, which represented the city’s commitment to public participation and included such outreach efforts as creation of a dedicated website, several rounds of community workshops, media releases and other digital forms of engagement.
- Established the creation of the General Plan Committee, which is a group of volunteer citizens and stakeholders helping to facilitate the creation of the General Plan update.
STAFF ANALYSIS
As previously noted, staff began the process of updating the General Plan in January 2022. To date, extensive public outreach has occurred, and staff has received much public feedback as a result, as noted in the attached Public Outreach Summary. Public outreach efforts are ongoing, with the formal 60-day review of the draft General Plan to start this June. It is anticipated that staff will present the final draft of the General Plan to the Planning & Zoning Commission and City Council at work sessions in September 2023 and October/November 2023 for public hearing and adoption. Upon conclusion of the 180-day waiting period, the General Plan will be presented to citizens at a special election to be held in May 2024.