By Scottsdale Vice Mayor Betty Janik
Your Ballot to approve Scottsdale General Plan 2035 will arrive in the mail the first week of October. It represents the Scottsdale Vision, your vision, to guide our city for the next decade. It serves to direct the physical development of our City and acts as a blueprint to achieve community goals. The Plan is a collaboration of citizens, civic organizations, local businesses, and council members. Outreach included rigorous public citywide meetings, presentations to boards and commissions, hours of City Council work study sessions, and the review and adoption of hundreds of citizen proposed edits. On June 8, 2021, General Plan 2035 received unanimous approval from City Council to forward the document to the citizens for a vote.
The Plan is 291 pages divided into 3 sections: Preface, Chapters (8 in all), and an Appendix. I suggest you read the Preface which contains the all-important Vision Statement. It was rewritten at least a dozen times before Council agreed on the final version. It is an inspiring statement. 
Section 2 contains eight Chapters covering an array of pertinent topics. Returning (brought back by popular demand) from the 2001 plan are the community created elements of Character and Design (Chapter 1) Community Involvement (Chapter 3),and Economic Vitality (Chapter 7). The two new community elements, Tourism and Education, appear in Chapter 7. Tourism was added to recognize the significant role tourism plays as a leading economic engine and a key to sustaining the Scottsdale image. Education was incorporated to showcase the lifelong learning options available for all ages and abilities. These community created elements are not required by the state statute but rather represent citizens’ aspirations for our great city.
New to the Plan are state mandated elements: Chapter 2 Energy and Chapter 6 Neighborhood Preservation and Revitalization. The need for an energy element is obvious with the evolving landscape of renewable energy balanced with efficiency. Many of our established neighborhoods will be in need of a facelift balancing the preservation of cherished neighborhoods and a need for revitalization. I suggest you read both new elements.
The continuing state mandated elements are: Land Use, Open Space, Environmental Planning, Conservation, Water Resources, Housing, Recreation, Safety, Circulation, Bicycling, Neighborhood Preservation & Revitalization, Conservation, Growth Areas, Cost of Development, Public Services & Facilities, and Public Buildings.
There are noteworthy improvements to many of the elements. In Chapter 2 the all-important Land Use Element (p43-p62) focuses on preservation of our character areas and thoughtful assimilation of new developments near existing land uses. Equally important is the “Change in Land Use Category” matrix found on page 56 which determines if a change in land use is a major or minor amendment. Finally, Sustainability is a significant theme directing us to better resource management for preservation of the quality of life we enjoy.
I believe General Plan 2035 represents the best interest of Scottsdale citizens. I whole heartedly encourage you to vote YES.
Legislative edits: https://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/Assets/ScottsdaleAZ/General+Plan/2035/2035_CityCouncil_FinalLegislative.pdf
Council adopted version: –https://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/Assets/ScottsdaleAZ/General+Plan/2035/2035_CityCouncilADOPTED.pdf
Respectfully,
Vice Mayor Janik