Fact Sheet #1
General Plan Update
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What is a General Plan?
The City of Buckeye General Plan (Plan), is an official public document adopted by the
City Council that is a vision for the city’s future and a policy document that is intended
to help guide future decisions and actions by the City. A General Plan has three
Every city and county in Arizona is
defining features as follows.
required to prepare and maintain
General. As the name implies, a general plan provides general guidance that will be
a general plan. A general plan is
used to direct future land use and resource decisions.
designed to serve as the jurisdiction’s
Comprehensive. A general plan covers a wide range of social, economic, infrastruc-
“blueprint” for future decisions
ture, and natural resource topics. These include land use, housing, circulation, utilities,
concerning land use and resource
public services, recreation, agriculture, biological resources, and many other topics.
management.
Long-Range. General plans provide guidance on reaching a future envisioned 20 or
Arizona State Law – Arizona
more years in the future.
Revised Statutes (ARS)
To reach the envisioned future, the General Plan includes goals, policies and actions
ARS Title 9, Chapter 4, Article 6
that address both immediate and long-term needs.
requires that communities update
their general plan every 10 years. For
cities over 50,000 population, the
state requires the general plan to
cover 17 elements and may include
optional elements.
An element is a specific section of
the General Plan that discusses a
The pyramid below graphically illustrates the General Plan in comparison to other planning
tools. The General Plan is a broad policy document that serves as the foundation for the
other planning tools, which get more specific and regulatory as you move up the pyramid.
General Plan
Vision statement and broad
policy guidance
particular planning topic such as land
use, transportation, housing, energy,
etc. An element may be an entire
chapter or a subsection of a larger
chapter. The elements proposed for
the Buckeye General Plan are shown
Zoning and
Corridor Plan
Specific zoning categories and
regulations addresses lot sizes,
setbacks, heights and
specific uses
Certificate
of Occupancy
Certificate of Occupancy
Inspections, Licenses for compliance with
approved detailed plans
Building Plans
Site Plans
inside this brochure.
Zoning and Corridor Plans
General Plan
Foundation of all planning tools
For more information visit www.imaginebuckeye2040.com
Building Plans
Detailed building floor plans
and architectural details for
compliance with Building Codes
Site Plan
Compliance with zoning
district standards
and site layout