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Overview of Character and Strategic Area Planning

Character Area Planning Introduction

 

Adopted Character Area Plans:

Desert Foothills

Dynamite Foothills


Overview

Character planning resulted from the CityShape 2020 process as part of the three-level General Plan - citywide, character areas, and neighborhoods. CityShape 2020 saw character planning as a way to maintain the quality of planning and development in Scottsdale. Character planning together with the Six Guiding Principles (established through the CityShape 2020 process) will help plan a future Scottsdale that is just as unique and special as the current Scottsdale.

Character Plans work to define, maintain or enhance a desired "character" for the area. "Character" can generally be thought of as the look or feel of a place--that which sets it apart from other areas. Character planning addresses issues of design and character and involve more than looking at just the physical layout of development or the amount of open space to be provided. Character areas cover geographical areas of different size and each has a common setting, land use pattern or character of development that will lead to a logical character study.

Since the establishment of the character planning process, two character plans have been adopted by the Scottsdale City Council. The Desert Foothills Character Plan was adopted in July 1999, and the Dynamite Foothills Character Plan was adopted in March 2000. The implementation of the Desert Foothills Character Plan included the establishment of a zoning overlay district that was applied to the Desert Foothills area in March 2003.

Larger areas of study, called Strategic Planning Areas have also been established for the city. A Strategic Plan is an assessment of where we are: identifying and documenting the programs already underway or under study; identifying those areas that need to be focused on and/or accelerated and a description of the timeframes for each of these focus areas. The focus is on implementation and short term action. They can be "triggers" for identifying new city Capital Improvement Programs and evaluating existing CIPs for continued value. With direction from the City Council, Strategic Plans can help the city establish work priorities for areas of the community.

There are currently 10-20 character areas in Scottsdale,
with 2 adopted Character Area Plans: 
Desert Foothills and Dynamite Foothills. 

For more information about character or strategic plans, or to determine which character area you live in, e-mail us at PlanningInfo@ScottsdaleAZ.gov or simply call us at (480) 312-7990.