The General Plan 2035 guides the city's development. It expresses community values and goals, and portrays the community's vision to create an overall sense of community, while respecting and celebrating the city’s unique character areas.

The Vision

The City has moved from a Traditional land use approach to a Character Area approach with fewer land use categories. This approach provides more flexibility in determining a development proposal's intent and how it interacts with the surrounding area.

Staff will work with stakeholders during the development process, react to market demands and promote unique development. It creates a more business-friendly planning environment while still promoting quality growth!

Land Use Element

The Surprise Land Use Character Areas are grouped into four (4) different functional categories, which are identified below and described in greater detail in the Land Use Element:

Character Areas are further defined by sub-descriptions or ‘Development Types’. Each Development Type provides further descriptions of different functional characteristics that are prevalent with a given Character Area and can be applied based on many factors including the need to preserve existing special features, establish a desired future state, or respond to specific, unique development issues.

Sub Areas
Sub Area designations are used in select regions of the city. That means that more refined planning and design guidance would be used to reflect the unique qualities and characteristics of that area. The Sub Areas identified below will have a separate public outreach and stakeholder communication process to develop the distinctive guidelines and regulations.

• Luke Compatibility District
• Scenic Lands Development
• Surprise Center District
• Surprise Heritage District
• Transit Oriented Development District
• Aggregate Resources Areas