Recent city surveys show that the majority of residents are happy living in Scottsdale and like the direction in which the city is heading.
They’ll get a chance to vote to confirm that this fall.
Arizona requires cities to adopt a comprehensive long-range general plan every 10 years. In June, the City Council adopted the Scottsdale General Plan 2035 and it will go to voters for ratification on Nov. 2.
The plan updates the community’s long-term expectations for Scottsdale’s growth and development and revises existing plan elements, acting as a blueprint to enhance community aspirations over the next 20 years.
Scottsdale is recognized nationally as a great place to live, work, do business and recreate, and residents recently seconded that in a survey.
Late last year, the National Community Survey went to 1,700 Scottsdale households. Rated highest were the city’s overall quality of life, the value of services for taxes paid, economic development, preservation of natural areas, stormwater management, culture/arts/music activities and opportunities, recreation, open spaces and library services.
Citizens assessed many of the facets of the economy as outstanding, with scores higher than the national averages for overall economic health, quality of business and service establishments and economic development. Scottsdale as a place to visit and a place to work ranked much higher than elsewhere in the country. The overall quality and variety of business and service establishments were first among all comparison communities.
As Community and Public Affairs Director Kelly Corsette says, “Because this is the survey used throughout the country by more than 500 communities, we have benchmark data. We can see how we are performing in relation to peer cities. … If these results were your child’s report card, you would be very pleased.”
Laraine Rodgers is operations director for SCOTT.
General Plan Highlights: A Vision for the City
The city’s General Plan 2035 has been referred to the Nov. 2 ballot for voters. Highlights:
- The vision for Scottsdale’s sustainable future: Scottsdale will continue to be a premier city that reflects the city’s exceptional Sonoran Desert experience, the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, outstanding livability, a sustainable environment, diverse character areas, safe neighborhoods, inclusive communities, high-quality design and architecture, enriched by an educated, high-wage workforce and entrepreneurs and businesses that foster innovation and prosperity.
- Scottsdale will continue to be a vibrant city of high amenities, low taxes and high services, supported by plans to address its vision and goals.
- Scottsdale will continue to be as resilient as it was during the 2008 recession, coming back strong with 2019 revenue levels at their highest, a diversified economic base and a triple A bond rating.
- Scottsdale’s swift actions when the global pandemic hit in 2020 and throughout the pandemic set the stage for a stronger and more vibrant economy in 2021 that is already coming back.
- Scottdale will continue to enhance its quality of place, re-imagining its everyday spaces, parks, downtown, the waterfront and plazas.
- Scottsdale 2019 bond package of $321 million: 54 projects addressing key infrastructure needs in three areas: parks, recreation, and senior services; community spaces and infrastructure; public safety and technology.
- One bond project under way is a $27.3-million initiative to rebuild the Scottsdale Civic Center Plaza as the community’s signature special event and public gathering space, creating a competitive new public space to attract large-scale events, such as Super Bowl 2023 activities.
- Scottsdale is growing its focus on quality education and research, enhancing its strong high-wage, high-skill workforce through collaborations with SkySong/ASU, P-12 school systems and Scottsdale Community College.
- Scottsdale’s Smart City plan is under way, using data to enrich the lives of citizens. Scottsdale already had some “smart” elements in place, including predictive analytics, traffic management and lighting sensors on top of streetlights. Scottsdale is building capacity to run pilot programs at SkySong.
