Welcome to the Arizona Office of Smart Growth!

What is Smart Growth?
Growth itself is neither positive nor negative, but the cumulative effects of population growth, its patterns and form have long-term social, environmental, and economic consequences. 

Smart growth is a continuous planning process to guide the preservation, development, or redevelopment of a neighborhood, community, or region to promote the goals and ambitions of its residents. Quality of life, infrastructure, and land use are typically key considerations in the process. Smart growth communities prudently manage and direct their growth-strained resources to assure an economic future consistent with their goals. In addition, smart growth informs economic development efforts by providing a framework to coordinate investments and policies.

Smart growth is guiding growth in ways that result in vibrant communities, strong economies, and a healthy environment. Smart growth means adding new homes, schools, businesses, jobs and infrastructure to Arizona’s economy in ways that make sense and promote balance. Smart growth enhances the communities where we live, without over-burdening our transportation and infrastructure systems, polluting our air and water, or depleting our open spaces and magnificent natural landscapes. Smart growth embodies qualities that make communities great places to live and give them a sense of place – walkable neighborhoods, recreational amenities, historic spaces, vibrant downtowns, choices in transportation, jobs, and housing, prudent investments in capital facilities and infrastructure and opportunities for diversity and citizen involvement.

Around the country, communities are striving to implement new practices of land use development that will maximize investments while also preserving natural lands and critical environmental areas, protecting water and air quality and reusing already-developed land. In turn, the resulting higher quality of life in many of these communities makes them more economically competitive and creates more business opportunities that improve the local tax base.

The Smart Growth Network developed a set of ten principles that reflect the new ways that many communities are positively affecting land use and development:

1. Mix land uses 2. Take advantage of compact building design 3. Create a range of housing opportunities and choices 4. Create walkable neighborhoods 5. Foster distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place 6. Preserve open space, farmland, natural beauty, and critical environmental areas 7. Strengthen and direct development towards existing communities 8. Provide a variety of transportation choices 9. Make development decisions predictable, fair, and cost effective 10. Encourage community and stakeholder collaboration in development decisions

Arizona Office of Smart Growth
The Arizona Department of Commerce Office of Smart Growth (formerly Community Planning Office) provides statewide technical assistance and training to Arizona’s municipalities, counties, and Tribal communities in areas such as smart growth, sustainability, land use planning, development, zoning, infrastructure, public participation, and strategic planning.

Some of the Office’s key projects include: coordinating multi-agency outreach and technical assistance efforts to help Arizona communities with their growth challenges and assist them in developing smart growth tools; the formation of a smart growth leadership academy; and facilitating local and regional smart growth workshops. Additionally, the Smart Growth Office is strengthening its Tribal planning focus to address the unique land use issues facing Tribal communities. The Office is also establishing a clearinghouse for planning templates and best practices related to smart growth tools and resources, as well as assisting in multi-regional planning and visioning efforts statewide.

The Office of Smart Growth continues to focus on the implementation of the Growing Smarter Acts and the promotion of responsible growth through the Growing Smarter Planning Grant Program; the provision of staff resources and support to the Governor’s Growth Cabinet, Smart Growth Interagency Committee and the Governor’s Growing Smarter Oversight Council; and focused local and regional technical assistance. The Office also represents the Department of Commerce as an appointed member of the Governor’s Forest Health Oversight Council; coordinates Arizona’s Military Regional Compatibility Project, a statewide effort to identify resolutions to encroachment issues around active military installations; and administers the Military Installation Fund ($4.825 million) per ARS§ 41-1512.01 through which successful land acquisition or related jurisdictional projects will receive funding.

Professional Planning Technical Assistance

• Conduct mandated review and comment on general and comprehensive plans & major amendments
• Assist in general and comprehensive plan development, zoning ordinance updates, and public participation program development
• Participate in technical advisory committees
• Administer the Growing Smarter Planning Grant Program

Education and Training

• Organize and conduct training workshops and retreats for councils, commissions, boards, and citizen groups
• Organize the annual Boards and Commissions Conference
• Make presentations at various conferences held locally, regionally, and nationally

Resource Materials

• Develop topic specific resource materials (i.e. Growing Smarter Highlights, Planning Commission Basics, Planning and Zoning Handbook, etc.)
• Maintain planning and zoning lending library comprised of municipal and county plans, zoning codes, subdivision codes, design guidelines, etc. from jurisdictions throughout the state
• Maintain resources on a variety of subject areas – specific subscriptions include: Planning Commissioners Journal, PAS Reports, Small Town and Rural Planning Division Newsletter, Zoning News, Environment and Development, Public Investment, Planners Casebook, APA Planning Magazine, Zoning Practice, Lincoln Institute Land Lines, Land Use Law and Zoning Digest, Planning & Environmental Law, Livable Places Update, AZ Business Magazine, etc.
• Research files containing information on over 100 subject areas

Office of Smart Growth staff are focused on the following areas:
 
 Governor’s Growth Cabinet was officially established by Executive Order 2007-05 to coordinate state agency activities more efficiently in serving the public. 

 Smart Growth Interagency Committee was created to provide circuit-rider planning expertise, tools, training and assistance to help local, county, and Tribal communities.  This entity also breaks down state agency communication barriers through close collaboration on growth issues.

 Growth Cabinet Advisory Board is a citizens advisory board to the Growth Cabinet.  The Office of Smart Growth provides staff resources and technical assistance to the Board. 

 Growing Smarter Guiding Principles for Arizona were developed by the Growing Smarter Oversight Council (now the Growth Cabinet Advisory Board) in 2006 to promote quality growth in Arizona.

 Annual Boards & Commissions Conference Provides planning commissioners, board of adjustment members, elected officials, municipal and county staff, and others the opportunity to hone decision-making and leadership skills. This state-wide event provides information on a variety of topics to build the capacity for progressing effective and responsible public officials to serve the citizens of Arizona.

Growing Smarter and Growing Smarter Plus planning legislation.  All communities and counties are required to complete a General or Comprehensive Plan to address issues such as land use, transportation, open space, and water resources.