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Sahuarita launches multi‑year General Plan update, aims for May 2026 ballot
Summary
Consultants kicked off the Town of Sahuarita’s statutorily required General Plan update, outlining required plan elements, a four‑phase schedule and a community outreach program that includes three workshops, mobile studios and two online surveys open for one month.
The Town of Sahuarita has begun a multi‑year update of its General Plan, with consultants saying the update will be community‑driven and is scheduled to be placed before voters in May 2026.
"This is a state‑mandated plan that is ultimately ratified by the voters," said Matt Kico, a consultant with Michael Baker International, during the virtual kickoff workshop. He told participants the town last ratified its plan in 2015 and state law requires communities to revisit their General Plans every 10 years.
Kico outlined the topics the update must address, including land use, growth areas, transportation, open space, environmental planning, water resources and the cost of development. He said the town may also add optional elements — the previous plan included economic development, energy and public services and facilities — and the consultants will consider whether items such as culture, arts or education should be added.
The consultant described a four‑phase project approach. The Recognize phase compiles existing conditions and background data; the Enrich phase gathers community input and develops draft recommendations; the Achieve phase includes state‑mandated review periods and formal consideration by the Planning & Zoning Commission and Town Council; and engagement is continuous throughout.
Kico emphasized statutory timing constraints that shape the schedule: the team expects to present a Council‑approved plan in time to meet the requirement that the town complete its work 180 days before the May 2026 election and to provide a state‑mandated 60‑day public review of any draft.
To gather resident input, the project will run three community workshops (both in‑person and virtual), deploy mobile outreach stations at town events and conduct youth workshops. The team launched two online surveys: Part one asks respondents to review the existing vision statement and earlier 2022 survey findings and offers an optional mapping tool to flag specific locations; Part two asks residents to rate and comment on existing goals. The presentation said the surveys will remain open for one month; staff will analyze responses and present the findings back to the community.
Kico identified Orania Henderson as the town’s Planning and Zoning manager and the primary town contact for the project. He also advised that contact details and the project website appear on the workshop slides; the transcript of the presentation contained garbled URLs and email text, so the slides or the Town of Sahuarita website should be consulted for the exact links and addresses.
Next steps: the consultant team will collect and analyze survey responses, present results at follow‑up workshops this fall and winter, and incorporate validated feedback into draft plan chapters before the formal 60‑day public review and Council consideration.
