Surprise staff propose 'Desert Rural' zoning to preserve long-standing rural neighborhoods

City planning staff presented a proposed zoning-text amendment on May 5 to add a new Desert Rural residential district to the Surprise Land Development Ordinance, saying the change is intended to preserve the character of long-established rural residential neighborhoods.

The presentation, led by planning staff, emphasized this is a zoning text amendment only and "does not include any rezoning at this time" and "would not include any sort of annexation" on affected county properties, staff said. Presenters said the Desert Rural district is intended to implement the rural-residential overlay in the Surprise 2040 general plan and to provide clear, district-specific development standards.

Planning staff told councilmembers the amendment grew from roughly two years of outreach that included 12 public meetings and targeted engagement with neighborhood representatives. Staff said the outreach produced requests to preserve rural character and to permit limited home-based commerce as accessory uses rather than standalone commercial development.

To reflect that input, staff proposed prohibiting stand-alone commercial uses in Desert Rural while allowing certain home-occupation activities — listed as Class 3 home occupations — such as cottage-food sales, small farms or plant nurseries, temporary RV parking and limited veterinary clinics, subject to use-specific standards and conditional-use-permit review. Staff also proposed moving home-occupation rules into a dedicated chapter of the LDO to improve clarity and navigation.

A planning commissioner who reviewed the draft at Planning & Zoning raised concerns about completely removing all stand-alone commercial uses from the district, staff said. Councilmember Haney asked for confirmation that the measure is limited to text changes and for continued outreach; staff replied they engaged neighborhood representatives and a consultant group in multiple iterative drafts.

Staff described additional proposed development standards that mirror existing rural-residential rules: a one-acre minimum lot size, a one-dwelling-unit-per-lot cap and height limits intended to preserve scale. For transitions between Desert Rural and higher-density areas, staff proposed buffers and setback requirements generally around 150 feet where new developments abut desert-rural neighborhoods, with potential reductions where larger lots are provided by an adjacent development.

The council did not vote on the amendment at the May 5 session; presenters closed Part 1 of a two-part work session and said they will return on May 19 to cover design standards, animals and street/transportation rules, then schedule formal hearings after further edits and committee feedback.

The next item on the calendar for this amendment is the May 19 work session; staff said they do not yet have formal Planning & Zoning or City Council hearing dates and will provide the full draft to council in advance for review.