The Pinal Comprehensive Plan is considered a plan for buildout that carries out Pinal’s vision. What does that mean and why is it important to plan for buildout?
The Pinal Comprehensive Plan is a “vision-based” plan that outlines the county’s future desired condition; a dream rooted in reality. The vision shouldn’t change over time, though projects and strategies to implement the vision will be modified. Bottom line: the long-range plan is intended to implement Pinal’s vision. Buildout has been defined throughout the process as “all land within Pinal County being designated with an appropriate land use based on a series of criteria, including land ownership patterns, topographic and environmental constraints and opportunities, development potential, infrastructure support, and private property rights. Buildout does not occur at any certain date, since development and growth are dependent upon cyclical market trends and private property interests.” To give some perspective on this planning timeframe, in 1960, Wilbur Smith developed the first conceptual plan for the Phoenix Metro Area’s freeway system. It has been commonly said that the plan look
