Plan Tucson Building Blocks

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The update for Plan Tucson isn’t starting at zero. The City of Tucson has recently completed or is actively completing several plans related to critical components of City services and programming. These plans include significant community participation processes consisting of meetings, surveys, and focus groups concentrated on the topic. The Plan Tucson update planning process is an opportunity to integrate these plans in concert with the broad scope of City programs. The outcomes of these specific plans will inform the relevant sections of the General Plan Update.

Recently completed and ongoing planning projects:

Move Tucson is a city-wide transportation master plan led by the Department of Transportation and Mobility. Move Tucson establishes a vision for Tucson’s mobility future and provides a shared blueprint for how we get there. Tucson’s Mayor and City Council adopted Move Tucson on December 7, 2021.


The People, Communities, and Homes Investment Plan (P-CHIP) was adopted by City of Tucson Mayor and Council on January 20, 2021. The plan creates a framework for investing in Tucson's most vulnerable populations. It will direct funding for homeless services, housing stability, neighborhood enhancements, and more. The P-CHIP identifies priorities eligible for support from Tucson's federal and local funding sources, administered by the City of Tucson Housing and Community Development Department.


The Housing Affordability Strategy for Tucson (HAST) plan includes introducing housing concepts, key data driving our decisions, and 10 policy initiatives. Housing affordability has been identified as a high-priority area by the Tucson Mayor and Council. As such, it is important that investment in affordable housing is strategic and aligns with other important priority areas, such as climate resiliency and advancing social equity.


The Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) represents a unique and forward-thinking approach to economic development. Rooted in community engagement and research, the CEDS provides operational guidance for Tucson's Economic Initiatives team and a road map for staff and Mayor and Council. It defines goals, strategies, and performance metrics with the built-in flexibility to respond to changes in the economic landscape. CEDS was adopted by Mayor and Council in 2022.


The Tucson Parks and Recreation System Master Plan is a roadmap to navigate community goals and build recommendations that provide policymakers an approach to leveraging the City's parks and recreation resources with other community partners and initiatives. Staff will use the approved plan to guide parks and recreation decision-making. Mayor and council approved the adoption of the Master Plan in 2016.


Tucson Water updates the long-range master plan for its service area every decade. The One Water 2100 Plan will help guide Tucson Water’s capital and financial planning, conservation practices, and policy decisions. Using the One Water approach to master planning emphasizes that all water resources are equally important and considers important factors like environmental sustainability, social equity, and economic vitality. This plan will make our water future more sustainable. Decades of proactive planning and policy have increased our water resources and reduced our demand. The planning process began in 2019, and a draft plan will be submitted to Mayor and Council for review in 2023.


The Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CAAP) known as Tucson Resilient Together—will provide a strategic pathway to reduce the City’s emissions to net zero by 2030, explain the anticipated impacts of climate change across the City, identify the communities that will be most vulnerable to those impacts, and provide strategies that will assure that Tucson can adapt and be resilient to the impacts of climate change – now and in the future. A draft plan will be reviewed by the public and submitted to Mayor and Council for review in 2023.


Tucson Norte-Sur is a plan that will work with Tucson communities to identify opportunities for equitable reinvestment and access along a future 15-mile long North-South High Capacity Transit (HCT) corridor connecting the Tucson Mall on the northside to downtown Tucson and the Tucson Airport on the southside. This project is seeking community input to understand the community's vision for the future of this corridor and ensure that new development reflects the culture, community, and sense of place found in the neighborhoods along the corridor.


Area & Neighborhood Plans are meant to implement General Plan policies on a more localized level. There are over 50 adopted specific plans (area, neighborhood, redevelopment, and sub-regional plans) across the City. These plans contain policies related to land use, future development, transportation and connectivity, open space, and other topics. The development of new plans must be initiated by Mayor & Council. Amendments to adopted plans can be initiated by Mayor & Council or by a property owner within the plan area.

The update for Plan Tucson isn’t starting at zero. The City of Tucson has recently completed or is actively completing several plans related to critical components of City services and programming. These plans include significant community participation processes consisting of meetings, surveys, and focus groups concentrated on the topic. The Plan Tucson update planning process is an opportunity to integrate these plans in concert with the broad scope of City programs. The outcomes of these specific plans will inform the relevant sections of the General Plan Update.

Recently completed and ongoing planning projects:

Move Tucson is a city-wide transportation master plan led by the Department of Transportation and Mobility. Move Tucson establishes a vision for Tucson’s mobility future and provides a shared blueprint for how we get there. Tucson’s Mayor and City Council adopted Move Tucson on December 7, 2021.


The People, Communities, and Homes Investment Plan (P-CHIP) was adopted by City of Tucson Mayor and Council on January 20, 2021. The plan creates a framework for investing in Tucson's most vulnerable populations. It will direct funding for homeless services, housing stability, neighborhood enhancements, and more. The P-CHIP identifies priorities eligible for support from Tucson's federal and local funding sources, administered by the City of Tucson Housing and Community Development Department.


The Housing Affordability Strategy for Tucson (HAST) plan includes introducing housing concepts, key data driving our decisions, and 10 policy initiatives. Housing affordability has been identified as a high-priority area by the Tucson Mayor and Council. As such, it is important that investment in affordable housing is strategic and aligns with other important priority areas, such as climate resiliency and advancing social equity.


The Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) represents a unique and forward-thinking approach to economic development. Rooted in community engagement and research, the CEDS provides operational guidance for Tucson's Economic Initiatives team and a road map for staff and Mayor and Council. It defines goals, strategies, and performance metrics with the built-in flexibility to respond to changes in the economic landscape. CEDS was adopted by Mayor and Council in 2022.


The Tucson Parks and Recreation System Master Plan is a roadmap to navigate community goals and build recommendations that provide policymakers an approach to leveraging the City's parks and recreation resources with other community partners and initiatives. Staff will use the approved plan to guide parks and recreation decision-making. Mayor and council approved the adoption of the Master Plan in 2016.


Tucson Water updates the long-range master plan for its service area every decade. The One Water 2100 Plan will help guide Tucson Water’s capital and financial planning, conservation practices, and policy decisions. Using the One Water approach to master planning emphasizes that all water resources are equally important and considers important factors like environmental sustainability, social equity, and economic vitality. This plan will make our water future more sustainable. Decades of proactive planning and policy have increased our water resources and reduced our demand. The planning process began in 2019, and a draft plan will be submitted to Mayor and Council for review in 2023.


The Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CAAP) known as Tucson Resilient Together—will provide a strategic pathway to reduce the City’s emissions to net zero by 2030, explain the anticipated impacts of climate change across the City, identify the communities that will be most vulnerable to those impacts, and provide strategies that will assure that Tucson can adapt and be resilient to the impacts of climate change – now and in the future. A draft plan will be reviewed by the public and submitted to Mayor and Council for review in 2023.


Tucson Norte-Sur is a plan that will work with Tucson communities to identify opportunities for equitable reinvestment and access along a future 15-mile long North-South High Capacity Transit (HCT) corridor connecting the Tucson Mall on the northside to downtown Tucson and the Tucson Airport on the southside. This project is seeking community input to understand the community's vision for the future of this corridor and ensure that new development reflects the culture, community, and sense of place found in the neighborhoods along the corridor.


Area & Neighborhood Plans are meant to implement General Plan policies on a more localized level. There are over 50 adopted specific plans (area, neighborhood, redevelopment, and sub-regional plans) across the City. These plans contain policies related to land use, future development, transportation and connectivity, open space, and other topics. The development of new plans must be initiated by Mayor & Council. Amendments to adopted plans can be initiated by Mayor & Council or by a property owner within the plan area.