By Lesley Wright | The Arizona Republic
Four years ago, nearly 60 percent of Surprise voters said “no” to an updated General Plan — a document that would have guided the growing city’s development through 2030.
On Tuesday, Nov. 5, voters again will be asked to approve a new General Plan. The vote will test whether the city’s three-year effort to win over skeptical residents was a success. If the plan succeeds at the ballot box, it will give the city an important blueprint for future transit, neighborhoods, parks and business districts.
City officials said Surprise General Plan 2030 was likely voted down in 2009 because it appeared on the ballot with an unpopular bond measure during the depths of the recession.
This time, Surprise officials have taken pains to make the plan, which is required by the state, more palatable to voters. City planners turned to groups of residents for ideas and opinions about Surprise’s future.
