ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Phoenix, Arizona
municipal general plans;
open space
Purpose
Allows a municipality to
designate land as open space or recreation without compensation to the
landowner under certain circumstances.
Background
In 1998, legislation
commonly known as the Growing Smarter Act was enacted to create an urban growth
management framework to address problems associated with urban growth.
Generally, this legislation (Laws 1998, Chapter 204) strengthened land planning
processes by enhancing the requirements for general and comprehensive plans,
provided for the acquisition and preservation of open space areas through a
variety of planning and purchasing mechanisms and created a Growing Smarter
Commission to make recommendations for long-term growth management.
The Growing Smarter Plus Act
of 2000 (Laws 2000, Fourth Special Session, Chapter 1) continued the
legislative effort to manage urban growth by conserving state trust land with
ecological, historical and archaeological value that meets established criteria
and authorizing a number of growth management tools. One of the provisions of the Growing Smarter Plus legislation
prohibits a municipality or county from designating private or state trust land
as open space, recreation, conservation or agriculture unless the land owner
consents in writing or an alternate, economically viable designation in the
general plan or zoning ordinance allows at least one residential dwelling per
acre.
H.B. 2650 allows a
municipality to designate land as open space or recreation if the land was
zoned as open space or recreation before May 1, 2000 and is used as a golf
course or recreation.
There is no anticipated
fiscal impact to the state general fund relating to the provisions of this
bill.
Provisions
1. Allows a municipality to designate land as open space or recreation without the landowner’s consent or compensation to the landowner, if the land was zoned as open space or recreation before May 1, 2000 and is used as a golf course or recreation.
2. Exempts state trust land that was not planned and zoned as open space or recreation by the State Land Department.
3. Provides for a general effective date.
House Action
CM 3/26/02 DPA 9-0-1-0
3rd Read 4/8/02 47-1-12-0
Prepared by Senate Staff
April 15, 2002