OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Planning Commission Reviews Desert Rural Zoning District - April 24, 2026

Planning and Zoning Commission — Friday, April 24, 2026
BodySurprise, Arizona
SessionPlanning and Zoning Commission
DateFriday, April 24, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:03:24

Transcript — Verbatim
1:57

I'd like to call this Planning Zoning Commission meeting to order on this Thursday, April 23rd, 2026.

2:08

And could we please have roll call?

2:11

Commissioner Perry.

2:12

Here.

2:13

Commissioner Holland.

2:14

Here.

2:14

Commissioner Leonard.

2:15

Here.

2:16

Chair Chapman.

2:17

Here.

2:18

Vice Chair Spada.

2:19

Here.

2:20

Commissioner Everett.

2:21

Here.

2:21

Commissioner Bash.

2:23

Here.

2:23

We have a quorum.

2:24

Great.

2:25

Thank you.

2:25

Could you please stand join me in the Pledge?

2:32

Through the flag of the United States of America.

2:40

Indivisible for all.

2:46

Thank you.

2:50

And uh we would uh Sitten's director.

2:57

Uh Ferrari, do we have any current events or reports tonight?

3:01

Thank you, Chair, members of the commission.

3:03

So a few meetings ago, I mentioned that we were going to bring forward a uh discussion item for battery energy storage systems.

3:11

Um we are still working on some final tweaks to that draft, so we are not quite ready yet, but we are targeting the May 21st meeting to bring that forward to you to discuss.

3:23

Okay, thank you.

3:42

Second.

4:07

We move on to item number two.

4:10

Regular agenda item is a non-public hearing.

4:38

Good evening, Chair, Commission.

4:40

Uh, we are here tonight to present information, answer questions, and solicit feedback regarding FS twenty-five-zero zero three nine, a zoning text amendment to establish a new residential zoning district, desert rural.

5:00

So as there are numerous sections of code involved in this amendment, in order to make this presentation more digestible, we've broken it into two parts.

5:04

So the first part, which we're going to be covering tonight, is going to be going over the background information of the zoning text amendment as well as the community feedback and proposed code changes associated with permissible uses, development standards, and land use buffer and landscape slash open space subjects.

5:23

In the second part, which we will cover at the work session on May 7th, we will go over the community feedback and the proposed code changes associated with the remaining topics of interest.

5:34

That's going to be for the design standards, animals, and transportation/slash street sections of the code.

5:40

We will also be addressing the many cleanup items that we are including in this proposed amendment.

5:46

And in order to foster more fruitful conversation as we go through each topic of interest, we're going to be presenting the relevant information and then stopping to answer questions because it's kind of a lot to be able to get through.

6:00

So with that, I'll pass it over to Trevor.

6:04

Thank you, Chair and Commission.

6:06

We're going to pass back and forth the presentation tonight.

6:09

So with the ratification of the 2040 general plan, we included the rural residential overlay that identified areas of this of the overall planning area that are long-standing rural communities.

6:25

That we received feedback from residents on wanting to be protected from encroaching development, as well as preserving their existing way of life.

6:35

And so this slide here shows that overall rural residential overlay within the general plan.

6:48

So to help explain this exhibit a little bit, the combination of the blue and red is the overall boundaries of the overlay as is it as it exists in the general plan.

6:59

The areas in red are not currently incorporated within city boundaries.

7:03

Those are currently counting, but in our planning area.

7:20

All righty.

7:20

So with that out of the way, we'll go ahead and jump into the background for this project.

7:25

So as I mentioned earlier, the purpose of the zoning text amendment is to revise sections of the surprise land development ordinance to establish a new residential zoning district desert rule.

7:35

And the intent behind creating this new zoning district is like Trevor was mentioning earlier to preserve the character of the city's long-established rural residential neighborhoods by creating a unique set of development standards for these areas.

7:49

So in order to accomplish this, there are a couple things that we got to do.

7:54

So we're overall looking at adding a new zoning designation to the land development ordinance first and foremost.

8:03

But there are also going to be supporting revisions that are required for the development standards, design standards, and engineering standards as well.

8:15

So that we're looking at changes to not only the LDO but the municipal code and the EDS, which you guys won't vote on it, but we wanted to include those changes just for transparency so you could see kind of how all of that is going to be affected.

8:41

Something I wanted to note is that a significant significant portion of the changes that we're proposing are actually more kind of like clerical in nature and are more kind of a cleanup.

8:51

So, you know, we're trying to like add new standards, but in order for us to do that in a way that's you know both easy and understandable, there's some kind of like foundational things that we need to fix before we do that or kind of at the same time.

9:06

So it's not only easy to see what it is, but it's also easy to understand the changes that we're looking at making.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning Regulations█████████████████████████████████████████████55%
Community Engagement███████████13%
Procedural███████9%
Transportation Safety███████9%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████6%
Energy Policy████5%
Economic Development██3%
Summary of Proceedings

Planning Zoning Commission Meeting: Desert Rural Zoning Text Amendment - April 24, 2026

On April 24, 2026, the Surprise Planning and Zoning Commission held a meeting to discuss a zoning text amendment (FS25-0039) to establish a new residential zoning district, Desert Rural. The session focused on part one of a two-part presentation, covering background, community feedback, permissible uses, development standards, and land use buffers. No formal action was taken; the commission provided feedback for staff to incorporate before a public hearing.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Alex Christ (resident near 175th Ave and Waddell) expressed strong support for the Desert Rural district, praising the city for prioritizing residents who value a rural lifestyle. He emphasized the importance of preserving the area's Western heritage, including unpaved roads and space for horses and goats, while acknowledging that change is inevitable.
  • Matthew Ragsdale (Key Capture Energy, San Diego) spoke during non-agenda public comment to introduce his company, a battery energy storage system (BESS) developer and operator with a project in Surprise. He offered the company as a resource for the upcoming BESS ordinance discussions, which were deferred to May 21. The commission acknowledged the comment but could not discuss the item because it was not on the agenda.

Discussion Items

  • Background and Purpose: Staff (Ferrari, Trevor, and Johnny) presented the two-year process behind the zoning text amendment, which originated from the 2040 General Plan's rural residential overlay. The goal is to preserve the character of long-established rural neighborhoods by creating a unique set of development standards. Twelve outreach meetings were held with affected communities, including six meetings with the community near 219th Ave and Deer Valley.
  • Permissible Uses: Staff proposed adding Desert Rural as a new zoning district with uses largely mirroring existing Rural Residential (RR) but removing standalone commercial uses. Community feedback favored allowing certain commercial activities as home occupations rather than standalone businesses. Proposed home occupation additions include animal clinics/vet offices, cottage food operations, and ranch/residential farm uses. Motor vehicle repair was excluded due to mixed community feedback. The home occupation section would be restructured into a classification system with clearer standards, including a limit of eight appointments per day for customer-generating uses to avoid altering neighborhood character. Parking and employee restrictions were also tightened.
  • Development Standards: Staff recommended mirroring existing RR standards: minimum one-acre lots, maximum one dwelling unit per acre, and a two-story height limit. The community expressed satisfaction with the current standards.
  • Land Use Buffers: Staff proposed a series of setbacks ranging from 50 to 150 feet between Desert Rural and adjacent zoning districts. For example, if a new development proposes one-acre lots adjacent to Desert Rural, no buffer is required; smaller lots require larger setbacks. Commercial and industrial uses would require a standard 150-foot setback.
  • Commissioner Feedback:
    • Commissioner Perry raised administrative questions about annexation (like-for-like zoning assignment), the rezone process for undeveloped parcels within the overlay, and potential restrictions on changing zoning to commercial. Staff clarified that annexation would assign a comparable zoning, and rezones would be evaluated against the General Plan.
    • Commissioner Holland expressed concern that prohibiting all standalone commercial uses might be too restrictive. He suggested limiting the size of commercial uses (e.g., farm stands or small repair shops) rather than an outright ban, noting that home-based businesses could still become large-scale operations without size limits. He also asked about signage for farm stands; staff indicated signage is addressed in the forthcoming full text amendment.
    • Commissioner Bash supported preserving existing rural character and warned that standalone commercial proposals would face strong community opposition.
    • Commissioner Everett reflected on the challenge of balancing growth (Surprise growing from 35,000 in 2000 to nearly 180,000 in 2026) with preserving rural lifestyles, especially given the city's lack of industrial land for job creation.
  • Future Parts: Part two of the presentation, scheduled for May 7, will cover design standards, animals, and transportation/street requirements, along with cleanup items. Staff will also present to city council on May 5.

Key Outcomes

  • No formal votes or decisions were taken; the session was for presentation and discussion only.
  • Staff will incorporate commissioner feedback (including consideration of limited standalone commercial uses and size restrictions) before bringing the amendment back for a public hearing.
  • The BESS ordinance discussion will be brought forward at the May 21 meeting, and Key Capture Energy offered to provide expertise.
  • The meeting adjourned with a unanimous voice vote.

Meeting Transcript

I'd like to call this Planning Zoning Commission meeting to order on this Thursday, April 23rd, 2026. And could we please have roll call? Commissioner Perry. Here. Commissioner Holland. Here. Commissioner Leonard. Here. Chair Chapman. Here. Vice Chair Spada. Here. Commissioner Everett. Here. Commissioner Bash. Here. We have a quorum. Great. Thank you. Could you please stand join me in the Pledge? Through the flag of the United States of America. Indivisible for all. Thank you. And uh we would uh Sitten's director. Uh Ferrari, do we have any current events or reports tonight? Thank you, Chair, members of the commission. So a few meetings ago, I mentioned that we were going to bring forward a uh discussion item for battery energy storage systems. Um we are still working on some final tweaks to that draft, so we are not quite ready yet, but we are targeting the May 21st meeting to bring that forward to you to discuss. Okay, thank you. Second. We move on to item number two. Regular agenda item is a non-public hearing. Good evening, Chair, Commission. Uh, we are here tonight to present information, answer questions, and solicit feedback regarding FS twenty-five-zero zero three nine, a zoning text amendment to establish a new residential zoning district, desert rural. So as there are numerous sections of code involved in this amendment, in order to make this presentation more digestible, we've broken it into two parts. So the first part, which we're going to be covering tonight, is going to be going over the background information of the zoning text amendment as well as the community feedback and proposed code changes associated with permissible uses, development standards, and land use buffer and landscape slash open space subjects. In the second part, which we will cover at the work session on May 7th, we will go over the community feedback and the proposed code changes associated with the remaining topics of interest. That's going to be for the design standards, animals, and transportation/slash street sections of the code. We will also be addressing the many cleanup items that we are including in this proposed amendment. And in order to foster more fruitful conversation as we go through each topic of interest, we're going to be presenting the relevant information and then stopping to answer questions because it's kind of a lot to be able to get through. So with that, I'll pass it over to Trevor. Thank you, Chair and Commission. We're going to pass back and forth the presentation tonight. So with the ratification of the 2040 general plan, we included the rural residential overlay that identified areas of this of the overall planning area that are long-standing rural communities. That we received feedback from residents on wanting to be protected from encroaching development, as well as preserving their existing way of life. And so this slide here shows that overall rural residential overlay within the general plan. So to help explain this exhibit a little bit, the combination of the blue and red is the overall boundaries of the overlay as is it as it exists in the general plan. The areas in red are not currently incorporated within city boundaries. Those are currently counting, but in our planning area. All righty.

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