Q&A: Scutari describes work on Scottsdale General Plan Committee

This process is steeped in the legacy and commitment of our predecessors whose difficult decisions created the quality of life we enjoy today. They knew change was inevitable and they took risks. To do this right, we need to learn from their successes and failures and apply those lessons to the decisions we make today.”

Shannon Scutari

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Scottsdale moves forward with General Plan Update Citizen Review Committee

By Melissa Rosequist
Twitter: @mrosequist_

The Scottsdale General Plan Update Citizen Review Committee, which includes Shannon Scutari, has begun piecing together priorities and desires of the West’s Most Western Town into one guiding document.

Categories including Scottsdale’s character and culture, connectivity, environment and neighborhoods will be evaluated by the 13-person committee through next fall, prior to a vote on the draft plan scheduled for December.

As the General Plan Update Committee wraps up its second meeting, and looks forward to several months of further conversation and planning, Ms. Scutari provides insight into the initial work being done by the citizen group.

Ms. Scutari has served on Scottsdale’s Industrial Development Authority since 2016 and is currently the IDA’s president.

Here’s what she had to say:

• What does the General Plan mean to you?

It’s a critical, community-building tool for Scottsdale’s future. It should include long-term thinking and planning for a successful city that entices many generations of people with many different perspectives to make Scottsdale their home.

• Why did you want to be a part of the Citizen Review Committee?

To focus the process and deliberation on what we will say “Yes” to and help policymakers and citizens make tough decisions that enable Scottsdale to remain relevant as a community decades from now. Important tenets of this process are: balance; collaboration; inclusion; visionary, people centered, pragmatic outcomes; and best practices.

• You are in the midst of your second meeting --- how do you think it’s going so far?

The city staff is doing an excellent job pivoting to an online platform, getting us timely information and soliciting public comment. The Committee members are beginning to “virtually” share ideas with each other and staff. I am doing my best to adapt to this change, but I have a strong preference for in-person discussion and public comment. This is such an important iterative process and having a meeting of the minds solely through written comments is very difficult.

• Tell me about the Committee – did Scottsdale get it right with the folks selected?

City of Scottsdale board and commission leaders are the backbone of this Committee, and our collective, collaborative efforts can help guide our community’s future. I was looking forward to getting to know the Committee members, however, at this point we have only connected through the computer. This has left me to get to know most of the Committee members through their impressive bios and their thoughtful online comments. This is not ideal, but it’s the reality of a Covid-19 world. I do know some Committee members from past interactions, and they have deep histories with Scottsdale.

• The city has waited a long (long) time for a new General Plan. What would you like residents to know about the committee’s work or the planning process?

This process is steeped in the legacy and commitment of our predecessors whose difficult decisions created the quality of life we enjoy today. They knew change was inevitable and they took risks. To do this right, we need to learn from their successes and failures and apply those lessons to the decisions we make today. There is a strong commitment to build on Scottsdale’s best practices and to be open and honest about what needs to change.