To rezone property in Arizona, the owner files a zone change application with the city, town or county that controls the land, then wins a recommendation from the planning and zoning commission and a vote from the elected board or council. Most jurisdictions start with a required pre-application meeting. Maricopa County's own process chart projects about six months from application to the Board of Supervisors hearing, and that assumes only two review cycles.
What a rezoning actually changes
Zoning sets what you may build and how: use, density, height, setbacks, parking. A rezoning moves a parcel from one zoning district to another. It is a legislative act. Staff reviews it, a commission recommends, and an elected body decides, so approval is never automatic even when the application is complete.
Inside a city or town, the rezoning has to fit the adopted general plan. Under A.R.S. 9-462.01, a rezoning ordinance must be consistent with and conform to the general plan. A rezoning fits the plan's land use element when its uses, densities and intensities fall within the ranges that element identifies. If your request falls outside those ranges, you may need a general plan amendment first.
Step 1: Check the general plan and the current zoning
Pull the parcel's current zoning and its general plan land use designation. Compare them to the zoning you want. If the plan already allows the density and use you are asking for, you are looking at a rezoning alone. If it does not, the plan has to change first.
That matters because plan amendments are harder than rezonings. Under A.R.S. 9-461.06, approving a major amendment takes at least two-thirds of the governing body. A major amendment is defined as a substantial alteration of the municipality's land use mixture or balance, and each general plan sets its own criteria for what counts. Major amendments must also be presented at a public hearing within twelve months after the proposal is made.
Step 2: Hold the pre-application meeting
Maricopa County requires a pre-application meeting for every zone change before you can submit. The county says the meeting can cover requirements, the citizen participation plan, community and area plans, and zoning patterns and trends. Staff from Transportation, Drainage Review, Flood Control and Environmental Services take part. Only after that meeting, and after consulting staff, may the owner or agent start carrying out the citizen participation plan.
Use the meeting to ask the questions that decide the case. Will staff support the request? What does the general plan say about the parcel? Who provides water and sewer? Is annexation to a city expected?
Step 3: File the application
Using Maricopa County's December 2025 packet as an example, a complete zone change filing includes:
- The pre-application meeting summary and the application form.
- Proof of ownership, such as a recorded deed.
- Fees for Planning, Drainage Review, Environmental, Transportation and Addressing.
- Photographs of the site and adjacent properties.
- A site plan.
- A narrative report covering the request, its justification, property and area conditions, potential impacts, proposed improvements, services and utilities.
- A citizen participation plan.
The county states that all fees are due at application and are non-refundable. It also states that a case with no activity for six months is treated as inactive and closed, and a new application and fees are needed to continue.
Other jurisdictions use different forms, but the pattern is the same: a narrative, a plan, and proof of who owns the land.
Step 4: Citizen participation
Arizona cities must adopt written procedures for early and continuous public participation on general plans under A.R.S. 9-461.06, and local rezoning rules build on that idea. In Maricopa County, the citizen participation process with initial noticing and posting is due within 30 days after the application is submitted. County staff handles the mailing to owners within 300 feet and the legal ad. The applicant posts the site. Expect to talk to neighbors, answer questions and document it. The county will not schedule the public hearing until it considers the plan satisfactorily completed.
Step 5: Technical review
In the county's process, a Technical Advisory Committee reviews the request. It is made up of representatives from Planning, Transportation, Drainage Review, Flood Control and Environmental Services. The county chart shows the TAC meeting within four to six weeks, then a resubmittal within two weeks, then about two weeks for comments and about two weeks for sign-off. The county warns that following TAC comments does not guarantee staff will support or recommend approval.
Step 6: Planning and zoning commission hearing
The commission holds a public hearing. In Maricopa County the owner or agent must attend, respond to the staff report and answer public comments. The commission recommends approval or denial to the Board of Supervisors, and its recommendation may differ from staff's.
For cities and towns, A.R.S. 9-462.04 sets the baseline rules:
- Notice must be given at least 15 days before the hearing, published in a newspaper of general circulation.
- A posted sign must show the word "zoning," the current and proposed classifications, and the hearing date and time, readable from 100 feet.
- The commission issues a written recommendation with reasons to the governing body.
Step 7: Board of supervisors or city council vote
The request is advertised again, and the elected body votes. Its action may or may not match staff or the commission. A.R.S. 9-462.04 adds a protest rule for cities and towns: if owners of 20 percent or more of the property in the "zoning area" file a written protest, the change needs a three-fourths vote of the full governing body. The zoning area is the affected property plus everything within 150 feet of it, excluding government-owned land.
A rezoning cannot take effect immediately in a city or town. The statute sets the effective date no sooner than 30 days after final approval. Maricopa County's rule is 31 days after Board action, and any required conditions must be met.
Conditions that come with approval
Approval usually carries conditions. A.R.S. 9-462.01 allows a municipality to tie a change of zone to a development schedule. If the land is not developed for the approved use by the deadline, the body can hold a hearing and extend the schedule, remove it, or revert the zoning. A municipality can also require dedication of rights-of-way, drainage and utility land if reasonably needed because of the rezoning's effect. Maricopa County's authorization form has the owner agree to follow any conditions or development agreements the county attaches.
The Prop 207 waiver
Maricopa County's application includes a Proposition 207 waiver that the owner must sign. It acknowledges that the approval may reduce existing rights to use, divide, sell or possess the property, and waives claims for diminution in value from any county action resulting from the application. A.R.S. 12-1134 is the statute behind it. It gives owners a compensation claim when a new land use law reduces property value, and it says demands and waivers run with the land. Read the waiver with an attorney before you sign it.
How long it takes
The only timeline we can point to from an official source is Maricopa County's: about six months to the Board hearing, with two review cycles and two-week resubmittals. Each added review cycle, continuance or neighborhood objection pushes that out. Treat any number you hear as a floor, not a promise.
Where rezoning fits in the bigger picture
A rezoning is one entitlement step. Plats, site plans, engineering and utility commitments follow it. See our overview of the land entitlement process in Arizona, the county-specific guide to Maricopa County rezoning, and the general land entitlement process.
Rules and procedures change. The county or city planning office, and an Arizona attorney, have the final word on your parcel.
Selling land that needs this work
A parcel that needs a rezoning carries cost, time and public-hearing risk. Red Dirt Property buys land as-is across all 15 Arizona counties, underwrites parcels against its own statewide parcel data, and handles entitlement after closing. There is no agent commission on our purchases. If you own land that is zoned for less than it could support, start here.