The general plan provides a framework for the future development of Peoria, as defined and driven by extensive community participation. The Plan is dynamic and intended to be periodically updated. The Plan is used by the City to evaluate land use changes, and to review building and development regulations. It also provides a basis for Peoria's Capital Improvement Plan.

The city of Phoenix Planning Department was asked to prepare a land use plan to identify goals and policies to guide development decisions for an area beyond the banks of the Salt River and to complement the Phoenix Rio Salado Habitat Restoration Project (Rio Salado Project). In response, the Planning Department initiated a five-phase planning process to develop an area plan. The resulting plan builds on the community's vision of how the area will develop in the future and identifies the steps needed to make that vision a reality.