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.

It is important to note that the Rio Verde Foothills Area Plan is not a document that represents ultimate buildout as many municipal general plans typically do. Rather, it prepares for and accommodates growth over the next ten to fifteen years, but will be reexamined and updated periodically to reflect current conditions and changes. While not a complete solution, the Rio Verde Foothills Area Plan helps address the effects of growth and development by enhancing cooperation between government agencies, citizens, and other affected interests, and by considering regional implications.