A.R.S. § 48-7049: Local involvement; preservation of municipal and county authority

A. A district formed pursuant to this chapter has no zoning, subdivision, building code, permitting or other land use or development approval authority. All land use regulation, development planning, platting, permitting, inspection and code enforcement authority within the boundaries of a district remains exclusively with the municipality or county in which the land is located, and all development within a district is subject to the same general plans, specific or area plans, zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, engineering standards, building and fire codes and other applicable laws, standards and procedures as comparable development outside a district.

B. A municipality or county retains full authority to adopt, amend, administer and enforce its general plan, specific or area plans, zoning ordinances, subdivision and development regulations, engineering and design standards, building and fire codes and any other laws, regulations or policies governing the planning, entitlement, construction, inspection, acceptance, operation or maintenance of public infrastructure or private development within its jurisdiction, without regard to whether the land is located within a district.

C. A district may finance, construct or acquire public infrastructure that is intended to be conveyed to and owned, operated or maintained by a municipality or county only if the public infrastructure is designed and constructed in accordance with the generally applicable plans, ordinances, codes, standards, regulations and standard-form agreements of the municipality or county for comparable public infrastructure in the jurisdiction. A municipality or county may accept or reject any such public infrastructure in accordance with the municipality's or county's generally applicable ordinances, codes, standards, regulations, standard-form subdivision or improvement agreements or other written instruments, including any applicable development agreement or intergovernmental agreement, and is not required to accept public infrastructure that the municipality or county is not otherwise required to accept under applicable law.

D. Before a district conveys to a municipality or county any public infrastructure that is financed, constructed or acquired by the district, the district shall obtain a certification from the engineer or other official designated by the municipality or county stating that the public infrastructure has been completed in accordance with the applicable plans, specifications and standards of the municipality or county. The timing, form and content of the certification and of any conveyance instruments shall conform to the municipality's or county's generally applicable requirements for comparable public infrastructure. Acceptance of a discrete section of public infrastructure pursuant to this section does not modify the assurances and warranty requirements of a municipality or county prescribed by a municipal or county code or ordinance or as outlined in a development agreement entered into pursuant to section 9-500.05 or 11-1101.

E. The formation or existence of a district does not create any obligation for a municipality or county to provide services, facilities or financial support to the district or to any land within the district that the municipality or county would not otherwise be required to provide if the land were not located in the district. A municipality or county is not required, solely because a district has been formed or public infrastructure has been financed, constructed or acquired by a district, to accept ownership, operation or maintenance responsibility for any public infrastructure or to incur any additional financial obligation or liability with respect to a district or its public infrastructure, except to the extent that the municipality or county expressly agrees in a development agreement, intergovernmental agreement or other written instrument that is authorized by law.

F. This article does not authorize a district to pledge the full faith and credit or the taxing power of a municipality or county. Any bonds or other obligations of a district are obligations only of the district and are payable only from the sources that are pledged for their payment.

G. Any public infrastructure financed pursuant to this chapter that constitutes improvements as defined in section 9-463 will remain subject to the municipality's authority under section 9-463.01, including requirements for performance bonds, assurances or other security under section 9-463.01, subsection C, paragraph 8.