Paradise Valley is located 9 miles northeast of downtown Phoenix in the Central Valley, nestled between Phoenix and Scottsdale with Camelback Mountain soaring above the town. 

There are actually two Paradise Valleys.  The first is the more secluded Town of Paradise Valley.  The Town Paradise Valley can be described as a town sprinkled with secluded acre sized lots, upscale resorts, beautiful desert plants and very few businesses. It is a town that enjoys living with wonderful views of Camelback and Mummy Mountains.

The second is Greater Paradise Valley a larger, more diverse community that encompasses businesses large and small.  Its core is Paradise Valley Mall, the regional shopping center.  Settlement in Paradise Valley did not begin in earnest until post World War II. Paradise Valley, which is in Maricopa County, was a rural residential area with few commercial entities. Though the homes were modest in size and style, they were on large parcels of land, usually one to five acres.

In the late 1950’s, Phoenix and Scottsdale were looking to expand their respective boundaries.

Residents who lived in Paradise Valley area feared that they would lose the rural lifestyle they had become accustomed to and would soon be swallowed up by Phoenix or Scottsdale, and eventually subdivisions, shopping centers, new zoning laws and property taxes would take over their town.

These concerned residents formed a “Citizens Committee for the Incorporation of The Town of Paradise Valley, Arizona,” who set out with petitions urging residents to join them in their attempt to incorporate Paradise Valley. The residents' main goals were to keep zoning to a one house per acre minimum; to keep the area entirely residential; and to keep government regulation to a minimum. In April 1961, the Citizens Committee for Incorporation presented their petition to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. On May 24, 1961, incorporation was granted and the Town of Paradise Valley was established.

With a population of approximately 2,000, the first Town Council was formed. During the early years of the Town’s history, the Council spent most of its time establishing the Planning and Zoning Commission, the Board of Adjustment, redefining zoning ordinances, and annexing property.

By 1968, the boundaries of the Town of Paradise Valley were pretty well set, with only a few scattered county islands and a handful of neighborhoods adjacent to the Town boundaries that would eventually be annexed. In 2000, with a population over 13,000, only two county islands remain – the community of Clearwater Hills west of Tatum Boulevard and the Franciscan Renewal Center on Lincoln Drive.

Throughout the Town’s 40-year history, the residents have strived to preserve the Town’s original mission – to maintain a residential community in a quiet and country-like setting with little government intervention. The majority of the Town is still zoned for one acre lots with one house per lot.

No multiple housing units or common walls are permitted. Any land use other than residential must be authorized by a Special Use Permit, which may only be granted after public hearings before both the Planning Commission and the Town Council. Some authorized Special Uses are: religious facilities, resorts, medical clinics, stables, golf courses, or private schools.