Hold a work session to allow the City Council and the public to ask questions, seek clarification, have discussions, and offer comments on the proposed amendments.

The proposed amendment (Attachment 1) includes multiple changes to the Zoning Code to resolve conflicts, incorporate technical corrections, add clarity, and to simplify the existing requirements.  New provisions are being added, and several sections of the reference divisions are being modified, relocated, or deleted.
The most significant of the modifications include:

• Clarifying when a Concept Plan application is required;
• Adding expiration time frames for Concept Plan and Site Plan applications and approvals;
• Clarifying when a property owner may submit a Zoning Map Amendment or Zoning Code Text Amendment;
• Allowing the Heritage Preservation Commission to approve less restrictive standards or exceptions to maintain the historic integrity of a historic property with transect zoning;
• Modifications to the equipment screening provisions to require a parapet or roof feature be no shorter than the tallest object being screened, and to require wall-mounted equipment to be screened from surrounding properties, alleys and streets, or to be integrated into the architecture of the building;
• Clarifying the landscape buffer requirements. Also, criteria to alter the required landscape street buffer requirements have been added; and
• Clarifying the location requirements of the transect private street frontage locations when these standards are used in the non-transect zones.

Summary of the Staff Revisions to the Zoning Code:
The proposed amendment includes:

1. Concept Plan Review (Section 10-20.30.050): The submittal requirements for a concept plan review have been revised to include structural modifications instead of non-structural modifications. Also, expiration timeframes of Concept Plan applications have been incorporated.
2. Minor Improvement Permits (Section 10-20.40.080):  Changes have been incorporated to exempt animal keeping shelters that are less than 50 square feet from the Minor Improvement Permit application requirements.
3. Site Plan Review and Approval (Section 10-20.40.140): Expiration timeframes for Site Plan Review applications and associated approvals have been incorporated.
4. Initiation of Amendments (Section 10-20.50.030): Changes have been incorporated clarifying when a property owner may submit a Zoning Map Amendment or Zoning Code Text Amendment.
5. Public Improvements Defined (Section 10-30.50.030): Changes have been incorporated for parkways to be included as a public improvement requirement.
6. Open Spaces, Civic Spaces, and Outdoor Public Spaces (Section 10-30.60.090): Clarification has been incorporated that the area requirements for open spaces, civic spaces, and outdoor public spaces are based on the defined term of Development Site Area.
7. Commercial Zones (Section 10-40.30.040): The land use Kennel, Animal Keeping has been added to the list of allowed uses in the Highway Commercial (HC) zone with a Conditional Use Permit.
8. Building Form and Property Development Standards (Tables 10-40.30.030.C., 10-40.30.040.C., and 10-40.30.050.C.): The building height allowances for pitched roofs, elevator and stairwell bulkheads, and architectural features have been incorporated into the property development standard tables.  Currently, these provisions are in the section regarding the method of determining building height.
9. Supplemental to Zones, Divisions (Chapter 10-50): Division 10-50.25: Basements, Basement Garages, Building Stem Walls, Crawl Spaces, and Podium Parking Structure Walls, including sections therein, have been incorporated.  Currently, these provisions are located in Section 10-50.30.030, How Building Height is Measured. Also, new provisions have been incorporated to accommodate floodplain requirements and walls of a podium parking structure. These provisions require the exterior of the podium parking structure wall to have an architectural finish that is consistent with the rest of the building’s architectural finishes.  Also, the changes allow for greater wall heights when they are needed to raise a residential first floor above the lowest floor requirement in a floodplain.
10. Applicability (Section 10-50.20.020): Clarification has been incorporated regarding building and structure elevations that are subject to Section 10-20.40.140, Site Plan Review and Approval. These elevations shall comply with Section 10-50.20 Architectural Design Standards.
11. How Building Height Is Measured (Section 10-50.30.030): The methodology to measure building height has been modified. Also, several standards of this section are being modified and relocated.
12. General Fencing and Screening Standards (Section 10-50.50.040): The equipment screening requirements have been modified to require a parapet or roof feature be no shorter than the tallest object being screened, and to require wall-mounted equipment to be screened from surrounding properties, alleys and streets, or to be integrated into the architecture of the building.
13. Landscape Location Requirements (Section 10-50.60.040): The landscape buffer requirements have been clarified and modified.  The modifications include the addition of criteria to modify a required landscape street buffer, and that the parking area landscape standards apply to multiple-family residential and nonresidential developments.
14. 10-50.110 Specific to Building Types (Division 10-50.110): The location requirements of the transect private street frontage locations have been clarified when the Commercial Block, Forecourt, Shopfront, Terrace Shopfront, and Gallery are used in the non-transect zones.
15. Definition of Specialized Terms, Phrases, and Building Functions (Division 10-80.20) This division includes modifications, deletions, and the addition of various definitions of the Zoning Code, including: Acreage, Gross; Acreage, Net; Density; Density, Gross; Development, Multiple-Family; Development Site; Development Site Area; Duplex, Finished Grade, Floor Area Ratio, Gross (GFAR); Industrial, Heavy – General; Key Lot; Micro-brewery or Micro-distillery; Natural Grade; Outdoor Storage or Display, and Yard, Railroad Shop.
16. Additional Enforcement, Technical, Figure and Term Modifications (Division 10-50.110 and Sections: 10-20.40.090, 10-20.50.040, 10-40.30.030, 10-40.30.050, 10-40.50.030, 10-50.50.030, 10-50.60.010, 10-50.80.040, 10-50.100.050, 10-50.100.100, 10-50.90.060, and Appendix 2):  Various technical, enforcement, and cross reference corrections, clarifications, and modifications have been incorporated.

Community Involvement
In accordance with State Statute and the Zoning Code, the Planning and Zoning Commission work session and public hearing for this amendment were advertised in the Arizona Daily Sun on December 21, 2020. The City Council work session and subsequent public hearings were advertised in the Arizona Daily Sun on February 29, 2020. Also, persons of interest that are on file with the Planning and Development Services Department were notified of the work sessions and hearings via first class mail.

As of the date of this report, the staff has received a set of public comments and considerations. These are included as Attachment 2.  To address public comments, several revisions to the proposed amendment have been incorporated.  These include:

1. Clarification pertaining to the density allowance for commercially zoned properties in the Resource Protection Overlay and inside of a pedestrian shed of an activity center delineated on the General Plan was added to Section 14. (Table 10-40.30.040.C. Gross Density) of Attachment #1.
2. Clarification pertaining to the building height exceptions for stairwells and elevators was relocated from the method of measuring building height and added to Section 12 (Table 10-40.30.030.C., End Notes 8 and 9), Section 14 (Table 10-40.30.040.C., End Notes 9 and 10), and Section 16 (Table 10-40.30.050.C., End Notes 8 and 9) of Attachment #1.
3. A modification has been made in Section 24 (Section 10-50.25.020. A.) of Attachment #1 to change the maximum height of an exposed basement and basement garage wall from nine feet to ten feet.  Ten feet allows for an eight-foot floor-to-ceiling height and a two-foot floor depth.  Additional heights would be inconsistent with the Zoning Code’s Site and Architectural design guidelines that require a building to be stepped to follow the natural terrain.
4.  A modification has been made in Section 24 (Section 10-50.25.020. A. and C.) of Attachment #1 to the provisions for materials and colors used on an exposed basement or basement garage wall and a podium parking structure exterior wall. The requirement for consistent materials and colors has been changed to allow the Planning Director to approve alternative materials and colors that are consistent with the design of the building, provided that the alternative materials and colors maintain a consistent design theme. This modification allows for additional flexibility in the designer’s choice of materials and colors near the grade to address weather and similar environmental considerations while maintaining a consistent design theme.  
5. Provisions that allow the Planning Director to approve greater stem wall and crawl space heights for residential building areas in a floodplain have been incorporated into Section 24 (Section 10-50.25.020. B.) of Attachment #1.  In accordance with Title 12 Floodplains of the City Code, the lowest finished floor of a residential area is required to be elevated above the regulatory floodplain elevation.  The addition of this provision will allow compliance with Title 12.

As it pertains to the comments received regarding the landscape buffer widths, with minimal exceptions adjacent to Route 66 in the Downtown, the staff opines that the proposed landscape buffer requirements are consistent with the suggested modifications.  It is anticipated that the Zoning Code requirements pertaining to the Downtown, and adjacent to Route 66 will be reviewed as part of a future amendment.

Finally, the proposed modification to the triplex lot width (from 50 feet to 75 feet) and length (from 75 feet to 100 feet) requirement is in response to public comments that staff has received during the Southside Specific Plan and the High Occupancy Housing text amendment public outreach meetings. Also, some members of the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council have requested that the referenced requirements be reviewed. 

The existing building type requirements for a triplex and duplex are the same. Due to having the same standards for different intensity developments, the general consensus among the public comments is that the existing provisions have resulted in developments that are inconsistent and out of scale with the existing development patterns.  The proposed modifications will result in a lot area requirement that is consistent with other three-unit developments on a property with non-transect zoning.  Based on public comments, the additional area would allow for a greater proportional lot width to height ratio that is perceived to be more compatible.

Conclusion:
As indicated above, the purpose of the work session is for staff to present an overview of the proposed amendments to the Zoning Code and to allow interested individuals, residents, and business owners to provide comments.  Also, the work session is to allow for the City Council to ask questions, seek clarification, have discussions, and offer comments on the proposed amendments. No formal recommendation or action by the City Council is to occur at the work session.  Additional opportunities for discussion, public comment, and action by the City Council will occur at a future public hearing.