Provide direction to staff on the proposed Zoning Code Text Amendments.
 

The Zoning Code was adopted by the City Council on November 1, 2011, to replace the former Land Development Code.  Incorporated into the Zoning Code is the Resource Protection Overlay (RPO) that was originally adopted in June 1999.  The intent of the RPO regulations are to maintain and protect existing natural resources, including floodplains, steep slopes, and forests. The most recent amendment to the RPO that is applicable to this application was approved in April 2017.  This amendment modified the Rural Floodplain map to include additional floodplain areas.
 

The proposed amendment is to change the map designation of approximately 1.47 acres from Rural Floodplain to Urban Floodplain on an approximately 4.46-acre parcel located at 3451 East Lake Mary Road (Attachment 1).  The applicant’s narrative and graphics are included as, Attachment 2.

The Zoning Code describes the Rural and Urban Floodplains as:

• Rural Floodplains. Rural floodplains are natural undisturbed open spaces that are unsuitable for development purposes due to periodic flood inundation and the need to preserve the stream corridor for beneficial uses such as the preservation of important ecological resources.
• Urban Floodplains. Urban Floodplains are all watercourses and associated floodplains not defined as rural floodplains. Urban floodplains are typically located in urbanized areas and have typically been altered from their natural state by channelization.

The 1.47-acre area is a man-made watercourse/channel.  This channel was constructed to divert a historical natural watercourse to accommodate development on the northeast side of Lake Mary Road. This amendment will correct the designation from Rural Floodplain to Urban Floodplain.

Findings
At a subsequent meeting, the City Council will be requested to approve the proposed amendments based on the required findings specified in the Zoning Code. For your reference and discussion purposes, the required findings are specified below.

1. The proposed amendment is consistent with and conforms to the objectives and policies of the General Plan and any applicable specific plan;
2. The proposed amendment will not be detrimental to the public interest, health, safety, convenience or welfare of the City; and
3. The proposed amendment is internally consistent with other applicable provisions of this Zoning Code.

Community Involvement
In accordance with State Statute and the Zoning Code, the work session and public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission was advertised in the Arizona Daily Sun on December 21, 2019.  The Planning and Zoning Commission Work Session was held on January 8, 2020.  The Planning and Zoning Commission Public Hearing was held on January 22, 2020.  At its January 22, 2020, public hearing, the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of the proposed amendment with a vote of 7-0. 

Staff has not directly received public comments regarding this application, and there were no public comments made at the Planning and Zoning Commission meetings.  The applicant has received comments from the public, and these are attached as, Attachment #3.

Timeline
The anticipated timeline for the amendments is as follows:

• January 8, 2020 – Planning Commission Work Session
• January 22, 2020 – Planning Commission Public Hearing
• February 18, 2020 – City Council Work Session
• February 22, 2020 – City Council Public Hearing (1st Reading of Ordinance)
• March 3, 2020 – City Council Public Hearing (2nd Reading of Ordinance/Adoption)
• April 3, 2019 – Potential Ordinance Effective Date

Conclusion
As indicated above, the purpose of the work session is for staff and the applicant 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 action by the Council is to occur at the work session.