Proposed amendments to the Zoning Code include:

• Building Placement (Section 10-40.30.040.C): Reduce the side setback from 15-feet to 10-feet for commercial uses adjacent to residential uses within the Suburban Commercial (SC) and Community Commercial (CC) zones to better address development on existing lots, which are typically 50-feet wide.
• ADA Parking (Section 10-50.80.080.C): Clarify that the depth of an ADA parking stall is 18-feet, which is similar to a standard parking space.
• Accessory Dwelling Units (Sections 10-40.60.030 and 10-80.20.010): Create a definition for attached and detached ADUs, create standards for how an ADU is attached to the primary dwelling, and clarify the amenities that must be included within an ADU.
• Places of Worship (Sections 10-40.30, 10-40.40, 10-40.60, 10-50.80, and 10-80.20.120): Create a new land use classification, parking standard, and definition for Places of Worship that incorporates all religious uses into the definition and permit the use in all zoning districts.
• Lot Width (Section 10-80.20.120): Revise the definition of lot width to address the creation of irregularly shaped lots.
• Rural Floodplain Map (Section 10-90.40.030): Revise the Rural Floodplain Map back to the boundaries of the 1991 Rural Floodplain Map, which was inadvertently changed during the 2011 Zoning Code rewrite, and add newly identified floodplain to the map.

 

The City Council adopted the Zoning Code on November 1, 2011 to replace the former Land Development Code.  It is important to note that no code can ever be perfect or account for every development scenario.  Codes evolve over time and must adapt to the changing environment.  Over the past five years of working with the Zoning Code, staff (i.e. planning, engineering, traffic, stormwater, housing, legal, legal, etc.) have documented sections of the Zoning Code where possible amendments would be required.  Also, ideas for amendments have been submitted by residents, developers, and design professionals, and these have been compiled with staff’s list of possible revisions.  Amending a code as complex as the Zoning Code can be an arduous task.  Compiling amendments into large blocks can take years to process and make the discussion of the content difficult for staff, the public, the Planning Commission, and the City Council.  Moving forward, staff will present smaller packages of amendments each containing only a limited number of topics in an effort to make the discussion more focused and meaningful.

Since the 2011 adoption of the Zoning Code, the following amendments have been reviewed by the Planning and Zoning Commission and eventually adopted by the City Council:
 
1.   Division 10-20.50 (Amendments to the Zoning Code Text and the Zoning Map): adopted on November 5, 2013, Ord. No. 2013-21.  These amendments established a new process and procedure for zone changes.
 
2.   Section 10-50.100.080.E (Flagstaff Mall and Marketplace District): adopted on November 5, 2013, Ord. No. 2013-22.  These amendments allowed for the installation of a new monument sign for the Flagstaff Mall and Marketplace District.
 
3.   Division 10-50.100 (Sign Standards): adopted on November 18, 2014, Ord. No. 2014-27.  These amendments to the City's sign standards addressed concerns from the City Council and local residents with the complexity of the former sign standards, especially for building mounted signs, and for the proliferation of temporary signs within the City.
 
4.   Division 10-20.100 (Assurance of Performance for Construction): adopted on March 4, 2015, Ord. No. 2015-01.  These amendments updated the standards and procedures regarding assurances for construction.
 
5.   Section 10-40.30.050 (Industrial Uses) and Sections 10-80.20.060 (Definitions, “F.”) and 10-80.20.200 (Definitions, “T.”): adopted on May 5, 2015, Ord. No. 2015-03.  These amendments to the industrial zones, Table B, Allowed Uses, and in the definitions clarify that freight and trucking facilities are a permitted use in the RD (Research and Development Zone.
 
6.   Comprehensive suite of amendments throughout the Zoning Code under Ordinance 2016-07 adopted on February 16, 2016 comprising mostly minor clarifications and corrections, but also some significant amendments to Section 10-40.40.030 to allow single-family dwellings and duplexes by right in the CC Zone, Section 10-40.60.260 (Mixed Use) and 10-40.60.280 (Planned Residential Development), Section 10-50.80.080 (Parking Spaces, Parking Lot Design and Layout) and in Division 10-50.110 to add two new building types; apartment building and stacked triplex.
 
7.   Division 10-50.100 (Sign Standards): adopted on June 21, 2016, Ord. No. 2016-22.  These amendments reconciled the sign standards with the US Supreme Court’s decision in the Reed v. Town of Gilbert.