Requesting Council direction on final plat process updates due to AZ Senate Bill 1103 (A.R.S. 9-500.49). (Katie Wilken, Development Services Director)

There is no budget impact associated with this project.

Senate Bill 1103 was signed into law last year. This bill made a change to State Statute (A.R.S. 9-500.49) to allow for the administrative review and approval of final plats. In the city of Goodyear, the final plat process is governed by the City Code, Chapter 15 Subdivision Regulations. All final plats and right-of-way dedications require review and approval by Council, except for minor land divisions which consist of three or fewer lots.

In response to the change in state law, the League of Arizona Cities and Towns created a model ordinance and distributed to cities and towns which included:

• Administrative approval for final plats with 100 or fewer lots.
• Any right-of-way dedications must meet city standards but are administratively approved.
• Drainage facilities must meet city standards.
• Council approval is required for final plats with more than 100 lots, non-standard right-of-way dedications, or non-standard drainage facilities.
• Amendments modifying lot lines can be administrative if the total number of lots does not increase.

Earlier this year, the city of Phoenix adopted changes to their final plat process and authorized its Planning and Development Director to approve all final plats, including right-of-way dedications. The town of Queen Creek has followed this example and also recently adopted a fully administrative process similar to Phoenix. The cities of Buckeye, Gilbert, Glendale, Maricopa, Mesa, Peoria, and Surprise are all currently reviewing their own processes and may amend their codes later this year as well.

The FY25-27 Strategic Plan includes a goal to “evaluate processes to streamline the development timeline.” Final Plat applications do not require a public hearing or the additional public notice associated with a public hearing and are typically approved on the Council's consent agenda. Final plats have generally not been requested to be removed from the consent agenda by Council or the public and have been approved with the staff-recommended stipulations. Staff anticipates that a more administrative plat approval process will result in substantial time savings in the development review process while still being able to ensure these developments meet applicable codes and ordinances.