County planning commission to review new zoning ordinance

Where were you in 1962? Were you in elementary school? Dancing the twist? Attending the Seattle World’s Fair? Pinal County is asking this because 1962 was the year that the current zoning ordinance was approved.

The zoning ordinance is the legal document used to control and manage land use and development in the county. The problem with this 45-year-old document is that it has had only minor changes since it was approved.

So much has changed in the county and in the development world that the existing ordinance no longer works as well as it should. For example, when the ordinance was approved, you could not listen to Chubby Checker on your cell phone because there were no cellular telephones. Now, most people have a cell phone, and they want to be able to use their phones everywhere. The existing ordinance does not address cellular telephones nor does it protect people’s views from unsightly antennas.

On Thursday, Sept. 20, the Planning Commission will be holding a study session to review the first draft of a new Zoning Ordinance for Pinal County. This rewrite has been directed by the Planning Commission and managed by county staff. “Members of the Commission spent many hours in subcommittees laying the ground work for this document,” said Planning Director David Kuhl. “Over the past two years, staff has taken the commission’s thoughts and done the technical work necessary to create a new ordinance.”

The new zoning ordinance will address cellular telephones and many other issues, which our citizens have told us are important to them. Also, people from throughout the county want to preserve their view of the stars by maintaining a dark night sky. This new ordinance will allow the county to regulate lighting on private property.

Although there is no adult entertainment currently in the county, Pinal County is being proactive with the new ordinance. The new language gives the county much greater enforcement powers than they had in the past to manage adult entertainment establishments.

Probably the most important aspect of the new ordinance is implementing what citizens have been telling county staff in many public meetings stretching over many years: do a better job with open space! Citizens are very concerned that not enough land is being set aside for open space. They are also concerned that the open space currently being set aside does not have places where they and their children can recreate. The new Zoning Ordinance will require that more open space is set aside and that park facilities are constructed early in the life of all residential developments.

Anyone who is interested in the new zoning ordinance is welcome to attend any of the upcoming meetings, study sessions or hearings. Citizens are welcome to speak at the meetings and the hearings but will only be able to listen at the study sessions. There will be information available on the county’s Web site under Planning and Development. Residents may also call Carol Lee Sherwood, Project Manager, at (520) 866-6684.