REFERENCE TITLE: rezoning; administrative act; referral prohibited State of Arizona Senate Fifty-seventh Legislature First Regular Session 2025 SB 1352 Introduced by Senator Gowan An Act amending sections 9-462.01, 11-814, 19-141 and 19-142, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to county zoning. (TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
REFERENCE TITLE: rezoning; administrative act; referral prohibited
State of Arizona Senate Fifty-seventh Legislature First Regular Session 2025
SB 1352
Introduced by Senator Gowan
REFERENCE TITLE: rezoning; administrative act; referral prohibited
State of Arizona
Senate
Fifty-seventh Legislature
First Regular Session
2025
SB 1352
Introduced by
Senator Gowan
An Act
amending sections 9-462.01, 11-814, 19-141 and 19-142, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to county zoning.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona: Section 1. Section 9-462.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read: START_STATUTE9-462.01. Zoning regulations; public hearing; definitions A. Pursuant to this article, the legislative body of any municipality by ordinance, in order to conserve and promote the public health, safety and general welfare, may: 1. Regulate the use of buildings, structures and land as between agriculture, residence, industry, business and other purposes. 2. Regulate signs and billboards. 3. Regulate the location, height, bulk, number of stories and size of buildings and structures, the size and use of lots, yards, courts and other open spaces, the percentage of a lot that may be occupied by a building or structure, access to incident solar energy and the intensity of land use. 4. Establish requirements for off-street parking and loading. 5. Establish and maintain building setback lines. 6. Create civic districts around civic centers, public parks, public buildings or public grounds and establish regulations for the civic districts. 7. Require as a condition of rezoning public dedication of rights-of-way as streets, alleys, public ways, drainage and public utilities as are reasonably required by or related to the effect of the rezoning. 8. Establish floodplain zoning districts and regulations to protect life and property from the hazards of periodic inundation. Regulations may include variable lot sizes, special grading or drainage requirements, or other requirements deemed necessary for the public health, safety or general welfare. 9. Establish special zoning districts or regulations for certain lands characterized by adverse topography, adverse soils, subsidence of the earth, high water table, lack of water or other natural or man-made hazards to life or property. Regulations may include variable lot sizes, special grading or drainage requirements, or other requirements deemed necessary for the public health, safety or general welfare. 10. Establish districts of historical significance provided that: (a) The ordinances may require that special permission be obtained for any development within the district if the legislative body has adopted a plan for the preservation of districts of historical significance that meets the requirements of subdivision (b) of this paragraph, and the criteria contained in the ordinance are consistent with the objectives set forth in the plan. (b) A plan for the preservation of districts of historical significance shall identify districts of special historical significance, state the objectives to be sought concerning the development or preservation of sites, area and structures within the district, and formulate a program for public action, including providing public facilities and regulating private development and demolition necessary to realize these objectives. (c) The ordinance establishing districts of historical significance shall set forth standards necessary to preserve the historical character of the area so designated. (d) The ordinances may designate or authorize any committee, commission, department or person to designate structures or sites of special historical significance in accordance with criteria contained in the ordinance, and no designation shall be made except after a public hearing on notice of the owners of record of the property designated of special historical significance. The ordinances may require that special permission be obtained for any development respecting the structures or sites. 11. Establish age-specific community zoning districts in which residency is restricted to a head of a household or spouse who must be of a specific age or older and in which minors are prohibited from living in the home. Age-specific community zoning districts shall not be overlaid over property without the permission of all owners of property included as part of the district unless all of the property in the district has been developed, advertised and sold or rented under specific age restrictions. The establishment of age-specific community zoning districts is subject to all of the public notice requirements and other procedures prescribed by this article. 12. Establish procedures, methods and standards for the transfer of development rights within its jurisdiction. Any proposed transfer of development rights from the sending property or to the receiving property shall be subject to the notice and hearing requirements of section 9-462.04 and shall be subject to the approval and consent of the property owners of both the sending and receiving property. Before any transfer of development rights, a municipality shall adopt an ordinance providing for: (a) The issuance and recordation of the instruments necessary to sever development rights from the sending property and to affix development rights to the receiving property. These instruments shall be executed by the affected property owners and lienholders. (b) The preservation of the character of the sending property and assurance that the prohibitions against the use and development of the sending property shall bind the landowner and every successor in interest to the landowner. (c) The severance of transferable development rights from the sending property and the delayed transfer of development rights to a receiving property. (d) The purchase, sale, exchange or other conveyance of transferable development rights before the rights being affixed to a receiving property. (e) A system for monitoring the severance, ownership, assignment and transfer of transferable development rights. (f) The right of a municipality to purchase development rights and to hold them for resale. (g) The right of a municipality at its discretion to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with another municipality or a county for the transfer of development rights between jurisdictions. The transfer shall comply with this paragraph, except that if the sending property is located in an unincorporated area of a county, the approval of the development rights to be sent to a municipality shall comply with section 11-817. B. For the purposes of subsection A of this section, the legislative body may divide a municipality, or portion of a municipality, into zones of the number, shape and area it deems best suited to carry out the purpose of this article and articles 6, 6.2 and 6.3 of this chapter. C. All zoning regulations shall be uniform for each class or kind of building or use of land throughout each zone, but the regulations in one type of zone may differ from those in other types of zones as follows: 1. Within individual zones, there may be uses permitted on a conditional basis under which additional requirements must be met, including requiring site plan review and approval by the planning agency. The conditional uses are generally characterized by any of the following: (a) Infrequency of use. (b) High degree of traffic generation. (c) Requirement of large land area. 2. Within residential zones, the regulations may permit modifications to minimum yard lot area and height requirements. D. To carry out the purposes of this article and articles 6 and 6.2 of this chapter, the legislative body may adopt overlay zoning districts and regulations applicable to particular buildings, structures and land within individual zones. For the purposes of this subsection, "overlay zoning district" means a special zoning district that includes regulations that modify regulations in another zoning district with which the overlay zoning district is combined. Overlay zoning districts and regulations shall be adopted pursuant to section 9-462.04. E. The legislative body may approve a change of zone conditioned on a schedule for development of the specific use or uses for which rezoning is requested. If, at the expiration of this period, the property has not been improved for the use for which it was conditionally approved, the legislative body, after notification by certified mail to the owner and applicant who requested the rezoning, shall schedule a public hearing to take administrative action to extend, remove or determine compliance with the schedule for development or take legislative action to cause the property to revert to its former zoning classification. F. All zoning and rezoning ordinances or regulations adopted under this article shall be consistent with and conform to the adopted general plan of the municipality, if any, as adopted under article 6 of this chapter. In the case of uncertainty in construing or applying the conformity of any part of a proposed rezoning ordinance to the adopted general plan of the municipality, the ordinance shall be construed in a manner that will further the implementation of, and not be contrary to, the goals, policies and applicable elements of the general plan. A rezoning ordinance conforms with the land use element of the general plan if it proposes land uses, densities or intensities within the range of identified uses, densities and intensities of the land use element of the general plan. G. A regulation or ordinance under this section may not prevent or restrict agricultural composting on farmland that is five or more contiguous acres and that meets the requirements of this subsection. An agricultural composting operation shall notify in writing the legislative body of the municipality and the nearest fire department of the location of the composting operation. If the nearest fire department is located in a different municipality from the agricultural composting operation, the agricultural composting operation shall also notify in writing the fire department of the municipality in which the operation is located. Agricultural composting is subject to sections 3-112 and 49-141. Agricultural composting may not be conducted within one thousand three hundred twenty feet of an existing residential use, unless the operations are conducted on farmland or land leased in association with farmland. Any disposal of manure shall comply with section 49-247. For the purposes of this subsection: 1. "Agricultural composting" means the controlled biological decomposition of organic solid waste under in-vessel anaerobic or aerobic conditions where all or part of the materials are generated on the farmland or will be used on the farmland associated with the agricultural composting operation. 2. "Farmland" has the same meaning prescribed in section 3-111 and is subject to regulation under section 49-247. H. A municipality may not adopt a land use regulation or impose any condition for issuance of a building or use permit or other approval that violates section 9-461.16. I. In accordance with article II, sections 1 and 2, Constitution of Arizona, the legislative body of a municipality shall consider the individual property rights and personal liberties of the residents of the municipality before adopting any zoning ordinance. J. Before adopting any zoning ordinance or zoning ordinance text amendment of general applicability, the legislative body of a municipality shall consider a housing impact statement regarding the impact of the zoning ordinance or zoning ordinance text amendment that shall include: 1. A general estimate of the probable impact on the average cost to construct housing for sale or rent within the zoning districts to which the zoning ordinance or text amendment applies. 2. A description of any data or reference material on which the proposed zoning ordinance or text amendment is based. 3. A description of any less costly or less restrictive alternative methods of achieving the purpose of the proposed zoning ordinance or text amendment. K. A municipality may not adopt or enforce a land use regulation that requires the property on which a nongovernmental primary or secondary school operates to be larger than one acre. l. Notwithstanding any other law, the approval by the legislative body of an application for rezoning pursuant to this section is an administrative act and is not subject to the filing of a referendum petition by a person or organization. The approval by the legislative body of an application for rezoning pursuant to this section is all of the following: 1. of a temporary and special character. 2. Pursuing a plan already adopted by the municipality. 3. Of a specific and limited application. L. m. For the purposes of this section: 1. "Development rights" means the maximum development that would be allowed on the sending property under any general or specific plan and local zoning ordinance of a municipality in effect on the date the municipality adopts an ordinance pursuant to subsection A, paragraph 12 of this section respecting the permissible use, area, bulk or height of improvements made to the lot or parcel. Development rights may be calculated and allocated in accordance with factors including dwelling units, area, floor area, floor area ratio, height limitations, traffic generation or any other criteria that will quantify a value for the development rights in a manner that will carry out the objectives of this section. 2. "Receiving property" means a lot or parcel within which development rights are increased pursuant to a transfer of development rights. Receiving property shall be appropriate and suitable for development and shall be sufficient to accommodate the transferable development rights of the sending property without substantial adverse environmental, economic or social impact to the receiving property or to neighboring property. 3. "Sending property" means a lot or parcel with special characteristics, including farmland, woodland, desert land, mountain land, floodplain, natural habitats, recreation or parkland, including golf course area, or land that has unique aesthetic, architectural or historic value that a municipality desires to protect from future development. 4. "Transfer of development rights" means the process by which development rights from a sending property are affixed to one or more receiving properties. END_STATUTE Sec. 2. Section 11-814, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read: START_STATUTE11-814. Rezoning; conditional zoning change; notice; hearing; citizen review; administrative act; definition A. All rezonings adopted under this article shall be consistent with and conform to the adopted comprehensive plan. In the case of uncertainty in constructing or applying the conformity of any part of a proposed rezoning to the adopted comprehensive plan, the rezoning shall be construed in a manner that will further the implementation of, and not be contrary to, the goals, policies and applicable elements of the comprehensive plan. A rezoning conforms with the comprehensive plan if it proposes land uses, densities or intensities within the range of identified uses, densities and intensities of the comprehensive plan. B. A property owner or authorized agent of a property owner desiring a rezoning shall file an application for the rezoning. C. The commission, on its own motion, may propose a rezoning and, after holding a public hearing as required by this chapter, may transmit the proposal to the board, which shall proceed as prescribed in this chapter for any other rezoning. D. On receipt of the application, the board shall submit the application to the commission for a report. Before reporting to the board, the commission shall hold at least one public hearing after giving at least fifteen days' notice of the hearing by one publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the county seat and by posting of the area included in the proposed rezoning. If the matter to be considered applies to territory in a high noise or accident potential zone as defined in section 28-8461, the notice shall include a general statement that the matter applies to property located in the high noise or accident potential zone. The posting shall be in not less than two places with at least one notice for each quarter mile of frontage along perimeter public rights-of-way so that the notices are visible from the nearest public right-of-way. The commission shall also send notice by first class mail to each real property owner as shown on the last assessment of the property within three hundred feet of the proposed rezoning and each county and municipality that is contiguous to the area of the proposed rezoning. In proceedings involving rezoning of land that is located within territory in the vicinity of a military airport or ancillary military facility as defined in section 28-8461 or an influence area of a military installation or range or Arizona national guard site, the commission shall send copies of the notice of public hearing by first class mail to the military airport, or the military installation or range or Arizona national guard site as applicable. The notice sent by mail shall include, at a minimum, the date, time and place of the hearing on the proposed rezoning, including a general explanation of the matter to be considered and a general description of the area of the proposed rezoning. For those counties with five or more supervisors, the notice must include a general description of how the real property owners within the zoning area may file approvals or protests of the proposed rezoning, and notification that if twenty percent of the property owners by area and number within the zoning area file protests, an affirmative vote of three-fourths of all members of the board will be required to approve the rezoning. In proceedings that are initiated by the commission involving rezoning, notice by first class mail shall be sent to each real property owner, as shown on the last assessment of the property, of the area to be rezoned and all property owners, as shown on the last assessment of the property, within three hundred feet of the property to be rezoned. For the purposes of this subsection, "influence area" and "military installation or range or Arizona national guard site" have the same meanings prescribed in section 11-818.01. E. If the commission or hearing officer has held a public hearing, the board may adopt the recommendations of the commission or hearing officer through use of a consent calendar without holding a second public hearing if there is no objection, request for public hearing or other protest. If there is an objection, a request for public hearing or a protest, the board shall hold a public hearing at least fifteen days' notice of which shall be given by one publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the county seat and by posting the area included in the proposed rezoning. In counties with territory in the vicinity of a military airport or ancillary military facility as defined in section 28-8461, the board shall hold a public hearing if, after notice is mailed to the military airport pursuant to subsection D of this section and before the public hearing, the military airport provides comments or analysis concerning the compatibility of the proposed rezoning with the high noise or accident potential generated by military airport or ancillary military facility operations that may have an adverse impact on public health and safety, and the board shall consider and analyze the comments or analysis before making a final determination. After holding the hearing, the board may adopt the rezoning by a majority vote of the board for those counties with fewer than five supervisors, or for those counties with five or more supervisors if a protest has not been filed. If twenty percent of the owners of property by area and number within the zoning area file a protest to the proposed rezoning, the change shall not be made except by a three-fourths vote of all members of the board for those counties with five or more supervisors. If any members of the board are unable to vote on the question because of a conflict of interest, the required number of votes for the passage of the question is three-fourths of the remaining membership of the board for those counties with five or more supervisors, except that the required number of votes shall not be less than a majority of the full membership of the board. In calculating the owners by area, only that portion of a lot or parcel of record situated within three hundred feet of the property to be rezoned shall be included. In calculating the owners by number or area, county property and public rights-of-way shall not be included. F. The board of supervisors shall adopt by ordinance a citizen review process that applies to all rezoning and specific zoning plan applications that require a public hearing. The citizen review process shall include at least the following requirements: 1. Adjacent landowners and other potentially affected citizens will be notified of the application. 2. The county will inform adjacent landowners and other potentially affected citizens of the substance of the proposed rezoning. 3. Adjacent landowners and other potentially affected citizens will be provided an opportunity to express any issues or concerns that they may have with the proposed rezoning before the public hearing. G. The rezoning or subdivision plat of any unincorporated area completely surrounded by a city or town shall use as a guideline the adopted general plan and standards as prescribed in the subdivision and zoning ordinances of the city or town. H. The board or commission, before taking any action on a rezoning or subdivision plat in an area as prescribed in subsection G of this section, may require the affected city or town to supply information to allow the county to meet the guideline. If an affected city or town objects to any such proposed action, the board or commission shall prescribe in the minutes of the meeting specific reasons why in its opinion the guideline is actually being followed or why it is not practicable to follow the guideline of the general plan. I. The board may approve a change of zone conditioned on a schedule for development of the specific use or uses for which rezoning is requested. If at the expiration of this period the property has not been improved for the use for which it was conditionally approved, the board after notification by certified mail to the owner and applicant who requested the rezoning shall schedule a public hearing to grant an extension, determine compliance with the schedule for development or cause the property to revert to its former zoning classification. J. The legislature finds that a rezoning of land that changes the zoning classification of the land or that restricts the use or reduces the value of the land is a matter of statewide concern. Such a change in zoning that is initiated by the governing body or zoning body shall not be made without the express written consent of the property owner. In applying an open space element or a growth element of a comprehensive plan, a parcel of land shall not be rezoned for open space, recreation, conservation or agriculture unless the owner of the land consents to the rezoning in writing. For the purposes of this subsection, rezoning does not include the creation or expansion of overlay zones solely for the purpose of implementing airport safety and protection. Rezoning also does not include the redesignation of areas of the county to which the residential provisions of the county building codes apply or do not apply. The county shall not adopt any change in a zoning classification to circumvent the purpose of this subsection. K. Notwithstanding title 19, chapter 1, article 4, a decision by the governing body involving rezoning of land that is not owned by the county and that changes the zoning classification of the land may not be enacted as an emergency measure and such a change shall not be effective for at least thirty days after final approval of the change in classification by the board. Unless a resident files a written objection with the board of supervisors, the rezoning may be enacted as an emergency measure that becomes effective immediately by a four-fifths majority vote of the board for those counties with five or more supervisors or a two-thirds majority vote of the board for those counties with fewer than five supervisors. l. Notwithstanding any other law, the approval by the board of an application for rezoning pursuant to this section is an administrative act and is not subject to the filing of a referendum petition by a person or organization. The approval by the board of an application for rezoning pursuant to this section is all of the following: 1. of a temporary and special character. 2. Pursuing a plan already adopted by the county. 3. Of a specific and limited application. L. m. For the purposes of this section, "zoning area" means the area within three hundred feet of the proposed amendment or change. END_STATUTE Sec. 3. Section 19-141, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read: START_STATUTE19-141. Initiative and referendum in counties, cities and towns A. This chapter applies to the legislation of cities, towns and counties, except as specifically provided to the contrary in this article. The duties required of the secretary of state as to state legislation shall be performed in connection with such legislation by the city or town clerk, county officer in charge of elections or person performing the duties as such. The duties required of the governor shall be performed by the mayor or the chairman of the board of supervisors, the duties required of the attorney general shall be performed by the city, town or county attorney, and the printing and binding of measures and arguments shall be paid for by the city, town or county in like manner as payment is provided for by the state with respect to state legislation. The provisions of section 19-124 with respect to the legislative council analysis do not apply in connection with initiatives and referenda in cities, towns and counties. The printing shall be done in the same manner as other municipal or county printing is done. B. Distribution of pamphlets shall be made to every household containing a registered voter in the city, town or county by the city or town clerk or by the county officer in charge of elections by mail before the earliest date for receipt by registered voters of any requested early ballot for the election at which the measures are to be voted on. If the pamphlet is not mailed before the earliest date for receipt of a requested early ballot, the officer in charge of elections shall provide a notice with the early ballots stating when the pamphlets will be mailed and where and when the pamphlets may be accessed or viewed. Any contract for pamphlet publication or mailing, or both, shall provide for the contractor to pay a penalty for each day of mailing that occurs on or after the earliest date for receipt of requested early ballots. The penalty shall be one cent $.01 for each household with a registered voter for each day of late mailing, and the monies shall be paid to the office of the officer in charge of elections. Pamphlets shall not be mailed or carried less than ten days before the election at which the measures are to be voted upon on. C. Arguments supporting or opposing municipal or county initiative and referendum measures shall be filed with the city or town clerk or the county officer in charge of elections not less than ninety days before the election at which they are to be voted upon on. D. The procedure with respect to municipal and county legislation shall be as nearly as practicable the same as the procedure relating to initiative and referendum provided for the state at large, except the procedure for verifying signatures on initiative or referendum petitions may be established by a city or town by charter or ordinance. E. References in this section to duties to be performed by city or town officers apply only with respect to municipal legislation, and references to duties to be performed by county officers apply only with respect to county legislation. F. The duties required of the county recorder with respect to state legislation shall also be performed by the county recorder with respect to municipal or county legislation. g. Notwithstanding any other law, an application for rezoning that is approved by the board of supervisors of a county is considered an ADMINISTRATIVE act pursuant to section 11-814 and is not subject to the filing of a referendum petition by a person or organization. END_STATUTE Sec. 4. Section 19-142, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read: START_STATUTE19-142. Referendum petitions against municipal actions; emergency measures; zoning actions A. The whole number of votes cast at the citywide or townwide election at which a mayor or councilmen were chosen last preceding the submission of the application for a referendum petition against an ordinance, franchise or resolution shall be the basis on which the number of electors of the city or town required to file a referendum petition shall be computed. For the purposes of this section, a citywide or townwide election is an election at which all of the qualified electors of a city or town are eligible to vote for a mayor or members of the city or town council. The petition shall be filed with the city or town clerk within thirty days after passage of the ordinance, resolution or franchise. B. A city or town ordinance, resolution or franchise shall not become operative until thirty days after its passage by the council and approval by the mayor, unless it is passed over the mayor's veto, and then it shall not become operative until thirty days after final approval and until certification by the clerk of the city or town of the minutes of the meeting at which the action was taken, except emergency measures necessary for the immediate preservation of the peace, health or safety of the city or town. An emergency measure shall not become immediately operative unless it states in a separate section the reason why it is necessary that it should become immediately operative, and unless it is approved by the affirmative vote of three-fourths of all the members elected to the city or town council, taken by ayes and noes, and also approved by the mayor. C. At the time a person or organization intending to file a referendum petition against an ordinance or resolution applies for the issuance of an official number pursuant to section 19-111, the city or town clerk shall provide such person or organization with a full and correct copy of the ordinance or resolution in the form as finally adopted. If the copy of the ordinance or resolution proposed as a referendum is not available to such person or organization at the time of making application for an official number or on the same business day as the application is submitted, the thirty-day period prescribed in subsection A of this section begins on the day that the ordinance or resolution is available from the city or town clerk, and the ordinance or resolution shall not become operative until thirty days after the ordinance or resolution is available. D. Notwithstanding subsection C of this section, a person or organization may file a referendum petition against the rezoning of a parcel of property on the approval by the city or town council of the ordinance that adopts the rezoning or on the approval of that portion of the minutes of the city or town council that includes the council's approval of the rezoning, whichever occurs first. The thirty day period prescribed in subsection A of this section begins on the day that the rezoning ordinance or approved minutes or portion of the approved minutes are available from the city or town clerk and the ordinance is not operative until thirty days after the ordinance or minutes are available. d. Notwithstanding any other law, an application for rezoning that is approved by the governing body of a municipality is considered an ADMINISTRATIVE act pursuant to section 9-462.01 and is not subject to the filing of a referendum petition by a person or organization. END_STATUTE
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 9-462.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE9-462.01. Zoning regulations; public hearing; definitions
A. Pursuant to this article, the legislative body of any municipality by ordinance, in order to conserve and promote the public health, safety and general welfare, may:
1. Regulate the use of buildings, structures and land as between agriculture, residence, industry, business and other purposes.
2. Regulate signs and billboards.
3. Regulate the location, height, bulk, number of stories and size of buildings and structures, the size and use of lots, yards, courts and other open spaces, the percentage of a lot that may be occupied by a building or structure, access to incident solar energy and the intensity of land use.
4. Establish requirements for off-street parking and loading.
5. Establish and maintain building setback lines.
6. Create civic districts around civic centers, public parks, public buildings or public grounds and establish regulations for the civic districts.
7. Require as a condition of rezoning public dedication of rights-of-way as streets, alleys, public ways, drainage and public utilities as are reasonably required by or related to the effect of the rezoning.
8. Establish floodplain zoning districts and regulations to protect life and property from the hazards of periodic inundation. Regulations may include variable lot sizes, special grading or drainage requirements, or other requirements deemed necessary for the public health, safety or general welfare.
9. Establish special zoning districts or regulations for certain lands characterized by adverse topography, adverse soils, subsidence of the earth, high water table, lack of water or other natural or man-made hazards to life or property. Regulations may include variable lot sizes, special grading or drainage requirements, or other requirements deemed necessary for the public health, safety or general welfare.
10. Establish districts of historical significance provided that:
(a) The ordinances may require that special permission be obtained for any development within the district if the legislative body has adopted a plan for the preservation of districts of historical significance that meets the requirements of subdivision (b) of this paragraph, and the criteria contained in the ordinance are consistent with the objectives set forth in the plan.
(b) A plan for the preservation of districts of historical significance shall identify districts of special historical significance, state the objectives to be sought concerning the development or preservation of sites, area and structures within the district, and formulate a program for public action, including providing public facilities and regulating private development and demolition necessary to realize these objectives.
(c) The ordinance establishing districts of historical significance shall set forth standards necessary to preserve the historical character of the area so designated.
(d) The ordinances may designate or authorize any committee, commission, department or person to designate structures or sites of special historical significance in accordance with criteria contained in the ordinance, and no designation shall be made except after a public hearing on notice of the owners of record of the property designated of special historical significance. The ordinances may require that special permission be obtained for any development respecting the structures or sites.
11. Establish age-specific community zoning districts in which residency is restricted to a head of a household or spouse who must be of a specific age or older and in which minors are prohibited from living in the home. Age-specific community zoning districts shall not be overlaid over property without the permission of all owners of property included as part of the district unless all of the property in the district has been developed, advertised and sold or rented under specific age restrictions. The establishment of age-specific community zoning districts is subject to all of the public notice requirements and other procedures prescribed by this article.
12. Establish procedures, methods and standards for the transfer of development rights within its jurisdiction. Any proposed transfer of development rights from the sending property or to the receiving property shall be subject to the notice and hearing requirements of section 9-462.04 and shall be subject to the approval and consent of the property owners of both the sending and receiving property. Before any transfer of development rights, a municipality shall adopt an ordinance providing for:
(a) The issuance and recordation of the instruments necessary to sever development rights from the sending property and to affix development rights to the receiving property. These instruments shall be executed by the affected property owners and lienholders.
(b) The preservation of the character of the sending property and assurance that the prohibitions against the use and development of the sending property shall bind the landowner and every successor in interest to the landowner.
(c) The severance of transferable development rights from the sending property and the delayed transfer of development rights to a receiving property.
(d) The purchase, sale, exchange or other conveyance of transferable development rights before the rights being affixed to a receiving property.
(e) A system for monitoring the severance, ownership, assignment and transfer of transferable development rights.
(f) The right of a municipality to purchase development rights and to hold them for resale.
(g) The right of a municipality at its discretion to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with another municipality or a county for the transfer of development rights between jurisdictions. The transfer shall comply with this paragraph, except that if the sending property is located in an unincorporated area of a county, the approval of the development rights to be sent to a municipality shall comply with section 11-817.
B. For the purposes of subsection A of this section, the legislative body may divide a municipality, or portion of a municipality, into zones of the number, shape and area it deems best suited to carry out the purpose of this article and articles 6, 6.2 and 6.3 of this chapter.
C. All zoning regulations shall be uniform for each class or kind of building or use of land throughout each zone, but the regulations in one type of zone may differ from those in other types of zones as follows:
1. Within individual zones, there may be uses permitted on a conditional basis under which additional requirements must be met, including requiring site plan review and approval by the planning agency. The conditional uses are generally characterized by any of the following:
(a) Infrequency of use.
(b) High degree of traffic generation.
(c) Requirement of large land area.
2. Within residential zones, the regulations may permit modifications to minimum yard lot area and height requirements.
D. To carry out the purposes of this article and articles 6 and 6.2 of this chapter, the legislative body may adopt overlay zoning districts and regulations applicable to particular buildings, structures and land within individual zones. For the purposes of this subsection, "overlay zoning district" means a special zoning district that includes regulations that modify regulations in another zoning district with which the overlay zoning district is combined. Overlay zoning districts and regulations shall be adopted pursuant to section 9-462.04.
E. The legislative body may approve a change of zone conditioned on a schedule for development of the specific use or uses for which rezoning is requested. If, at the expiration of this period, the property has not been improved for the use for which it was conditionally approved, the legislative body, after notification by certified mail to the owner and applicant who requested the rezoning, shall schedule a public hearing to take administrative action to extend, remove or determine compliance with the schedule for development or take legislative action to cause the property to revert to its former zoning classification.
F. All zoning and rezoning ordinances or regulations adopted under this article shall be consistent with and conform to the adopted general plan of the municipality, if any, as adopted under article 6 of this chapter. In the case of uncertainty in construing or applying the conformity of any part of a proposed rezoning ordinance to the adopted general plan of the municipality, the ordinance shall be construed in a manner that will further the implementation of, and not be contrary to, the goals, policies and applicable elements of the general plan. A rezoning ordinance conforms with the land use element of the general plan if it proposes land uses, densities or intensities within the range of identified uses, densities and intensities of the land use element of the general plan.
G. A regulation or ordinance under this section may not prevent or restrict agricultural composting on farmland that is five or more contiguous acres and that meets the requirements of this subsection. An agricultural composting operation shall notify in writing the legislative body of the municipality and the nearest fire department of the location of the composting operation. If the nearest fire department is located in a different municipality from the agricultural composting operation, the agricultural composting operation shall also notify in writing the fire department of the municipality in which the operation is located. Agricultural composting is subject to sections 3-112 and 49-141. Agricultural composting may not be conducted within one thousand three hundred twenty feet of an existing residential use, unless the operations are conducted on farmland or land leased in association with farmland. Any disposal of manure shall comply with section 49-247. For the purposes of this subsection:
1. "Agricultural composting" means the controlled biological decomposition of organic solid waste under in-vessel anaerobic or aerobic conditions where all or part of the materials are generated on the farmland or will be used on the farmland associated with the agricultural composting operation.
2. "Farmland" has the same meaning prescribed in section 3-111 and is subject to regulation under section 49-247.
H. A municipality may not adopt a land use regulation or impose any condition for issuance of a building or use permit or other approval that violates section 9-461.16.
I. In accordance with article II, sections 1 and 2, Constitution of Arizona, the legislative body of a municipality shall consider the individual property rights and personal liberties of the residents of the municipality before adopting any zoning ordinance.
J. Before adopting any zoning ordinance or zoning ordinance text amendment of general applicability, the legislative body of a municipality shall consider a housing impact statement regarding the impact of the zoning ordinance or zoning ordinance text amendment that shall include:
1. A general estimate of the probable impact on the average cost to construct housing for sale or rent within the zoning districts to which the zoning ordinance or text amendment applies.
2. A description of any data or reference material on which the proposed zoning ordinance or text amendment is based.
3. A description of any less costly or less restrictive alternative methods of achieving the purpose of the proposed zoning ordinance or text amendment.
K. A municipality may not adopt or enforce a land use regulation that requires the property on which a nongovernmental primary or secondary school operates to be larger than one acre.
l. Notwithstanding any other law, the approval by the legislative body of an application for rezoning pursuant to this section is an administrative act and is not subject to the filing of a referendum petition by a person or organization. The approval by the legislative body of an application for rezoning pursuant to this section is all of the following:
1. of a temporary and special character.
2. Pursuing a plan already adopted by the municipality.
3. Of a specific and limited application.
L. m. For the purposes of this section:
1. "Development rights" means the maximum development that would be allowed on the sending property under any general or specific plan and local zoning ordinance of a municipality in effect on the date the municipality adopts an ordinance pursuant to subsection A, paragraph 12 of this section respecting the permissible use, area, bulk or height of improvements made to the lot or parcel. Development rights may be calculated and allocated in accordance with factors including dwelling units, area, floor area, floor area ratio, height limitations, traffic generation or any other criteria that will quantify a value for the development rights in a manner that will carry out the objectives of this section.
2. "Receiving property" means a lot or parcel within which development rights are increased pursuant to a transfer of development rights. Receiving property shall be appropriate and suitable for development and shall be sufficient to accommodate the transferable development rights of the sending property without substantial adverse environmental, economic or social impact to the receiving property or to neighboring property.
3. "Sending property" means a lot or parcel with special characteristics, including farmland, woodland, desert land, mountain land, floodplain, natural habitats, recreation or parkland, including golf course area, or land that has unique aesthetic, architectural or historic value that a municipality desires to protect from future development.
4. "Transfer of development rights" means the process by which development rights from a sending property are affixed to one or more receiving properties. END_STATUTE
Sec. 2. Section 11-814, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE11-814. Rezoning; conditional zoning change; notice; hearing; citizen review; administrative act; definition
A. All rezonings adopted under this article shall be consistent with and conform to the adopted comprehensive plan. In the case of uncertainty in constructing or applying the conformity of any part of a proposed rezoning to the adopted comprehensive plan, the rezoning shall be construed in a manner that will further the implementation of, and not be contrary to, the goals, policies and applicable elements of the comprehensive plan. A rezoning conforms with the comprehensive plan if it proposes land uses, densities or intensities within the range of identified uses, densities and intensities of the comprehensive plan.
B. A property owner or authorized agent of a property owner desiring a rezoning shall file an application for the rezoning.
C. The commission, on its own motion, may propose a rezoning and, after holding a public hearing as required by this chapter, may transmit the proposal to the board, which shall proceed as prescribed in this chapter for any other rezoning.
D. On receipt of the application, the board shall submit the application to the commission for a report. Before reporting to the board, the commission shall hold at least one public hearing after giving at least fifteen days' notice of the hearing by one publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the county seat and by posting of the area included in the proposed rezoning. If the matter to be considered applies to territory in a high noise or accident potential zone as defined in section 28-8461, the notice shall include a general statement that the matter applies to property located in the high noise or accident potential zone. The posting shall be in not less than two places with at least one notice for each quarter mile of frontage along perimeter public rights-of-way so that the notices are visible from the nearest public right-of-way. The commission shall also send notice by first class mail to each real property owner as shown on the last assessment of the property within three hundred feet of the proposed rezoning and each county and municipality that is contiguous to the area of the proposed rezoning. In proceedings involving rezoning of land that is located within territory in the vicinity of a military airport or ancillary military facility as defined in section 28-8461 or an influence area of a military installation or range or Arizona national guard site, the commission shall send copies of the notice of public hearing by first class mail to the military airport, or the military installation or range or Arizona national guard site as applicable. The notice sent by mail shall include, at a minimum, the date, time and place of the hearing on the proposed rezoning, including a general explanation of the matter to be considered and a general description of the area of the proposed rezoning. For those counties with five or more supervisors, the notice must include a general description of how the real property owners within the zoning area may file approvals or protests of the proposed rezoning, and notification that if twenty percent of the property owners by area and number within the zoning area file protests, an affirmative vote of three-fourths of all members of the board will be required to approve the rezoning. In proceedings that are initiated by the commission involving rezoning, notice by first class mail shall be sent to each real property owner, as shown on the last assessment of the property, of the area to be rezoned and all property owners, as shown on the last assessment of the property, within three hundred feet of the property to be rezoned. For the purposes of this subsection, "influence area" and "military installation or range or Arizona national guard site" have the same meanings prescribed in section 11-818.01.
E. If the commission or hearing officer has held a public hearing, the board may adopt the recommendations of the commission or hearing officer through use of a consent calendar without holding a second public hearing if there is no objection, request for public hearing or other protest. If there is an objection, a request for public hearing or a protest, the board shall hold a public hearing at least fifteen days' notice of which shall be given by one publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the county seat and by posting the area included in the proposed rezoning. In counties with territory in the vicinity of a military airport or ancillary military facility as defined in section 28-8461, the board shall hold a public hearing if, after notice is mailed to the military airport pursuant to subsection D of this section and before the public hearing, the military airport provides comments or analysis concerning the compatibility of the proposed rezoning with the high noise or accident potential generated by military airport or ancillary military facility operations that may have an adverse impact on public health and safety, and the board shall consider and analyze the comments or analysis before making a final determination. After holding the hearing, the board may adopt the rezoning by a majority vote of the board for those counties with fewer than five supervisors, or for those counties with five or more supervisors if a protest has not been filed. If twenty percent of the owners of property by area and number within the zoning area file a protest to the proposed rezoning, the change shall not be made except by a three-fourths vote of all members of the board for those counties with five or more supervisors. If any members of the board are unable to vote on the question because of a conflict of interest, the required number of votes for the passage of the question is three-fourths of the remaining membership of the board for those counties with five or more supervisors, except that the required number of votes shall not be less than a majority of the full membership of the board. In calculating the owners by area, only that portion of a lot or parcel of record situated within three hundred feet of the property to be rezoned shall be included. In calculating the owners by number or area, county property and public rights-of-way shall not be included.
F. The board of supervisors shall adopt by ordinance a citizen review process that applies to all rezoning and specific zoning plan applications that require a public hearing. The citizen review process shall include at least the following requirements:
1. Adjacent landowners and other potentially affected citizens will be notified of the application.
2. The county will inform adjacent landowners and other potentially affected citizens of the substance of the proposed rezoning.
3. Adjacent landowners and other potentially affected citizens will be provided an opportunity to express any issues or concerns that they may have with the proposed rezoning before the public hearing.
G. The rezoning or subdivision plat of any unincorporated area completely surrounded by a city or town shall use as a guideline the adopted general plan and standards as prescribed in the subdivision and zoning ordinances of the city or town.
H. The board or commission, before taking any action on a rezoning or subdivision plat in an area as prescribed in subsection G of this section, may require the affected city or town to supply information to allow the county to meet the guideline. If an affected city or town objects to any such proposed action, the board or commission shall prescribe in the minutes of the meeting specific reasons why in its opinion the guideline is actually being followed or why it is not practicable to follow the guideline of the general plan.
I. The board may approve a change of zone conditioned on a schedule for development of the specific use or uses for which rezoning is requested. If at the expiration of this period the property has not been improved for the use for which it was conditionally approved, the board after notification by certified mail to the owner and applicant who requested the rezoning shall schedule a public hearing to grant an extension, determine compliance with the schedule for development or cause the property to revert to its former zoning classification.
J. The legislature finds that a rezoning of land that changes the zoning classification of the land or that restricts the use or reduces the value of the land is a matter of statewide concern. Such a change in zoning that is initiated by the governing body or zoning body shall not be made without the express written consent of the property owner. In applying an open space element or a growth element of a comprehensive plan, a parcel of land shall not be rezoned for open space, recreation, conservation or agriculture unless the owner of the land consents to the rezoning in writing. For the purposes of this subsection, rezoning does not include the creation or expansion of overlay zones solely for the purpose of implementing airport safety and protection. Rezoning also does not include the redesignation of areas of the county to which the residential provisions of the county building codes apply or do not apply. The county shall not adopt any change in a zoning classification to circumvent the purpose of this subsection.
K. Notwithstanding title 19, chapter 1, article 4, a decision by the governing body involving rezoning of land that is not owned by the county and that changes the zoning classification of the land may not be enacted as an emergency measure and such a change shall not be effective for at least thirty days after final approval of the change in classification by the board. Unless a resident files a written objection with the board of supervisors, the rezoning may be enacted as an emergency measure that becomes effective immediately by a four-fifths majority vote of the board for those counties with five or more supervisors or a two-thirds majority vote of the board for those counties with fewer than five supervisors.
l. Notwithstanding any other law, the approval by the board of an application for rezoning pursuant to this section is an administrative act and is not subject to the filing of a referendum petition by a person or organization. The approval by the board of an application for rezoning pursuant to this section is all of the following:
1. of a temporary and special character.
2. Pursuing a plan already adopted by the county.
3. Of a specific and limited application.
L. m. For the purposes of this section, "zoning area" means the area within three hundred feet of the proposed amendment or change. END_STATUTE
Sec. 3. Section 19-141, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE19-141. Initiative and referendum in counties, cities and towns
A. This chapter applies to the legislation of cities, towns and counties, except as specifically provided to the contrary in this article. The duties required of the secretary of state as to state legislation shall be performed in connection with such legislation by the city or town clerk, county officer in charge of elections or person performing the duties as such. The duties required of the governor shall be performed by the mayor or the chairman of the board of supervisors, the duties required of the attorney general shall be performed by the city, town or county attorney, and the printing and binding of measures and arguments shall be paid for by the city, town or county in like manner as payment is provided for by the state with respect to state legislation. The provisions of section 19-124 with respect to the legislative council analysis do not apply in connection with initiatives and referenda in cities, towns and counties. The printing shall be done in the same manner as other municipal or county printing is done.
B. Distribution of pamphlets shall be made to every household containing a registered voter in the city, town or county by the city or town clerk or by the county officer in charge of elections by mail before the earliest date for receipt by registered voters of any requested early ballot for the election at which the measures are to be voted on. If the pamphlet is not mailed before the earliest date for receipt of a requested early ballot, the officer in charge of elections shall provide a notice with the early ballots stating when the pamphlets will be mailed and where and when the pamphlets may be accessed or viewed. Any contract for pamphlet publication or mailing, or both, shall provide for the contractor to pay a penalty for each day of mailing that occurs on or after the earliest date for receipt of requested early ballots. The penalty shall be one cent $.01 for each household with a registered voter for each day of late mailing, and the monies shall be paid to the office of the officer in charge of elections. Pamphlets shall not be mailed or carried less than ten days before the election at which the measures are to be voted upon on.
C. Arguments supporting or opposing municipal or county initiative and referendum measures shall be filed with the city or town clerk or the county officer in charge of elections not less than ninety days before the election at which they are to be voted upon on.
D. The procedure with respect to municipal and county legislation shall be as nearly as practicable the same as the procedure relating to initiative and referendum provided for the state at large, except the procedure for verifying signatures on initiative or referendum petitions may be established by a city or town by charter or ordinance.
E. References in this section to duties to be performed by city or town officers apply only with respect to municipal legislation, and references to duties to be performed by county officers apply only with respect to county legislation.
F. The duties required of the county recorder with respect to state legislation shall also be performed by the county recorder with respect to municipal or county legislation.
g. Notwithstanding any other law, an application for rezoning that is approved by the board of supervisors of a county is considered an ADMINISTRATIVE act pursuant to section 11-814 and is not subject to the filing of a referendum petition by a person or organization. END_STATUTE
Sec. 4. Section 19-142, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE19-142. Referendum petitions against municipal actions; emergency measures; zoning actions
A. The whole number of votes cast at the citywide or townwide election at which a mayor or councilmen were chosen last preceding the submission of the application for a referendum petition against an ordinance, franchise or resolution shall be the basis on which the number of electors of the city or town required to file a referendum petition shall be computed. For the purposes of this section, a citywide or townwide election is an election at which all of the qualified electors of a city or town are eligible to vote for a mayor or members of the city or town council. The petition shall be filed with the city or town clerk within thirty days after passage of the ordinance, resolution or franchise.
B. A city or town ordinance, resolution or franchise shall not become operative until thirty days after its passage by the council and approval by the mayor, unless it is passed over the mayor's veto, and then it shall not become operative until thirty days after final approval and until certification by the clerk of the city or town of the minutes of the meeting at which the action was taken, except emergency measures necessary for the immediate preservation of the peace, health or safety of the city or town. An emergency measure shall not become immediately operative unless it states in a separate section the reason why it is necessary that it should become immediately operative, and unless it is approved by the affirmative vote of three-fourths of all the members elected to the city or town council, taken by ayes and noes, and also approved by the mayor.
C. At the time a person or organization intending to file a referendum petition against an ordinance or resolution applies for the issuance of an official number pursuant to section 19-111, the city or town clerk shall provide such person or organization with a full and correct copy of the ordinance or resolution in the form as finally adopted. If the copy of the ordinance or resolution proposed as a referendum is not available to such person or organization at the time of making application for an official number or on the same business day as the application is submitted, the thirty-day period prescribed in subsection A of this section begins on the day that the ordinance or resolution is available from the city or town clerk, and the ordinance or resolution shall not become operative until thirty days after the ordinance or resolution is available.
D. Notwithstanding subsection C of this section, a person or organization may file a referendum petition against the rezoning of a parcel of property on the approval by the city or town council of the ordinance that adopts the rezoning or on the approval of that portion of the minutes of the city or town council that includes the council's approval of the rezoning, whichever occurs first. The thirty day period prescribed in subsection A of this section begins on the day that the rezoning ordinance or approved minutes or portion of the approved minutes are available from the city or town clerk and the ordinance is not operative until thirty days after the ordinance or minutes are available.
d. Notwithstanding any other law, an application for rezoning that is approved by the governing body of a municipality is considered an ADMINISTRATIVE act pursuant to section 9-462.01 and is not subject to the filing of a referendum petition by a person or organization. END_STATUTE