Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Development Processes topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Goodyear development services reports major reductions in final-plat times, outlines next steps to standardize stipulations
Summary
Development Services reported customer outreach, a listening session, and internal changes that reduced final-plat processing from 292 days to 71 days; staff plans standardized stipulations, published guidance and a zoning ordinance update aimed at further process improvements.
Katie Wilkin, Goodyear Development Services director, and City Attorney Warwick Massey updated council Oct. 6 on progress to streamline the development continuum, citing outreach to customers, a third-party legal review and internal process changes.
Wilkin said the department surveyed 129 customers and convened an in-person listening session attended by about 30 customers. "87% of respondents found our staff to be helpful, professional, and committed to navigating the process," she said, and she highlighted improvements customers reported in responsiveness and communication.
The nut graf: Wilkin and Massey said a combination of state law changes, internal reassignments and focused process work yielded measurable timeline reductions for final plats and fewer legal touch points. Wilkin noted that after the city made final-plat approvals administrative (a change first implemented by Goodyear in November 2024), final-plat processing fell from about 292 calendar days pre-change to 166 days immediately after, and further internal changes cut the average to about 71 days.
Massey said the legal division removed a second post–Planning & Zoning legal review and transferred the real estate function out of legal into engineering to reduce handoffs. The city also retained land-use attorney Frank Cassady to review the city's use of stipulations and compare Goodyear to other Valley cities; Cassady identified three common models (minimalist, hybrid and stipulation-reliant) and recommended simplifying and standardizing stipulations where appropriate.
Wilkin and Massey said only about 60 of 6,153 plans and permits processed in fiscal 2025 required legal review (roughly 1%), but acknowledged the planning and single-family permit processes still drive customer concern because of volume. Staff said they will develop a published list of standard stipulations, put that list on the Development Services website, hold annual surveys and continue quarterly in-person development-advisory forums. Wilkin said a zoning-ordinance update intended to modernize standards and reduce the need for rezoning is slated for council work sessions with an adoption target of June 2026.
Ending: Councilmembers praised staff for proactive outreach and urged continued attention; Wilkin said staff will report annually and hold additional stakeholder roundtables as needed.
