Prescott board affirms staff interpretation that hillside rules apply to subdivisions, not single-site build at 500 S. Marina

Prescott — The City of Prescott Board of Adjustments voted 4-1 on Sept. 18 to affirm the Community Development Director's interpretation that the city's hillside development standards (LDC §6.8) govern multi-lot processes such as preliminary plats and planned area developments (PADs) rather than single-site development, a determination that affects a proposed multi-unit project at 500 South Marina Street.

The board's ruling upheld Chelsea Walton, the community development director, after an appeal filed July 24 by Veronica Grace challenged staff's interpretation. The board considered legal arguments about the LDC's intent, testimony from nearby residents and engineers, and staff presentations about overlapping engineering and building-code protections.

The appeal centers on whether the specific wording in LDC §6.8 — which repeatedly references preliminary plats, PADs and subdivisions — creates an implicit exception that excludes single-site projects, or whether the broader applicability language elsewhere in the code (Article 6 generally) means the hillside standards apply to all site development. Grace argued the code's…