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Planning commission schedules May general-plan work sessions; staff clarifies impact-fee timing and lists neighborhood meetings
Summary
At its April 3 meeting the Florence Planning and Zoning Commission agreed to begin general-plan work sessions at its May 1 meeting. Staff clarified that development impact fees are charged at permit issuance, outlined the categories charged in town practice, and announced neighborhood meetings and technical advisory reviews for several pre-plats.
The Town of Florence Planning and Zoning Commission on April 3 set a schedule to begin work sessions on the town’s general plan at its regular meeting on May 1 and heard staff clarifications about development impact fees and upcoming neighborhood meetings.
Community Development Director AJ told commissioners the commission will start general-plan work sessions during the commission’s regular meetings, beginning May 1, and that the opening session will cover statutory authority for general-plan updates and amendments as provided in the Arizona Revised Statutes.
On development impact fees, AJ said, “impact fees are collected at the time of permit issuance.” He added staff and finance coordinate to ensure correct fees are applied and noted that development agreements or prior land-use agreements can change which fees apply to particular permits.
Town Attorney Cliff Matisse explained legal categories for what municipalities may charge are defined in state statute and described how impact-fee studies typically determine appropriate fee categories and geographic allocations. In Florence’s practice, staff said the town currently collects fees for transportation, police, fire and parks; fees for water and wastewater are also applied through the permit process as appropriate. AJ said the town updated its development impact fees in February and that fees cannot be collected early before permit issuance.
AJ and Cliff discussed examples: a developer that builds and dedicates a water and wastewater facility under a development agreement may be guaranteed a number of system hookups or receive fee credits as specified in that development agreement and any related land-use agreement.
Staff also listed several upcoming public- and technical-review items:
- Technical Advisory Committee: Attaway Crossing pre-plat (northwest corner of Hunt Highway and Attaway) on April 9, and Mesquite Trails pre-plat phases 3 and 4 on April 23. - Neighborhood meetings: Conditional use permit for a school at Desert Rock Church, April 10 at 6 p.m., Community Center Ruggles Room; Skyview Farms PUD amendment neighborhood meeting, April 16 at 6 p.m., Community Center Ruggles Room. - Training: staff plans to reintroduce training materials at the April 17 meeting with video links distributed in advance.
AJ reported the town is receiving two to four final-plat applications every few weeks and stated there were 19 final plats under review at the time of the April 3 meeting.
Commissioners asked for additional primer materials on the transportation elements of impact-fee studies so they can answer public questions with more detail during future meetings. No formal action was taken; the items were informational and scheduling-related.
