Town planning staff briefed the council on changes to state adaptive‑reuse legislation and how Gilbert intends to implement the provisions. The law applies to cities and towns with populations of 150,000 or more and requires municipalities to allow multifamily or adaptive reuse on eligible commercial, office, or mixed‑use parcels between 1 and 20 acres in size.

Staff said the recent legislative changes shift the calculation from counting buildings to counting parcels. Under the statute, municipalities must allow at least 10% of qualifying parcels to convert to multifamily or adaptive reuse without a public hearing or use permit; jurisdictions may exempt up to 10% of qualifying parcels if they are designated commercial or employment hubs.

Staff reported Gilbert has 781 parcels that meet the criteria; a 10% minimum would therefore be 78.1 parcels. Planning staff said the town opted to round down to 78 parcels for the exemption calculation and that the jurisdiction can increase the number of eligible parcels above that minimum if needed. Staff also said areas the town had previously designated as commercial and employment hubs remain exempt and that the town remains within the 10% exemption cap.

The text amendment was processed and approved in December (staff said), and staff told council this particular text amendment is on the public‑hearing agenda later that night. Council members asked about rounding and compliance; staff said using 78 (rounded down) kept exempt areas in compliance and that the 10% eligible threshold is a minimum that the town could exceed if it chooses.

Ending: The council received the briefing; the text amendment was scheduled for public hearing that night. Staff recommended monitoring parcel counts and compliance and returning with formal ordinance language for the public hearing.