Planning commission votes to initiate Maricopa County zoning ordinance update

The Maricopa County Planning and Zoning Commission voted 6-0 on June 12, 2025, to initiate TA250001, a formal process to update the Maricopa County Zoning Ordinance.

Commissioners approved a motion to “initiate and approve TA250001 for consideration in a future planning and commission hearing,” a step staff said starts a public engagement and drafting timeline leading to a Board of Supervisors public hearing and possible adoption in December. The motion was made by Commissioner Milhaven and seconded by Commissioner Layton, and the vote was recorded by roll call as unanimous.

County staff said the update is intended to modernize and simplify the ordinance and improve usability for the public, staff and appointed and elected officials. "We're bringing this back to you ... We presented the zoning ordinance update for your consideration," a staff member identified in the meeting as Tom Corals said during the presentation. Corals described a stakeholder process that included a hybrid meeting and a questionnaire made available on the county website.

Corals told the commission the office expects a draft of the revised ordinance to be available for review by August and that staff and a task force will continue to meet over the summer to refine the document. "Between the August meeting and [the meeting] where we come back to you for a formal recommendation to the board of supervisors, we intend to work on finalizing, refining, completing the zoning ordinance update for a recommendation by the planning zoning commission," Corals said.

Staff said the stakeholder meeting was hybrid and had "more than a couple of dozen" attendees; a questionnaire and the presentation given at that meeting were posted on the county website. Commission discussion did not include amendments to the draft language at this hearing; the action was to initiate the formal process to develop and return the draft ordinance for future recommendation.

Next steps outlined by staff include additional task force meetings, producing a draft for commission review in August, and scheduling a public hearing before the Board of Supervisors for formal adoption in December. No public testimony or amendments to the motion were recorded at the June 12 hearing.