Gilbert staff will add first-class mail option for Community Preservation notices

Town staff told the Gilbert Town Council at a study session that they will bring back a text amendment to the Community Preservation Code (Gilbert Municipal Code, Chapter 42, Article 8) to allow notices to be served personally, by certified mail or by first-class mail.

Kyle, a town staff member, told the council the Community Preservation Ordinance was adopted in June 2024 and became effective in July 2024, and that the council had asked for a six-month update. He said staff has been using certified mail for notices but plans to propose adding first-class mail as an explicit option and expects to bring that change forward “in the next month or so.”

The change is aimed at reducing costs and aligning the ordinance with how courts treat service by mail. “The certified mail, is quite expensive. It's about $9 a mailing. To this point we've spent almost $3,000 on certified mail,” Kyle said. He added the proposed text will give staff three options for service: personal delivery, certified mail, or first-class mail.

Council discussion focused on cost and on whether the town should adopt a policy to guide which method staff uses in particular situations. Council member Monte Lyons asked whether there is an existing policy to direct when staff should use personal service, certified mail or first-class mail; Lyons noted fiscal impact and staff effort. Kyle said there is currently no policy beyond the ordinance language and that staff will shift practice back to first-class mail while they prepare the formal amendment.

Council member Chuck Bongiovanni suggested a sequential approach — sending an initial notice by first-class mail and following up by certified mail if there is no response — and asked whether that could be a staff-level policy. Kyle said the option-based language would allow staff to send a first-class notice first and a certified follow-up when proof of delivery is needed.

Kyle also said certified mail remains useful when staff needs a return receipt or documented proof of delivery. “In case there's a reason to do it. In case we need the card back or we need proof of notification,” he said.

No formal action on the ordinance amendment was taken at the study session; staff said it will return with a formal ordinance amendment in the next month and may develop staff-level guidance on when to use each notification method. The meeting adjourned after the presentation and questions.