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Buckeye council adopts Phase 2 development code update (Ordinance 28-25)
Summary
The Buckeye City Council voted unanimously Oct. 21 to adopt Ordinance 28-25, a multi-article update to the city's development code that modernizes zoning, adds new use standards and codifies several state statute-driven changes.
The Buckeye City Council on Oct. 21 adopted Ordinance 28-25, the Development Code Amendment Phase 2, following a public hearing and a presentation by Principal Planner Mandy Woods. The council’s vote to adopt the code update was unanimous.
The Phase 2 update revises multiple articles of the city’s development code to align zoning and procedural language with state and federal requirements, clarify standards, and streamline entitlement processes, city staff said. Mandy Woods, principal planner in Development Services, told the council the update follows a year of workshops and stakeholder engagement and is intended to modernize the code and improve consistency across the Valley.
Key changes include new or revised use-specific standards for middle housing to comply with state statute HB 27 21; new standards for battery energy storage systems (BES); updates to wireless facilities language; separation limits for car washes and mini-storage uses (26,40 feet or a half-mile apart); codification of accessory dwelling unit standards that the city had been implementing by policy; and a backyard fowl provision permitting up to six hens (no roosters) for single-family detached residences subject to enclosure and health standards. The update also moves and consolidates several zoning district references (including placing the downtown overlay language alongside other overlays in Article 2), clarifies nonconformity rules, revises dimensional standards to accommodate middle housing, and removes lot-coverage requirements from most districts while retaining them where intended to preserve rural character.
Woods summarized other procedural changes: adding a nine-month bridging provision for applicants who held a pre-application prior to adoption; relocating Planned Area Development (PAD) procedural language for clarity; consolidating CMP/PAD nomenclature; adding a formal design-review section and more comprehensive appeals language; and tying certain financial assurance requirements for plats to civil-permit release rather than final-plat recordation. She said staff plans to continue annual reviews and smaller housekeeping amendments going forward.
The update incorporated feedback collected during workshops with the Planning and Zoning Commission, council workshops in January and March, and a community advisory committee (CAC) made up of development partners, attorneys and other stakeholders. At the Sept. 23 Planning and Zoning Commission hearing the commission recommended approval, Woods said. Two members of the public who spoke during the council public hearing—Kurt Jones, representing Howard Hughes, and Steven Ryu of the White Tank Mountains Conservancy—expressed support for the update and the staff outreach process. Kurt Jones said, “we appreciate all the input we were given, for that and wanna support the ordinance update tonight.” Steven Ryu said, “I approve the work that was done … and I really thank Mandy Woods for working with the Conservancy on this.”
Woods told the council the code team worked with consultant Logan Simpson on portions of the amendments and coordinated with multiple city departments, the development community, and the CAC. She said legal notices required for the public hearing were completed in accordance with development code requirements.
After questions and brief council remarks praising the collaborative process, the council member motioned to approve the ordinance and the motion passed unanimously. The council did not record a roll-call vote by name in the transcript; five council members were present at roll call (Mayor Orsborn, Council Member Jermaine Berry, Council Member Goodman, Council Member Hagerstead and Vice Mayor Eustace) and two members were absent (Council Member Yonker and Council Member Beard). The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval at its September hearing, and staff indicated there were no outstanding issues from reviewing departments.
The city will publish the adopted code and continue periodic, likely annual, amendments to address statutory changes or housekeeping items, staff said.
