Mesa council reviews proposed code amendments to clarify legal nonconforming and ‘procedurally conforming’ sites

Mesa City Council members on Oct. 6 reviewed proposed amendments to the city code intended to clarify how the city treats legal nonconforming lots, structures and sites and to create a new category called "procedurally conforming" uses.

Planning Director Mary Kopaski Brown told the council the amendments would replace the current Chapter 36 with language that separates legal nonconforming lots, structures and sites and adds definitions and procedures to make administration clearer. "We're looking to restructure it so that it's easier for us as staff to administer it," she said.

The proposed changes would, among other items, increase the trigger at which a damaged nonconforming structure must be brought into full compliance. Under current code, staff said, the threshold is 50 percent of the cost to rebuild; the draft amendment would raise that threshold to 75 percent. Evan, a planning staff member who spoke during the session, explained the practical test: if the cost to repair a nonconforming building exceeds the…