Goodyear seeks council direction on zoning rewrite: signage, notice, permitted uses and housing types

City of Goodyear planning staff and their consultant asked the City Council on Nov. 3 for guidance on how to modernize the city's zoning ordinance, touching on temporary signage in multifamily developments, public-notification standards, which uses should require a special use permit, and where to allow new housing types.

Christian Williams, planning manager, opened the work session by noting the existing ordinance dates to 1999 and said the rewrite is intended to update outdated terms and standards. "The zoning ordinance was last written in 1999," Williams said, arguing the age of the code explains why terms such as "tannery" still appear.

The consultant team, led by Matt Kliesico of Michael Baker International, described temporary-sign types and current local limits. Kliesico said Goodyear generally limits temporary signs to 32 square feet and typically allows them for 10 to 30 days, though some sign types require permits. "Goodyear has many different temporary sign types...the size of signs is limited to 32 square feet or less," Kliesico said, and he emphasized enforcement as the primary tool to prevent excessive or lingering signs.

Councilmembers asked whether multifamily projects should receive the same…