Senate Moves Forward with Large Planning-and-Zoning Recodification, Effective Date Delayed to 1992

Substitute Senate Bill 103, described on the floor as an 108-page recodification of planning-and-zoning statutes, was advanced to the third-reading calendar after extended debate on Feb. 14, 1991. Sponsor Sen. Beatty said most of the bill consolidates existing law into one chapter, while some minor substantive changes were necessary to reconcile differences between city and county codes.

Key change: the bill sets a minimum public-notice period of 14 days to harmonize notice requirements for cities and counties and moves the effective date to July 1, 1992, to allow public education and local review. Committee chairs and public-interest groups who testified supported the recodification as a tool to make planning law more coherent; several senators cautioned that recodification can obscure substantive changes, and the extended effective date was cited as crucial to allow further review.

The Senate reported a roll call reading 'Substitute House Bill 103 shows 27 ayes and no nays, 2 absent' when placing the measure on the third-reading calendar. The recodification will return for a third-reading vote; sponsors said they expect to address specific changes in future sessions if necessary. Several senators declared potential conflicts of interest as developers but did not prevent votes consistent with the chamber’s rules.

Quote: Sponsor Sen. Beatty said the recodification was intended 'to put these side by side and be able to, for the first time, go through it systematically' and to allow public input ahead of implementation.

Next steps: SB 103 will be considered for third reading and final passage in a subsequent session period; the delayed effective date is intended to give local governments and citizens time to examine the consolidated code.