Planning commission forwards accessory-dwelling rules to Board after executive session

Graham County planning staff presented an ordinance amendment to add provisions regulating accessory dwelling units (ADUs) to the county zoning ordinance. Staff said the amendment is intended to bring county code into compliance with a referenced House Bill and with Arizona Revised Statutes cited during the presentation.

Because the ordinance amendment is substantial and raises legal questions, staff recommended the commission temporarily enter executive session for legal advice. The commission voted to go into executive session and later reconvened. Following reconvening, a commissioner moved that the commission forward a favorable recommendation to the Board of Supervisors on the ordinance (recorded in the meeting as ordinance number 2052025-1). The motion was seconded and passed.

Staff emphasized the item must be voted on by the Board of Supervisors in January; the commission’s action is an advisory recommendation. The ordinance language and the statutory citations were discussed in executive session and summarized in public session, and the commission’s recorded vote sends the matter to the Board for final action.