Zoning code up for 1st major revision
By Don Kirkland
No matter the outcome of prospective rewrites to the city’s zoning ordinance, the first such major re-do in 27 years; south Tempe residents should be satisfied their opinions have been heard.Zoning officials plan to mail 80,000 postal cards, one to virtually every Tempe household, encouraging recipients to share their thoughts on almost 30 zoning-related recommendations, from the distance between houses to the number of signs a business can erect.
Even if residents don’t respond, however, it isn’t likely that south Tempe’s interests will be overlooked.
Representatives from major area subdivisions, along with business owners and longtime neighborhood advocates, are among the 300-plus members of a citywide study group that has spent more than two years developing a laundry list of potential zoning code improvements.
The results of the group’s efforts, as well as a complete description of the proposed modifications, will be unveiled publicly at a Sept. 8 open house at Kyrene Middle School.
“The last time anybody made changes (to the zoning code), all we had in south Tempe were cotton fields and alfalfa,” said Fred Brittingham, who, despite 23 years as a city planner, wasn’t around when officials adopted today’s code in 1967.
In the meantime, the plan is available in its entirety on the city’s website or by visiting either the Tempe library or Development Services Department at city hall.