Prescott, Arizona

Unified Development Code
   

For the City of Prescott, Duncan Associates drafted a new unified land development code. The first task focused on organizational and substantive issues. This task also served as a forum for further discussions on the substantive issues to be addressed during the project. The second task provided policy and organizational framework for the drafting work. Prior to drafting, options for implementing the City’s Comprehensive Plan were expressed. This included a thorough review of the existing zoning code and subdivision regulations for legal sufficiency, especially in regard to those issues where state statutes and

state and federal case law have recently set new trends, and provided insight on consistency with state and federal case law and statutes. Recommendations from this task were presented to the City in a policy directions memorandum. In addition to identifying key policy issues, the memorandum included initial recommendations for organization and format of the new regulations to enhance user-friendliness of the Code. These recommendations were presented in the form of an annotated outline, which illustrated the incorporation of zoning, subdivision, signs and other disparate development regulations into the new UDC. Analysis of existing regulations, procedures, permits, plans and policies will continue throughout the drafting process. Based on comments received during this task, a complete public review draft of the UDC was prepared and released for widespread review in advance of public workshops. Following completion of the workshops, a final hearing draft of the new UDC was prepared, which was responsive to the comments received on previous drafts.

Period:    January 2001 - present               Contact:     Tom Guice
Team:      Duncan Associates                                        Planning Director
               Four Corners Planning                                    520.776.6317 
               William E. Farrell, Esq.