Maricopa’s Planning & Zoning Commission has a new vice chair.

Commissioners unanimously voted for Robert Klob to fill the seat left vacant by Alfonso Juarez in September. Klob, who also serves on the county board, joined the commission a year ago following the retirement of former Commissioner Jim Irving.

Chair James Singleton retained his seat by unanimous vote for another year. However, the board did not publicly discuss how long Singleton would retain the position, as he is currently running for city council.

Because the commission is made up of residents, business owners and property owners who make recommendations to city council, this could present a conflict of interest.

Singleton told InMaricopa he plans to continue his role as chair until the April 6 deadline for election signatures. 

“I’m just happy-slash-excited that the rest of the commission had faith in me and was happy with how I led the commission this past year,” he said.

More code updates

The commission also unanimously approved several code updates following state legislation passed last year.

House Bill 2447 requires cities and towns to process site plans, plats and design reviews administratively. Under the law, administrative staff must review and approve most plans and adjustments without a public hearing, including site and development plans, land divisions, lot line adjustments, lot ties, and all stages of plats and plat amendments.

While the commission discussed the changes in November, two provisions requiring public hearings for major and minor development review permits and referrals to the planning board remained in the code. Those provisions were removed as part of the final approval.

The goal is to speed up development by allowing architects and engineers to self-certify certain projects, said Planning & Zoning Manager Rick Williams.

“What’s left for us to review?” Klob asked, noting the commission regularly reviewed and provided feedback on major development review permits.

The commission had discussed the changes in November but had not yet removed two provisions requiring public hearings for major and minor development review permits and referrals to the planning board. Those items were corrected as part of the final approval.

Williams said the commission’s remaining work would largely involve plan amendments, text amendments and conditional use permits, along with zoning requests and broader updates to the city code.

“That’s going to be a big undertaking that this body will be a major part of,” he said.

This story has been updated.