Planning -

Board of Adjustments/Zoning Administrator Procedures, Applications, and Appeals

The following procedures have been established to assist City staff, the Zoning Administrator and the Board of Adjustment to expeditiously review and determine the merits of each application. Late and/or incomplete submittals will not be processed. Applications may take four to eight weeks from the submittal date to the final decision by the Zoning Administrator (ZA) or the Board (BA). Please also keep in mind that ZA decisions may be appealed to the BA within 30 days of the date of the ZA decision. The following information outlines the types of requests that are considered through these processes, and identifies the major steps involved. Should there be any questions or need for clarification, please contact Planning.

Authority and Duties of the Zoning Administrator 

The primary duties of the Zoning Administrator are to administer and interpret the Zoning Ordinance, and act as a hearing officer for variances, Special Use Permits, Development Incentive Permits (DIPs), Substantial Conformance Improvement Permits (SCIPs), and Minor Modifications to Planned Area Developments (PADs). The Zoning Administrator also acts as a hearing officer for appeals pertaining to the dedication of right-of-way, and for the resolution of other matters as assigned by the City Manager. The ZA may not change the zoning classification of a property, or render a decision that permits a land use that is not otherwise authorized by a specific zoning district. For additional information, please refer to Section 11-18-4 of the Mesa Zoning Ordinance. 

Authority and Duties of the Board of Adjustment 

The Board of Adjustment hears all appeals of Zoning Administrator decisions, as well as all cases that the ZA refers directly to the Board for review. The varieties of cases heard by the Board are limited to the same processes heard by the ZA, and the criteria used to decide cases are also the same. Please refer to Section 11-18-5 of the Mesa Zoning Ordinance for more specific information. 

Step One: Schedule a Pre-application Meeting

Pre-application meetings are held every Thursday. Appointments are generally scheduled every half-hour between 9:00 am and 4:00 pm, except the hour between 11:30 am and 12:30 pm.

To help the make the meeting be more productive, it is helpful if you prepare some background information about your questions or request. Develop a sketch plan of the case site that describes both the existing conditions on the site, and what it is that you would like to propose. It is helpful if the sketch is drawn to scale. Also, if you feel it would be helpful, bring photographs of the site.

During the pre-application meeting, a Planning Division staff member will discuss your project, possible alternatives, and the processing of the request. A determination will be made of the types of documents that should be submitted with the application to support the request. Also, a plan for notifying affected property owners in the vicinity of the proposed case site will be discussed.

Step Two: Submitting an Application

Applications are submitted to the Planning Division Offices, located at 20 E. Main Street, Suite 130. Filing deadlines are every Tuesday by 5:00 pm for Zoning Administrator applications. The filing deadlines for Board of Adjustment cases vary, but usually are on the first or last Friday of the month for a hearing six weeks later. Please check with a Planning Division staff member for specific dates. A calendar of submittal dates will be handed out at the pre-application meeting.

To be placed on the next available agenda, the application submittal should include each of the supporting items requested during the pre-application meeting. If the application does not include sufficient material to determine what is being requested or if it fails to give a complete description of the issues involved, consideration of the application may be delayed until additional material is submitted.

Most cases will involve all or some combination of the following items:

•  Application Form* 
•  Application Fee* (Varies by Type) 
•  Site Plan* 
•  Justification/Compatibility Statement* (typewritten narrative on separate sheet)
•  Citizen Participation Plan Sheet* 
•  Floor Plan 
•  Elevations
•  Landscape Plan
•  Sign Plan (Existing and proposed) 
•  Homeowner's Assoc./Architectural Committee Written Approval

* Required for each submittal (All drawings must be fully dimensioned and drawn to scale.)

Step Three: Scheduling the Hearing Date

The Zoning Administrator will schedule a hearing date once it has been determined the application and support documents are complete. Planning Division staff will notify the applicant (s) by mail and or by phone of the time, date, place, and case number for the request.

Step Four: Citizen Participation Requirements

Once the applicant has been notified of the hearing date, letters should then be sent by first class mail to those property owners who may be affected by the request. The letters should be postmarked at least 10 days before the hearing date, and evidence that the mailing has been completed should be filed with the Planning Division staff no later than seven days before the hearing. Evidence of the mailing should include a sample of the letter, the mailing list, and a map of the parcels within the notice radius.

Some requests will require a more extensive citizen participation effort, based on the nature and size of the request. This determination will be made at the pre-application meeting, and will be noted on the citizen participation plan checklist.

Planning Division staff will be responsible for placing the required legal advertising in the newspaper, and for placing the required poster on the case site.

Step Five: Staff Review and Report Writing

During the time period between filing of the application, and the scheduled hearing date, Planning Division staff will be reviewing the request and researching any issues raised by the proposal. Often, the staff will call the applicant to get additional clarification of what is being requested, or may ask questions about other related issues.

Board of Adjustment members receive a packet of information a few days before the scheduled hearing date. Each packet will include all of the support materials submitted by the applicant, and a report with a recommended action written by Planning Division staff. The staff report is made available to the applicant and general public on the Friday before the scheduled hearing date.

Staff reports are usually not written for Zoning Administrator cases. Planning Division staff will notify the applicant for those rare cases when a written report is completed. Oral reports are often made by staff members at the hearings, but are not required.

Step Six: Public Hearing

Board of Adjustment meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month in the City Council Chambers, 57 East First Street. A study session is held at 4:30 pm on the day of the hearing to inform the Board about the cases on that night's agenda and pertinent issues related to these cases. The applicants are invited to attend, but the Board limits discussion at this time to the Board and staff.

The Board of Adjustment public hearing begins at 5:30 pm. As each case is called, the applicant will be invited to come to the front and describe their request and the reasons for the request before the Board. The Board then invites any interested party to come forward and speak, and then gives the applicant a brief summary period. Next, the Board may have some questions for both the applicant and the staff. After this, the Board will close the public comment period and discuss possible options; then make a motion, vote and reach a decision.

The Zoning Administrator Hearing is held every Tuesday at 1:30 pm in the Planning Division Conference Room, 20 E. Main Street, Suite 130. There is no study session for ZA cases. Similar to the Board of Adjustment meeting, when the case is called, the applicant will be given a chance to summarize the request, and present any additional information. Interested citizens will then be given a chance to speak, the applicant will be given a chance to answer any questions, and the Planning Division staff will be given a chance to comment. The Zoning Administrator will then close the hearing and decide on the request.

Step Seven: After the Hearing

Once concluded, Planning Division staff will write summary minutes of the meeting, and provide written notice of the decision to the applicant.

Applicants or citizens that disagree with the decision of the ZA have thirty days to appeal the case, in writing. Appeals of Zoning Administrator decisions are filed by submitting a written letter describing the appeal with the Planning Division Office.

Appeals of Board of Adjustment decisions are filed as special actions with the Clerk of the Maricopa County Superior Court.

Applicants may file construction documents for a building permit or otherwise enact the decision within the thirty-day appeal period at their own risk. If the decision is appealed, and possibly reversed or overturned at the next level, the applicant is fully responsible for returning the site to the last lawful conditions that existed on the site before the latest decision.