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ITEM 7.d. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS STAFF REPORT Meeting Date: 5/11/2026 Meeting Type: Planning and Zoning Commission Regular Meeting Submitting Department: Development Services Prepared by: Staff Contact Information: Phone: Email: Request to Town Council Regular Meeting (Agenda Language) DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE DIRECTION: Regarding draft revisions to Chapter 11, Multifamily Zoning Districts. Staff Summary (background) At the January 2026 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, staff introduced an ongoing process to totally update the format of the Zoning Ordinance. The proposed update will reorganize the chapters, create use categories rather than rely on a list of specific uses, create use tables in each district to clearly state what uses are allowed, and organize development standards and requirements. Prior to bringing the changes forth in a public hearing for consideration and adoption, staff is bringing individual chapters to the Commission for review, discussion, and direction. Once the Commission has been through all the chapters and initial issues and comments have been addressed, staff will bring forth the full ordinance for public hearing and adoption. While there will be a few substantive changes proposed along the way to address known issues, the primary focus is the re-organization and the establishment of the use tables to facilitate the use of the ordinance. At the February Commission meeting, staff presented the proposed new Sec. 1.13, Use Classifications. This section was not specifically reviewed but will be reviewed as it applies to each of the subsequent zoning districts. That section is attached again for your use. This report reviews the revised multifamily zoning districts chapter. In the current ordinance, it is Chapter 11, in the new ordinance it will be Chapter 7. This report uses the new section numbers as the organization for discussion. Section 7.01, Purpose and Intent No changes Section 7.02, Permitted Uses All of the existing uses listed in current Sections 11.02, 11.03, and 11.04. are provided for in the new Sec. 7.02, Table 7.02. and Sec. 7.03. One significant change included in the revised ordinance is a provision for attached single- family dwellings, also known as townhomes or rowhouses. In our current ordinance, this development type is not permitted. The only options are apartments or condominiums. The difference is with a townhome or rowhouse the owner of the home would also own the land as a separate lot. Section 7.04 A. provides the details on this building form. The current Section 11.02 A, Permitted Uses, includes #12, which allows: "Accessory buildings and uses customarily incidental to the above uses, including those uses detailed in Chapter 5, Section 5.10 of this Ordinance. Section 5.10 of the Zoning Ordinance has been changed and addresses canyon-side lot regulations. Section 5.02 C. provides a general allowance for accessory uses, so this specific allowance has not been included in the updated ordinance. The specific provisions listed for uses in current Sections 11.02, 11.03, and 11.04 have been addressed either as a footnote to the table or in the new Section 7.04 and are referenced in the table. The current Section 11.03 C. and D. are moved to footnotes at the end of the new Section 7.10. Section 7.03, Prohibited Uses This is Section 11.02 C. in the current ordinance. Section 7.04 Specific Regulations This section lists all the standards associated with specific uses that are now provided in Sections 11.02, 11.03, and 11.04. Most of the provisions are the same as the current ordinance. A new provision in this section is Sec. 7.04 A. This section provides the lot size, lot frontage and setback requirements for attached single-family lots and buildings. Sections 7.05 - 7.10 There are no changes to these sections compared to the current ordinance except the new footnotes h and i added to Table 7.10 relocated from the current 11.03 C and D. Related Ordinance, Policy or Guiding Principle Risk Analysis Recommendation(s) by Board(s) or Commission(s) Staff Recommendation(s) Suggested Motion FISCAL IMPACT Fiscal Impact: Budget Reference: Funding Source: ATTACHMENTS 1. New Chapter 7 Multifamily 2. Section 1.13 Land Use Classifications