Minutes 05/18/26 Study Session

MINUTES 
 
WICKENBURG COMMON COUNCIL 
STUDY SESSION MEETING /  
JOINT MEETING WITH THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION 
Monday, May 18, 2026 - 3:00 P.M. 
155 N. TEGNER - COUNCIL CHAMBERS 
WICKENBURG, ARIZONA 85390 
 
A. CALL TO ORDER – Mayor Bratcher called the meeting to order at 3:03 PM 
 
B. ROLL CALL 
Present: 
Mayor BG Bratcher  
Vice Mayor Brian Jones 
Councilmember Kristy Bedoian 
Councilmember Shawn Clark  
Councilmember Margaret Nyberg 
Councilmember Rebecca Rovey 
Councilmember Art Rubash 
Staff Present: 
Troy Smith, Town Manager (Via Zoom) 
Tarah Mayerhofer, Human Resources Director/Acting Town Manager 
Trish Stuhan, Town Attorney 
Steve Boyle, Community Development Director 
Amy Brown, Town Clerk 
Cason Chambers, Public Works Director 
Les Brown, Police Chief 
Robert Martinez, Finance Director 
Ed Temerowski, Fire Chief 
 
C. ITEMS OF BUSINESS 
 
1. Presentation and Update Regarding the Draft Zoning Code 
 
Steve Boyle, Community Development Director, introduced this meeting as a 
joint meeting with the Town Council and Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) 
to get input on the zoning code. The town website has a place to submit 
comments and includes a copy of the clean draft zoning code as well as the red 
lined version. The zoning code was originally done by Matrix Design Group with 
a draft constructed. The town then hired Upfront Planning and Entitlements LLC 
to conduct the public input portion of the zoning code and bring a final version to 
the town. In March there was an updated draft zoning code that is online and in

Town Council Minutes of May 18, 2026 
Page 2 of 10 
 
the packet. The new laws have been incorporated into the code, and it has been 
reviewed to make sure it matches the town’s General Plan.  
 
Jessica Sarkissian, Upfront Planning and Entitlements LLC, stated that she 
specializes in codes for more rural areas, but has a lot of experience in writing 
planning documents and codes. She started with the purpose of the zoning code. 
The last Zoning Code was done in 2011 and needs to be updated to reflect new 
state and federal requirements and new uses.  She plans to streamline and 
remove inconsistencies between sections which made it difficult to implement. It 
will also align with the approved General Plan and town vision. They will update 
the Zoning Districts to allow more flexibility and clarify standards into tables and 
add more illustrations for clarification into definitions and signs. It will also clarify 
existing zoning “Legacy Districts” and their continued allowed development 
standards and uses. 
 
The process for updating the zoning code includes the following: 
• 
Released draft to public for review and comment and requested suggestions 
on improvement based on initial Matrix draft 
• 
199 people attended 1st Open House and 14 attended the 2nd Open House 
• 
Received over 121 email / voicemail and online officially submitted comments 
to date 
• 
Updated Zoning Code draft from 1st and 2nd open house and public comment 
reviews 
• 
Seeking more stakeholder input on the Sign Section and other specific areas 
such as Lighting over the summer 
• 
The next draft of the zoning code will be released in the fall after the input that 
is received at this meeting, online and from the stakeholder meetings 
 
Ms. Sarkissian stated that they have fixed some of the punctuation, code 
reference section numbers, corrected city to town and other similar formatting 
and typographical changes. Grammar checks will continue and be finalized once 
the red lined versions are complete. Mayor Bratcher stated that she would 
always like to see the red lined version.  
 
Ms. Sarkissian continued with the review of the code by article. 
 
Article 1: Title, Purpose and General Regulations 
• 
Clarified and revised according to legal review, Vested Development rights 
and Prohibited Uses for clarification especially addressing existing illegal uses 
and development 
• 
Revised legal non-conforming section according to legal review and town’s 
authority 
• 
Clarified existing zoning uses and development standards to continue until 
owner-initiated rezone 
• 
Clarified throughout that it must be an existing legal non-conforming, not just 
a non-conforming

Town Council Minutes of May 18, 2026 
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Article 2: Reviewing Authorities 
• 
Removed Final Subdivision plans from public hearings are required by new 
state statute 
• 
Clarified title of Community Development Director throughout 
 
Article 3: Authority and Administration 
• 
Clarified timelines as calendar or working days and table of processes 
responsible for reviewing 
• 
Clarified public notice requirements for posting and neighborhood meetings 
by ARS but town may exceed 
• 
Provided more detail for the pre-application, zoning amendments and PAD 
process of materials required 
• 
Removed revocation process of an approved PAD that has not developed 
within 5 years as any change in zone, including revocation, interpreted by 
multiple zoning attorneys, requires owner’s notification and a full public 
hearing process, it is not administrative 
 
Article 4: Zoning Districts 
• 
Removed Final Subdivision plans from public hearings are required by new 
state statute 
• 
Clarified title of Community Development Director throughout 
• 
Clarified “legacy district” and modified well head protection per legal to ensure 
water system protection 
• 
Provided equation for calculating density that is less complex and in line with 
standard codes 
• 
Density applies to the home per acre, accessory buildings do not count 
towards density 
• 
Reduced heights to all be for 30’ residential SF uses and 35’ and 45’ for RM1 
and RM2 higher density 
• 
Included max densities for rural residential districts and defined density 
calculation for gross and net 
• 
Removed architectural window and door requirements into a separate 
document 
• 
Removed Lot Area minimums for high density as they will be determined by 
meeting the setbacks and lot coverage, open space, parking and retention 
needs 
• 
Clarified that town can only request to rescind a PAD 
• 
Updated text in the Heritage Area Overlay for its intent and location and 
design element requests including minimum lot area of 3,000 square feet 
• 
There is a clause for RM1 and RM2 that the structure height shall be limited 
to 30 feet when the structure is within 35 feet of AR, R1, R2, R3, R4, or R5 
districts

Town Council Minutes of May 18, 2026 
Page 4 of 10 
 
 
 
 
There was discussion regarding the heights in RM1 and RM2. Director Boyle 
stated there is very little RM2 in the town. Currently RM1 is at 30 feet and RM2 is 
at 40 feet with the proposal to go to 35 feet in RM1 and 45 feet in RM2. There is 
a maximum story of 2 stories for RM1 and 3 for RM2.  
 
Consensus of Council and P&Z was that it was okay to increase due to the limit 
on the number of stories and the clause if they are next to other residential areas.  
 
There was discussion regarding the notification of 300 feet with a 
recommendation to change it to 600 feet or 1,000 feet for more notification. It

Town Council Minutes of May 18, 2026 
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was also brought up that in 14-3-7E1 the neighbors that are within 150 feet of the 
property may protest a rezone with 20% of the owners that then has to go to the 
Town Council with a vote of ¾ in order for the rezone to be approved. Town 
Attorney Stuhan stated that this protest provision is from ARS 9-462.04H. 
Director Boyle stated that the 300 feet notification is the minimum in state law. In 
addition to the notification to the neighbors, the property is posted with a large 
sign, and the information is in the newspaper.  
 
Consensus of Council and P&Z was to change the notification to 600 feet 
minimum with more if determined by the Community Development Director to be 
necessary.  
 
Article 5: Uses and Use Standards 
• 
Added Single RV Home as permitted use in rural residential districts 
• 
Changed RV living for temporary guests subject to the following: 
o Shall be allowed on private property with an existing single-family 
residential use 
o Camping shall be in a RV or travel trailer only, with a self-contained 
sewage collection system 
o No more than one (1) temporary guest RV on a single property, unless 
four (4) acres or more, then one additional guest RV would be permitted 
for each acre over 4 acres up to a max of (4) temporary RVs. A permit 
would likely be required for tracking purposes with a small fee. This was 
requested in multiple public comments as well as both open house forums 
to address the busy roping and equestrian season. This does not include 
non-guest RVs stored on site.  
o A temporary use permit (TUP) shall be required for all guest RV or travel 
trailers if staying over two (2) months but less than a year (12 months) 
o An exception shall be granted to allow temporary RVs during the 
construction of a residence while there is an active building permit for the 
site on which the owner to temporarily reside 
 
Mayor Bratcher recommended having everyone register their RV’s with an 
annual permit for the property so that it would be easier to regulate as the town 
would know how many RV’s have been permitted per property. The number 
would go with the property, not each RV, so if someone had different relatives or 
visitors visiting, the town would just have to make sure it didn’t exceed the 
number permitted. In addition, there can be water issues if it is a shared well that 
is not designed to have 4 addition units using the water. Sewer issues can 
happen if they are dumping into a septic system that is designed for the house 
only, not additional units. The permit would allow the town to look at the electric, 
water, and sewer situation to make sure it is safe to have the number of RV’s 
being requested.

Town Council Minutes of May 18, 2026 
Page 6 of 10 
 
Ms. Sarkissian stated that basically, there would be the following number of RV’s 
allowed based on the number of acres: 
• 1 – unless over 4 acres 
• 2 – 5 acres 
• 3 – 6 acres 
• 4 – 7 or more acres 
 
There was lots of discussion of issues with this including having an RV for 
personal use stored on your property or for family visits. In addition, it was 
recommended to define RV, trailer, and horse trailer. The town didn’t want to 
discourage the winter visitors or ropers from staying in town but also didn’t want 
to allow too many RVs on one property which can affect neighborhoods.  
 
Consensus of Council and P&Z was to let Ms. Sarkissian work on this section 
based on the input from the group to try to find a good compromise.  
 
Article 5: Uses and Use Standards (cont.) 
 
Horse Arenas 
• Commercial Horse Arenas must be established on no less than five (5) 
acres 
• Private Horse Arenas may be placed on private property with no minimum 
lot size, provided they meet the accessory building setback requirements 
of the underlying district 
 
Horse Arena, Commercial: An exercise space, generally rectangular, 
sufficiently large to allow for competitive events, practice, and/or live performance 
event training activities related to rodeo, barrel racing, dressage or similar 
events.  
 
Horse Arena, Private: An exercise space to allow for typically equestrian uses 
including but not limited to: turnouts, riding and training activities 
 
Horse Boarding and Training are listed as permitted in AR and R1 (R1-175, R1-
87) and Conditionally Permitted in R2 (R1-35) zones. They are not listed as 
permitted in the R3 (R1-18, R1-12) zone as it is more urban/ dense. 
 
Accessory Roping Arenas, turnouts, stables, paddocks, and training acres 
accessory to residential use are listed as permitted Accessory buildings in AR, 
R1 and R2 zones. They are also listed as accessory uses for commercial in C3, 
RR, I1, I2 and I3. 
 
o Noise: Horse Arenas will comply with all applicable noise ordinances 
within this Town Code. Use of a public address system shall conclude with 
the end of the event.

Town Council Minutes of May 18, 2026 
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o Dust: Commercial Horse Arenas will perform dust mitigation activities that 
include methods for controlling dust such as the applying of water during 
morning or evening events when applicable.  
o Lighting: Lighting will comply with standards of the Lighting Code; Article 
14-6-8 
o Manure Management: Manure shall be actively managed to either contain 
it on site or be properly disposed on the property to manage smell and 
pests. No manure stockpiling or composting will be located within 20 feet 
of a property line.  Spreading throughout the pasture or arena is permitted. 
 
Home Occupations for: Animal Boarding/ Equestrian / Horse Corrals 
• 
One (1) farm animal per 10,000 sq ft of property, this does not include 
poultry 
• 
Offspring of animals maintained on the same property that are less than 6 
months old or that have not been weaned, shall not be subject to the 
maximum animal number 
• 
Cattle are permitted in the rear yard or side yard on properties less than 5 
acres and within the front yard on properties greater than 5 acres. This 
does not include cattle temporarily (less than a month) on site for events. 
• 
Hours of Operation. Outdoor home occupation activities are permitted 
from 6:00AM to 10:00PM. No illuminated lights, noise, or outdoor activities 
are permitted outside these hours aside from animal maintenance.  
• 
Manure Management: Manure shall be actively managed to either contain 
it on site or be properly disposed of for all animals on the property to 
manage smell and pests. No manure stockpiling or composting will be 
located within 20 feet of a property line.  
• 
A Conditional Use Permit may be requested to exceed these allowances. 
 
Farm Animal: Domesticated animals raised or kept for use, profit or pure 
enjoyment such as but not limited to: horses, ponies, mules, sheep, goats, cattle 
and other similar animals. Farm animals do not include household pets such as: 
dogs, cats, rabbits, and other similar small animals. 
 
It was mentioned that many of the properties will be grandfathered in with their 
uses. It was suggested to change all the references that say 5 acres to 4 acres 
as that matches the zoning designated areas.  
 
Consensus of Council and P&Z was to not allow in the front yard unless over ten 
acres and not along the street but with normal setbacks. In addition, it was 
requested to remove the sheep and goats from the farm animal limit.  
 
Article 6: Development Standards 
• 
Removed Architectural Design Guidelines, moved to separate guidelines 
document per state requirement 
• 
Removed Site Design references 
• 
Removed landscape design references

Town Council Minutes of May 18, 2026 
Page 8 of 10 
 
• 
Modified landscaping to allow native desert non graded desert to be counted 
as landscaping area 
• 
Added landscaping buffer chart for adjacent zones for clarification 
• 
Modified fence height:   
o Fences located within the front yard setback of residential districts shall be 
limited to forty-two inches (42”) tall. Rural zones including AR, R1 and R2 
are permitted up to 52” height in the front yard provided they do not 
encroach into the sight visibility triangle at driveways and corner lots 
adjacent to roadways. Entry features, gates, pillars and other 
enhancements to mount access gates to are exempt from this overall 
height restriction provided they are also out of the sight visibility triangle.  
 
Lighting Standards: 
• 
Added commercial, industrial and multi-family maximum light output table per 
lumen 
• 
Added single family and duplex maximum light output table per lumen 
• 
This is similar to the current Western Sky in town code and similar to Yavapai 
County’s regulations 
 
Article 7: Sign Regulations 
• 
Clarified setbacks for political signs with curb and without curbing present 
• 
Increased maximum signage area permitted for commercial more typical of 
other sign standards to add more sign area per business 
• 
Clarified height and sign clearance requirements 
• 
Revised tables to match earlier table of permitted sign locations and non-
residential allowances 
• 
Added criteria for speaker boxes (where you order at the drive-thru) 
• 
Added review for murals by the Zoning Administrator 
• 
Updated the Temporary sign table to match temporary sign examples of 
permitted or non-permitted 
• 
Added that consecutive days is not required for max days permitted in a year 
for temporary signs 
• 
Removed portable yard signs from the AR, R and MR districts

Town Council Minutes of May 18, 2026 
Page 9 of 10 
 
 
 
Ms. Sarkissian stated that the sign regulations are one area that they are still 
seeking input with a commercial review group. They will look at flags, banners, 
and signs. It was requested to look at real estate signs.  
 
Meeting was recessed at 5:05 PM 
 
Meeting was reconvened at 5:31 PM 
 
2. Discussion and Direction to Staff Regarding the Purchasing Policy Review 
 
Robert Martinez, Finance Director, reported that this is a small change to reflect 
that Council approval is needed if the request is for $50,000 and above for any 
one transaction except for emergency expenditures.  
 
D. EXECUTIVE SESSION - (Council May Vote to Go Into Executive Session Pursuant 
to A.R.S §38-431.03(A)(3) to Receive Legal Advice from the Town Attorney on Any 
of the Above Agenda Items.) 
 
E. ADJOURNMENT  
 
MOVED BY Councilmember Margaret Nyberg to adjourn at approximately 5:32 PM 
SECONDED BY Councilmember Rebecca Rovey  
VOTE: 7 – 0 (Yes – Mayor Bratcher, Vice Mayor Jones, Councilmembers Bedoian, 
Clark, Nyberg, Rovey, and Rubash)

Town Council Minutes of May 18, 2026 
Page 10 of 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
         BG Bratcher, Mayor 
ATTEST: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Amy Brown, Town Clerk 
 
CERTIFICATION 
 
I, Amy Brown, the duly appointed and qualified Town Clerk of the Town of Wickenburg, 
do hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes 
of the study session of the Town Council of Wickenburg, Arizona held on May 18, 2026. 
I further certify the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Amy Brown, MMC 
Town Clerk