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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-01 I '!11 EEE! 20190 1869 OFFICIAL RECORDS 40111 OF MOHAVE COUNTY o KRISTI BLAIR, �w. „oh COUNTY RECORDER \.4.'1',+ 06/06/2019 09:47 AM Fee: $0.00 PAGE: 1 of 3 MOHAVE COUNTY ORDINANCE NO. 2019-01 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTIONS 1.10.B AND 5.1.D.5.B OF THE MOHAVE COUNTY LAND DIVISION REGULATIONS, AS AMENDED, FOR THE UNINCORPORATED PARTS OF MOHAVE COUNTY,ARIZONA. WHEREAS, at the regular meeting of the Mohave County Board of Supervisors held on June 3, 2019, a public hearing was conducted to determine whether approval should be granted to amend the Mohave County Land Division Regulations, and WHEREAS, the language to be added has been bolded and underlined and the language to be removed has been struck, and WHEREAS, the Mohave County General Plan defines and identifies which areas are considered to be Rural Development Areas. The minimum lot size for rural subdivisions is 5.00 (five) acres, but larger than minimum lot sizes (such as 10 or 20 acre lots) can be required in areas that are substantially limited or constrained by factors such as difficult terrain, steep slopes, major drainage, or other similar issues that reduce the usability of building sites, and WHEREAS, some subdivision developers have requested a reduction in some of the improvements required for projects proposed in the more remote and rural areas of Mohave County, specifically the extension of electrical service to subdivisions with lots 10 acres and larger in size. Presently such a request requires an"Exception from Standards"waiver application, and WHEREAS, traditionally the county has not supported a reduction of improvement standards, and therefore has not supported requests for exception that would weaken or allow for a lesser level of improvements than those minimally prescribed by the Land Division Regulations. The County has typically believed that reducing required improvements for new subdivisions is counter-intuitive to advancing the public health and safety. In general most lot buyers expect modern improvements and levels of service, often exceeding Mohave County's standard minimums, and WHEREAS, by requiring adequate improvements, Mohave County also ensures that new development is beneficial, not only to the developers of those projects, but to all county residents, and to the lot buyers, who may otherwise expect the county to provide those improvements and services. Subdivisions.with higher levels of improvements also tend to generate increased ad-valorem property tax revenue, because they usually raise the appraised value of the lots created with those improvements, and ORDINANCE NO. 2019-01 PAGE 2 WHEREAS, some developers opt to create "unsubdivided developments" of 36 acre and larger parcels, which are exempt from subdivision requirements by Arizona law, and which require no review, no approval, and no improvements. Many of those same areas, being remote and rural, and usually lacking infrastructure that would be expected of denser development, are also limited by relatively rugged terrain, often difficult to access, and WHEREAS, to increase the likelihood that remote rural areas can be more easily developed in a way that still provides some benefit to Mohave County, and instead of rendering such areas unfit for subdivision approval, due to the lack of electric or other required service, these amendments are recommended for consideration, and WHEREAS, the amendments would allow certain subdivisions with lots of 10 acres and larger to have relaxed standards of improvements via elimination of the requirement for electric service to the subdivision boundary, to encourage formal platting of those areas, and instead of having those lands divided into unsubdivided developments or into totally unregulated minor land division splits, both of which result in no improvements at all, and WHEREAS, the amendment to Section 5.1.D.5.B would address this issue by lightening the improvement requirements, making it easier to create ten acre and larger lot subdivisions in the most rural areas referenced. The amendment to Section 1.10.B would address a related but separate issue by streamlining the process of evaluating requests for exceptions from standards for lower than minimum improvements, and WHEREAS, at the public hearing before the Mohave County Planning and Zoning Commission on May 8, 2019,the Commission recommended APPROVAL of this Ordinance, and WHEREAS, the notice of hearing was published in The Standard, a newspaper of general circulation in Kingman, Mohave County, Arizona on May 15, 2019, and in the Kingman Daily Miner, a newspaper of general circulation in Kingman, Mohave County, Arizona on May 19, 2019, and was posted on May 17, 2019, as required by Arizona Revised Statutes and the Mohave County Zoning Regulations. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED,that the Board of Supervisors, at their regular meeting on June 3, 2019,APPROVED this Ordinance as recommended by the Mohave County Planning and Zoning Commission and outlined herein: The following amendment is made to Section 5.1.D.5.b of the Mohave County Land Division Regulations: 5. Electric Service. Electric service is required according to the following: a. Any proposed subdivision located partially or fully in an Urban Development Area or Suburban Development Area, or which contains any lot less than five (5) acres in size, shall provide electric service to each individual lot. ORDINANCE NO. 2019-01 PAGE 3 b. All proposed subdivisions containing lots five (5) acres or greater in size shall provide standard residential electric service to the nearest accessible boundary of the subdivision, except that electric service is not required for Rural Development Area subdivisions containing all lots 10 acres or greater in size, if all of the following are met: 1. The proposed subdivision site is 5 or more miles distant from an existing utility-connected electric service line, and 2. Any objection to the lack of electric service received from the serving fire district or State Fire Marshal, shall be noted on the subdivision Final Plat(s), and 3. The subdivision is for single-family residential uses only, and 4. The subdivision Final Plat(s) contain a note documenting the lack of electric service to the project, and 5. The subdivision is located in an area designated "Rural Development Area" by the Mohave County General Plan. c. Electric power lines shall be installed in accordance with the requirements of the serving utility. The following amendment is made to Section 1.10.B of the Mohave County Land Division Regulations: B. Proposed exceptions from improvement requirements or improvement standards shall require approval by Board of Supervisors, after receiving recommendations of approval from the Planning and Zoning Commission and the County Engineer, for the exceptions to be allowed as a part of a proposed subdivision. PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED THIS 3RD DAY OF JUNE,2019 MOHAVE COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ATTEST g-e C-g< L� Hildy Angiusihairman \§stiRv SON, 6444466Arivouvu Ginny Ande n, Clerk of the Board o y 0 � --� C7 * OITAT DEUS * RI ONP