The Community Open House Workshop no. 2 for the draft of Zoning Ordinance Updates took place July 17 at City Hall. This was the second meeting for public opinion input since the project began in May 2016.

Consultant Matthew Klyszeiko, Community Planning Practice Lead from the Michael Baker International company, made the presentation. The project has costs $71,500 in consulting fees to date.

Mayor Bill Diak, City Council member Levi Tappan and City Community Development Director Kimberly Johnson were in attendance. Topics addressed the new or updated zone ordinance draft that is being proposed to the City Council for adoption next month.

The workshop touched on the challenges Page is facing regarding vacation rentals. Senate Bill 1350 prevents limiting the existence of VRBO’s with ordinances. At best, the city of Page could subject VRBO’s to city residential codes and establish a point of contact with the city clerk. However, the Home Occupation Ordinance draft highlighted the use of a residence for occupational use. The details left compliance at the mercy of code enforcement.

Another draft that provoked opinion was the discovery that application for Common Use Permits required both the temporary vendor and business owners to pay a fee if a vendor was setting up on business property. Some community members expressed their concerns that the ordinance translated as double dipping by the city if both were required to purchase a CUP.  Klyszeiko took note of this oversight and said he would redraft the wording for an appropriate ordinance.

Klyszeiko emphasized that the proposed changes to the zoning ordinance ‘grandfathered’ already established private property or business foundations, such as driveways or parking lots including landscaping and curbs.

Change of ownership does not dismiss the ‘grandfather’ ruling unless new construction or new landscape design is made.  Already established foundations will not be held in compliance of the new drafted ordinances unless a new business or home additions take place.

The rezoning of the R15 zones were identified more clearly and included homes that are mainly single family dwellings, older homes or a majority of mobile homes on private property. A drafted map of the new R15 zones is available on the City of Page website.

One topic that sparked opinions of the 17 community members in attendance was the draft regulating parking of personal and recreational vehicles on private property.
The limit of two personal vehicles and two recreational vehicles per home will remain but parking areas will change and possibly become expensive. Homes outside the R15 zones or newly built homes will be required to park their vehicles in a specific area of their property. If homeowners have more than two vehicles they will be required to pave their property for a defined, visible parking space for the additional vehicles.

Parking recreational vehicles will also be specified by the new ordinances, which may require permits for the parking upgrades to the home.

If homeowners do not have a defined parking area for the recreational vehicles or cannot place them behind a fence wall of a specified height the owner will be in violation of compliance and the recreational vehicles will be subject to storage. This was a hot topic because it requires owners to upgrade their property at some point of ownership.
A subject that engaged opinion was ‘vehicles in a state of repair’. Such vehicles will have to be inside a residential garage or behind a fence and for a limited amount of time, again forcing the owner to pave the property. Code enforcement officers would decide what is a ‘vehicle in the state of repair’ and how long it’s been in need which is usually obvious to the community and code enforcement officer.

“These ordinances were drafted to prevent the erosion of the integrity and character of the community” claimed Klyszeiko.

Diak said that the new draft proposals are, “addressing the concerns of the people who are coming to these meetings and giving their input. Some of these laws have to be give and take. If you don’t have a place to start then you don’t.”

Arleen Miller addressed some of her concerns to Klyszeiko and city officials.

“I am appalled to learn the… International Organization of Standardization’s zoning codes has been introduced by the city of Page to purposely diminish all our property rights,” she said. “There are laws that protect our property rights and prevents others from confiscation or the use of our property without express permission. The U.S. Constitution protects our private property as stated in the Fifth Amendment. This ordinance draft, from start to finish, was orchestrated by a non-elected personnel with a blatant disregard for property rights by highlighting deliberate concealment of material information in a non-judiciary setting because those ordinances are a violation of due process. I think we need to open it up for a judiciary hearing to see if those ordinances obey the Arizona and the U.S. Constitution.”

Klyszeiko responded, telling Miller that “the draft is in compliance with the Arizona and U.S. Constitution.”

Miller then encouraged him to research Page bylines.

 “You need to pay attention to the Sacred Oath of Office. Part of it states that [city officials] will uphold people’s property rights. You cannot infringe on people’s property rights.”
The next meeting will be the formal adoption process of the drafted Ordinance Updates is scheduled for August and September.

“The purpose of the Zoning Code Update is to… provide a code that promotes new development, businesses and tourism; ensure the code protects existing desired development, especially residential neighborhoods; develop a code that preserves the existing aesthetic and natural environment of the City; and make a code compatible with the General Plan.” Johnson later stated to the Chronicle.