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Mesa waivers aim to skirt Proposition 207
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Trying to get a permit to add on to your business? How about a zoning change?
If so, you might be forced to sign a waiver saying you won’t ever sue the city for any government decision that affects the value of your property.
On Thursday, Mesa joined cities across the state that are trying to get around a new, voter-approved property rights law.
Starting now, property owners in Mesa requesting annexations, zoning changes and approval of site plans to construct apartment buildings, retail centers and manufacturers will be compelled by the city to sign the waivers. Residential additions do not require waivers.
Mesa Vice Mayor Claudia Walters said she supports the waiver requirement.
“My experience doesn’t lead me to believe that the better nature of people is not to sue,” she said.
Tom Rawles was the only Mesa City Council member to vote against the waiver requirement. He said some of his constituents have called it “blackmail” to require people to forfeit their rights under the new law.
The passage of Proposition 207 in November gave Arizona property owners the right to sue if a government land-use decision diminishes the value of a piece of land.
The proposition covers a broad expanse of government decisions, and has yet to be challenged in the state’s courts.
But the threat of lawsuits has made communities a little nervous.
Chandler, Gilbert and Apache Junction have decided to ask for waivers before approving many land-use changes. Each has crafted a policy to protect itself — some more restrictive than others.
Chandler rolled out a similar waiver program last December, the same day Prop. 207 went into effect.
Bill Dermody, a Chandler city planner, said the waiver has been refused only once. The owner of a lumber yard who needed a use permit to operate in a residential neighborhood decided against signing the waiver. As a result, his proposal was not recommended for approval by the planning department.
Mesa called it’s waiver requirements “narrowly tailored.” They would be less restrictive than a program being used in Apache Junction, which requires waivers for just about every type of development permit.
Some communities have said the waivers are voluntary, but that’s not exactly accurate. If a landowner in Mesa refused to sign a waiver, for example, the city planning department would recommend that the City Council reject the landuse change, said John Wesley, planning director.
The waiver requirements will be used on all new development requests, said Wesley.
Proposition 207 waivers
Mesa property owners would be compelled to sign a waiver and forfeit their right to sue under the provisions of Prop. 207 if:
• Property is annexed into the city. Individual homes now in the unincorporated area that are brought into the city and property annexed into the city would fall under this requirement.
• A zoning change is requested. Zoning changes run the gamut in Mesa, including multiple categories for residential, commercial, industrial, town center development, public facilities districts and overlay districts.
• A council-use permit or specialuse permit is needed. Some zoning categories require a council-use permit or special-use permits to build certain developments.
The proposed Hurricane Bay nightclub in east Mesa, would have required a council-use permit to build in a commercial area, which doesn’t specifically allow nightclubs.
• A site plan approval or modification is sought. Developers of retail centers, manufacturers and apartment buildings need site plans OK’d by the city to build or renovate buildings in most cases. Renovating or building a house, in most cases, doesn’t require a site plan.
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