Who knew? COVID-19 and the Kingman Zoning Ordinance Update and Expansion of the Historic Overlay Project
by Sylvia Shaffer
COVID-19 has affected everyone. It changed our lives and the way we do business. For government agencies nationwide, the public couldn’t enter government buildings, projects and public meetings were postponed indefinitely, employees were asked to stay home or wear masks and have daily temperature checks if they entered the workplace. The focus of government agencies became centered on how to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and disseminate information fast enough to keep the public informed. Kingman, Arizona had to pivot to deal with these challenges as they were working on a massive project: how does a City in the midst of updating a 50 year old zoning ordinance continue to move forward with all of the COVID-19 restrictions in place?
In 2018, the City of Kingman, Arizona, decided it was time to update a 50 year old zoning ordinance and entertain expansion of the Historic Overlay District. Kingman’s zoning ordinance was originally adopted on June 14, 1971, and almost 300 amendments had been processed since then. As a result of piecemeal text amendments, the zoning ordinance became unclear, inconsistent and difficult to use. For example, permitted uses such as “furrier shops,” “haberdasheries,” and “phrenology,” are still listed along with newer uses like provisions for “tiny homes,” “cargo containers,” and “medical marijuana dispensaries.” Staff could only try their best to interpret where a modern land use allowance would fit in among the older noted uses. There had not been a comprehensive update of the zoning ordinance since its adoption which contributed to its inconsistency and lack of modern zoning practices.
Another part of this project was addressing the Downtown Historic Overlay District. The Overlay District was added to the Zoning Ordinance on July 21, 1986. Although the City has a Downtown Historic Overlay District, it covers a very small area about 3 blocks in length and the City considered expanding it. A variety of entities had expressed interest in revitalizing Downtown Kingman including: local business owners, Kingman Main Street, the Chamber of Commerce, Small Business Development Center, Mohave Community College, and many other community-based organizations. They are also in support of expanding the historic overlay district to include more historic buildings and add form-based code elements with the aim towards making Downtown Kingman a place that offers walkability and encourages people to stay and frequent the downtown businesses more.
Due to the increasing difficulty that staff and residents were having with the outdated zoning ordinance, it became very apparent to the City that a comprehensive zoning ordinance update was badly needed. Along with this, the increased interest in a revitalized Downtown Kingman compelled the expansion of the Historic Overlay District. Subsequently, due to the complexity of the combined project, the City sent out an RFP for the zoning ordinance update project and the overlay project. The City hired Lisa Wise Consulting, Inc. (LWC), to guide and facilitate the City through the process.
The project began in July 2019 with a tentative completion date of December 2020. Prior to COVID-19 hitting, initial stakeholder meetings and an introductory public workshop were held to discuss the zoning ordinance update and expansion of the Historic Overlay District. During this time period, we could still meet in close proximity without social distancing, temperature taking, and mask requirements. After completing these meetings, LWC prepared a zoning ordinance audit and recommendation report which was posted on the Kingman’s website page dedicated to the project. Due to the complexity of the project, it was decided to break the project down into two phases. The first phase would focus on the zoning ordinance update and the second phase would focus on the expansion of the Historic Overlay District.
As the first phase of the project began, city staff worked with LWC to review each section of the zoning ordinance and discuss ways to accomplish an update that would reflect the outcome of the audit and recommendations report. This report recommended that the updated zoning code include improved code usability, updated zoning districts to implement the General Plan, modernized approaches to land use regulation, refined development standards, and revised administrative procedures to streamline development review. Each week, staff sifted through the sections and provided comments to LWC by email. We were moving right along, staying on schedule and just about ready to begin public outreach when suddenly, COVID-19 hit.
Empty bread shelf at the local grocery store
Abruptly, the scheduled project update meetings and workshop that were planned in March 2020 were cancelled and postponed indefinitely. We were at the verge of seeking buy-in from the City Council on moving forward with the expansion of the Historic Overlay District. At first, we weren’t certain if the whole project would have to be postponed or if we could continue to work on it with all of the COVID-19 restrictions in place. With the guidance of the LWC, we decided to continue to review the administrative draft of the zoning ordinance update while it was being determined if we could meet with the public or present at public meetings.
Over the course of at least a month of uncertainty—with everyone still trying to figure out how serious COVID-19 was and how to adapt to the sudden change of life—LWC and city staff diligently continued to work on the review of the administrative draft of the updated zoning ordinance. As time went on, virtual meetings started to become the norm and it was finally decided that LWC and city staff could provide a zoning ordinance update to the City Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission by Zoom in early June. As excited as we were to move forward, it was definitely different presenting this update via Zoom. Both Zoom sessions went fine and city leadership asked fewer questions than we anticipated. We also received approval to move forward with the expansion of the Historic Overlay District portion of the project.
Today, we are now able to move forward with the Historic Overlay District project which will likely involve the use of virtual public meetings or a room with limited attendees meeting social distancing requirements. We continue to work on the administrative draft of the zoning ordinance update and hope to have it available to the public soon. Webinars, video, and teleconferencing are now the norm in place of public meetings and it is very possible this is how we will be completing the rest of this project—very different from what we envisioned a year ago.
Although COVID-19 put the entire world on hold, and many have suffered or sadly succumbed to the illness, it will not last forever; we will all recover from the economic and psychological impact it has had on our community. The City of Kingman hopes to have an updated zoning ordinance that reflects the vision of the City and the community. The City of Kingman also desires to have a thriving downtown as a result of the expansion of the Historic Overlay District with inclusion of form-based code elements. With this said, even though there were many challenges that the City faced during this time, there were ways to adjust and move forward in a timely manner with a vital project that will be a positive accomplishment for the City of Kingman.
Sylvia Shaffer is the Economic Development Manager for Kingman, Arizona. She has resided in Kingman since 2005 and has worked in the Planning and Zoning field for over 15 years in Arizona and California. In the midst of working on this project, Sylvia was promoted to Economic Development Manager. While she still is part of the ordinance update team, in this new role, her main focus now is retail and commercial recruitment, business retention and to act as a liaison to Downtown Kingman business owners and Downtown Main Street.