The Marana Town Council voted recently to alter its land development code, creating a new zoning district that allows for single-family, detached homes to be built on lots as small as 3,500 square feet.
Previously, the minimum lot size was 6,000 square feet, though it was possible for developers to get around that restriction by either creating a specific plan or using the small-lot option that was part of the town's Alternative Neighborhood Design Plan.
Now, developers who want to build homes in Marana at higher densities will need the approval of the Town Council rather than just the blessing of administrative staff.
"It's a significant policy shift," said Tim Kish, Marana planning director. "It's going to allow the council to better follow up and regulate where the higher densities are located."
Both of the previous options — creating a specific plan or using the small-lot option — made it possible to have lots as small as 3,500 square feet, and neither needed a stamp of approval from Marana's council.
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Kish said nearly every specific plan the town had approved recently, including the one for Uptown at Marana — a mixed-use development planned for West Marana Road near Interstate 10 — took advantage of those options to get smaller lots for a portion of their project.
Under the change, Kish said, smaller lots will need to be approved through a formal rezoning request, which requires review by the town's planning commission as well as a public hearing at a Town Council meeting followed by a vote by the council.
"I'd rather have the public hearing," Kish said.
It's part of what Kish calls "truth in zoning." He said that under the altered land code there will be less chance that a homeowner will choose to live somewhere based on the density of housing allowed in an area and then see a higher density go in later without warning.
"This gives us the ability to approve them on a case-by-case basis," said Marana Councilman Russell Clanagan, who also spent six years on the town's planning commission. "Anytime you can have that level of review, it helps."
Kish said the land code change doesn't mean Marana is looking to encourage more high-density housing.
Rather, he hopes the zoning change will steer developers interested in building at this density to look at smaller parcels close to the town's core that would serve as infill projects.
"The intent of this is for areas where neighborhood shopping, schools and parks are either planned or existing," Kish said.
