City of Prescott, Arizona

Background- The Arizona Medical Marijuana Initiative (Proposition 203) passed in November 2010. The Final Rules were released on March 28, 2011.

The ADHS rules implement the new amendment to Title 36, Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS) by adding Chapter 28.1 Arizona Medical Marijuana Act. ARS 36-2806.01. The Act also allows Cities, towns and counties to enact reasonable zoning regulations that limit the use of land for registered nonprofit medical marijuana dispensaries, cultivation facilities, and infusion facilities.

City of Prescott Approach- The City is utilizing the "Similar Use Interpretation" (Section 11.1.1) of the Land Development Code (LDC). This allows uses not specifically identified, but which may be reasonably interpreted as being functionally equivalent to one or more of the listed land uses in Table 2.3. LDC land uses are classified "based on common functional, products or physical characteristics" (Sec 11.1.1A). Dispensaries can then be equated to drug stores (pharmacies), a cultivation facility to agricultural production (Section 11.1.7), and an infusion facility to chemical manufacturing (Sec. 11.1.6E).

A Pre-Application Conference (PAC) is required for all medical marijuana facilities to determine appropriate zoning and compliance with City of Prescott development regulations. The PAC application may be found in the Community Development Documents.

The map below illustrates the required 500-foot separation distance from school property lines for the location of any Marijuana Dispensary, Cultivation Facility, and Infusion Facility land uses in accordance with the passage of Proposition 203. Locations of these land uses are prohibited by the statute within the area of the yellow circles on the map.

• Medical Marijuana 500-foot School Buffer Map per ARS 36-2801

For More Information: Please contact George Worley Planning Manager or Tom Guice, Community Development Director, at 928.777.1207 should you have any questions.

The Granite Dells Estates is a 1,142 acre master planned development located south of the Granite Dells Parkway and State Route 89 interchange, in the vicinity of the airport. Since the area was annexed into the City in 2007, there has been no development on the property with the exception of 5 acres purchased and developed by the Yavapai Accommodation School District. The intent of the current proposal is to rezone 72 acres to allow single-family uses, where industrial and commercial uses were originally proposed. The requested rezoning requires amendments to the associated Master Plan, General Plan Land Use Map, and the Airport Specific Area Plan.

Upcoming meetings to discuss this project:

• May 30, 2013: Planning and Zoning Commission to hold Public Hearing and Voting Session to make recommendations on rezoning, master plan amendment, General Plan minor amendment, and Airport Specific Area Plan amendment.
• June 11, 2013: City Council to hold Voting Session for rezoning, master plan amendment, General Plan minor amendment, and Airport Specific Area Plan amendment.

For further information, please see the following documents:

• Staff report and attachments (Planning and Zoning Commission, May 9, 2013)
• Existing Master Plan
• Proposed Master Plan

Please contact Ruth Hennings, Community Planner, or Tom Guice, Community Development Director, at (928) 777-1207 should you have any questions.

The proposal is to annex and then rezone 247 acres in Yavapai County, located west of the Prescott Municipal Airport. The property is bounded on the south by Pioneer Parkway, on the east by North State Route 89, and for a distance on the west by Willow Creek Road. It is currently vacant and is zoned in the county for single-family uses. A rezoning to commercial and industrial zoning districts is also proposed.

The purpose of this request is to initiate annexation prior to development to assure that infrastructure improvements will be made to City standards. It is also timely given the plans to improve and widen North State Route 89 and realign Willow Creek Road. No specific developments are proposed at this time. The long-term planning processes required to initiate this annexation began in 2008, and involved changes to the General Plan, the Airport Specific Area Plan, and the Airport Master Plan.

Upcoming meetings to discuss this project:

• May 30, 2013: Planning and Zoning Commission to hold Public Hearing and Voting Session to make recommendations on annexation and rezoning.
• June 11, 2013: City Council to hear presentation on cost-benefit analysis and to hold Public Hearing for annexation and rezoning.

For further information, please see the following documents:

• Staff report and attachments (Planning and Zoning Commission, May 9, 2013)
• Map and legal description

Please contact Ruth Hennings, Community Planner, or Tom Guice, Community Development Director, at (928) 777-1207 should you have any questions.