The Gilbert Town Council gave staff input Feb. 27 into 14 proposed town code amendments that will likely come before it in the coming months.
Council held discussion and gave staff direction on the proposed amendments at a special meeting that was held solely to consider the changes.
The proposed changes generally bring old code up to date with current practices, align code with state law or address situations the town sees where code is silent.
The most prominent to town members may be consideration of code on fireworks and short-term rentals, where council members indicated the town is looking to be responsive to residents’ concerns to the extent that state law allows. Staff will take the input from drafts on both topics to further work out a proposed amendment for council to vote on.
The other amendments cover:
Providing faithful performance coverage through insurance endorsements, rather than posting surety bonds, for the mayor, council members, town manager and town clerk;
Vesting jurisdiction over disputes on claimed or found property with the Gilbert Municipal Court;
Changing wording from “civil hearing officer” to “judicial officer” for the municipal court and allows the presiding judge to make the final determination as to who to recommend as judicial officers to the Town Council from those applicants selected by the Judicial Selection and Advisory Board;
Renaming the mayor’s state of the community address to state of the town and allow for circumstances under which it may not be given;
Updating term length language for the town’s boards and commissions;
Aligning meeting posting requirements with state law;
Removing the vehicle language on a noise ordinance and indicate that one may not use noise-amplifying equipment to create unreasonable noise, which originates from any public space in Gilbert;
Addressing who would be liable for fees incurred with false alarms to the police;
Clarifying parking ordinances in regard to no-parking areas and angled parking;
Specifying requirements for proper front lighting and rear reflectors on bicycles and other micromobility vehicles;
Changing special-events code for requirements for special-event permits and application-processing time.
Tom Blodgett can be reached by email at tblodgett@iniusa.org or follow him @sp_blodgett on Twitter. We would like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.
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Tom Blodgett Senior News Editor | Gilbert @sp_blodgett
Meet Tom Tom Blodgett joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2022, when the company acquired Community Impact Newspaper's Phoenix-area properties. Raised in Arizona, he has spent more than 35 years in journalism in the state.
Community: He has served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2005, and is editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet. He also is director of operations for an 18U girls fastpitch softball team from Gilbert.
Education: Arizona State University with a BS in Journalism.
Random Fact: He lived in Belgium during his freshman year of high school.
Hobbies: Tweeting enthusiastically about ASU softball (season-ticket holder) and grumpily about other local sports (pessimistic fan).
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