Carefree council adopts public participation plan for zoning code update, will use interactive Conveio tool

The Town of Carefree Common Council voted Feb. 3 to accept a public participation plan intended to guide a comprehensive update of the town's zoning ordinance. Michael Baker International consultant Matt Clizico presented the plan, which emphasizes modular drafting, an advisory stakeholder group and interactive public engagement.

Clizico said the plan focuses on four goals: accessibility, inclusivity, transparency and continuity, and recommends breaking the code update into modules so the public is not asked to review hundreds of pages at once. ‘‘We like to emphasize balance,’’ Clizico said, describing a process that aims to weigh predictability for existing neighborhoods against needed flexibility for new development.

The plan calls for a zoning ordinance advisory group of about five to seven members who would meet roughly eight or nine times during the process. The consultant described the use of a project website, targeted surveys, pop‑ups at events and Conveio, an interactive commenting platform that lets users place comments directly on the text. ‘‘Conveio is a wonderful tool in that it allows us to upload, in essence, a PDF ... and then that comment is viewable to anybody else in the community,’’ Clizico said.

Council members asked about timeline and controls for the interactive tool. Clizico said staff will perform quality control on comments, may annotate or explain suggestions inconsistent with state or federal law, and will download and evaluate comments at the end of comment periods. He estimated drafting could take ‘‘as little as four months’’ for focused edits but cautioned that a 12‑month timeframe is more typical when issues prompt extended debate.

Councilmember Speaker 11 moved to accept the plan as presented; the motion passed by voice vote. Staff will open applications for the advisory group (applications accepted through Feb. 25) and post the project website; Stacy (town staff) is identified as the point of contact for the effort.

Next steps include recruiting the advisory group, posting draft modules as they are prepared, and scheduling work sessions with the Planning & Zoning Commission and town council for review and adoption.