This Unified Development Code may be referred to as the "UDC" or Rogers Unified Development Code "RUDC".

This Unified Development Code (UDC) is enacted to promote and protect:

1. The public health, safety, and general welfare; and
2. The character of established neighborhoods, historic districts, and sensitive natural features; and
3. The City’s fiscal investments and ability to deliver services to residents; and
4. The goals of the comprehensive plan for the desirable future development of the City regulating the development of Rogers at a citywide and site-specific scale are as follows.

At the scale of the City, the UDC achieves the general purpose by ensuring:

1. Development is compact with a defined boundary and identity; and
2. Most growth is directed to centers and connected by corridors; and
3. Continued investment in established areas of the city through contextually-appropriate increases in intensity; and
4. Compact, pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use centers are distributed across the city; and
5. The development of centers and the corridors connecting them are transit-ready in form and intensity; and
6. Adequate land area is allocated for the industrial development of the city; and
7. A network of interconnected streets is created to disperse traffic; shorten travel distances; relieve congestion on major roads; and
8. Activities of daily living are within walking or bicycling distance of most homes; and
9. A range of housing types within all neighborhoods.

At the scale of the development, the UDC achieves the general purpose and intent by ensuring:

1. That buildings and landscaping shall line the edges of streets, contributing to pedestrian comfort and encouraging slow driving; and
2. That site and building design should prioritize pedestrians and bicyclists while adequately accommodating cars.

The provisions of this UDC, currently or hereinafter enacted are based upon, derive authority from, and are enacted under any of the power and authority conferred upon cities by the Arkansas Constitution and by Arkansas Law.

The provisions of this UDC are intended to be severable. If any of its sections, provisions, exceptions, or parts should be held unconstitutional or void, the remainder of the ordinance will continue to be in full force and effect, it being the legislative intent that this ordinance would have been adopted even if such unconstitutional or void matter had not been included.

This ordinance will take effect from and after the effective date of its passage and publication.

All prior zoning ordinances and maps previously enacted are repealed unless explicitly stated otherwise in the adopting ordinance.

The City Clerk shall maintain and continuously publish a zoning map online which shall constitute the official zoning map notwithstanding recently passed zoning ordinances that are not yet mapped.

1. The City is hereby divided into zones, or districts, as identified in Section 4.2 Transect Districts, Section 4.3 Special Purpose Districts, and Section 4.4 Overlay Districts. These zones, or districts, shall be known as the "City of Rogers Official Zoning Map."
2. The City of Rogers Official Zoning Map shall be identified by the signature of the Mayor attested by the City Clerk, and bearing the seal of the City along with the following words: "This is to certify that this is the City of Rogers Official Zoning Map referred to in the Rogers Unified Development Code."
3. When changes are made to the Official Zoning Map, such changes shall be entered promptly after the amendment is approved by the City Council. The official zoning map(s) shall provide a place for the entry of the ordinance number and the date of each amendment.
4. No changes of any nature shall be made to the City of Rogers Official Zoning Map or matter shown thereon except in conformity with the procedures set forth herein. Any unauthorized change by any person shall be considered a violation of this UDC and punishable as provided herein.
5. The City of Rogers Official Zoning Map shall be maintained by the Department of Community Development shall interpret any disputes that may arise as to the current zoning status of land in the City.
6. If the City of Rogers Official Zoning Map becomes damaged, destroyed, lost, or difficult to interpret, the City Council may by resolution adopt a new official zoning map. The new official zoning map(s) may correct errors or omissions in the previous map it replaces. When available, all replaced maps shall be retained for reference purposes.

1. No building, structure, sign, or land may be occupied, altered, constructed, reconstructed, or erected except as authorized through the application and review processes specified in this UDC, and in compliance with all of the provisions of this UDC, except as may otherwise be authorized by variance, minor deviation, or as specified in Section 1.6 Nonconformities. Further, nothing in this UDC shall limit the application of Rogers’ City Code § 1-5 in determining penalties and continuing violations of this UDC. Any violation of this UDC shall be subject to the penalty provisions found in Rogers’ City Code § 1-5 unless stated otherwise.
2. No building permit will be issued until the plan has been approved in accordance with this UDC. A building permit will not be issued if the application for a building permit is made more than one year from the date of approval of the site plan.
3. All bonded improvements shown on the approved site plan must be completed within six months after the certificate of occupancy is issued or the certificate of occupancy may be revoked.
4. Any revisions or changes in a submitted and accepted site plan will require submission for approval.

Should a violation of an approved application occur during construction, or should any construction, site work, or development be commenced without an approved application, the City of Rogers has the right to require the owner to stop, remove, and mitigate the violation, or to secure a variance to cover the violation. Any violation of this chapter is subject to the penalty provisions found in Rogers’ City Code §1-5.

Reserved

1. In addition to any other criminal penalties that may be prescribed by state law, failure to comply with the requirements of a plan approved under the provisions of this UDC by completing and installing all improvements and landscaping requirements as shown on the approved plan within six months after the issuance of a certificate of occupancy is a violation of this UDC and subject to the penalty provisions contained in Section 1-5 of the Rogers City Code and may be cause for forfeiture of any bond required by the city.
2. It is unlawful to occupy the improvements authorized by approval of a plan under the provisions of this UDC without first obtaining a certificate of occupancy. In addition to any other criminal penalties that may be prescribed by state law, failure to obtain a certificate of occupancy, before occupancy, is a violation of this code and subject to the penalty provisions contained in Section 1-5 of the Rogers City Code.

The purpose of this article is to allow reasonable use of nonconformities and set reasonable standards for when rights to the nonconformity are lost and the full provisions of this UDC apply.

1. The provisions of this article apply only to legally established nonconformities.
2. Nonconformities may continue in perpetuity unless expressly stated otherwise.
3. Nonconformities may be modified in any manner that does not increase the extent of the nonconformity, as determined by the Director unless expressly stated otherwise.

Nonconforming uses may remain as long as they are in continual operation. Whenever a nonconforming use ceases operating for 90 days or more the rights to the nonconforming use are forfeited by the property owner and any use established must conform to this UDC.

Nonconforming buildings with a valid certificate of occupancy may continue to be utilized and may be modified as long as the modifications do not increase the extent of the nonconformity. Whenever more than 50% of its volume is destroyed the building may only be reconstructed in conformance with this UDC.

Nonconforming lots may be developed under this UDC however, the lot itself may not be modified unless such a modification brings the lot into full conformance with this UDC.

Nonconforming sites may remain as is however any modifications to onsite improvements, including but not limited to vehicular use areas, landscape, utilities, etc. must conform to the standards of this UDC and when any principal building on a nonconforming site is destroyed or demolished, and rebuilt the nonconforming aspects of the site must be brought into conformance with this UDC. The Director is authorized to grant an Administrative Adjustment allowing site modifications that do not fully conform to the standards of this UDC where full conformance is impossible or where it is disproportionate to the modifications proposed.

Nonconforming signs may remain and routine maintenance is permitted. Any change to a nonconforming sign, including to that of sign faces or panels shall require a permit pursuant to Section 5.8 Signs and the property owner must agree to voluntary removal of the nonconformity as a condition of issuance of such permit as provided for by Section 5.8 Signs. Nonconforming signs that are destroyed or damaged in any manner that may adversely affect public safety, or such that the sign face and frame around the face is damaged to the extent to require replacement, shall be removed and replaced with a sign in conformance with this UDC.

The legislative and governing body of the City of Rogers as defined by the Arkansas Constitution and Arkansas Law.

See 2-320, et seq.

See 2-356, et seq.

The Director of the Department of Community Development. Where the term "Director" or "director" is used by this UDC it shall be interpreted to mean the Director of Community Development unless the text states otherwise.

The UDC is divided into Articles, Sections, and Subsections and each of these may include lists and sublists. The chart below denotes the organization and structure.

1. All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict with this UDC or inconsistent with its provisions are hereby repealed and superseded to the full extent necessary to give this UDC full force and effect.
2. Where any provision within this UDC conflicts with another provision of this UDC, the more restrictive shall apply.

This UDC applies to all lands within the corporate limits of the City of Rogers and all lands subsequently annexed by the City of Rogers.

The Board of Adjustment shall consist of three members of the Planning Commission. Membership shall be determined by the Planning Commission. The Board shall establish its own rules of procedure covering, but not limited to bylaws, meeting times and dates, public records, findings, and decisions.

The Board of Adjustment shall elect a chairman and secretary annually from among its members. The chairman shall preside at all meetings and shall decide points of order or procedure as necessary. The secretary shall preside at meetings in the absence of the chairman, shall be custodian of the minutes and other official records of the Board, shall attend to correspondence, and shall cause to be given such notices as are required and in the manner prescribed by law.

Regular meetings shall be held, unless there is no business, at the time and place directed in the public hearing notice. Special meetings for any purpose may be held:

1. On call of the chairman or any two members of the Board provided that written notice is given to all interested parties at least 48 hours before the meeting; or
2. As may be scheduled by a majority of the Board at any previous meeting.

All meetings of the Board shall be public meetings and shall be held in full compliance with the provisions of the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.

The City of Rogers hereby establishes the Development Working Group to review development applications as specified in this Chapter. The DWG is tasked with ensuring development proposals conform to the applicable provisions of this Chapter, the intent of the UDC, and the Comprehensive Plan.

Membership of Development Working Group shall consist of :

1. Regular members are:
   1. The Director of Community Development;
   2. The City Engineer;
   3. The City Planner;
2. Advisory members are:
   1. The Fire Chief;
   2. The Chief of Police;
   3. Rogers Water Utilities Director;
   4. Representatives from other utility companies as needed based on the specific utilities required for the development under review; and
   5. Anyone requested by the Director
3. All members may delegate their role to a qualified representative, with prior notification to the Director.

1. Regular Members
   1. The Director will oversee the proper administration of Development Working Group business, including adherence to rules as specified in this Chapter and the scheduling of meetings. The Director shall report to the Planning Commission a summary of all business that comes before the Development Working Group and this report shall occur at each regularly held meeting of the Planning Commission.
   2. The City Engineer and City Planner shall review the proposal against the applicable provisions of this UDC, the intent of this UDC, and the Comprehensive Plan and shall advance a recommendation to the Director and the Development Working Group.
2. Advisory Members
   1. Will provide technical advice relevant to their field of expertise to support comprehensive review and recommendations made by the City Engineer and City Planner. The Advisory Members may advance a recommendation to the Director and Development Working Group.

1. Regular meetings of the DWG will be convened by the Chair as per a schedule published annually in January of each respective year.
2. The agenda for these meetings, prepared by the Chair, will list development applications up for discussion and action.
3. Decisions on each development application will be made by the Director, after consultation with the Development Working Group, by taking one of the following actions:
   1. Issuing a Certificate of Conformance without conditions;
   2. Issuing a Certificate of Conformance with conditions;
   3. Refer the application to the Planning Commission;
   4. The Director may postpone issuing a certificate by requiring the applicant to provide further information after giving the applicant a clear statement noting deficiencies in the application.

The issuance of a Certificate of Conformance may be appealed by the owner of the subject property. Appeals must be filed in writing with the Director, with a copy to the City Clerk, within 30 days of the certificate's issuance.

The following general rules apply to the regulations of this UDC:

1. Numerical metrics take precedence over graphic metrics;
2. The diagrams and illustrations within this UDC are considered regulatory and are legally binding except:
   1. Where stated otherwise; or
   2. Where there is conflict between diagrams and illustrations, in which case the text takes precedence; and
   3. Fractional numbers are rounded up when 0.5 or above and rounded down when less than 0.5;
3. Where a cell in a table is blank this indicates that it is not allowed;
4. The definition given to any term used in this UDC shall be, in order of precedence:
   1. The definition given in this UDC, or in the absence thereof
   2. The definition given elsewhere in the City Code; or in the absence thereof
   3. The definition given by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary; and
   4. No definitions or interpretations found in the UDC shall alter or define any other terms or conditions found in the City Code.

Where uncertainty exists as to the zoning of a property or the boundary of a zoning district on the official zoning map, the following rules apply:

1. Any land annexed into the City not assigned a zoning district with the annexation or land otherwise not assigned a district are determined to be assigned T2; and
2. Where zoning district boundaries are not coterminous with lot boundaries the zoning of the lot shall be interpreted as follows:
   1. Where a zoning district boundary divides a lot the zoning district regulations shall apply to the land area as the district boundary is drawn or at the election of the owner and subject to the approval of the Director the least intense of the districts may be applied to the entire lot and the official zoning map updated accordingly; and
   2. Zoning district boundaries shall be interpreted to extend to the centerline of streets and alleys abutting the lot; and
   3. Distances not specifically indicated on the official zoning map are determined by the scale of the map.