Bill Robertson – Planning & Zoning Commission
For Bill Robertson, the desire to volunteer and give back to the community began early. When he was 17, he started as a volunteer firefighter in New Jersey. That was the profession that sticks with him to this day, even as a volunteer member of the Planning & Zoning Commission.
“It’s giving back to the community,” said Robertson. “As a retired fire chief, my specialty is going to be fire protection, fire services, and when it comes to reviewing developer plans, of course, I’m making sure that the fire hydrants are adequately installed. They’ve got to meet the required fire flow of so many gallons a minute, and that the roads are adequate and wide enough.”
While zoning in and of itself might be a dry topic for most people, it’s an important aspect of how Maricopa will grow, in size and character.
As a volunteer position, the focus is on the community, Robertson explained.
“We answer to the code,” Robertson said. “The city building codes, the city General Plan, the zoning codes — that’s our sole purpose — to make sure that when a developer comes in, they’re checking all of the boxes in terms of what’s required to develop in our community.”
Robertson said the most important thing for a member of P&Z is to take their opinions out of it.
“You can’t arbitrarily deny someone from developing if they are in the proper zoning area and if they meet all the requirements.
“It’s not about a personal agenda,” Robertson said. “I can’t go in and vote a project down because Bill doesn’t like apartments. If I vote against something, it has to be because the code isn’t being adhered to.”
Roberts has worked in public service for most of his life. Prior to coming to Maricopa, he was the fire chief for Farmington, New Mexico, which he says reminds him a lot of Maricopa.
“It was a city about the size of Maricopa when I lived there,” Roberts said. “I did my time there, retired out, and we hit the road in an RV for a few years before we settled in Maricopa.”
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This content was first published in the April edition of InMaricopa magazine.
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