Maricopa Committee Bars Phone-Only Callers From Public Debate | The Locally Times
County records for a February 19 policy meeting show that while residents could listen by phone, they were explicitly barred from participation without webinar registration.
On February 19, 2026, a Maricopa County committee held a hybrid public meeting with rules that prevented residents joining by phone from participating. The Zoning, Infrastructure, Policy, Procedure, and Ordinance Review (ZIPPOR) Committee met both in-person at the Board of Supervisors' Auditorium in Phoenix and virtually. However, a public notice posted by the Maricopa County Air Quality Department specified that only those who registered for a webinar could take an active role, reserving full participatory rights for a single class of remote attendees. ## County Creates Two Tiers for Remote Access Public documents laid out two methods for remote access with different levels of privilege. To fully participate, residents were required to register in advance for a GoToWebinar link. The notice, posted on the county calendar, states that registrants would receive a confirmation email with information on how to join and be actively involved. In contrast, the notice provided a second option to access the meeting by dialing a Los Angeles-area phone number and entering an access code. According to the notice, this option came with a critical limitation: individuals could listen to the hearing by phone but would be unable to participate if they had not also registered as a webinar participant. This policy created a two-tiered system for public engagement. One tier, requiring internet access and an email address for pre-registration, allowed for participation. The other, accessible by a standard telephone call, was limited to passive listening. The available documents do not define “participation,” so it is unknown if the restriction prevented telephone attendees from making public comments, asking questions, or being formally recorded as present. ## Policy Raises Digital Divide Concerns The requirement for webinar registration to participate in policy discussions raises questions about equitable access. The policy makes the ability to influence committee decisions contingent on having reliable internet service, a device capable of running webinar software, and the digital literacy to navigate an online registration process. By relegating telephone attendees to a listen-only status, the committee’s procedure may disproportionately affect seniors, residents in rural areas with poor internet infrastructure, and low-income individuals. The policy effectively sidelines a segment of the population from debates on zoning, infrastructure, and ordinances—issues that directly shape their communities. The public records associated with the February 19 meeting do not include an assessment of this policy’s impact on accessibility. Records do not specify how many residents typically rely on the telephone-only option for Maricopa County meetings, making the full scope of the exclusion difficult to quantify. The records do not clarify whether the inability for phone users to participate is a technical limitation of the county’s GoToWebinar system or a deliberate procedural rule. The meeting notice references a county user guide for GoToWebinar dated September 26, 2023, indicating the technology has been in use since at least that time. The guide does not, however, reveal the history or justification for the participation policy. The public record posted on the county calendar for the February 19 meeting is also incomplete. No agenda was included, leaving the specific policies or ordinances discussed by the committee unknown. Without meeting minutes, it is impossible to determine what decisions were made or how the debate unfolded while a class of remote attendees was barred from contributing. The records do not indicate if this is a standard, county-wide policy for all public meetings or a practice specific to the ZIPPOR committee, nor do they show if alternative mechanisms exist for phone-only users to submit input. ## Participation Rules Affect Key County Policies The ZIPPOR Committee is tasked with reviewing the rules that govern land use, public infrastructure, and administrative procedures that affect every resident of Maricopa County. Decisions on these matters have long-term, tangible consequences, from the construction of new housing to the regulation of local business. Public input is a foundational element of local governance, intended to ensure that policy-making is transparent and accountable. When access to that process is limited, it risks creating policies that do not reflect the needs of the entire community. The policy for the ZIPPOR committee’s February meeting highlights a gap between providing access to listen and guaranteeing the opportunity to be heard. The official record provides no explanation for this discrepancy or a plan to address it.