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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSPAC.2022.1116.MinutesTOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION NOVEMBER 16, 2022 1. CALL TO ORDER— Chairman Garman Chairman Garman called to order the meeting of the Strategic Planning Advisory Commission at 4:01 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL — Chairman Garman Present: Chairman Patrick Garman; Vice Chairman Bernie Hoenle; Commissioner Kevin Beck; Commissioner Mary Edman; Commissioner Jill Keefe; Commissioner Cynthia Magazine; Commissioner Geoffrey Yazzetta Staff Town Manager Grady Miller; Development Services Director John Wesley; Present Executive Assistant Angela Padgett -Espiritu 3. CALL TO THE PUBLIC Pursuant to A.R.S. §38-431.01(H), public comment is permitted (not required) on matters NOT listed on the agenda. Any such comment (i) must be within the jurisdiction of the Commission, and (li) is subject to reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions. The Commission will not discuss or take legal action on matters raised during Call to the Public unless the matters are properly noticed for discussion and legal action. At the conclusion of the Call to the Public, individual commissioners may (i) respond to criticism, (li) ask staff to review a matter, or (iil) ask that the matter be placed on a future Commission agenda. No one from the public spoke. 4. CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: Approving the October 26, 2022, Meeting Minutes. MOVED BY Commissioner Geoffrey Yazzetta, SECONDED BY Commissioner Mary Edman to APPROVE the minutes of the October 26, 2022, Strategic Planning Advisory Commission Meeting. Vote: 7 - 0 - Unanimously 5. REPORTS BY COMMISSIONERS AND TOWN MANAGER Commissioner Yazzetta: Want to welcome my fellow leadership classmate, Jill Keefe, to her first official meeting, Mary and I completed an eight -week Leadership Academy course through the FHCCA and had the opportunity to meet a lot of great people. Jill was one of them. I think she s going to make a great addition to this commission. So welcome. Commissioner Magazine: Finally getting out of the house today and it went to the farmers market, and I was looking for Jill, and I think I missed part of the farmers' market. I went to the upper area, which had a lot fewer vendors. So, I saw half of it. But I certainly recommend that you go. It's every Wednesday, I think, all the way through April. Commissioner Edman: Don't have anything but welcome, Jill. Thank you. Vice Chair Hoenle: Nothing at this time. Commissioner Keefe: Very much enjoyed the graduation of the Fountain Hills Leadership Academy. I think it was a very vibrant program and is adding a lot to the community. It was really a privilege to be a part of that. Yesterday I had an opportunity to spend an hour with Patrick, where he onboarded me to the work of the Commission and answered some questions, and made me comfortable with our goals and objectives. Cynthia, I participated in the fountain hills farmers market today and the turnout of the town to support the vendors who were brought in was truly outstanding. I know that it means a lot to the vendors from Fountain Hills as well as those that come in. So a shameless plug for turning out for the market and acknowledging the organizer. Betsy has just done an extraordinary job with the work. Commissioner Beck: Welcome, Jill. I guess I only have two things this time. I'm sort of partially a Snowbird. I think Bashes is getting worse every year as you try to park and so forth that people walk around. And I've noticed a couple of golf carts driving around on the roads and so forth, which is fine. But I don't know if that's legal or not, but it's interesting. Secondly the Discovery Center. I have been reading up on it, and certainly, understand its scope. And I'm not sure of its scope for our group right now, since I think it's probably in the plan, or at least mentioned in the plan. But I'd love to get an update on that periodically so as to see how things look. Town Manager Miller: Welcome, Jill. We're very pleased to have you on board and it was great to see Jill at the Know Your Government Day, as well as the others that are on the commission that was there. I think the Leadership Academy is a great program and the town is definitely involved because we see the benefits of that program. So that's all I have, Mr. Chair. Thanks. 6. PRESENTATION: Arizona Alliance for Livable Communities by Kenneth Steel. Speaker Mr. Kenneth Steel: The Arizona Alliance for Livable Communities is a volunteer -based coalition that I've been coaching since 2015. Most of our members are professionals that are working in planning and development, public health, community development, sustainability, and environmental fields. We have our government toll public health agencies like the state health department Maricopa County Department of Public Health, and then different foundations. In 2010, the first HIA was done in the state. Since then, there have been a lot of other projects where this tool has been used. It's a data -driven, community -based tool that helps to assess the health impacts of a future policy, project, program, or proposal. There are 20 projects touching on a wide range of topics, including affordable housing, food, parks, trails, and open -space transportation projects. Commissioner: We want to build strong relationships with communities throughout the state. We provide comments during a 60-day review period and then enter into a conversation about what might be out of our reach. Some communities have also elected to have our members sit on their technical advisory committees. How we build our cities can affect the levels of public health either positively or negatively. The design of the physical environment contributes to obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and asthma. By working together to afford individuals the opportunity to live healthier lives, we can lower the impact of these diseases. Governor Ducey vetoed Prop 400 extension, so we're all paying attention to how we can continue ration of that sales tax. Maricopa County is unique in that it had to go through the process of going to the legislature to get something like this on the ballot for voters. Vision Zero, is an approach that communities throughout the world have embraced to work toward zero deaths and zero serious injuries on our roadways. The Arizona Heritage Alliance and its partners work to restore funds to that fund, which helped to provide funding at the state level for historic preservation. The state parks Heritage Fund is a fund that was initiated, I think, in 1989 or 1990. And then lost funding in 2008, during the great recession. Questions addressed by the Commissioners: How do you go about collaborating with the towns and cities? Do they reach out to you? Do you reach out to them? Do you identify who's best to work with? Mr. Steel: Folks have realized the value of the partnership and have reached out to us and invited us to sit on technical advisory committees, or, we just check in with their planning department. Typically, people are just open and responsive to working with us and seeing how we can be the best partner. 7. CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: Approval of the 2023 Meeting Dates of the Strategic Planning Advisory Commission. MOVED BY Commissioner Jill Keefe, SECONDED BY Commissioner Mary Edman to APPROVE the 2023 meeting dates of the Strategic Planning Advisory Commission with the exclusion of the July 26, 2023, and the December 20, 2023, meetings. Vote: 5 - 2 NAY: Chairman Patrick Garman Vice Chairman Bernie Hoenle 8. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: Town of Fountain Hills Environmental Plan Draft. Chairman Garman: We asked the Town to create a standalone Environmental Plan. Director Wesley brought that to our Commission a few times already and allowed us to review it. We are being asked to endorse this plan, so the plan would go to the Council for them to vote on it with an endorsement from our Advisory Commission. Director Wesley: When I came up with the initial draft, which did pull together sections of the general plan into one document, it was easy to read and see it all. And what you have today is this new page two titled Environmental Plan, which provides a summary of the rest of the document. There are a couple of other minor tweaks there, updated the date on the strategic plan, and just a few other little things that were noted. Commissioner Keefe: With the goals, policies, and action items in the plan, how do you envision defining and measuring success? Director Wesley: The main tool we have is on an annual basis. We go through our department and other town departments, and look at what those action items were. We asked them for feedback on updates on what they have done to accomplish those things over the last year. We put that together for an annual report to the town council. We know there are more things here than we will really be able to get to, but it still gives us those things to focus on. Over time, some things do not make the cut for what we are doing, and we potentially amend the plan. Chairman Garman: I noticed that you're talking about the salt -free treatment systems. Do you have some specifics on that? Director Wesley: As we develop the general plan itself, the Fountain Hills Sanitary District in particular, was asked if this particular item should be included in the general plan. And it's very important to them. And so, it's largely in their area to continue to work on and encourage within the town. The language here is taken directly from what has been adopted in the general plan. And so I don't have anything more right now than what's right there is how that can be carried out. But I know it's come up. We've talked about it in some of our meetings as we continue to work with development and developers on finding alternative systems. Town Manager Miller: We have a Joint Council Sanitary District workgroup, with our council and the Sanitary District board. We have tried communicating with the public and also looked at even offering rebates for people that would replace their water softener or salt -based water softener systems with other alternative systems. Because the water is reclaimed and is used for golf courses or Fountain Park, for instance, the quality is such that it causes the burning of the grass and the vegetation. There are a lot of environmental types of issues. I think it's a really good idea to have this in there. But I think it's a good question, where did this come from? But from what we're hearing, a lot of the cities here, because we don't have a coastal area where we could discharge into like an ocean or what have you, a lot of that water ends up still staying here in town, and like our Fountain Lake and Fountain Park, the salinity at it keeps getting higher concentrations, because we're not able to draw it down and replenish it soon enough. We use it to irrigate our park and that is one of the reasons why it's here. Commissioner Magazine: I think you've made this so much more readable for the public and I think you've done a really good job with that. Commissioner Beck: I like it. I think you did a great job and really liked the summary page and going through it. I agree you have the education for recycling and some of the implementation would be more. But as far as this goes, I like it. And if I could jump forward with how it's presented in the images. I like it because I think that's Fountain Hills and you're showing pictures of Fountain Hills. Vice Chair Hoenle: Moreover, it's getting into the detail because as you go through these things, you look at things that are more operational than they are planning. So, like the scorecard, we talked about that and just sort of glossed on that. So, if you come up with any valuation, if you accomplish that like recycling, there are collection locations around town. Some of it could be put on a map or something so that people do see it because there are collection bins at churches, there are collection bins at schools for recycling, and there are different things that are around. And then the other thing you touch on with solar and Architecture and Design, but just the term renewable energy. Are you talking about an environmental plan? That seems to be a key phrase that fits a lot of these different things. But otherwise, I mean, it's all covered. Commissioner Yazzetta: I like it as it is. But in the spirit of inclusivity for some of our more elderly constituents, is this the right format? The translucent box is above the image, but below the type. Should that be a little more opaque? So it's easier for the lettering to jump off the page and call more attention to the lettering a little bit more like a watermark type. Chairman Garman: the motion on the floor is to approve the environmental plan that we asked for our Strategic Planning Advisory Commission to endorse that plan as presented by the town. John, you have your endorsement to take this whenever you can get this up to the council. MOVED BY Commissioner Cynthia Magazine, SECONDED BY Commissioner Kevin Beck to APPROVE the endorsement of the Environmental Plan to be presented to the Town Council. Vote: 6 - 1 NAY: Commissioner Jill Keefe 9. COMMENTS FROM THE CHAIRMAN We will not be having a meeting in December; we will be having a meeting on the fourth Wednesday in January 2023. I am working with the Chair of the McDowell Mountain Preservation Commission for the town. He is going to come in and brief his Strategic Plan that they have for his commission, and I'm going to brief our Strategic Plan to his commission. So, we're looking at early January or February to get that on the agenda, and also connecting with MCSO and Maricopa County Sheriffs Office to talk about trends in law enforcement in the Fountain Hills area or Maricopa County. They have a Deputy that handles that and has briefed the council before, and he said that he would come in and brief us about trends as well. So, look forward to that in the future. 10. NEXT MEETING DATE: Wednesday, January 25, 2023 The next meeting of the Strategic Planning Advisory Commission will be held on Wednesday, January 25, 2023, in the Council Chambers at 4:00 p.m. 11. ADJOURNMENT MOVED BY Commissioner Geoffrey Yazzetta, SECONDED BY Commissioner Mary Edman to ADJOURN the Regular Meeting of the Strategic Planning Advisory Commission at 5:37 p.m. Vote: 7 - 0 - Unanimously 7TTEST AND PREPARED BY: Angela Esdfitu, Exe cutive Assistant STRATENNING ADVISORY COMMI Patrick Carman, Chairman CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Regular Meeting held by the Fountain Hills Strategic Planning Advisory Commission in the Town Hall Council Chambers on the 16 day of November, 2022. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this 25 day of January, 2023. C 't Angela St tu;Executive Assistant STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION Fourth Wednesday of each month 2023 Potential Meeting Dates January 25 February 22 March 22 April 26 May 24 June 28 July 26? (Possible Summer Break) August 23? (Possible Summer Break) September 27 October 25 November 15 (third Wednesday due to Thanksgiving week) December 20? (third Wednesday due to Christmas week) 11.29.2021 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS ENVIRONMENTAL PLAN 2022 Prepared By,: John Wesley Development Services Director Introduction From its inception, the natural desert became an integral component of Fountain Hills' character, identity, and sense of place. Although part of the built environment, the signature fountain and lake result from a water conservation system that uses reclaimed water. The water conservation system includes reusing reclaimed water on turf in parks and golf courses and for aquifer storage and recovery. The community consistently supports preservation and conservation efforts. Town leaders and citizens recognize the importance of natural wash areas, preservation of steep slopes, wildlife corridors, and native plant communities. Community -wide support for conservation includes a voter - approved initiative to preserve wash corridors in their natural condition. The Fountain Hills community values wildlife, natural beauty, and scenic vistas and continues to protect hillsides, washes, and view corridors. The Town has stringent re -vegetation requirements that require the restoration of disturbed areas with native plant species consistent in type and density with the surrounding native desert and encourage builders to design with a contextual emphasis. This approach addresses the use of land, open space, flood control, water conservation, air, and water quality, along with recreation and economic development in an integrated manner that defines a thriving community. A growing approach to looking at and considering how humans need to be part of and relate to the natural environment is the concept of biophilic design. Biophilia is "a hypothetical human tendency to interact or be closely associated with other life forms in nature; a desire or tendency to commune with nature." The biophilic design combines our inherent need to affiliate with nature in the modern built environment. Environmental Plan The Fountain Hills General Plan 2020, adopted by the Town Council and voters in 2020, contains goals, policies, and action items related to maintaining the environment in Fountain Hills. This Environmental Plan pulls the information and elements of that Plan into one readable document. This Town of Fountain Hills Environmental Plan 2022 summarizes the vital environmental factors, followed by the details contained in the General Plan. Fountain Hills is a town developed within the natural Sonoran Desert that provides a high quality of life to those who want to live in natural settings with great views, night skies, wildlife habitats, and outstanding recreational amenities. The Town seeks to provide a healthy living environment that residents and visitors can readily enjoy. To that end, the goals, policies, and actions of the as contained in the Town of Fountain Hills Environmental Plan 2022 are: • Continue to provide guardianship and stewardship of the natural desert by: • Implementing existing ordinances, policies, and practices that limit disturbance of natural areas. • Developing educational materials to encourage use of trails and discourage the off - trail activities. • Protecting our dark skies. • Embracing environmental initiatives with neighboring communities, the County, State, and Federal governments. • Encouraging water conservation. • Developing strategies for preserving or restoring predevelopment flow of water. • Provide and maintain an open space network throughout the community and beyond by: • Protecting washes and providing wildlife corridors. • Continuing to support unpaved trails in the Town that provide connectivity to the surrounding desert. • Updating and providing maps and information on the trails. • Identifying and preserving historical and archaeological resources. • Promoting programs that encourage environmentally -friendly alternatives and improve air quality by: • Utilizing native, drought -tolerant landscapes that eliminate use of gasoline -powered landscape equipment. • Providing for and encouraging bicycle and pedestrian connectivity throughout the Town. • Support waste reduction programs and proper management of hazardous waste. • Incorporating biophilic design goals and principles into Town practices and development within the community. nig Princi Continue to preserve and''• space, identify and protect and develop and implement p water and energy conservation GOAL 1: Continue to promote the vigilance and POLICIES Continue to support the following Town policies, 1. Require all newly platted or re -platted hillside p Protection Easement for each parcel as required by of 2 Identify where appropriate trails should be locatad Parks, Recreation, Trails, and Open Space Map and policies and develop public educational materials to Ws wildlife habitat and vegetation; 3. Discourage un-permitted grading or dumping and require 4. Encourage redevelopment, revitalization, and rehabilitath consumption; 5. Continually update the approved low-water use plant list to en the list are suitable for the community; 6. Continually protect dark skies; and 7. Update the Land Disturbance Regulations when appropriate. ACTION ITEMS 1. Continue to enforce and update all applicable ordinances, including Re ulations, to conserve the natural desert, protect open space, hilisid nce ails, City of al systems on both the it ,F` tksipn and the F. McDowell Yavapai Nation to support Matto rism itwdl trails do not Infringe on the acy of residential area 4• •..,,� ,.ykrw H P 'i L NaeLe omimumTIes ARIZONA ALLIANCE FOR LIVABLE COMMUNITIES Kenneth Steel, MPH Pinnacle Prevention Fountain Hills Strategic Planning Commission 11 /16/2022 LivaBLe COMMUNITISS S PINNACLE PREVENTION ARIZONA ALLIANCE FOR LIVABLE COMMUNITIES Kenneth Steel, MPH Pinnacle Prevention Fountain Hills Strategic Planning Commission 11/16/2022 OUR HISTORY LIVABLE COMMUNITIES COALITION HEALTH IN PLANNING PROCESSES MERGED TO FORM THE AALC (2014) HEALTH IN POLICY & PRACTICE ARIZONA HEALTH IMPACT ASSESSMENT HEALTH IN ALL PLANNING Municipalities We've Worked With on General/Comprehensive Plans: • Apache Junction - 2020 General Plan • *Avondale- Avondale General Plan 2030 • Buckeye- Buckeye General Plan • Chandler- 2016 Chandler General Plan • El Mirage - El Mirage 2020 General Plan • *Goodyear- Goodyear 2050 General Plan • *Mesa- Mesa 2040 General Plan • Peoria- City of Peoria General Plan Update • Phoenix- PIanPHX General Plan Update 2015 • Pima County- Pima Prospers • Queen Creek- 2018 Queen Creek General Plan • *Tempe- City of Tempe General Plan 2040 * Communities we are working with again currently for new updates in 2022. Also working with Surprise. HEALTHY COMMUNITY DESIGN TOOLKIT 1. Select Element(s) Meose select the element(a) below you wlsn to ,emus ❑ tone use ■ mcwmmn d❑ Mand Consedotdo 0 Energy ❑ Seedy/Ind Security 0 sracraoven ❑ wale ae.aa,cos cost or I reveropmert esrtIc aj d 5s orw • 2. Select Policy Topic Area(s) Adopt a Complete Streets Policy Support Safe Routes to School Explore Transit -Oriented Development Enhance Transportation infrastructure Develop a Pedestrian/Bicycle Friendly Community Action Plan Improve Design of Physical Environment Connect Transportation to Housing Improve Trans¢ Options bttDJNvableazora/resmIrces/ 3. Select Specific Policies co nd as a componentm newST id sorer( througd the incdpordiono. mererraor-mnre„ m n,e move. and uay na.t apsto a nee vast. Preradte walking ond btcIag M NKdeang dreetscope amenrles such as ❑ce , planted receptacles planteedestria scale righting body terewnee newsstands. n,rnking;aunro.,e ard ate alas on anroge use au Iodides (reignand rodn that mcreose pedestrian O yet.t sa v end comfort levels ril Redere incorprored or shade (Medal and/Dr nuamil d ail podia Ora wwate 0e eropmend paw<¢ to encourage wah4y ❑m to soedt Trees as on important decwvo Id dress reduction mg incorporate pcmm ng flmns mm the ,ma na regulations To sco rage vehicle❑D r mitigate the deun esur Diana WHO effect by ,eaumg coved yurtmes a construct (Ina nrointarn o tote nodprenensree and integrated b0vd, aro 4. Download Report Does anyone have any questions? KENNETHSTEEL@PINNACLEPREVENTION.ORG 281-798-9978 PIN NACLEPREVENTION.ORG CREDITS: This presentation template was created byslidesgo, including icons by Flaticon, and infographics & images by Freepik Please keep this slide for attribution.