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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994.0315.TCWSM.Minutes Lire TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE WORK/STUDY SESSION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL MARCH 15, 1994 A Work/Study Session of the Fountain Hills Town Council was convened and called to order by Mayor Cutillo at 6:30 p.m.,Tuesday,March 15, 1994,in the Fountain Hills Town Hall,located at 16836 E.Palisades Blvd.,Building C,Fountain Hills, Arizona. AGENDA ITEM#2. - MONTHLY REPORT BY MAGISTRATE STUART SHOOB Judge Shoob began his report by stating that receivables were not up and,in fact,may be down a little. He said the court was putting about$5,000 a week on the books as receivables and if a good portion could be collected each month,receivables would continue to be in relatively good shape. He estimated that at the present rate, the court would have approximately 3600 cases filed by year end, which he compared to the Town of Gilbert which ran approximately 4300 cases per year and also had four court clerks to handle the load. AGENDA ITEM#3. - PRESENTATION BY MCO PROPERTIES ON THE SUNRIDGE CANYON AREA SPECIFIC PLAN,WHICH IS A 950 ACRE DEVELOPMENT LOCATED NORTH OF PALISADES BLVD., WEST OF GOLDEN EAGLE BLVD.,SOUTH OF THE NORTH HEIGHTS DEVELOPMENT AND ALONG THE EAST SIDE OF THE MCDOWELL MOUNTAINS. Ms. Rauch gave a rundown of the steps taken by the applicant thus far. She said the applicant had submitted the application November 22, 1993 and on December 23,had a formal technical review meeting with staff to give staff's initial comments and request additional information from the applicant. On January 26, 1994 MCO held a site tour with the Planning & Zoning (P&Z) Commission and on January 27 made a presentation to the P&Z Commission. The 60-day clock for the review started on February 3 and on February 8,MCO made a similar presentation to the Parks&Recreation Commission. On February 24,there was a public hearing by the P&Z Commission,the hearing was closed and discussions started and were continued on March 10. On Thursday,March 24,P&Z was scheduled to proceed with more discussions. The public hearing by the Council was tentatively scheduled for April 7 if the P&Z Commission made a recommendation at their Thursday meeting, otherwise the hearing would need to be cancelled. Councilman Hudson asked if the presentation was going to be identical to that received by the Parks &Recreation and P&Z Commissions, or if it would incorporate changes made as a result of those meetings. Mr. Ray Baldwin, MCO Properties, answered it would be a combination of both. Mr. Baldwin then began his presentation. He said in the initial presentation to P&Z, he told them there had been numerous plans put together over the years for the property being discussed and a common theme for each plan was a golf course. Mr.Baldwin referred to a map he displayed and said constraints looked at by MCO were those areas affected by the 100-year storm which could not be developed, the slopes, and how the plan fit with the hillside disturbance ordinance. He said MCO used those constraints to come up with a land use plan. The plan ended up with about 60% open space, 215 acres of which was designated for golf course use and 367 acres which would basically remain open space. The overall density was in conformance with the density levels shown in the general plan. The second part of the plan, he said, was the transportation element, which included a suggested change to the configuration of a road. The third part would be the parks element which had changed from an initial plan of four 'pocket' parks to a single five-acre park with a minimum of two and one-half acres to be turfed. The location had ,,,. Minutes of the Work/Study Session of the Town Council 03/15/94 Page 1 of 4 not been determined but would be before the process was completed. The Town would be given three years to make improvements to the site or it would revert back to MCO. The other part that evolved through the various presentations and discussions was a pedestrian path system. He said MCO had used a draft sidewalk policy, as put together by staff, as the basis to establish sidewalks and pedestrian paths. Also proposed within the plan was to extend Palisades to Shea Blvd., initially as a two-lane roadway and discussions were on-going with Town Engineer,Randy Harrel,as to when it might be made into four lanes. MCO expected to pay for construction of Palisades to Shea Blvd,but felt only a 50%obligation for the stretch of Palisades from Lost Hills Dr. to Sage Dr. due to adjacent ownership with the Town. Mr. Baldwin said the plan initially started out with 1900 units, but MCO had agreed with staff and reduced the number to 1230 units. MCO agreed with staff as to the number of units per parcel in all but one parcel, and discussions were ongoing in that area. Councilwoman Tibbetts said people wondered where the clubhouse would be located. Mr.Baldwin said there were two locations being considered, both in Fountain Hills. He said there had been discussions with the City of Scottsdale regarding de-annexation of a portion of land, but the talks had been a nightmare so they were discontinued. There was a road in the plan that did cut through Scottsdale to tie in Palisades. Further talks with Scottsdale were planned to discuss de-annexation of that portion so all the roads would be in Fountain Hills. If those talks fell through, it was assumed that MCO would apply to Scottsdale for a road, file a map of dedication, and Scottsdale would be responsible for the maintenance or any occurrence on that road. MCO was hopeful that Scottsdale would be more reasonable in granting the de-annexation since the road request would not entail any land use. Councilman O'Brien asked if the 10% density fluctuation agreement he had read about still applied. Mr. Baldwin said it had been agreed with staff on a 10% fluctuation with the understanding that the number of units did not increase above 1230. NI) Vice Mayor Minarsich asked what staff's primary objections were regarding Section C of MCO's plan. Mr.Jeppson answered that staff was in agreement with the developer, but if the plan was approved there would need to be a zoning classification developed to allow the source of densities requested,which was less than the 6000 square foot minimum of any of the current zoning districts. Vice Mayor Minarsich asked how many lots would be lost if the developer were required to adhere to the 6000-square-foot minimum. Ms.Rauch said if all lots were at 6000 square feet, there would be 30 lots lost. Councilman Clark said there had been discussions as to whether or not provisions should be made for school property,whether within the project or external to it. He asked Mr. Baldwin to comment. Mr. Baldwin said MCO had met with Superintendent Dunne and he thought the area being considered was in the downtown area under the new town center plan. Councilman Clark asked about the park area outside the plot and Mr. Baldwin said the main discussion focused on an area that tied in with the Aspen school site. Councilman Clark asked Mike Scharnow if,as Chairman of the Parks & Recreation Commission, he was aware of, and in agreement with, the plans. Mr. Schamow answered that the Commission was aware and that their recommendation had included off-site acreage. Councilman Clark asked if the site was agreeable to the Parks & Recreation Commission, even though its proximity was so close to Golden Eagle Park. Mr. Schamow said the Commission hadn't had any formal discussions on the matter. Mayor Cutillo said he would be concerned with the proximity to Golden Eagle Park and wondered what the need was for another park so close. Councilwoman Tibbetts said there were amenities desired and requested for Golden Eagle Park for which there was no room, so possibly they could be considered at a new park. Councilman Lawrence said there was a foreseeable need for more than one school site and wondered whether MCO Minutes of the Work/Study Session of the Town Council 03/15/94 Page 2of4 , fikkor was in discussion with the school district with regard to multiple school sites. Mr.Baldwin answered that the school already owned three school sites,two of which were considered developable. He said there would be neighborhood opposition to developing at any site, but the school district needed to address what they planned to do with those sites they already had, which were given to them by the original developer,before MCO would be willing to look at giving more property that might not even be used. Councilman Clark asked Mr. Harrel whether a school site in a downtown area was feasible from a traffic/safety standpoint. Mr. Harrel answered there was plenty of traffic capacity for a school site since a school would not generate any more traffic than a commercial development and probably substantially less. He said safety would be a concern at any site. Councilman Clark said he had gone over all the materials and he still was unable to determine the need for a change to the general plan. Mr.Jeppson said the amendment was because they were shifting densities within the 950 acres and the Arizona Revised Statutes specified that zoning would be performed in accordance with the General Plan. The General Plan stated there would be one to two units per acre and the request was, hypothetically, for 10 units per acre, therefore, the rezoning request would not be in conformance with the General Plan. Councilman Lawrence asked Mr. Baldwin what the time line would be if the approval was granted. Mr. Baldwin answered that the project would be phased in a three- to six-year build out. The golf course would begin the first phase,hopefully in July and parcel development could begin possibly the first of next year. The other phases would follow accordingly. Work on Palisades would begin once the first homes adjacent to it were built and ready to be occupied, anticipated to be the first quarter of 1995. Councilwoman Tibbetts asked what the plans were for running the golf course--whether it would possibly be a combination of membership and public fees. Mr.Baldwin said it wasn't known yet except that it would be a public play course with a daily fee. Mr.Baldwin said MCO wanted to offer everyone a tour since there were sections that were quite spectacular to see. AGENDA ITEM#5. - ADJOURNMENT. With no further discussions, Mayor Cutillo declared the meeting adjourned at approximately 7:15 p.m. Minutes of the Work/Study Session of the Town Council 03/15/94 Page 3of4 , '441) TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS By: Jo u o, yor ATTEST: ed.Z.0;, _ I-' I Cassie B. Hansen, Town Clerk PREPARED BY: Rosaly Rucker, Adm. istrative Assistant CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Work Study Meeting held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills on the 15th day of March, 1994. I further certify that the meeting was Nog)duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this 7th day of April, 1994. 0)41Lt _ iJ&11^-tlAi Cassie B. Hansen, Town Clerk Minutes of the Work/Study Session of the Town Council 03/15/94 Page 4 of 4,