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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005.0106.TCREM.Minutes TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR AND EXECUTIVE SESSION OF THE
(b. FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL
JANUARY 6,2005
Mayor Nichols called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m.
AGENDA ITEM #1 —VOTE TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION: PURSUANT TO A.R.S. 38-
431.03.A.4,(i) FOR: DISCUSSIONS OR CONSULTATIONS WITH THE ATTORNEYS OF THE
PUBLIC BODY IN ORDER TO CONSIDER ITS POSITION AND INSTRUCT THE
ATTORNEYS REGARDING THE PUBLIC BODY'S POSITION REGARDING CONTRACTS
THAT ARE THE SUBJECT OF NEGOTIATIONS, IN PENDING OR CONTEMPLATED
LITIGATION OR IN SETTLEMENT DISCUSSIONS CONDUCTED IN ORDER TO AVOID OR
RESOLVE LITIGATION. (Specifically, a refund claim by a taxpayer and 562502 Ontario, Inc. v.
Town of Fountain Hills.)
Vice Mayor Archambault MOVED to convene the Executive Session and Councilman Schlum
SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. (7 to 0).
Councilman Kehe MOVED to recess the Executive Session at 6:14 p.m. and Councilwoman Nicola
SECONDED the motion,which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. (7 to 0).
AGENDA ITEM#2-RETURN TO REGULAR SESSION
Mayor Nichols convened the Regular Session of the Town Council at 6:14 p.m. following the Special
Lie Session of the Eagle Mountain Community Facilities District Board. Cantor Howard Tabaknek, Temple
Beth Hagivot gave the invocation, which was followed by the roll call.
ROLL CALL — Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council:
Vice Mayor Archambault, Mayor Nichols, Councilman Schlum, Councilman Kavanagh, Councilman
Kehe, Councilwoman Nicola, and Councilman McMahan. Town Attorney Andrew McGuire, Town
Manager Tim Pickering, Accounting Supervisor Julie Ghetti, Senior Planner Dana Burkhardt, Downtown
Economic Development Coordinator Gracie Burton, and Town Clerk Bev Bender were also present.
CALL TO THE PUBLIC
Town Clerk Bev Bender advised that no requests to speak had been submitted.
CONSENT AGENDA
Mayor Nichols read the following consent agenda items:
AGENDA ITEM #1 — CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE MEETING MINUTES OF
12/16/2004.
AGENDA ITEM #2 — CONSIDERATION OF THE SPECIAL EVENT LIQUOR LICENSE
APPLICATION SUBMITTED BY THE AMERICAN LEGION POST #58 FOR PONY EXPRESS
DAY ON FEBRUARY 3,2005 FROM NOON UNTIL 6:00 P.M.
AGENDA ITEM #3 — CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE LIQUOR LICENSE
Ihow APPLICATION SUBMITTED BY MATILDA SALAZAR FOR TERRY NOSTRA ITALIAN
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CAFE LOCATED AT 16740 E. PALISADES BOULEVARD. THE APPLICATION IS FOR A
NEW CLASS 12 LICENSE.
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AGENDA ITEM #4 — CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2005-06, ABANDONING
WHATEVER RIGHT, TITLE OR INTEREST THE TOWN HAS IN A PORTION OF THE 1'
VEHICULAR NON-ACCESS EASEMENT LOCATED AT THE EASTERLY PROPERTY LINE
OF LOT 34C,BLOCK 2,PLAT 505A. NVAE 04-03.
AGENDA ITEM #5 — CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2005-07, WHICH WOULD
ABANDON THE FINAL REPLAT OF LOTS 12 AND 13, EAGLE MOUNTAIN PARCEL 5 (A
LOT JOIN), AND REVERT BACK TO THE ORIGINAL TWO-LOT CONFIGURATION OF
EAGLE MOUNTAIN PARCEL 5 FINAL PLAT,LOTS 12 AND 13. (CASE#S-2004-30.)
AGENDA ITEM #6 — CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2005-08, GRANTING AN
EASEMENT TO THE SANITARY DISTRICT FOR THE CIVIC CENTER II PROJECT.
AGENDA ITEM #7 — CONSIDERATION OF RETAINING TITUS, BRUECKNER AND BERRY
AND JORDAN AND ROSEBROUGH AS LITIGATION COUNSEL.
Vice Mayor Archambault MOVED to approve the Consent Agenda as read and Councilman Kavanagh
SECONDED the motion.
A roll call vote was taken with the following results:
Councilwoman Nicola Aye
Mayor Nichols Aye
Councilman Kavanagh Aye
Councilman Schlum Aye
Councilman Kehe Aye
Councilman McMahan Aye
Vice Mayor Archambault Aye
The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7 to 0).
AGENDA ITEM #8 — PRESENTATION OF THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS'
COMPREHENSIVE ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING
JUNE 30,2004,BY THE INDEPENDENT AUDIT FIRM, CRONSTROM AND TRBOVICH.
Town Manager Tim Pickering said that Accounting Supervisor Julie Ghetti would introduce the Town's
auditor but first he wanted to express his appreciation to Julie and her staff as well as the auditors. He
commented on the extensive work that went into preparing the report and said they did an excellent job.
Ms. Ghetti said she was pleased to present the Annual Financial Report for the fiscal year ending June 30,
2004. She introduced Mr. Dennis Osuch from the firm of Cronstrom & Trbovich, the Town's external
auditors. She expressed her appreciation to the Council, management, and staff for their hard work,
which resulted in a positive variance of$1 million at the year's end.
Mr. Osuch said that his firm issued an unqualified opinion on the report and noted that this was the
fifteenth year that the Town has received an unqualified opinion, which meant that the statements were in
conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. He added that they had no reportable
conditions (i.e. no major findings that would affect the internal control of the Town of Fountain Hills).
He explained that the focus of the financial statements were really on a government-wide statement and *04
noted that within the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report were the government-wide statements that
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were presented on a full accrual basis and were separated into one column (all governmental funds
including the General Fund, Special Revenues, Debt Service and any Capital Project funds). He said that
behind that were the fund financial statements that were presented on a modified accrual basis, the old
method of presenting the financial statements, with the focus being on major funds that had to meet
certain criteria in order to be presented. He noted that they were presented separately with all of the other
non-major funds presented in one column.
Mr. Osuch reported that during the fiscal year the Town presented $25.7 million in net assets, which was
on the government-wide statements, and 43% of those net assets were for the investment in capital assets
net of any related debt. He stated that the 43% could not be used to liquidate any type of liabilities
because it was an investment in capital assets. He added that on the fund side, the modified accrual basis,
the funds presented a $12.8 million fund balance at the end of the year, 6.3% of which was attributed to
the General Fund. He said that the report was issued to the Auditor General along with the Annual
Expenditure Limitation Report and an Unqualified Opinion on the Annual Expenditure Limitation Report
that says the Town did not exceed the limit set by the State for expenditures for the year. He added that
the information was also submitted to the GFOA (Government Finance Officer's Association) for an
award for financial presentation. He pointed out the in the Fiscal Year ending June 30, 2003, the Town
received that award and said he expected they would receive it again this year.
Councilwoman Nicola commented that the audit they did through the District and this audit were not as
in-depth as the audit that they saw at the last meeting. Mr. Osuch said that the audit was a little different
because it included all of the other funds of the Town but stated that it was still in-depth and they looked
closely at the numbers.
Mayor Nichols commended Ms. Ghetti and Town staff for achieving 15 years of unqualified statements
and explained to anyone not familiar with the terminology that a qualified statement was a "bad thing".
He also thanked Mr. Osuch and his firm for their excellent work.
AGENDA ITEM #9— PRESENTATION BY THE DOWNTOWN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
COORDINATOR ON DOWNTOWN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
Downtown Economic Development Coordinator Gracie Burton addressed the Council and provided a
brief overview of the Town's formal program that was established in April. Ms. Burton advised that the
direction given to her regarding economic development was to "find her way around Fountain Hills and
develop a working relationship with existing businesses, the Chamber of Commerce, Downtown
Associations, Realtors and the general public, the community of Fountain Hills." She said she was also
directed to develop a business retention and expansion program, which was approximately 40% complete.
She stated that the program's due date was April lst to implement the Avenue of the Fountains and to
have an on-going plan in place. She said the Council would review the plan in the near future, possibly at
the next meeting. She also noted that she was charged with the responsibility of developing a
commercial/industrial land availability database to advise potential businesses of the land that was
available in the Town for purchase and/or lease. She reported that the database was approximately 99%
complete and it was a tool she intended to use in carrying out her job and the realtors were anxious to
have this information.
Ms. Burton informed the Council that she was directed to develop a downtown coalition and said that
process began with something as simple as a sidewalk sale, which provided an opportunity for the
downtown businesses to open a line of communication with each other and build a coalition between not
just the Avenue of the Fountains, but the other outlying business areas as well. She discussed the
implementation of the Farmer's Market that has been fairly successful and noted that it no longer
competed with Christmas events on Friday evenings. She stated that in an effort to get to know all of the
Town's businesses, she had mailed 400 individual letters to every business in the Town and received 180
responses.
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Ms. Burton also discussed the Avenue of the Fountains enhancement project and said the Town received
8 good responses from their RFP and short-listed 3. She said that the report was incorrect in stating that
they would be presented this evening and clarified that staff was fine tuning the list and would present
their findings in the near future. She also commented on marketing strategies and noted that the
Scottsdale Magazine participated with the Town at no expense to the Town and published a six-page
spread in the October issue. She said it was a very nice article and she was proud to be a part of the
process. She added that she had put together a demographic fact book that they provided to developers
and stated that the nice part about it was that it was tailor made to meet each individual request.
Ms. Burton informed the Council that the Holiday Inn was due to break ground in January and the
potential for a 12-acre mixed-use development existed on the Avenue of the Fountains. She said more
information would be available in the future. She noted that she was also working with Qwest on an
infrastructure assessment for technology development and said she expected to have the mapping of the
community showing what infrastructure was in the ground within thirty days. She added that a large
printing corporation is relocating to Fountain Hills from California and would employ 15 to 30
employees. She noted that they chose Fountain Hills because of the lifestyle enjoyed in the Town.
Councilman McMahan asked where the printing company would be located and Ms. Burton responded
that it would be on Fountain Drive. Councilman McMahan spoke in support of the project.
Vice Mayor Archambault asked Ms. Burton what her objectives were for the upcoming year and she said
she believed the Town had the opportunity to rethink its marketing strategies and possibly obtain a partner
to help afford marketing efforts. She expressed the opinion that Fountain Hills had finally grown into
itself for time and land values and with the Mayo Clinic expansion, she believed that an abundance of
opportunities existed.
Mayor Nichols thanked Ms. Burton for her update.
AGENDA ITEM #10— DISCUSSION AND CONSIDERATION OF INITIATING AN
AMENDMENT TO THE OFFICIAL ZONING DISTRICTS MAP OF FOUNTAIN HILLS, TO
REZONE THE TOWN OWNED PORTIONS OF THE MCDOWELL MOUNTAIN PRESERVE
FROM THE R1-43 SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL ZONING DISTRICT TO OPEN SPACE
ZONING DISTRICT. (CASE Z2004-09.)
Senior Planner Dana Burkhardt addressed the Council regarding this agenda item and said that the request
was to initiate the rezoning process for the Mountain Preserve land. He stated that the Council would not
take any formal action at this time; they were merely directing staff to proceed with the rezoning process.
He added that public notification would take place and an ordinance as well as technical documents
would be prepared and presented to the Planning & Zoning Commission for their review and
recommendation to the Council.
Mr. Burkhardt referred to slides depicting the property and outlined the existing infrastructure. He said
that a 69 kv electric overhead power line (SRP easement) existed on the right hand corner of the site and
added that the jeep trail had a proposed water line to provide a water loop and connection between Adero
Canyon, which is to the south of the preserve, and Eagles Nest, on the north side of the preserve. He
noted that emergency access over the jeep trail also existed and there were three reservoir sites, two of
which were being developed or would be developed in the future. He added that there was also a small
water line loop that would connect to the trailhead from one of the subdivisions to provide water service.
Mr. Burkhardt commented that staff recommended the "OSR" (Open Space Designation) zoning
designation rather than "OSC" (Open Space Conservation) because "OSR" zoning designation prohibited
all building structures and restricted land uses to undeveloped natural land and trails. He said that the
existing infrastructure, access easements and the proposed trailhead structures were prohibited in the
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"OSC"zoning district and added that the "OSR"zoning designation was consistent with the General Plan
Land Use designation for preserve property. He spoke against the creation of legal non-conforming uses,
cw particularly within a conservation type of district and said the "OSR" essentially permitted the types of
uses proposed for the property and that existed on the property. He noted that in the future there might be
some unforeseen improvements needed to the utilities, technology might change, etc., and spoke in
opposition to "spot zoning".
Mr. Burkhardt added that in addition to recommending the "OSR" zoning designation, staff also
recommended bringing forward a Hillside Protection Easement tailored to the preserve to exclude areas
where there were existing utility easements,to preserve all undisturbed property.
Town Clerk Bev Bender said that Roy Kinsey would like to address the Council.
Roy Kinsey, 17120 E. Fairway Court
Mr. Kinsey,Chairman of the McDowell Mountains Preservation Commission, said that his comments this
evening would be made at the request of the Commission. He stated that approval of the Master Plan for
Fountain Hills by the Council last September included recognition of the need to rezone the land(R1-43).
He added that it also designated "OSC" in the Town's Master Plan. He said that the Commission
requested the Council's approval to initiate the rezoning process and, as part of that process, the
Commission had invited Town staff to meet with them on January 18th at 5:00 p.m. to discuss the
alternate opinions and options that had been considered in order to ensure the long-term protection of the
preserve area. He added that inherent in the Commission's concern was the assurance that the final
definition of zoning recognizes the basic need to maintain the understanding that the area was a preserve,
not a park. He stated that rezoning should establish the most positive defense from any intrusion or
alternate uses within the area.
Mayor Nichols thanked Mr. Kinsey for his comments.
Councilman Schlum said it sounded as though the McDowell Mountains Preservation Commission
wanted to discuss this with staff and perhaps recommend "OSC" rather than "OSR" zoning. Mr. Kinsey
clarified that that was not the case and said he met with staff earlier this week and said the result was
staffs recommendation for a Hillside Protection Overlay, which would essentially act in the same
capacity as the "OSC". He said if they read the ordinance for the Town, and what "OSR" and "OSR"
zoning districts were, it prevented them from living within what had already been planned for the
preserve in terms of the trailhead completion, etc. He said the "kicker" was putting the Hillside
Protection Ordinance in on top of it and said that as long as that served as a good defense against any long
term possibilities of intrusion, changes, it should work. He added that the meeting between the
Commission and staff would provide staff the opportunity to reiterate that and allow them to pose
additional questions.
Councilwoman Nicola commented on the difference between "OSC" and "OSR" and said she had a
concern about a golf course being an allowed use under "OSR" zoning. She asked whether the Hillside
Protection Easement would prohibit future Councils from making another change and whether a deed
restriction could be placed on the property.
Mr. Burkhardt commented that future Council's would have the right to oppose or retract a deed
restriction as well as any zoning change or anything else. He said it was impossible to guarantee 100%
that something would not change but he pointed out that it had been the intent of the General Plan to
preserve this land as open space and he felt comfortable that it would remain that way.
Itir Councilman Kehe expressed the opinion that the Council had a historical opportunity to do the right
thing. He added that they had an obligation to protect the property for future untold generations. He said
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he was a little uneasy with the "OSR" designation because it seemed to him that it would permit a lot of
things that they did not necessarily want in the preserve. He stated that he was a little less obligated to
protect the rights of what future utility companies might want to do. He was more concerned about
protecting the property from intrusion. He requested that staff discuss a little bit more why they could not
designate the land "OSC" with exemptions for facilities that already existed. He also asked staff to
explain how the overlay would achieve the same result as "Open Space Conservation".
Mr. Burkhardt responded to Councilman Kehe's questions and said as far as the overlay, it was not really
an overlay, it was an actual easement that the Town had title to and prescribed that only trails could be
located within the Hillside Protection Easement (HPE). He added that an HPE and "OSR" was the same
mechanism used throughout the Town to preserve property and noted that that included private property.
He advised that to date there had not been any challenge to a HPE or any easements located throughout
Town. He also responded to Councilman Kehe's first question and stated that he would like to see a
"OSC" PUD that allowed existing infrastructure and utilities and provided flexibility to do what they
wanted to in the future as far as trailhead improvements, etc., but said it was just not a "clean way" to do
things. There was no negotiation being made for a PUD and generally that was when exceptions were
granted to a zoning district. He reiterated that there was no planned PUD for the area.
Councilman Kehe said it was his understanding that staff decided to move the water tower from outside
the preserve to within the preserve. He stated that if that was true, he wanted to prevent that type of thing
from reoccurring in the future. He explained that he was looking for the best mechanism to keep the
preserve a preserve.
Mr. Burkhardt responded that he was not aware of the water tower being moved and said that he would
look into the matter and report his findings.
Vice Mayor Archambault commented that it was mentioned they should look for the best mechanism they
had and said the best mechanism they had was the fact that the Town owned the property. He stated that
they were going to be the ones who determined what happened with the property. He added that he did
not have a problem with "OSR," he thought he would have more of a problem if it was Hillside
Protection on a private property because the "OSR" zoning, if it didn't have the Hillside Protection,
would allow something like a golf course or open recreation. He expressed the opinion that it fit perfectly
with what they needed to do for the preserve. They wanted it to be open recreation; they wanted
trailheads and other recreation for that area. He added that they might want to build an additional water
station or a stop and weigh station in the middle of it and the availability was important. He noted that
they were controlling their own destiny.
Mayor Nichols asked whether staff had adequate direction from the Council. Town Attorney Andrew
McGuire requested that the Council make a motion to avoid confusion.
Councilman Kehe MOVED to direct staff to initiate the process of rezoning the mountain preserve from
R1-43 to an Open Space designation after consultation with the Mountain Preservation Commission.
Councilman Schlum SECONDED the motion.
Councilman Kavanagh asked whether the motion was specific enough and Mr. McGuire responded that
he believes it was clear that they were going to an open space designation and said the direction they
needed was which open space designation they would like staff to move forward with. Mayor Nichols
asked if Councilman Kehe would like to revise his motion.
Councilman Kehe MOVED to direct staff to initiate an "OSC" zoning designation and Councilwoman
Nicola SECONDED the motion.
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Councilman Kavanagh MOVED to amend the motion to "OSR" as per the recommendation of the
McDowell Mountain Preservation Commission and staffs recommendation. Councilman Schlum
SECONDED the motion.
Councilman Schlum said he was confident that staff would work with the Commission and others in an
effort to come back through the Planning &Zoning Commission with a good recommendation and a clear
understanding of why they wanted to have one designation over another. He added that apparently the
"OSC" appears to be too restrictive to facilitate the trailhead, hiking, etc. and said he favored the "OSR"
zoning designation.
Councilwoman Nicola stated that she was sure that staff had looked at how Scottsdale handled this
situation on the other side of the mountains and said as they moved forward she would be interested in
learning how Scottsdale had handled this issue. She added that perhaps they could learn something
instead of reinventing the wheel.
Councilman McMahan commented that he would like to receive more input from the McDowell
Mountains Preservation Commission.
Councilman Kehe stated that there seemed to still be some confusion as to conservation that was a
preserve and recreation and asked for clarification from Mr. Kinsey. He noted that a statement was made
that seemed to imply that recreation was trails and hiking.
Mr. Kinsey responded that the Town ordinance that defined the "OSC" zoning designation clearly stated
that the only thing actually allowed was trails and that was the only recognized permitted use in the
preserve. He added that in the definition for"OSR" there were a considerable series of statements aimed
at protecting land but allowing such things as parks and other amenities that were so designated. He said
that the Commission felt that it was very important to maintain the distinction between a preserve and a
park. He added that they might obtain some assistance from the Town Attorney as to the restrictions that
the Hillside Ordinance provided versus the restrictions on "OSC".
Mr. McGuire noted that the Town had historically used the Hillside Protection Easement as a mechanism
to essentially get what would be an "OSC" zone over portions of private property to preserve a chunk of
the land that was being developed for a home site in a hillside protection area. He said that was used
short of rezoning portions of lots that they could not do. He added that the "OSC" zone was the zoning
equivalent of the HPE and allowed a physical zone change to the property that did the same thing as the
overlay or the HPE. He commented that Dana had creatively found a way to make sure they could have
the amenities the Town planned to have in the trailhead under an "OSR" category and carve out in all the
other areas where they knew they did not want to put anything, an HPE to cover everything else. He
noted that it would be the same as if the Town were going to abandon an HPE, the same actions would be
required to abandon "OSC"zoning, the same public input would have to occur in order for the Council to
take action. He said the effective nature of it was to allow them to customize how the "OSR" was placed
on the land so that there were extra restrictions on the portions they knew they were not going to use for
something else.
Councilwoman Nicola asked whether utility easements were allowed through HPE's. Mr. Burkhardt
stated that drainage easements were allowed but utility easements were not. She also questioned whether
the Town currently had land zoned "OSC" and Mr. Burkhardt responded that they did not. She asked
why they could not amend the zoning ordinance to allow utility easements along with trails as an
allowable use in "OSC". Mr. Burkhardt commented that staff alluded to this earlier and added that the
initial intention of adopting and implementing an "OSC" zoning designation was in the event the Town
had complete, "virgin open space" native land that never had been disturbed, to make that a conservation
area. He added that conservation areas did not have any infrastructure or man made impacts on them
aside from trails. He said if they got into similar situations in negotiations as they did with Eagles Nest
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and MCO properties regarding the State land and there were easements existing within an "OSR" "OSC"
zoning district, the precedent was set at that point and it would open up a door for development. He
expressed the opinion that"OSC"truly meant conservation land.
Councilwoman Nicola asked what land would be zoned "OSC" and Mr. Burkhardt said he believed if the
Town annexed property in the future, the State land, there had been interest expressed in conserving
portions of that.
Vice Mayor Archambault asked how they were handling the washes, since they were not allowed to
disturb them. He questioned whether it was through an ordinance. Mr. Burkhardt advised that the Town
Code addressed this matter. The Vice Mayor commented on the fact that not too long ago they were told
that they couldn't run utility lines through a wash or develop a trailhead and asked whether that was
"OSC" zoning. Mr. McGuire explained that it was a "beast of a different color" and stated that the
ordinance was actually an initiative brought forward by the voters, "the wash initiative," that said there
would be no development within Town washes without a vote of the people. He added that it was not
necessarily the "OSR"that might be in place on top of it, it was the implementation of the wash ordinance
that really was the"kicker".
Councilman Kavanagh noted that anything could be changed by four votes of the Council and said it
seemed to him that since there was no way to stop future Council's actions they could not even see ever
occurring, it made sense to follow the recommendation of the McDowell Mountains Preservation
Commission and staff and appropriately zone the property. He noted that it was not just going to be a
trail; it was going to be a trailhead, used for recreational purposes. He added that that was one of the big
selling points of spending the money to purchase the land. He stated that they should zone it the way it
was meant to be zoned. He commented that variances were fine but they happened after something was
zoned and an unusual situation occurred, which was not the case here. He said they knew exactly what
they wanted to do with it and "OSR" is the appropriate zoning for the land. He added that to not do that
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set a precedent that they did not follow their own zoning and probably jeopardize future development. He
noted that it appropriately labeled the property.
Councilman Kehe reiterated that there was some confusion regarding recreation and preserve. He said a
preserve did permit what had been defined as recreation.
Councilman Kavanagh pointed out that the trailhead was the issue and if they wanted the trailhead they
had to go"OSR"to be true to the Code. Councilman Kehe expressed the opinion that the whole goal was
to not make it easy along the way to change the zoning because they did not know what would happen in
the future. He added that the ideal situation was to make it as complex an issue to change as possible.
His goal was to make change a challenge.
Councilman Kavanagh asked whether there would be any increased difficulty in reverting from"OSR"to
"OSC". Mr. McGuire responded that either zone could be changed. He noted that they started the
discussion by questioning whether they could tailor "OSC" to what they needed it to be knowing what
they had coming up and that became "OSR" with a couple of changes. He said that really was not what
they wanted "OSC" to become, they wanted to leave it intact. He added that they went on to discuss how
they would address all of the legal non-conforming uses that would become legal non-conforming upon
the day of adoption and they were comfortable that they would have some of those but the one they
couldn't get around was how to carve out the trailhead and any other trail improvements they wanted to
do up there that might not be just a trail. He pointed out that the Vice Mayor said there might be some
very small piece of some shelter or some water stop that they want to construct and with "OSC" they
could not do it. He noted that that was why staff and McDowell Mountain Preservation Chair Kinsey had
come up with the current proposal.
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Councilman Kavanagh asked if they went "OSC" whether that would make it more difficult for a reversal
to occur in the future as opposed to going "OSR." Mr. McGuire said it would still depend on the next
four votes. The next Council could have a different opinion on the matter and the only difference
between future legislative wisdom and this Council's was whether the people agreed.
Councilwoman Nicola asked why they couldn't identify certain areas of the parcel as typical and
highest/best use of"OSC," set some areas aside just for conservation and replat the area identifying areas
that were more suitable given the future use or current use as "OSR." She questioned why they had to
paint the whole picture with one brush.
Mr. McGuire responded that the Council could replat the Mountain Preserve area into discreet parcels and
then rezone the parcels as they saw fit. He said it was merely just a question of staff's time and effort, to
take it in as either one zone or another and not try and carve it up that way. He stated that it was an
administrative function, not that it necessarily had legal impediments.
Vice Mayor Archambault said he believed Mr. Burkhardt said they could do that and if they zoned it
"OSC" or"OSR", they were still doing it with a broad brush and could achieve the same thing with HPE.
He stated that HPE would be overlaid in the areas they wanted to protect and it would work the same as
an "OSC"designation. Mr. Burkhardt concurred with the Vice Mayor's comments. Mr. Burkhardt added
that if they were to carve out the utility areas and make those "OSR" so that they could continue to
function as they were, there would be minimal parcels all over the area. He noted that one of the
requirements for"OSR"was that the parcels be a minimum of five acres in size.
In response to a request from the Mayor,Ms. Bender read the amendment.
Ms. Bender stated that the amendment directed staff to pursue the process of rezoning to preserve from
RI-43 to "OSR" with the HPE overlay following further discussion with the McDowell Mountain
Preservation Commission.
The amendment CARRIED BY MAJORITY VOTE(6 to 1) with Councilman Kehe voting Nay.
The amended motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (7 to 0).
AGENDA ITEM #11 COUNCIL ASSESSMENT AND REVIEW OF THE MEETING TO
IDENTIFY PROCEDURAL STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES AND DISCUSS POSSIBLE
IMPROVEMENTS FOR FUTURE MEETINGS.
There was no discussion relative to this agenda item.
AGENDA ITEM #12 COUNCIL DISCUSSION/DIRECTION TO THE TOWN MANAGER.
ITEMS LISTED BELOW ARE RELATED ONLY TO THE PROPRIETY OF (i) PLACING
SUCH ITEMS ON A FUTURE AGENDA FOR ACTION OR (ii) OR DIRECTING STAFF TO
CONDUCT FURTHER RESEARCH AND REPORT BACK TO THE COUNCIL: NONE.
There was no discussion relative to this agenda item.
AGENDA ITEM#22—SUMMARY OF COUNCIL REQUESTS BY TOWN MANAGER
Mr. Pickering stated that another CFD meeting would be scheduled and staff would look into how
Scottsdale handled their mountain situation.
L
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AGENDA ITEM#23—ADJOURNMENT
Councilman McMahan MOVED that the Council adjourn and Vice Mayor Archambault SECONDED Noir
the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. ThepC ting adjourned at 7:40 p.m.
TOWN U AIN HILLS
By
Wally Ni ,M or
ATTEST AND
PREPARED BY:
,f /r� ( 7 -f
Bevelyn J. Bender,Town Clerk
CERTIFICATION
I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Regular and
Executive Session held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills on the 6th day of January 2005. I further
certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present.
DATED this 20th day of January 2005
woi)
Bevelyn J. Bender,Town Clerk
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