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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1991.0130.TCSM.Minutes • TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL SESSION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL JANUARY 30, 1991 A public meeting of the Fountain Hills Town Council was convened and called to order by Mayor John Cutillo at 4:30 p.m. , Wednesday, January 30, 1991, in the Fountain Hills Town Hall Conference Room located at 16836 E. Palisades Blvd. , Building C, Fountain Hills, Arizona. ROLL CALL - Following the pledge to the flag and the invocation by Councilman Charlie Fox, roll call was taken. Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Mayor John Cutillo, Vice Mayor Wally Hudson and Councilmembers Peg Tibbetts, Mike Minarsich, Charlie Fox, Frank Clark and Bill O'Brien. Also present were Town Manager Paul Nordin, Director of Community Development Gary Jeppson, Town Attorney Bill Farrell and Town Clerk Cassie Hansen. AGENDA ITEM #2 - DISCUSS AND POSSIBLY ACT UPON THE SELECTION OF THE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT Councilman Clark made a MOTION that the Council appoint the five people listed on Mr. Jeppson's memo to Mr. Nordin -- Paul Kolwaite, Joel Katleman, George Bard, Earl Stavely and Roland Britten. The motion was SECONDED by Vice Mayor Hudson. Mr. Farrell recommended that the motion be modified to include the selection of staggered terms for the members of the Commission. Mayor Cutillo made an AMENDMENT TO THE MOTION as suggested. The amended motion CARRIED unanimously. AGENDA ITEM #3 - RECEIVE UPDATE AND DISCUSS THE FELKER DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL Mr. Dale Gardon stated that all appropriate documentation would be presented to the Council the following day and said that they were hoping the Council would vote on annexation at their next meeting. Vice Mayor Hudson expressed his concern at how these documents could be analyzed in the short time before the next meeting. Mr. Gardon stated he hoped that by presenting the final documentation to the Council in the Special Session, that issues could be discussed and changes made so an addendum to the documents could be produced. He said that the next step would be to impose zoning on the sites. He further said that the next step would be working with Town staff to create new zoning districts. He elaborated that the Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission would have control over every site plan developed in the Felker project. Mr. Gardon stated that the Felker group had considered all the existing categories originating with the County zoning districts. He displayed that the project covered five residential zoning categories: R1-6, R1-7, R1-8, R1-10 and R1-18. He stated that within each zoning category guidelines concerning front yard set-backs, rear yard set-backs, side lot set-backs and coverage would be provided. Vice Mayor Hudson commented that he felt the proper approach was to Minutes of the Town Council Special Session - 01/30/91 Page 1 of 4 have very low density in a hillside area and observed that the opposite was the strategy for the Felker project. Mr. Gardon explained that by putting more people into a "smaller foot print" area there would be less disturbance and more natural open space. Mr. Gardon discussed issues concerning project access. He explained that the Felker group had met with Rural Metro in order to discuss their concerns and access needs. He stated that ultimately he was anticipating a road which would hook up and eventually lead from the Parkway back up to Palisades making the ultimate circulation route complete. He stated that they were considering a dual lane divided median road as a means to provide potential emergency service access. He pointed out that they had planned dual lane roads in many areas of the project. He said that in his discussion with the fire department they indicated an unpaved road would be satisfactory for emergency service, although was not aesthetically preferable to the Town. Mr. Nordin stated that he felt the Town would not desire having any more unpaved roads. Mr. Farrell stated that when the Council determined the final number of housing units for the project that the Town would place a moratorium on building permits. He said that at that time the developer would reach an agreement with the owner of the property concerning width and location. He commented that if after a 30 day period the owner of the property refused to meet with the developer, the Town would exercise its right of eminent domain and condemn a road right-of-way. He stated that the cost would be paid for by the Felker group. He further stated that the Felker group would then make a provision that if, the development occurring on either side of the road was built within ten years of the condemnation, then the Town would collect from the developers on either side ofNom) that new roadway a street development fee. Mr. Gardon stated that the amount of roadways proposed for the area was supported by statistical data and traffic studies. He stated that most problems occurred at intersections and anticipated that the Shea Boulevard intersection would create the most difficulty. He said that this intersection would provide for 880 units in the Felker development but when more than 880 units were built, the level of service diminished. Mr. Gardon discussed the need for a fire department site within the project. He stated that at first the fire department would be housed in a temporary facility and explained that they were working with MCO to find a suitable location. Mr. Gardon explained that 208 acres, almost half the size of the entire parcel, was to be used as open space. He commented that the open space was comprised of both the golf course and natural areas. He stated that initially the golf course would be owned by the developer. Mr. Nordin mentioned that he and Mr. Farrell had discussed the possibility of placing a deed restriction on the open space areas in order to maintain them in their natural states. Mr. Gardon explained that the golf course size was limited by state requirements and that they would leave much of the area natural. He explained that they did plan to utilize "buffalo grass" in order to ease the transition between the grass of the golf course and the natural desert. Minutes of the Town Council Special Session - 01/30/91 Page2of4 (,, Mr. Gardon described the amount of grading necessary to put roads in the area and to increase the resaleability of the parcels. He explained that after grading the area would be hydroseeded. Mr. Gardon discussed the manner in which they determined the density of the Felker parcel. He stated that initially the property had been approved by the County for a population density greater than that being currently proposed by Felker and had been purchased based on that density. He stated that after evaluation, he and his associates determined the initial density was too high and reduced the number of proposed housing units by 400. He stated that this was done in order to meet market demands. He commented on and made comparisons to several other Felker projects with high density parameters to the current project. Mr. Jeppson stated that currently the greatest density area in Fountain Hills was approximately 26. Mr. Gardon explained that the parcel with the greatest density was parcel 7 and was similar to the Pavilion at Gainey Ranch. He stated that the remaining parcels would accommodate everything from single family detached homes to the small lot products. Mr. Nordin commented that the Felker group had proposed the maximum number of units to be 1,169 and stated that in all probability less would actually be built. He said that he was willing to agree to this density as Felker had guaranteed the open spaces would remain open and natural. He also commented that he felt the developer should allow a certain percentage of flexibility for altering the density in each parcel. Councilman O'Brien expressed concern regarding emergency access should density transfers occur. Mr. Nordin stated that this was a point needing further discussion. Councilman Fox expressed his concern over the ambiguity of the parcel zoned as resort property. Mr. Dick Felker commented that, as an example, the Hyatt at Gainey Ranch helped stabilize the entire development and felt a resort would do the same for Fountain Hills. He maintained that it was in Fountain Hills ' best interest to pursue development of a resort. He commented that should several year's time pass without development of a resort the parcel may be rezoned as residential for financial reasons and recommended a 2-year period. Mr. Gardon explained that a time limit may be written into the development agreement stating that if a resort was not built on the property within a certain amount of time, the Town could consider rezoning. Mr. Felker stated that he had discussed sale of the resort parcel with a resort operator who desired placing a "destination resort" in the area. Mr. Felker stated that they had decided not to initially develop a signature golf course because they had selected Scott Miller, the chief architect for Jack Nicholas ' courses. He said that they had an agreement with Mr. Miller where they could later buy a signature of a top name player if desired. Mr. Gardon mentioned that concerning the issue of the roads being minimal, he had met with the fire district and submitted a great deal of information for their perusal. He stated that he would attempt to draft the development agreement by the next day so the Council could discuss it in their next work/study session. Minutes of the Town Council Special Session - 01/30/91 Page 3 of 4 AGENDA ITEM #4 - CALL TO THE PUBLIC *01) No one came forward to address the Council. AGENDA ITEM #5 - ADJOURNMENT Vice Mayor Hudson made a MOTION to adjourn. SECONDED by Councilman Clark and CARRIED unanimously. The Town Council adjourned at approximately 6:25 p.m. TOWN OF FOUNT HILLS By: John utillo, Mayor Ciu.z &_4_ATTEST: C B. Hansen, Town Clerk CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Special Session held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills on the 30th day of January, 1991. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this oDI -+ day of March, 1991. 6tfa.a..L„. iL Cassie B. Hansen, Town Clerk Minutes of the Town Council Special Session - 01/30/91 Page 4 of 4