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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1991.1217.TCWSM.Minutes TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS ,, MINUTES OF THE WORK/STUDY SESSION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL DECEMBER 17, 1991 A public work study session of the Fountain Hills Town Council was convened and called to order by Mayor John Cutillo at 6:30 p.m. , Tuesday, December 17, 1991, in the Council Chambers of the Town Hall Offices located at 16836 E. Palisades Blvd. , Building C, Fountain Hills, Arizona. Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Mayor John Cutillo, Vice Mayor Peg Tibbetts and Councilmembers Frank Clark, Charlie Fox, Wally Hudson and Bill O'Brien. Councilman Mike Minarsich was absent. Also present were Town Manager Paul Nordin, Town Attorneys Bill Farrell and Nick Dotterman, Town Planner Gary Jeppson, Town Engineer Randy Harrel and Peter Putterman, substituting for Town Clerk, Cassie Hansen. Mayor Cutillo explained that discussion had been requested on all items listed with an asterisk (*). There would be no separate discussion on unmarked items unless a Councilmember or member of the public so requested, in which event the item would be reconsidered as a discussion item and addressed in its normal sequence on the agenda. lbw AGENDA ITEM #2 - TOWN MANAGER'S REPORT #2.A.1. Project Update - Update on Governor's Department of Highway Safety grant application for highway signage. There was no discussion on this item. #2.A.2. Project Update - Update on Golden Eagle Park construction project and Heritage Fund Grant. There was no discussion on this item. #2.A.3. Project Update - Update on Dimension Cable construction project. There was no discussion on this item. AGENDA ITEM #3 - DISCUSSION ON THE PROPOSED REZONING OF THE AREA TO BE KNOWN AS PLAT 509 THAT IS LOCATED EAST OF MONTEZUMA BOULEVARD. THE REZONING REQUEST IS FROM THE CURRENT R1-10 ZONING DISTRICT TO A NEW ZONING CLASSIFICATION OF "R1- 10B". Mr. Jeppson stated that MCO Properties was proposing to rezone and replat an area in the North Heights area, from 74 lots to 46 lots. He said that the Planning and Zoning Commission had reviewed the proposal and recommended that the property be rezoned to an R.U.P.D. Mr. Jeppson explained that the reason behind the recommendation was that the rear yard setbacks would be twenty feet instead of the twenty-five feet that was required for the R1-10 zoning. He added that the sideyard setbacks would be ten feet instead of the required fifteen feet and the Minutes of the Work/Study Session of the Town Council 12/17/91 Page 1 of 5 width of the lots would be sixty feet or wider instead of the required eighty feet. He stated that with all the proposed deviations, an R.U.P.D. would be more appropriate. Mr. Jeppson said that the request for smaller setbacks was to accommodate the areas of vegetation and rock outcroppings on the properties. Councilman Clark asked why the Town was asked, in certain areas, to take over the maintenance of common areas and in other areas, it was not considered, but maintained by a Homeowner's Association. He added that in the 509 plat, there was no common area except for the wash that ran between this project and plat 508. AGENDA ITEM #4 — DISCUSS THE AMENDMENT OF ARTICLE XXIV. , SECTION 24.6(1)(a) OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS ZONING ORDINANCE TO EXCLUDE LOTS 18,000 SQUARE FEET OR LESS FROM THE MAXIMUM LOT DISTURBANCE REQUIREMENTS OF THE HILLSIDE DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS. Mr. Jeppson stated that many properties in Fountain Hills had portions that fell under the Hillside Development Standards. He said that an owner might develop a lot and then sometime in the future wish to further develop the property. Mr. Jeppson explained that when a building permit was requested for a pool or a fence, the building safety department would discover that the maximum allowable disturbance on the lot had already been met with the construction of the dwelling. Mr. Jeppson stated that staff had recommended to the Planning and Zoning Commission that lots 15,000 square feet or under be exempt from the standards. He said that the Commission proposed that 18,000 square foot lot sizes would be more appropriate and that had been incorporated into the standards. Mr. Jeppson stated that staff had then reconsidered the proposal and presented to the Commission that no more than fifty percent of properties of this size be allowed to be disturbed. He said the Commission held a public hearing and from that hearing, the Commission voted six to one in favor of presenting a proposal for exempting lots 18,000 square feet or less from the maximum disturbance limitations in the hillside development standards. Mr. Jeppson summarized by saying that this meant that a property owner of a lot 18,000 square feet or smaller would be permitted to disturb 100% of the property that was subject to the hillside development standards. He added that there were other limitations in the standards, such as height of walls. Vice Mayor Tibbetts asked how many lots would be affected by this change and where those lots were located. Mr. Jeppson stated that the number of lots was not available and he gave an overview of the areas in town that had the limitations in terrain. Councilman O'Brien stated that he did not agree with varying the allowable lot disturbance depending on lot size. He said that he had concerns regarding the buyers of property in Fountain Hills not being made aware of the Hillside Ordinance. Mr. Farrell stated that there was not a way for the governmental body to get involved with the sale of the property. Vice Mayor Tibbetts stated that she would like to see a more specific study done on the issue because each lot's terrain was different and she did not want them to be categorized just by size. Mr. Jeppson stated that there would be a more indepth study done in the future. He added that Vernon Swaback was working on this and staff was interested in their findings because most the Fountain Hills' future development area was hillside. Councilman Fox said that the owners of smaller lots in town should be given the Minutes of the Work/Study Session of the Town Council 12/17/91 Page 2 of 5 same chance to develop their properties as those with the larger lots. Mayor Cutillo said he agreed with Vice Mayor Tibbetts, that there should not be a blanket statement addressing only the size of the lots. Councilman Fox agreed and suggested that there be a specific building envelope for various zoning districts. Mr. Jeppson said that until there were adopted policies, individual applicants would submit requests to the Board of Adjustment. Mr. Bob Thomas stated that he felt this proposal was a premature act and was not in agreement with it. Mr. Ken Breting stated that there were other items that would he considered, such as the height of walls, etc. He said that the Commission members that voted in favor of the proposed change felt it provided an opportunity for smaller lot owners to develop them. AGENDA ITEM #5 - DISCUSS SPECIAL USE PERMTT 91-09 FOR AN ELDERLY CARE HOME AT 17418 CALICO. Mr. Nordin said that he spoke with the owners of the property and they were willing to cooperate with any requirements necessary. He said that they had discussed the schedule for development of the facility, the vegetation plan for the property and the number of residents that they would be allowed. Ms. Rauch researched the State requirements for the facilities and said they were very strict. Mr. Nordin stated that they would be licensed, inspected on an annual basis and any complaints would be investigated. Mr. Farrell recommended this item be taken off the agenda. He requested that staff develop a method to integrate this type of facility in a residential area. He said that there should not be a concern with the special use permit, but remove this type of facility from the special use category and make it a use of right. Mr. Nordin said staff recommended approval. Mr. Farrell stated that the governmental entity may impose a spacing requirement on this type of facility even though they may not be able to deny an application. He added that Phoenix had imposed a figure of 1,330 feet and they were 499 square miles, Fountain Hills was 17 square miles, which should be considered in limiting the facilities in density. Mr. Farrell said that he was recommending that the request be removed from the agenda and that the applicant be allowed to open the facility subject. to State regulations. Councilman Fox stated that the requirement for the applicant to obtain a business license would require them to comply with state law. AGENDA ITEM #6 - DISCUSS THE PROPERTY OWNERSHIP DECISION ON THE OPEN ARRAS OF GOLDEN EAGLE ESTATES INCLUDING THE POSSIBILITIES OF TOWN OWNERSHIP OR OWNERSHIP BY A HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION. Mr. Nordin stated that Mr. Jeppson felt the land should be dedicated to the Town, Mr. Farrell said that was objectionable, favoring a homeowners association. Mr. Nordin said he proposed that if the Council had any bad feelings about public ownership, to vote for a homeowners association. Mr. Farrell stated that there was a liability concern with publ ic property for two reasons, one, people thought towns had deep pockets and two, because the Town was able to purchase liability insurance. He added that the isolated ownership of pieces of property that did not have a common scheme or plan for public recreational uses created, not only Minutes of the Work/Study Session of the Town Council 12/17/91 Page 3 of 5 a legal liability, but created the moral and neighborhood liability of the expectation of the people that live there. Mr. Farrell stated that when there v.) is open space such as this with no scheme, there would he open standards that would not be able to be met. Mr. Jeppson said that the planning staff felt that in the development of Golden Eagle Estates, the concept was to condense the lots in the development and reserve open space. He said that if the open space was left to a homeowners association, often they start out very strong and generally end up underfunded and become ineffective. Mr. Jeppson said that the planned development for the community was to have common areas that allowed preservation of the open space. Vice Mayor Tibbetts asked if the Parks and Recreation Department had any preliminary plans for development of the open areas. Mr. Jeppson stated that he thought they were targeted more toward preservation than development. Councilman O'Brien said that if it became Town property, he did not want people to purchase land and think that it was their land and would never be developed. AGENDA ITEM #7 - DISCUSS THE APPOINTMENT PROCEDURE FOR THE TWO SEATS ON THE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT WHOSE TERMS ARE ENDING. Mr. Jeppson stated that he was awaiting direction from the Council . He said that the Council had requested that six weeks prior to the expiration of a term, they be notified. Councilman Fox asked if the people whose terms were expiring wanted to seek re-appointment and Mr. Jeppson answered that they had not been approached. Councilman Fox said that he wanted to create a policy for any Board or Commission position that was to expire, suggesting that the Council be notified six to eight weeks before the incumbents were notified of their expiring terms. He also suggested advertising that the openings would be available and all nominations or applications would be accepted. Mr. Nordin said that there would be one exception to that policy inasmuch as there was an appointment to the Parks and Recreation Commission that, by ordinance, had to come from the membership of the Mayor's Youth Council. Mayor Cutillo said he did not have any objection to the suggestion. Councilman Hudson said that Mr. Britten did not care to he re-appointed to a two year term. Mr. Farrell said. that if the position is not filled by the end of the term, the sitting member of that Board would continue to serve until a replacement was duly qualified and sworn in. AGENDA ITEM #8 - ADJOURNMENT. The Town Council adjourned the Work/Study session at approximately 8:21 p.m. Minutes of the Work/Study Session of the Town Council 12/17/91 *41)Page 4 of 5 TOWN OF j O1 IN HILLS By: John Ct" illo, Mayor r ATTEST: .� Peter Putterman PREPARED BY:aiu-/ a °- Lari L. Bratcher, Secretary CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Work/Study Session held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills on the 17th day- of December 1991 . I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this ItJ+ K day of January 19 Peter Putterman Minutes of the Work/Study Session of the Town Council 12/17/91 Page 5 of 5 J