Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999.1216.TCREM.Minutes TOWN OFDECEMBE FOUNT R 16, 19AIN HILLS99 MINUTES OF THE REGULAR AND EXECUTIVE SESSION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL Nay Mayor Morgan called the regular session of the Town Council to order. ROLL CALL: Following the pledge to the flag by Ryan Corriero of Cub Scout Pack 243 - Scorpion Patrol and the invocation by Councilman Wyman roll call, was taken. Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Mayor Sharon Morgan, Vice Mayor Sid Apps, and Councilmembers Pen Mower, John Wyman, Sharon Hutcheson, Marianne Wiggishoff and Al Poma. Also present were Town Attorney Bill Farrell, Town Manager Paul Nordin, Town Clerk Cassie B. Hansen, Acting Town Engineer Tom Ward, and Community Development Director Jeff Valder. Mayor Morgan announced that Agenda Item #8 had been removed at the request of Councilman Poma for further discussion. Mayor Morgan read the Consent Agenda, which consisted of the following agenda items: AGENDA ITEM #1 - CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE MEETING MINUTES OF DECEMBER 2, 1999. AGENDA ITEM #2 - CONSIDERATION OF THE SPECIAL EVENT LIQUOR LICENSE APPLICATION SUBMITTED BY KEITH BOWMAN FOR THE AMERICAN LEGION POST 58, LOCATED AT 16850 AVENUE OF THE FOUNTAINS. THE SPECIAL EVENT LICENSE IS A FUNDRAISER FOR THE LEGION'S BUILDING FUND AND WOULD BE HELD IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE SILVER CAR AUCTION SCHEDULED FOR FRIDAY, SATURDAY, AND SUNDAY, JANUARY 14, 15, AND 16. THE EVENT AREA WILL BE TOTALLY ENCLOSED. AGENDA ITEM #3 - CONSIDERATION OF THE LIQUOR LICENSE APPLICATION SUBMITTED BY RANDY NATIONS FOR THE FIREROCK COUNTY CLUB LOCATED AT 16000 FIRE ROCK COUNTRY CLUB DRIVE. THE APPLICATION IS FOR A SERIES 6,BAR LICENSE. AGENDA ITEM #4 - CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 1999-59 ABANDONING WHATEVER RIGHT, TITLE, OR INTEREST THE TOWN HAS IN CERTAIN PUBLIC UTILITY AND DRAINAGE EASEMENT LOCATED ALONG THE NORTHEASTERLY PROPERTY LINE OF PLAT 605C,BLOCK 4, LOT 7 (11214 N. PINTO DRIVE) AS RECORDED IN BOOK 164 OF MAPS, PAGE 14 RECORDS OF MARICOPA COUNTY,ARIZONA.(ALAN AND KRISTIE MILLER). AGENDA ITEM #5 - CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 1999-60 ABANDONING WHATEVER RIGHT, TITLE, OR INTEREST THE TOWN HAS IN CERTAIN PUBLIC UTILITY AND DRAINAGE EASEMENT LOCATED ALONG THE NORTHEASTERLY PROPERTY LINE OF PLAT 506C, BLOCK 1, LOT 40 (14821 CERRO ALTO DRIVE) AS RECORDED IN BOOK 159 OF MAPS, PAGE 31 RECORDS OF MARICOPA COUNTY,ARIZONA. (LINDA F.MOORE). AGENDA ITEM #6 - CONSIDERATION OF A STREET NAME CHANGE FROM VALLEYVIEW LANE TO PALISADES BOULEVARD(WITHIN FIREROCK COUNTRY CLUB MASTER PLAT). AGENDA ITEM #7 - CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 1999-62 ABANDONING ALL RIGHT, TITLE OR INTEREST IN PORTIONS OF A CERTAIN PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY KNOWN AS THE PORTION OF THE ALLEY ABUTTING THE NORTHEAST PROPERTY LINES OF LOTS 3 THROUGH 7,BLOCK 1, PLAT 302 AND LOT 7A,BLOCK 1,OF THE FINAL REPLAT FOR PLAT 302. AGENDA ITEM #9 - CONSIDERATION OF AN INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT WITH MARICOPA COUNTY REGARDING THE USE OF COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTERS. AGENDA ITEM #10 - CONSIDERATION OF A FINAL PLAT FOR VILLA ESTATES A 46 UNIT CONDOMINIUM PROJECT LOCATED NORTH OF EL LAGO BOULEVARD AND WEST OF LA rMONTANA AKA LOT 5,TOWN CENTER II. CASE#S99-004. Town Council Regular and Executive Session 12/16/99 Page 1 of 9 AGENDA ITEM#11 - CONSIDERATION OF THE FINAL PLAT FOR THE EAGLE MOUNTAIN PARCEL 13 SUBDIVISION, A 40-LOT, 25.22 ACRE SINGLE-FAMILY SUBDIVISION LOCATED AT THE FAR SOUTHEASTERN CORNER OF THE EAGLE MOUNTAIN DEVELOPMENT, CASE NUMBER S98-050. AGENDA ITEM#12 - CONSIDERATION OF THE PRELIMINARY PLAT FOR THE 9-LOT,8.230±ACRE FIREROCK COUNTRY CLUB PARCEL N SUBDIVISION, LOCATED IN FIREROCK COUNTRY CLUB, SOUTH OF SHEA BOULEVARD, CASE NUMBER S99-028. AGENDA ITEM#13 - CONSIDERATION OF THE PRELIMINARY PLAT FOR THE 4-LOT, 6.917 ± ACRE FIREROCK COUNTRY CLUB PARCEL 0-3 SUBDIVISION, LOCATED IN FIREROCK COUNTRY CLUB, SOUTH OF SHEA BOULEVARD, CASE NUMBER S99-029. VICE MAYOR APPS MOVED TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS READ. COUNCILWOMAN WIGGISHOFF SECONDED THE MOTION. A ROLL CALL VOTE WAS TAKEN WITH THE FOLLOWING RESULTS. Vice Mayor Apps MOVED to approve the consent agenda and Councilman Poma SECONDED the motion. Mayor Morgan called for a vote on the consent agenda. Councilman Apps aye Councilman Wyman— aye Councilwoman Mower- aye Mayor Morgan - aye Councilman Poma - aye Councilwoman Wiggishoff- aye Councilwoman Hutcheson- aye The motion CARRIED unanimously with a roll call vote. AGENDA ITEM #8 - CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 1999-61 ADOPTING A SHARED PARKING AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE TOWN AND VICTORIA PROPERTIES, INC. FOR THE PROPOSED PLAZA FOUNTAINSIDE(VILLAGE BAZAAR)DEVELOPMENT. Mayor Morgan called on the Director of Community Development, Jeff Valder. He explained this was a request by staff and property owner for the town and the property owner to enter into a shared parking agreement for the development of a new commercial project just southwest of Fountain Park. The project would include a commercial retail restaurant project where the current commercial project was. He explained the developer was interested in developing the site to include added parking spaces to accommodate the scope of the commercial project. He said that initially staff had discussions with the developer regarding the Town's interest in developing a pedestrian walkway over the drainage channel. Mr. Valder also informed them, as part of the Fountain Park master plan, the town would be putting in a parking lot in the same spot currently used as the park's parking lot. The developer responded he wanted to construct not only the parking lot that the Town was planning to construct, but to enlarge it to cross over the drainage channel so it would be one level. That discussion led staff and the developer to start talking about the concept of a shared parking agreement with the benefits to both the developer and the Town. He stated that the developer would pay to construct the entire parking lot including the portion of the lot the Town would have had to pay for. The parking lot would be constructed, as currently planned, by extending the existing culvert underneath the street. He acknowledged that there hadn't been a drainage study done yet and so the developer assumed the worst case cost, but if a less expensive method could be used to construct the parking lot, then it would save the developer some money. The Town would obtain ownership of the R1-90 zoned parcel north of the project site. In developing the site itself, because of the Town's hillside development regulations, the developer would transfer the hillside developability of the R1-90 zoned parcel to the commercial parcel. So, regardless of who owned that property, it would essentially stay in its current configuration. A benefit to the Town, by ownership of that land, would be that there was no question of who controlled it. He explained, that once the south half of the plat 208 was developed, that area would not be usable for parking by the Town for special events, which were periodically held throughout the year. He acknowledged that there had been an interest in developing more parking spaces in the Town Center area that would be usable for parking for those special events. One provision stated that for up to 15 special events per year the Town would have the ability to utilize, although not exclusively, the project parking lot in addition Nor to the park parking lot for special event parking. The culvert construction would result in a flat turf area, which would benefit the Town by providing more usable recreational space. It would benefit the developer by providing additional Town Council Regular and Executive Session 12/16/99 Page 2 of 9 seating outside for their restaurant and making the overall project more appealing. Mr. Valder said one paragraph in the development agreement stated that any cost savings would be set aside into a special fund, which would be applied towards the development of that raised grade activity area. • He said Councilman Poma had expressed concern that the developer would put restaurants throughout the project and thereby utilize all of the parking spaces in the two parking lots and there wouldn't be any left for park patrons. In response to his concern, Mr. Valder stated he had drafted a memo providing clarification on allowed parking for tenants that would lease out portions of the site, which couldn't exceed 294 parking spaces the total of the two parking lots as calculated by the Town's standard parking rate. He said that part of a shared parking agreement was the understanding between both parties that certain uses had peak times during a 24-hour period and not all components of the complex would have patrons at all times. He stated he had provided the developer with a copy of the added language and they were reviewing it. Mr. Valder said there was a possibility that early next year the developer might come back before Council to modify the language to some extent, but he confirmed that any text changes would require Town Council review and approval. He stated, at this time, the developer was interested in getting the meat of the agreement approved so that they could approach their perspective tenants and at least inform them that the Town Council was on board with the proposal and get the project moving. Councilman Poma inquired if the developer had agreed to the added language. Mr. Valder said they had not. However, staff and the developer were very close to an agreement. The development agreement had provisions where the Council could, in an administrative manner, modify the plan attached to the agreement. He stated, that at this time the language was in the Town's favor and if the language were to stay "as is" he was comfortable it. If the agreement were to be modified, it would come back before Council for review and approval. Councilman Poma asked how the Council could vote on something that the developer had not agreed to. He also inquired if the Planning and Zoning Commission or the Parks and Recreation Commission had reviewed the development agreement. Mr. Valder said they had not. Councilman Poma asked the Council to put the agreement on hold until the other two commissions had reviewed it. Councilwoman Wiggishoff asked what the net effect of the required number of parking spaces for restaurants would be and how severely was the Town limiting the number of restaurants that could locate there. Mr. Valder said the parking rate used had been the Town's standard rate, which would provide 1 parking space for every 50 square feet of usable floor area in the restaurant. He explained there was the possibility, that at the next Town Council meeting, staff may have had time to fine-tune the development plan. He hoped both parties could agree upon the provisions, which would allow for the size and number of restaurants permitted in the development,thereby protecting the Town's ability to have park patrons park in the parking lot and not the on street. Councilwoman Wiggishoff stated she would not want to enter into an agreement that would severely limit their ability to have various restaurant facilities at that location, as additional restaurants were what the public wanted. Councilman Poma asked if the developer did not get the parking lot behind the Bazaar, how much space would the developer lose. He said the concessions being made to the developer were more than what the Town would be receiving. Mr. Valder said there had been several draft versions of the site plan and the developer had the ability to modify their site plan as needed to comply with the Town's regulations. The developer was simply saying here is an idea where they were trying to take care of some of the Town's wants and asking if the Town would work with the developer. If the Council didn't want to work with the developer, he was fairly confident that the property owners would still put in a commercial project, although it wouldn't have the connection to the park or the size of the parking lot that the Town would want for special events. Councilman Mower said it was his understanding that of the 294 parking spaces, 111 would be by the park and 173 in the front commercial area. He said with the requirements placed in the agreement, he saw no reason not to go ahead with their approval so that the developer could get started with the project. And if at some other point he wanted to modify the parking, he would again have to come before the Council for their approval. He said Council should approve the project with the paragraph amendment so the project could begin. Councilman Poma said that the plan should have gone before the Parks and Recreation Commission for their approval prior to coming before the Council and he also expressed concern about the Town becoming partners with a commercial developer. Councilman Wyman asked if the previous project had been before the Planning & Zoning Commission and Parks and Recreation Commission. Mr. Valder said no. The application received had been for a building permit and there hadn't been a %r request to utilize any of the parkland for the project. Councilman Wyman asked if this was a request from the developer to utilize parkland. Mr. Valder said it was. Councilman Wyman said he would then have to agree with Town Council Regular and Executive Session 12/16/99 Page 3 of 9 Councilman Poma. He said he and the other Councilmembers had just received the development agreement today and he felt the other Commissions should have had time to consider it. He expressed he would also like additional time to consider a project so prominent. %r Mr. Valder said he had talked with the Parks and Recreation Director Robin Goodman. He stated that Ms. Goodman and a few members of the Parks and Recreation Commission had looked at the site plan when it included the raised grade activity area and both Ms. Goodman and the Commissioners were very much in favor of the concept. But he acknowledged that the Parks and Recreation Commission had not made a formal recommendation to the Council. In talking with Ms. Goodman he said she had been concerned about the illumination of the raised grade activity area. It was after that when staff negotiated the language for the developer to contribute into the extension of the culvert. That had been the only input from Parks and Recreation. Councilman Poma referred to a conversation held with Ms. Goodman the second time when she suggested that the plan should go back to the Parks and Recreation Commission. He said the way the plan was written it was saving the developer 10,000 sq. feet if they were given the parking in the back. Mr. Valder responded that Ms. Goodman had stated that if the raised grade activity were a part of the plan, she would have no problem taking it to the Council without the Parks and Recreation Commission recommendation. Since it was included and by virtue of Ms. Goodman's comments he had surmised she would feel comfortable with the current plan. He explained she was out sick today and he did not have the opportunity to talk with her. He agreed that without the shared parking agreement all of the required on site parking would have to be provided on site and would certainly reduce the amount of square footage that could be developed on the site. Councilwoman Wiggishoff asked if the park's parking lot would have to be redone anyway. Mr. Valder said yes. Councilwoman Wiggishoff continued saying that the developer was now going to build a parking lot that the Town would have had to otherwise pay for. She asked what the cost savings would be to the Town. Mr. Valder said he did not have the numbers readily available but estimated the savings between $60,000 — $80,000. Councilman Wyman said the tradeoffs, as he understood it, were acceptable to him but he was uncomfortable with not following the usual process. He felt the Parks and Recreation Commission should have reviewed the plan and provided the Council with their recommendation along with the Planning and Zoning Commission, if necessary. y,rMr. Valder introduced Patrick Hayes, the developer's architect. Mr. Hayes stated they had met with Ms. Goodman and reviewed the different plans. The current plan had been modified to fit within the park design, which had been approved and was out for bid by the Town. He said there had been a considerable amount of interface with Robin, her group, and e-Group. He stated that the smaller of the two parking lots, although not fully priced out because of extending the parking, was estimated to cost more than a quarter of a million dollars. Mr. Hayes explained it was a misstatement to say that the parking provided the developer with an additional 10,000-sq. ft. He said the site, as designed in phases, met the parking requirements under the zoning ordinance. Although it would severely reduce, if not eliminate, the restaurant component he felt that the retail and office mix use could stand-alone. The additional parking was brought in so that the developer could provide a more flexible use of additional restaurant type businesses. He said the plan, without the additional parking, was virtually the same. He stated tradeoffs in this plan created a win win situation. The land would be donated back to the park, would provide a continuous walkway across the back, and bridge across the wash, as well as tie in the park for future park development through the site. He said the developer had attempted to redesign the site to accommodate those issues. The additional parking provided the developer with the flexibility to create additional restaurant space and give the Town 111 parking spaces as well as the use of the 183 spaces on the other side. From the developer's viewpoint, the cons of the development plan were none. Councilman Mower stated this area was zoned commercial and the developer was proposing a design that fit the zoning. So, for that reason, it would not have to go before the Planning and Zoning Commission. Mr. Valder agreed. Councilman Mower said that on many occasions, Ms. Goodman had expressed the desire for additional parking for the park in that particular location. He did not feel it was not necessary to delay the development process further by waiting for a formal recommendation from the Parks and Recreation Commission and the Planning and Zoning Commission. Councilman Mower MOVED the Council approve Resolution 1999-61 with the added paragraph 1.5 as presented and Councilwoman Wiggishoff SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED on a vote of 6— 1. Councilman Poma voted against the motion. 11rr Town Council Regular and Executive Session 12/16/99 Page 4 of 9 AGENDA ITEM#14-MONTHLY REPORT BY MAGISTRATE STUART SHOOB. Judge Shoob reviewed the written report he had submitted to the Council. He said it had been an extremely busy month with 555 filing and a record number of terminations, hearings, and conferences. He revealed that in the transferring of files between the old and new system they had been servicing 124 old files, which were without hope of ever being collected from default judgments between the years of 1991 to 1997. He explained this was due to the fact the tickets did not contain sufficient information to ever contact the defendants. He provided a copy of such a ticket for the Council to review. He said this resulted in the following actions: • Default judgments on these files would be set aside. • Defendants driving privileges would remain suspended. • Those files would be placed in an inactive file, but not dismissed. Should the defendants show up, the Court staff would pull their file and accept payment. He said, that in an effort to remedy the insufficient information on traffic tickets issued, he had talked with the Fountain Hills Marshals Department and the Maricopa County Sheriffs Department to encourage deputies to obtain more information. He asked them to cite those individuals who failed to produce ID, which was a Class 2 Misdemeanor, when appropriate. He said then, if the defendant failed to appear, a warrant could be issued (a warrant couldn't be issued for a civil traffic offense). Judge Shoob said the court was presently developing a procedure to eliminate uncorrectable citations and a procedure to deal with new citations where there was insufficient information to justify collection efforts. Councilman Wyman asked if the information would be carried in the computers so that in the event a Marshal should stop an individual it would be flagged. Judge Shoob explained the files would be carried, as a suspension with Motor Vehicle, but the odds of matching up anyone was nil because there was only a name on the citation and many of the names given were not true or correct names to begin with. Councilman Wyman agreed with the premise of why chase an uncollectable,if that was the only point being made. Councilwoman Wiggishoff said she would be interested to see what procedures and policies the Court would come up with to correct the problem. AGENDA ITEM #15 - PUBLIC HEARING ON A SPECIAL USE PERMIT FOR A WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY IN THE C-1 ZONING DISTRICT, LOCATED IN TRACT B, PLAT 430, ADJACENT TO THE SRP GLENBROOK SUBSTATION CASE #SU99-10. (THIS PUBLIC HEARING WAS CONTINUED AT THE DECEMBER 2, 1999 COUNCIL MEETING.) Mayor Morgan recessed the regular session and opened the public hearing at 7:22 p.m. Senior Planner Geir Sverdrup explained this was a request from Salt River Project to utilize another power pole, which was 232' north of the last one presented to the Council a year ago. He said the power pole was located in Tract `B" in Plat 430 and that the ground-mounted equipment would be located adjacent to the Glenbrook substation. He reminded the Council this item had been continued, as there had been some controversy over the actual ownership of Tract `B" in Plat 430. There were back taxes due and there wasn't an active Plat 430 Property Owners Association. So action had been delayed while staff worked with the Town Attorney Bill Farrell in crafting a stipulation. Staff now felt they could go ahead with the recommendation to Council for approval of this case. He said both staff and the Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously recommended approval. It would place a 9-foot array on top of a 65-foot tower making the entire assembly 75-feet tall. The existing facility with the tower was 80-feet tall. The two stipulations included: • Landscaping of the perimeter and ground mounted equipment. • Obtaining a title report and/or letter of authorization to show ownership of the property. Councilman Poma asked what the width was. Mr. Sverdrup responded it would look identical to the existing one, which was immediately adjacent to the substation. Mayor Morgan closed the public hearing and reconvened the regular session at 7:25 p.m. AGENDA ITEM #16 - CONSIDERATION OF A SPECIAL USE PERMIT FOR A WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY IN THE C-1 ZONING DISTRICT, LOCATED IN TRACT B, PLAT 430, Town Council Regular and Executive Session 12/16/99 Page 5 of 9 ADJACENT TO THE SRP GLENBROOK SUBSTATION CASE#SU99-10. (THIS ITEM WAS CONTINUED AT THE DECEMBER 2, 1999 COUNCIL MEETING.) Councilwoman Wiggishoff MOVED the Council approve the special use permit as presented and Vice Mayor Apps SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED unanimously. AGENDA ITEM #17 - PUBLIC HEARING ON ORDINANCE 99-35 REZONING 2.61 ACRES OF LAND, IN PLAT 412B, BLOCK 6, LOTS 5 & 6, LOCATED SOUTH OF SHEA BOULEVARD, EAST OF CEREUS WASH AND NORTH OF FIREBRICK DRIVE FROM THE "R1-43" SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL t ONING DISTRICT TO THE"C-1" COMMERCIAL ZONING DISTRICT,CASE NUMBER Z99-23. Mayor Morgan recessed the regular session and opened the public hearing at 7:26 p.m. Planner Dana Burkhardt said this was a request to rezone R1-43 property to C-1. He reminded the Council this item had been before them approximately a year ago. At that time, there was another lot to the south of lots 5 and 6, which had since been dropped because the applicant wanted highway commercial uses there. He explained that the General Plan Amendment had also been approved for this site, which allowed it to be rezoned to general commercial retail and had been done prior to the first rezone application. He stated that the Council had, by a vote of 6 —1, denied the original rezone request as was recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission at that time. Staff felt they would have no way of identifying the business uses if rezoned to C-1, because with the approved uses list, anything could go in there. He explained that one of the issues that the staff and the Planning and Zoning Commission had with this project had been with the over abundance of already existing commercially zoned property throughout the Town. He said this development would detract from developing the Town Center and the existing commercial property. He said because a petition had been received prior to the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting last Thursday, it would require a super majority vote from the Council for approval. He reiterated that staff and the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended denial of the rezone request. Councilman Poma asked for clarification that the applicant was asking for the rezoning of 2 lots out of 4. Mr. Burkhardt said that was correct. ,Vice Mayor Apps said, in the past, he had supported this applicant's request for a rezone. He said with a Council vote for a rezone under the General Plan Amendment and this property being a few hundred feet east of that he disagreed that the rezoning would negatively impact the Town Center. He said with the traffic count at 35,000 cars a day, it was a prime site for a commercial business and he would support the rezone. Mr. Burkhardt stated one difference between the General Plan Amendment and Target rezone would be the General Plan could be amended to allow commercial uses that would not necessarily be beneficial or successful within the Town Center area such as a major retail center such as Target. Stuart Rider, Richwood He acknowledged the letters and the petition sent by homeowners stating that their property would be impacted by the project. He conveyed the plans they had to minimize the impact. He said currently there were 35,000 cars a day that passed this site. He said Shea would soon be widened and he did not know of any other residential lot within the city limits that was 45-feet from 35,000 cars a day. He said it was inconceivable that anyone would build a house on any one of those properties. The only potential residential lot would be parcel 4 and as he said they would undertake the financial burden to buy lot 4 and do what they could. He said the property owners of these lots had owned them for a long time. He said it was inconceivable to him that the Planning Department could decide who could do business where, whether a merchant should only have the choice of doing business downtown, or whether their business might prosper better by the highway. He said he didn't think anyone wanted to reroute Shea Boulevard to the downtown area to promote business, but he also believed that no one thought of Shea Boulevard as Fountain Hills. He said merchants needed a diversity of sites from which to choose where to do business. He stated he had agreed to the street improvements for deceleration and execration lanes. He acknowledged that the developers needed to be responsible to the community. He stated commercial development followed residential growth and for every thousand acres of residential property developed there might be 50-60 commercial acres developed. Town Council Regular and Executive Session 12/16/99 Page 6 of 9 Councilwoman Wiggishoff asked him what he would say to those who would say there were businesses in his first complex that would do just as well if placed in the downtown area and the workers in those offices could help support some of the other visions of the downtown. Mr. Rider responded that the vision for the downtown did not include rerouting major traffic arterial through it. Councilwoman Wiggishoff questioned whether or not offices such as a title Ilbw company would necessarily need 35,000 cars as it didn't depend on drive by traffic. Mr. Rider said business need accessibility,parking, and visibility to be profitable. He said the property was unattainable as residential and asked the Council to approve the rezone. Jody Knapp, lives on Monterey She stated she was not impacted by this project but found comments from the developer interesting. She said his vision of Fountain Hills' growth and the surrounding area was frightening. But based on the Town plan,the way it had been originally planned as compared to the way it was changed consistently, she said his vision of the Town was true. As long as the Town continued to change everything in favor of commercial and a heavier population, Fountain Hills would become what Mr. Rider described. Arvid Dennis, 16644 Last Trail He said he represented a few of the residents of Firerock who could not be present. He stated this was the same developer who had built the complex on the north side of the Shea. He asked if there was a need for more office and commercial space, why not complete the existing project since there was still enough land there for buildings twice the size. Staff and the Planning and Zoning Commission had recommended denial and he asked the Council to also deny the project. Ken Kline, 999 Firebrick He agreed with Mr. Dennis and said he was also against the rezoning of this property. Bozidar Rajkovski, architect for the project He said he had designed the office buildings on the northside and if approved he would design the office building on this property. He said the area was nice for development due to the traffic and felt the best use of the property would Niriebe commercial. Mayor Morgan closed the public hearing and reconvened the regular session at 7:49 p.m. AGENDA ITEM #18 - CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCE 99-35 REZONING 2.61 ACRES OF LAND, IN PLAT 412B, BLOCK 6, LOTS 5 & 6, LOCATED SOUTH OF SHEA BOULEVARD, EAST OF CEREUS WASH AND NORTH OF FIREBRICK DRIVE FROM THE "R1-43" SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL ZONING DISTRICT TO THE"C-1" COMMERCIAL ZONING DISTRICT,CASE NUMBER Z99-23. Vice Mayor Apps MOVED the Council approve Ordinance 99-35 as presented and Councilman Wyman SECONDED the motion. Councilman Wyman said Mr. Rider had mentioned people were horrified to see how much Fountain Hills had grown, but when he moved to Fountain Hills, he had been told and given the numbers in writing that the population would be 70,000. He said it was now down to 30,000 due to past and present Councilmembers' actions who felt the same way. So he felt something had been accomplished. The citizens' desires had not been ignored nor had the Council ignored their own feelings as to why they moved here. He agreed that the property would one day be rezoned to commercial. If not today, it would be rezoned sometime in the future. He acknowledged personally knowing some of the people recently mentioned who had begun construction or were planning to move there. He said these people were aware that the General Plan had been amended and so if they made a decision subsequent to that then he was surprised. He said he would support this for one reason and that was to be consistent with what he had done a year ago, which was to support it. He said he had written to people in Firerock to tell them that in his judgment the current Council would never pass it, as it would take a 6 — 1 majority vote. He suggested that if they wish to keep it residential, and it was his judgment it would never have a home on it, they would need to find a way of purchasing the property so it would remain open. He said he did not have sympathy for those Town Council Regular and Executive Session 12/16/99 Page 7 of 9 who bought there as Shea Boulevard had been around for decades and anyone who thought it wouldn't be a major artery wasn't thinking straight. Councilwoman Wiggishoff said she would not be supporting this and for her it was a question of timing. She also felt it would be commercial one day. She disagreed with Mr. Rider, stating some of his tenants would work nicely in the downtown area. She explained that part of the municipal powers of Planning and Zoning was to direct development where it was in best interest of the community. Councilman Poma suggested perhaps the area might be developed as condos and might not be commercial. Councilman Mower said changing the General Plan had created unintended consequences and might need to be looked at again. He said he was not in support of this rezoning request at this time. Vice Mayor Apps said he believed it would be commercial and should be commercial now. He said having a business near a high traffic count area had a lot to imply as to the amount of business it did. He said that at 35,000 cars a day, commercially, the property was a gold mine. Councilwoman Hutcheson stated she would not support the rezone. She said the uses in C-1 zoning would do better in the downtown center. She felt there was an abundance of commercial property with some commercial property already bladed across the street from this proposed project. She said she was interested in developing the downtown area. The motion FAILED on a vote of 2-5. Councilman Wyman and Vice Mayor Apps voted in favor of the rezoning. AGENDA ITEM #19 - CONSIDERATION OF INITIATING AN AMENDMENT TO THE ZONING ORDINANCE FOR THE TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS TO AMEND SECTION 11.03 TO PROVIDE THE TOWN COUNCIL THE DISCRETION TO MODIFY BUILDING SETBACKS FOR NON-RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS AS A PART OF A SPECIAL USE PERMIT. Director Valder reported that Mr. Art Ursu had requested this as a way to develop a nursing home on the corner of El Lago and Verde River Drive. Mr. Valder said that about a year ago Mr. Ursu had a building permit, which had expired, for a 100-bed nursing home. Between the time when the permit was issued and today, the Town Council had made significant changes in the R-4 zoning district, which included the reduction of the 40' height limit to 30' and a (ik ,significant increase of required setbacks. He explained that Section 11.03 of the Zoning Code, would currently allow the Town Council to approve, by the special use permit process, a non-residential structure over a 30' height limit. However, there was no enabling provision for the Town Council to allow for modified setbacks for a non-residential structure. He stated if the Town Council would initiate the text change, staff would start the public hearing process. In Mr. Ursu's case it would allow him to request the Town Council consideration, under the special use permit process, the plans Mr. Ursu had previously obtained a building permit for. Councilman Poma MOVED the Council approve the amendment Section 11.03 of the Zoning Ordinance and Vice Mayor Apps SECONDED the motion. Councilman Mower asked Mr. Valder for clarification of the text change. Mr. Valder responded that this text change would create the Town Council's ability to allow for modified, i.e. reduced setbacks, for a non-residential structure in the multi-family zoning district. Councilman Poma asked if the Council's action tonight would only initiate the process. Mr. Valder agreed. Councilman Poma inquired how high Mr. Ursu wanted to build. Mr. Valder stated the most recent plans showed it to be in the range of 30' - 36' in height. Councilman Wyman asked what the heights of the condos were to the south of the proposed project. Mr. Valder stated 40'. Councilman Wyman said this text change would permit, at the Council's discretion, the ability to accommodate something of this order and felt the Council should approve this action at this initial stage. The motion CARRIED unanimously. AGENDA ITEM#20—CALL TO THE PUBLIC. Mr. Bernard Rydel, 16425 Heather Drive Town Council Regular and Executive Session 12/16/99 Page 8 of 9 He complained about the resurfacing the streets in his area. The oil and sand had made a mess in his house and driveway. He said all his neighbors were complaining. He asked what the Town could do about it. Mr. Nordin responded that Mr. Ward would meet with him. The birthdays of Councilwoman Wiggishoff and Vice Mayor Apps were acknowledged by the presentation of a birthday cake. AGENDA ITEM #21 - PURSUANT TO A.R.S. §38-431.03.A.3., A.R.S. §38-431.03.A.4., AND A.R.S. §38- 431.03.A.7., VOTE TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR DISCUSSION OR CONSULTATIONS FOR LEGAL ADVICE WITH THE ATTORNEY OR ATTORNEYS OF THE PUBLIC BODY REGARDING THE LOS ARCOS MULTIPURPOSE FACILITIES DISTRICT AND THE BARCLAY GROUP; AND DISCUSSION OR CONSULTATION WITH THE ATTORNEYS OF THE PUBLIC BODY IN ORDER TO CONSIDER ITS POSITION AND INSTRUCT ITS ATTORNEYS REGARDING THE PUBLIC BODY'S POSITION IN PENDING OR CONTEMPLATED LITIGATION REGARDING THE TOWN VERSUS MCO PROPERTIES; AND DISCUSSIONS OR CONSULTATIONS WITH DESIGNATED REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PUBLIC BODY IN ORDER TO CONSIDER ITS POSITION AND INSTRUCT ITS REPRESENTATIVES REGARDING NEGOTIATION FOR THE PURCHASE OR LEASE OF REAL PROPERTY WITH REGARDS TO THE POSSIBLE ACQUISITION OF CHAPARRAL CITY WATER COMPANY; RESPECTIVELY. Mayor Morgan stated this item had been cancelled. AGENDA ITEM#22-RETURN TO REGULAR SESSION. As there was no Executive Session this agenda item was also cancelled. AGENDA ITEM#23- ADJOURNMENT. Councilman Mower MOVED to adjourn the meeting and Vice Mayor Apps SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED unanimously. Mayor Morgan adjourned the meeting at 8:45 p.m. TO F FOUNTAI LLS By Sharon Morgan,Mayor ATTEST: C/Val.L'\41 1 1 --• Cassie B. Hansen,Town Clerk / / • PREPARED BY. i Bev Bender,Administrative Assistant CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Regular Session Meeting held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills on the 16th day of December 1999. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this 6th day of January 2000. )1"44A...) Cassie B. Hansen,Town Clerk Town Council Regular and Executive Session 12/16/99 Page 9 of 9