HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001.1220.TCSEM.Minutes TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR AND EXECUTIVE SESSION OF THE
FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL
December 20,2001
Mayor Morgan called the Regular Session to order at 5:30 p.m.
AGENDA ITEM#1 - PURSUANT TO A.R.S. §38-431.03.A.1., §38-431.03.A.3.AND A.R.S. §38-431.03.A.4.,VOTE
TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR DISCUSSION OR CONSIDERATION OF EMPLOYMENT,
ASSIGNMENT, APPOINTMENT, PROMOTION, DEMOTION, DISMISSAL, SALARIES, DISCIPLINING OR
RESIGNATION OF A PUBLIC OFFICER, APPOINTEE OR EMPLOYEE OF ANY PUBLIC BODY, EXCEPT
THAT WITH THE EXCEPTION OF SALARY DISCUSSIONS, AN OFFICER, APPOINTEE OR EMPLOYEE
MAY DEMAND THAT SUCH DISCUSSION OR CONSIDERATION OCCUR AT A PUBLIC MEETING. THE
PUBLIC BODY MUST PROVIDE THE OFFICER, APPOINTEE OR EMPLOYEE WITH SUCH PERSONAL
NOTICE OF THE EXECUTIVE SESSION AS IS APPROPRIATE BUT NOT LESS THAN 24 HOURS FOR
THE OFFICER, APPOINTEE OR EMPLOYEE TO DETERMINE WHETHER SUCH DISCUSSION OR
CONSIDERATION SHOULD OCCUR AT A PUBLIC MEETING; (SPECIFICALLY THE ACTING TOWN
MANAGER AND TOWN MANAGER); FOR DISCUSSION OR CONSULTATION FOR LEGAL ADVICE
WITH THE ATTORNEY OR ATTORNEYS OF THE PUBLIC BODY (SPECIFICALLY REGARDING THE
FIRE DISTRICT); AND FOR 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 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 REGARDING THE
FIRE DISTRICT); RESPECTIVELY.
Councilwoman Fraverd MOVED that the Council convene the executive session and Councilwoman Hutcheson
SECONDED the motion, which carried unanimously. Mayor Morgan recessed the executive session at 6:10 p.m.
AGENDA ITEM#2-RETURN TO REGULAR SESSION
Mayor Morgan convened the regular session at 6:30 p.m. Following the pledge to the flag and invocation by Pastor Don
Lawrence,Christ's Church of Fountain Hills,roll call was taken.
ROLL CALL - Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Mayor Sharon
Morgan, Vice Mayor John Kavanagh, and Councilmembers Sharon Hutcheson, John McNeill, John Wyman, Susan
Ralphe, and Leesa Fraverd. Also present were Acting Town Manager/Town Attorney Bill Farrell, Director of
Administration Cassie Hansen,Town Engineer Randy Harrel,and Director of Community Development Jeff Valder.
Mayor Morgan read the items on consent(items 1-4):
AGENDA ITEM #1 - CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE MEETING MINUTES OF DECEMBER 4
AND 10,2001.
AGENDA ITEM #2 - CONSIDERATION OF EXTENDING THE TERMS OF THREE MEMBERS OF THE
COMMUNITY CENTER ADVISORY COMMISSION TO DECEMBER 31,2003.
AGENDA ITEM #3 - CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING A COST SHARING WITH THE FOUNTAIN
HILLS SANITARY DISTRICT FOR ASPHALT, CONCRETE,AND DRAINAGE WORK AT THE SAGUARO
BOULEVARD FRONTAGE ROAD NEAR MALTA DRIVE, AND FOR A CHANGE ORDER TO THE
ANNUAL ASPHALT CONTRACT.
AGENDA ITEM #4 - CONSIDERATION OF A DENIAL OF CLAIM SUBMITTED BY KENNETH
COUNTRYMAN.
Councilwoman Ralphe MOVED to approve the Consent Agenda as read and Councilman McNeill SECONDED the
motion. A roll call vote was taken with the following results.
Councilman Wyman - aye
Councilman McNeill - aye
Councilwoman Hutcheson- aye
Councilwoman Fraverd- aye
Vice Mayor Kavanagh - aye
Councilwoman Ralphe— aye
Mayor Morgan - aye
The motion CARRIED unanimously
AGENDA ITEM#5 - CONSIDERATION OF APPOINTING ONE CITIZEN TO SERVE ON THE PLANNING
AND ZONING COMMISSION TO FILL THE VACANCY CREATED BY A COMMISSIONER'S
RESIGNATION.
Mayor Morgan MOVED to appoint Dennis Brown to serve on the Planning and Zoning Commission and
Councilwoman Fraverd SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED unanimously.
AGENDA ITEM #6 - CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST SUBMITTED BY ANOTHER POINT OF VIEW
GALLERY, ST. DOMINIC'S FOOD BANK, AND VICTORIA PROPERTIES TO PLACE A LIVE TREE IN
FOUNTAIN PARK.
Parks and Recreation Director Mark Mayer reviewed the applicants' request. He pointed out that the Parks and
Recreation Commission recommended approval of this request with stipulations, which he read. Director Mayer noted
that the property owner, Victoria Properties, was not willing to pay the monthly utilities or bear the cost of that service
to the tree.
Vice Mayor Kavanagh MOVED to approve the request as stipulated with an amendment that the electricity did not have
to be provided by Victoria Property but could be provided by any individual so predisposed. The motion DIED due to
the lack of a second.
AGENDA ITEM #7 - CONSIDERATION OF OPTION AND SITE LEASE AGREEMENT WITH AT&T
WIRELESS SERVICES, L.L.C. FOR INSTALLATION OF A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION FACILITY ON
TOWN PROPERTY AT FOUR PEAKS NEIGHBORHOOD PARK.
Senior Planner Jesse Drake described the site and facility, which was accompanied by a display on the visualizer for the
public. She also discussed the lease agreement terms pointing out that staff recommended approval of the Option and
Site Lease Agreement with AT&T Wireless Services.
Councilman Wyman MOVED to approve the Option And Site Lease Agreement as presented and Councilwoman
Hutcheson SECONDED the motion.
Councilman McNeill asked if the replacement pole would continue to be a "town owned" pole. Ms. Drake replied yes.
Councilman McNeill questioned if other providers would utilize it, given the fact that there were limited locations for
these types of users. Ms. Drake responded that staff had not had received any other application to "co-locate" onto this
pole although other carriers had individually looked at this particular location. Neither carrier had indicated that they
could co-locate either above or below this carrier at this particular pole. She explained that sometimes the carriers need
the same height which would be somewhat limiting.
Vice Mayor Kavanagh asked if this pole was high and strong enough that a second antenna could be placed there to
avoid yet another pole elsewhere. Ms. Drake said that the question was not so much structural. The problem was that
the more cabling that was contained inside the pole, the fatter the pole would become and visually it would be out of
character with the other poles in the neighborhood park.
Councilman Wyman asked if a certain amount of horizontal space was needed between competing carriers to prevent
cross talk. Ms. Drake said that normally there was ten feet between them. She stated that it was possible to co-locate on
this pole with other carriers. Vice Mayor Kavanagh reiterated that because the federal government passed legislation it
was extremely difficult to prevent these types of antennas from being located in neighborhoods. He explained that the
Council had tried to encourage carriers to place them on existing structures or inside stealth structures. He said this
application was consistent with the Town's policy of locating the carrier within an existing structure and would not be
adding extra negative aesthetics.
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Councilwoman Ralphe asked Ms. Drake to confirm the distance to the closest residence. Ms. Drake stated that it was
approximately 240 feet. Councilwoman Ralphe asked how that fit with distance from residences with existing towers.
Ms. Drake stated that a Sprint applicant placed the tower adjacent and that touched a residential unit. She acknowledged
that there were other units in Town that were located in residential neighborhoods that she had not measured.
Stephanie Hammond, 14834 N. Alamosa Circle.
She asked what the studies on electromagnetic fields had been with this type of cabling. She expressed concern for the
impact on the neighborhood school. She asked if there was another industrial area where this pole could be placed.
Acting Town Manager Bill Farrell reviewed the Federal Communications Act and the fact that cities and towns were
prohibited from passing regulations that would impede the location of towers on the basis of the FR outflow. He noted
that the FR frequencies were monitored and had to be within federal guidelines and were presumed the same. As far as
alternative locations, the burden was on the applicant to find the initial sites. The Town was limited to the extent that
the mandate under the cable act was that there be uniform service throughout the United Stated or through the licensed
area where the cable providers were licensed to provide service. He explained that very often in order to meet the grid
pattern it became mandatory that the sites be within a relatively short area in order to provide seamless service. He
pointed out that to defeat a location a Town would have to show that there were other adaptable sites available. From
the standpoint of other locations, the Town was comfortable that this location met the criteria and was a location that
AT&T needed. He stated that from a safety standpoint there were regulations that were imposed at the federal level
rather than the local level.
Jenny Ann Sumner, representative for AT&T, 3333 E. Camelback, Ste. 280, Phoenix.
She stated that carriers wanted to maintain their license. They did not want to be found out of compliance. They
therefore would carefully monitor their sites for safety. AT&T felt that this location worked well because of the
sheltered location.
Councilman Wyman asked how AT&T was doing with regard to providing coverage for Fountain Hills. Ms. Sumner
responded that they were making progress. She noted that they needed at least one other site. She stated that she would
be appearing again before the Council in the future as they were working with the Town on another site. Councilman
Wyman asked if that location was south of Shea Boulevard. Ms. Sumner replied yes. Councilman Wyman asked if
iiko,, AT&T was OK on the north side of Shea Boulevard. Ms. Sumner stated that she was not aware of any sites needed
north of Shea. She explained that because of the costs involved, AT&T tried to make as few sites as possible in order to
provide the coverage as well as the capacity.
The motion CARRIED unanimously.
AGENDA ITEM #8 - CONSIDERATION OF ESTABLISHING A SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF THE
COUNCIL TO EXAMINE THE PLAN REVIEW PROCESS AND THE AREAS OF THE SUBDIVISION
ORDINANCE AND ZONING CODE THAT ARE CURRENTLY CAUSING INTERPRETATION PROBLEMS
AND/OR BOTTLENECKS IN THE FLOW OF PERMIT APPROVAL AND RECOMMEND PROCEDURAL
CHANGES TO DEAL WITH THE ISSUES THAT ARE IDENTIFIED.
Mr. Farrell said the goal was to get online so that permit tracking and building permit processing could become
computerized. The City of Scottsdale loaned the talents of Mr. Carter Hunt, one of their administrative officers, to the
Town. He noted that a program was started with the Town Engineer and the Community Development Director to
review the entire process. Mr. Farrell said that report, along with the recommendations, would hopefully come before
the Council in January. He stated that Councilwoman Fraverd and he had talked about this over the last several months.
Mr. Farrell requested that a group of individuals get together to take the information from the reports. He wanted the
group to work quickly to identify some areas where the application and review process could be refined. This would be
for the benefit of developer without conceding any of the review time by the engineering and community development
and the other outside agencies such as Chaparral Water, the Sanitary District, and the Fire Department. He expressed
the idea was not to make changes but to come up with a list of issues that this Council would then explore and discuss
the option of change. He hoped that flexibility might be extended to the Community Development Director to act at his
discretion on some of the situations requiring minor amounts of changes, which could be approved at the administrative
level. He commented that another area the committee should address was the feasibility of selling disturbance. He
asked that the Council favorably consider establishing a committee that would be composed of one councilmember
(Councilwoman Fraverd), three town staff members (Jeff Valder,Jim Leubner, and Scott LaGreca), four members of the
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development community to be picked by the Fountain Hills Contractors Association, with Betty Brannon providing staff
support. He explained that this committee would have a very short time frame and a high impact assignment. The
committee would meet over the next sixty days and deliver a preliminary report at the second February Council meeting.
They would wrap up their final report by the second April Council meeting. At that time the council could start
,w debating whether or not any of the suggestions merit being forwarded to the Planning and Zoning Commission as
initiation of text amendments. Mr. Farrell felt that even if nothing came from this exercise, the inner action from the
development community was an important aspect. He was optimistic that this would be a good sounding board between
the development community, the community development department, and the engineering department. He reiterated
that the committee would be looking at the process involved and asked that the council favorably consider the formation
of the Developer Advisory Committee.
Councilwoman Hutcheson MOVED to establish a special committee as presented and Vice Mayor Kavanagh
SECONDED the motion.
Councilwoman Fraverd clarified that the formation of this committee was meant to provide staff and residents as well as
the construction industry with an opportunity to have input in the resolution and clarification of concerns and issues that
have surfaced with regard to the Town's permitting process. It would also provide staff oversight of the construction
practices. She hoped that the committee would bring a recommendation to Council that would build upon the Town's
strengths and change or modify those areas in the ordinances and procedures that need improvement as appropriate.
Councilwoman Fraverd stated that because she thought there was support from other councilmembers she had already
asked the contractors to start a list of items that they would like the committee to address. She requested that should this
committee be approved that staff and the residents do the same so that all concerns could be addressed at one time.
Councilwoman Fraverd suggested that the residents could contact her via e-mail or by letter.
Councilwoman Hutcheson said that she had witnessed some additional cooperation between the departments and the
contractors. She felt it was important since the Town was now developing new areas of lots where there might be
issues. Now was the time for the Town to determine how the permit process needed to be streamlined. She said this
was a good way to get everyone involved, would bring a better understanding to all of the various processes, and would
help resolve issues that were found.
Councilman McNeill expressed that there was always room to try to find ways to improve and to expedite the process
and procedures. He stated that Fountain Hills was unique because of its strong zoning and subdivision ordinances. He
did not want to see the committee make wholesale changes in the substance of the Town's ordinances. He preferred that
the committee focus more on the process.
Mayor Morgan was in favor of this approach to improve the procedural process. She noted that Fountain Hills had the
reputation for being very slow in the permitting process and she looked forward to improvement in that area.
Councilwoman Ralphe favored streamlining the permitting process but was not in favor of wholesale changes to the
Town's zoning ordinances. The Town had carefully crafted the zoning and subdivision ordinances to protect the special
features of the land and to keep Fountain Hills unique.
Vice Mayor Kavanagh acknowledged that the process of building a house was complicated. He expressed that anything
that complicated was open for streamlining and improving. He said it was a great idea. In terms of ordinances versus
process, the spirit of the committee was to focus on process. He did not think that laws could be totally separated from
the process. He did not want to see the committee restricted to just process when there may be some legal tweaking
needed that would help the overall process. Vice Mayor Kavanagh pointed out that he did not see anything in the
presentation that suggested wholesaling changes in the laws and did not think the committee would do that.
Councilwoman Fraverd confirmed that it was not their intent to do any wholesale changes. She acknowledged that
through the years there had been numerous text amendments to clarify ordinances and some of the ordinances would
have to be revisited that might have more than one interpretation and nail down the meaning so that everyone had a clear
understanding. Councilwoman Fraverd expressed that was what she meant by modification of the zoning ordinances.
Mr. Farrell confirmed that he did not want this group to come in and recommend large-scale changes. He stated that
,,L, there were a number of ordinances that came to him for legal interpretation when staff and the developer were unable to
solve the problem. He was looking forward to clarifications. He asked the Council to remember they were the ultimate
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safeguard. Nothing in either of the ordinances would be changed unless the Council initiated it by a vote of four or
more. A public hearing was held at the Planning and Zoning Commission level with a public hearing then held at the
Council level. He acknowledged that there were areas where improvements could be made to improve that line of
communication. Councilman McNeill thanked everyone for the clarification and stated that he would support this
%lbw action. Councilman Wyman expressed that while it was wonderful to have the contractors involved no two better
people could be picked than Councilwoman Fraverd and Director Valder. He didn't think that they would give up the
bridge without talking about it. He was confident they were good choices.
Dennis Brown, 15202 San Diego Circle
He stated that the licensed contractors held two meetings since this issue surfaced. He said they were very appreciative
of the opportunity to sit on a short term, high-energy board to work through streamlining the process. He did not feel
they would be requesting any wholesale changes in the ordinances. He announced that they had picked four people to
fill the seats: Ken Krudder,Gordon Pittsenbarger,Dave Montgomery, and Scott Pace.
The motion CARRIED unanimously.
AGENDA ITEM#9- CALL TO THE PUBLIC.
Fred Muetter, 15719 E. Sunflower
He asked if the consultant's report on law enforcement would be available on the 21S` and placed on the Town's Web
site as previously stated by Vice Mayor Kavanagh. Mr. Farrell stated that technically a response could not be made. He
indicated that he would make an announcement after the meeting concluded.
AGENDA ITEM#10-ADJOURNMENT.
Councilwoman Hutcheson MOVED to adjourn and Vice Mayor Kavanagh SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED
unanimously. Mayor Morgan adjourned the meeting at 7:15 p.m.
TOWN OF FOUNTAIN H LS
/
By ?;' `icj.
aron Morgan,May r
ATTEST: (.4444:14—QO
Cassie B. Hansen,
Director of Administration/Town Clerk
/ ./11)
PREPARED BY: LOf
Bev Bender,Executive Assistant
CERTIFICATION
I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Regular and Executive
Meeting held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills on the 20th day of December 2001. I further certify that the
meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present.
DATED this 3`d day of January 2002.
Cassie B. Hansen,
Director of Administration/Town Clerk
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