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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006.0302.TCREM.MinutesTOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE REGULAR AND EXECUTIVE SESSION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL March 2, 2006 Town Attorney Andrew McGuire cancelled the Executive Session schedule to begin at 5:30 p.m. The Fountain Hills Town Council did not convene the Executive Session. Mayor Nichols called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. INVOCATION — Councilmember Kehe ROLL CALL — Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Councilmember Archambault, Mayor Nichols, Councilmember Kehe, and Vice Mayor Schlum. Town Attorney Andrew McGuire, Town Manager Tim Pickering, Assistant Town Manager Ellen Pence, and Town Clerk Bev Bender were also present. Councilmembers McMahan and Kavanagh were absent (illness and work -related) and excused from the meeting. MAYOR'S REPORT - The Mayor will read a St. Patrick's Day Proclamation. Mayor Nichols stated the Town of Fountain Hills has partnered with the Fountain Hills Chamber of Commerce to expand the traditional St. Patrick's Day celebration at Fountain Park on Friday, March 17, 2006 from 11 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. He added that the fountain would turn "emerald green" at high noon and again at 6:00 p.m. He said that entertainment has been planned throughout the day at the park and amphitheater and a special sound system will be set up so attendees can hear music throughout most of the park and the amphitheater. He noted that youth activities would be available as well as a beer garden and commemorative t-shirts. The Mayor advised that Loving Family Dental and MCO Properties were generously sponsoring the celebration. He stated that they are anticipating a large attendance at this unique event, which has been highly publicized, and added that the celebration will benefit local merchants as well. Mayor Nichols said it was his honor to proclaim March 17, 2006 St. Patrick's Day at the Fountain and encouraged all residents of the Town to participate in the festivities. SCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCE PRESENTATIONS — Maricopa County Elections Director Karen Osborne presented information regarding the new Voter Identification Requirement at the polls on Election Day due to the passage of Proposition 200, at the 2004 General Election, which became effective January 24, 2005. Mayor Nichols introduced Maricopa County Elections Director Osborne to the members of the audience. Ms. Osborne explained that at the upcoming March 14'h Primary elections, for the very first time in the State of Arizona, citizens wishing to vote will be required to show identification at the polls. She stressed the importance of citizens bringing their driver's licenses to the polls and strongly encouraged them to check out their driver's license to make sure that the information on their licenses is current and reflects current names and addresses. She explained that the names/addresses on the identification must match the County's voter information. She added that citizens who cannot provide acceptable matching identification will have to vote provisional ballots and said that the information will then be verified by the County (signature comparison). Ms. Osborne also discussed other forms of identification, including non -photo, that are acceptable and strongly encouraged everyone to visit the Town's website and/or the Maricopa County Elections website to review the list of identification that will be acceptable at the polls, including the yellow card sent out by the County, which lists the date of the election and pertinent information. She noted that the information card was available in the ` Chambers for citizens to take home and review. ZACouncil Packets\2006\R3-16-06\03-02-06 minutes.doc Page 1 of 6 Mayor Nichols thanked Ms. Osborne for her informative presentation. CALL TO THE PUBLIC None. CONSENT AGENDA AGENDA ITEM #1 — CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES FROM FEBRUARY 7 AND 16, 2006. AGENDA ITEM #2 — CONSIDERATION OF A PRELIMINARY AND FINAL PLAT FOR "QUAIL RUN CONDOMINIUMS," AN 88-UNIT CONDOMINIUM PROJECT LOCATED AT 16657 E. GUNSIGHT DR., AKA LOT 1, PLAT QUAIL RUN. CASE #5206-02. AGENDA ITEM #3 — CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION 2006-10, ABANDONNG WHATEVER RIGHT, TITLE, OR INTEREST THE TOWN HAS IN THE CERTAIN PUBLIC UTILITY AND DRAINAGE EASEMENTS LOCATED AT THE WESTERLY PROPERTY LINE OF PLAT 602a, BLOCK 1, LOT 26 (15657 E. SUNFLOWER DRIVE) AS RECORDED IN BOOK 161 OF MAPS, PAGE 42 RECORDS OF MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA. EA06-01— JACOBS TRUST. AGENDA ITEM #4 — CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING AN EXTENSION OF PREMISE FOR GRAPEABLES FINE WINES LOCATED AT 12645 N. SAGUARO BOULEVARD FOUNTAIN HILLS, FOR MARCH 11, 2006, FROM 10:00 A.M. TO 6:00 P.M. AGENDA ITEM # 5 — CONSIDERATION OF CANCELING THE PUBLIC HEARING FOR THE PROPOSED SPECIAL USE PERMIT FOR AN OUTDOOR YARD AREA AND OVERNIGHT BOARDING AT "DOGGIE INN," TO BE LOCATED AT 16750E PALISADES BOULEVARD THE APPLICANT HAS WITHDRAWN HER APPLICATION. CASE #SU2005-10. Councilmember Archambault MOVED to approve the Consent Agenda as read and Councilmember Kehe SECONDED the motion. A roll call vote was taken with the following results: Councilmember Kehe Aye Vice Mayor Schlum Aye Councilmember Kavanagh Absent Mayor Nichols Aye Councilmember McMahan Absent Councilman Archambault Aye The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (4-0) by those present. ACTION AGENDA AGENDA ITEM #6 — CONSIDERATION OF A CUT AND FILL WAIVER FOR THE HASHER RESIDENCE LOCATED AT 9841 N. .TAGGED CIRCLE (PARCEL 3B, LOT 15, EAGLE MOUNTAIN). CASE #CFW2005-04. Senior Planner Bob Rodgers addressed the Council relative to this agenda item and stated that the applicants were requesting permission to cut an area 13.5-feet deep in order to construct a driveway and achieve a turning radius in conformance with the Town's maximum allowable slope of 18%. The Zoning District is R1-6A, Single Family Residence. He referred to an aerial photo of the site and noted that the applicant shares a ZACouncil Packets\2006\R3-16-06\03-02-06 minutes.doc Page 2 of 6 i driveway with the house next door. He explained that that the new driveway design had been developed not to interfere with the access on Lot 14. He said that the proposal would allow the applicants to drive up the driveway and enter their garage. Mr. Rodgers advised that there would be three retaining walls, each 5 1/2 to 6-feet tall, topped by a rip rap line that would catch any drainage coming down the hill and move it around the house and out to the street. He said that the area requiring the cut and fill waiver was 289 square feet in area, located at the end of the driveway to the rear of the house, where the driveway turned into the garage. He noted that the lot was very steep and had a ridgeline but was sloped. He advised that staff recommended approval of the request. In response to a question from the Vice Mayor, Mr. Rodgers advised that because of the cut there would not be any impact from a visibility standpoint since it wrapped around the house. He discussed possible alternatives (raising the driveway or the garage) to reduce the cut but explained that that would raise the slope of the driveway itself. He noted that the applicant's engineer tried a few variations in an effort to determine the best configuration. Councilmember Kehe asked whether staff had any diagrams that would provide a better delineation of the footprint of the house and Mr. Rodgers said that copies of a larger plan were delivered to the Councilmembers earlier this week. Town Attorney Andrew McGuire advised that the proposed house would be 4,381 square feet in size. Councilmember Kehe asked staff to elaborate on the alternatives that had been considered prior to deciding to request the proposed cut and fill waiver. Mr. Rodgers deferred to the applicant's engineer. David Montgomery, 16716 E. Parkview, the engineer for the applicant, commented that a number of alternatives were studied and noted that the lot was very steep. He added that another hardship they had to deal with was the existing driveway. He said that they had managed to reduce the area of the cut from an original 322 square feet to 289 square feet on their second submittal. He noted the 30-foot building height limitation and said if they raised the house higher to reduce the cut at the back of the house, they would be in violation of that requirement. Mr. Montgomery distributed a copy of the elevation renderings to the Council for their review and further clarification. Councilmember Kehe commented that the Town had just completed a Strategic Plan and said that the items that stood out strongly confirmed that citizens wanted strict enforcement of zoning and the General Plan to occur. He noted that nearly 400 homes were going to be built on mountainous terrain in the future and stressed the importance of establishing a baseline. He stated the opinion they should adapt the proposed house to the terrain rather than adapt the terrain to the house and he had concerns with this. Mr. Montgomery replied that they did try to restructure the house, tilt the garage, etc. but they could not get rid of the 10-foot cut. He expressed the opinion that the proposed plan was the most appropriate one for that site. He noted that when the 10-foot cut limitation was enacted, the reasoning was that developers were making some massive cuts, cutting off hilltops and filling in washes, and they wanted to prevent that from happening. He added that their concern at that time was if somebody needed to exceed the 10-feet or it came up as an issue, they would never get a variance so they added a footnote that allowed those cases to go before the Council, which could act favorably upon the request if it made sense. He said that each request should be handled on a case -by -case basis. Councilmember Kehe asked whether, from an engineer's standpoint, they should be sending out the message that homes should be designed to adapt to the existing terrain so that variances or waivers were not required. Mr. Montgomery said that the message was a good one but as they got into the mountainous lots they were going to see more of these requests because of driveway limitations and the 18% slope. ZACouncil Packets\2006\R3-16-06\03-02-06 minutes.doc Page 3 of 6 Councilmember Kehe discussed he was aware of where the architect and engineer, when really pressed, had found a way to stay within the regulations. He asked whether the architect was present at the meeting. Brady Hardy, the builder for the project, provided the Council with a history of home design in the area and explained that there were a number of difficult issues they had to deal with in designing the home. He said that they had issues with the Community Association and noted that pad locations for the home were pre -determined for the lot due to the shared driveway. He stated that they had to use that driveway in order to enter the lot and this was one of the design constraints. He noted that they originally had a four car garage set on top of the hill but said it became apparent that the amount of parking space up on top and the amount of space needed to get the cars in and out of the garage would require more of a cut than originally proposed. He said that they took the second car garage and lowered it below the home and a two -car garage remained on top. He explained that this allowed them to minimize the cut as much as possible while still designing the home around the existing driveway. He pointed out that even though the home would be in excess of the cut waiver, it had been designed in a manner to mitigate any visual impact associated with the cut. He noted that the people who would see the cut were the homeowners when they were up on top pulling into their driveways; most of the view of that would be taken up by the back elevation of the home and the cut would be mitigated except for a small view corridor. Councilmember Kehe noted that the visual impact was only one of the issues. Mr. Montgomery pointed out that most of the easy to build on flat lots were almost gone and the difficult, hard to build on, multiple -level lots were left. He said that 60% to 70% of the homes his company builds now were located on steep lots. In response to a question from Councilmember Archambault, Mr. Rodgers confirmed that the Town's ordinances allow applicants to come before the Council and request a waiver. Councilmember Archambault stated the opinion that the proposed house was pretty much "fitted to the lay of the land" to fit the topography. He added that another thing that stood out in his mind was the allowable square footage that they were able to build on is 18,970 square feet but they were only utilizing 7,027 square feet. He said that their allowable disturbance area was 30,468 square feet and they were only using 24,042 square feet. He stated that they had done so because of the topography of the lot. He expressed the opinion that they had designed a reasonably sized house. Mr. Rodgers confirmed that according to the Town's ordinances, if certain criteria were met, the Council could approve a waiver. There were no citizens present wishing to speak on this item. Vice Mayor Schlum MOVED to approve the requested cut and fill waiver and Councilmember Archambault SECONDED the motion. Councilmember Kehe requested a roll call vote. Vice Mayor Schlum Aye Councilmember Kehe Nay Councilmember Archambault Aye Mayor Nichols Aye Councilmember Kehe stated that he wanted to support the citizens' wishes on this issue and therefore voted in opposition. The motion CARRIED by majority vote (3-1) of the members present. AGENDA ITEM #7 — DISCUSSION REGARDING PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA) TO FLIGHT HEIGHT OF COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT OVER FOUNTAIN HILLS, WITH POSSIBLE DIRECTION TO STAFF. ZACouncil Packets\2006\R3-16-06\03-02-06 minutes.doc Page 4 of 6 Town Manager Tim Pickering provided the Council with a brief overview of this agenda item and explained that the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) had proposed a plan to lower the height at which commercial aircraft fly over Fountain Hills. Presently, the envelope in which commercial aircraft must fly begins at 6,000 feet and extends to 10,000 MSL (or approximately 4,000 above the ground level to 8,000 above the ground level around the Town). The FAA wants to lower the top limit of the envelope, bringing it down to 9,000 MSL (or approximately 7,000 feet above the ground around Fountain Hills). Mr. Pickering explained that this would concentrate the airline traffic into a narrower envelope; the bottom limit would stay the same but the upper limit would be reduced. The actual impact on Fountain Hills was unknown. A study of FAA radar data would have to be made to determine the real world impact on Fountain Hills' residents. He noted that Councilmember Kavanagh had suggested that the Town form a Committee to review the FAA's proposed plans, as they did in 2001 with respect to the Town's efforts to control air traffic and associated noise over Fountain Hills. He added that another option would be to assign this issue to the Public Safety Advisory Commission. Mayor Nichols asked whether the Council had to do something within the next two weeks. Mr. Pickering said that although there was a deadline, the public meetings did not begin until April and so they had time to monitor the situation and determine what was going to happen. Mayor Nichols commented that the full Council was not in attendance and questioned whether they should postpone the matter another two weeks or begin working on the issue as quickly as possible. He said that many citizens had expressed concerns regarding planes flying lower over the Town. Councilmember Kehe stated that they found out about this sixteen days ago in an article in the Arizona Republic. He noted that the hearings would be held in April and emphasized that flying plans lower over the Town had the potential of seriously impacting the environment and stressed the importance of moving ahead as quickly as possible. He recommended that a "Blue Ribbon Committee" be formed to look into this serious matter and said that people who served on the previous committee might be willing to participate again. ' Councilmember Kehe MOVED that the Town Manager be directed to form a `Blue Ribbon Committee," composed of individuals with some experience/background in this area, to gather information relative to the proposed plan, and develop recommendations for Council review and consideration. Vice Mayor Schlum SECONDED the motion. Councilmember Archambault concurred with Councilmember Kehe's suggestion and agreed that they should begin working on this matter as soon as possible. Mayor Nichols asked whether Councilmember Kehe's motion precluded Mr. Pickering from assigning this responsibility to the Public Safety Advisory Commission and Councilmember Kehe said that it did not. He added that he would leave the composition of the Committee up to the judgment of the Town Manager. He said that he believed they should incorporate some of the people who served on the previous committee because they already possess the institutional knowledge. There were no citizens wishing to speak on this item. The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (4-0) by those present. AGENDA ITEM #8 - COUNCIL DISCUSSION/DIRECTION TO THE TOWN MANAGER. ITEMS LISTED BELOW ARE RELATED ONLY TO THE PROPRIETY OF W PLACING SUCH ITEMS ON A FUTURE AGENDA FOR ACTION OR 60 OR DIRECTING STAFF TO CONDUCT FURTHER RESEARCH AND REPORT BACK TO THE COUNCIL: 9w4wole" ZACouncil Packets\2006\R3-16-06\03-02-06 minutes.doc Page 5 of 6 AGENDA ITEM #21— SUMMARY OF COUNCIL REQUESTS BY TOWN MANAGER. Mr. Pickering stated that he would put together a Blue Ribbon Committee to study the potential impacts of the FAA's flight proposal on the Town of Fountain Hills. AGENDA ITEM #12 — ADJOURNMENT Vice Mayor Schlum MOVED that the Council adjourn and Councilmember Kehe SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. The meeting adjournoi at 7:15 p.m. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS By \/ V Wally Nicl ATTEST AND PREPARED BY: Bevelyn J.&dder, 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 2nd day of March 2006. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this 16'h day of March, 2006. , end(r, Town Clerk W ZACouncil Packets\2006\R3-16-06\03-02-06 minutes.doc Page 6 of 6