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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007.0118.TCREM.Minutes Town of Fountain Hills Town Council Agenda Action Form co- Meeting Type: Regular Meeting Meeting Date: February 1, 2007 Submitting Department: Administration Contact Person: Bender Consent:® Regular:❑ Requesting Action:.® Report Only ❑ Type of Document Needing Approval (Check all that apply): ❑Public Hearing ❑ Resolution ❑ Ordinance ❑ Agreement n Emergency Clause ❑ Special Event Permit ❑ Special Consideration ❑ Intergovernmental Agreement ❑ Acceptance ❑ Grant Submission ❑ Liquor/Bingo License Application ❑ Plat ❑ Special Event Permit ❑ Special/Temp Use Permit ® Other: Draft Meeting Minutes Council Priority(Check Appropriate Areas): ❑ Education n Public Fitness ❑Library Services ❑ Public Safety ❑ Community Activities ❑ Economic Development ❑ Public Works ❑ Human Service Needs ❑ Parks &Recreation ❑ Town Elections ❑ Community Development Regular Agenda Wording: CONSIDERATION of approving the TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES from January 18, 2007. L.' Staff Recommendation: Approve Fiscal Impact: No $ Purpose of Item and Background Information: Approve the council meeting minutes for archival purposes. List All Attachments as Follows: None Type(s) of Presentation: None Signatures of Submitting Staff: Town Clerk or • wn Clerk) Budget Review (if item not budgeted or exceeds budget amount) /7t'd7 Town anager/Designee L TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE EXECUTIVE AND REGULAR SESSION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL January 18,2007 Vice Mayor Kehe called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. AGENDA ITEM #1 — ROLL CALL AND VOTE TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION: PURSUANT TO A.R.S.38-431.03.A3,FOR DISCUSSION OR CONSULTATION FOR LEGAL ADVICE WITH THE ATTORNEY OR ATTORNEYS OF THE PUBLIC BODY. (SPECIFICALLY, LEGAL ADVICE REGARDING PROPOSITION 207.) ROLL CALL — Present for roll call were the following members of the Fountain Hills Town Council: Vice Mayor Kehe, Councilmember Leger, Councilmember McMahan, Councilmember Schlum, Councilmember Archambault and Councilmember Dickey. Town Manager Tim Pickering, Town Attorney Andrew McGuire, Town Clerk Bev Bender and Planning&Zoning Administrator Richard Turner were also present. Mayor Nichols was absent and excused from the meeting. Councilmember Archambault MOVED to convene the Executive Session at 5:30 p.m. and Councilmember Schlum SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY(6-0). Councilmember Archambault MOVED to adjourn the Executive Session at 6:22 p.m. and Councilmember McMahan SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY(6-0). AGENDA ITEM#2—RETURN TO REGULAR SESSION Vice Mayor Kehe reconvened the Regular Session at 6:30 p.m. * CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE * INVOCATION—Pastoral Associate, Ms.Therese Barnhart, Church of the Ascension * ROLL CALL Present for roll call were the following members of the City Council: Vice Mayor Kehe,Councilmember Leger, Councilmember McMahan, Councilmember Schlum, Councilmember Archambault and Councilmember Dickey. Town Manager Tim Pickering, Town Attorney Andrew McGuire and Town Clerk Bev Bender were also present. Mayor Nichols was absent and excused from the meeting. * MAYOR'S REPORT (i) Recognition of artists for their winning Avenue of the Fountains Banner-Design Competition entries. Vice Mayor Kehe stated that the Town of Fountain Hills, in partnership with the Fountain Hills Art League, was excited to announce that three winning entries were chosen for the Avenue of the Fountains Banner-Design Contest. He said that the winners were Maurine Marshal with "The Blooming Cactus," Barbara Drake with "Up, Up and Away," and Debra Melendez with "Saguaro Bloom." He noted that all three winning designs were unique in their approach to the theme, "Spring in the Desert." The banners were to be on display from January to May 2007 along the Avenue of the Fountains from Saguaro Boulevard to La Montana Drive and at the Z:\Council Packets\2007\R2-01-07\1-18-07 minutes.doc Page 1 of 10 Fountain Hills Great Fair, February 23, 24 and 25. The Vice Mayor announced that artists of all ages were L. invited to submit their artwork to integrate art into the Avenue of the Fountains Enhancement Project and added that the judging panel had a difficult choice to make with so many original and creative designs to choose from (36 entries were received). He said that Mayor Nichols wanted all of the participants to know that their participation and enthusiasm was very much appreciated and he hoped that all of the artists would continue to stay active in the community public art projects. He stated that the Town of Fountain Hills and the Arizona Art League would like to recognize and thank all of the artists who entered their work and congratulated the three winners on their outstanding accomplishment. He asked the winners to come forward and presented them with a Fountain Hills pin. (ii) The Vice Mayor will read a proclamation declaring February 1, 2007 Pony Express Day Vice Mayor Kehe stated that the Pony Express played a particularly important colorful part in the history of the West dating back between 1860 and 1861. Each year, the Pony Express riders were remembered with a commemorative ride by the members of the Hashknife Gang, traveling from Holbrook to Scottsdale, with Fountain Hills being the next to last stop on their trek. The Vice Mayor said that it was his honor to proclaim February 1, 2007 Pony Express Day in the Town of Fountain Hills and added that all Town residents, visitors and residents/visitors of surrounding areas were invited to join in the festivities and dress western to commemorate this part of our history of the West. CALL TO THE PUBLIC None. Councilmember Dickey stated that the Council was invited to attend the Arizona Department of Housing's "Homes for Arizona"Day at the Capital and said that the Governor spoke about housing issues and how they fit in with growth initiatives. Members of financial institutions, cities and universities were in attendance and spoke about some of the innovative things they were doing with housing, given that Arizona is now #1 in the nation based on growth. A significant amount of information was made available, including data on economic indicators and how they were going to affect housing as Arizona continued to grow. She said that she would be happy to share additional information with anyone who was interested. Vice Mayor Kehe thanked Councilmember Dickey for her comments. CONSENT AGENDA AGENDA ITEM #1 — CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING THE TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES FROM JANUARY 4,2007. Councilmember McMahan MOVED to approve the Town Council meeting minutes from the January 4, 2007 meeting and Councilmember Schlum SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY(6-0). REGULAR AGENDA AGENDA ITEM #2 — CONSIDERATION OF APPOINTING ONE CITIZEN TO SERVE A TWO- YEAR TERM ON THE PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION. Vice Mayor Kehe MOVED to appoint Frederick Bedell to serve a two-year term on the Parks and Recreation Commission and Councilmember McMahan SECONDED the motion. There were no citizens present wishing to speak on this agenda item. The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY(6-0). Z:\Council Packets\2007\R2-01-07\1-18-07 minutes.doc Page 2 of 10 • AGENDA ITEM #3 — PUBLIC HEARING ON THE SPECIAL USE PERMIT TO ALLOW "SIERRA SOUTHWEST KITCHEN" RESTAURANT TO SELL ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES DURING MEALS WITHIN THE C-1 ZONING DISTRICT, LOCATED AT 15225 N. FOUNTAIN HILLS BOULEVARD, #104. CASE#SU2006-08. Vice Mayor Kehe declared the public hearing open at 6:38 p.m. Town Manager Tim Pickering stated that Senior Planner Bob Rodgers would provide an overview of this agenda item. Mr. Rodgers addressed the Council and stated that this was an application for a Special Use Permit to allow Sierra Southwest Kitchen to become a full service Southwestern/Mexican cuisine restaurant and barbeque that would be open seven days a week. The requested Special Use Permit would allow alcoholic beverages to be dispensed and consumed on the premises of this future restaurant, which was proposed to be located at 15225 Fountain Hills Boulevard, Unit#104 (corner of Fountain Hills Boulevard and Glenbrook Boulevard, the former location of The Godfather Restaurant). He noted that the Town Council recently revised the Zoning Ordinance to eliminate this requirement for a Special Use Permit (for alcoholic sales) because the current liquor license process already provides sufficient safeguards and the Special Use Permit was deemed to be an unnecessary burden. The revision will become effective January 21st so he explained that this was the last Special Use Permit of this type that would come before the Council. Staff recommended that the Council approve the requested Special Use Permit to allow the alcoholic beverage sales for Sierra Southwest Kitchen restaurant. There were no members of the Council and/or citizens wishing to speak on this item. Mayor Kehe closed the public hearing at 6:40 p.m. AGENDA ITEM #4 — CONSIDERATION OF THE SPECIAL USE PERMIT TO ALLOW "SIERRA SOUTHWEST KITCHEN" RESTAURANT TO SELL ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES DURING MEALS WITHIN THE C-1 ZONING DISTRICT, LOCATED AT 15225 N. FOUNTAIN HILLS BOULEVARD, #104. CASE#SU2006-08. Councilmember Leger MOVED to approve the Special Use Permit and Councilmember Archambault SECONDED the motion. There were no members of the Council and/or citizens wishing to speak on this item. The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY(6-0). AGENDA ITEM #5 — CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING A LIQUOR LICENSE APPLICATION FOR KENDAL SCOTT AMICK (ARBDL ENTERPRISES, INC. FOR SIERRA SOUTHWEST KITCHEN), LOCATED AT 15225 N. FOUNTAIN HILLS BOULEVARD, #104. THIS REQUEST IS FOR A SERIES#12 RESTAURANT LICENSE. Councilmember Archambault MOVED to approve the liquor license application for Kendal Scott Amick(Arbdl Enterprises, Inc. for Sierra Southwest Kitchen) and Councilmember McMahan SECONDED the motion. There were no members of the Council and/or citizens wishing to speak on this item. The motion CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY(6-0). AGENDA ITEM #6 — DISCUSSION WITH POSSIBLE DIRECTION TO STAFF REGARDING SHORT-TERM RENTAL HOUSING. Z:\Council Packets\2007\R2-01-07\1-18-07 minutes.doc Page 3 of 10 Mr. Pickering stated that Planning and Zoning Administrator Richard Turner would highlight a presentation on this agenda item. He expressed appreciation to Mr. Turner, Town Attorney Andrew McGuire and the Town's Prosecutor for looking into this matter as quickly as possible. He explained that the issue came onto the "radar screen" rather quickly and they had done a lot of work in a short time and he and the community as a whole appreciated their efforts. Mr. Turner addressed the members of the Council and stated that a company called Golf Zoo had bought three homes in Town and intended to rent the homes on a short-term basis to vacationers. He reported that staff had received e-mails, letters and visits from residents near the Jacklin Drive home and all of the communications were in opposition to the proposed use of the house. Input was received from Nabers' Property Management and Real Estate advising caution in regulating short-term rentals. The Town Prosecutor very recently indicated that he was willing to prosecute short-term rentals of a commercial nature as a violation of the Zoning Ordinance. An amendment to the Zoning Ordinance clarifying that a short-term rental was not a permitted use in residential zoning would still aid in possible future prosecution. Staff researched other communities both locally and nationally to determine how they handled this issue from a regulatory perspective and found that each of the places checked used a different approach. They also came across a survey of 37 tourist-oriented communities that revealed 21 or 57% regulate short-term rentals in some way. Of the 21 that regulated short- term rentals, 16 used 30 days as the length of stay defining a short-term rental. Two communities used 28 days and 3 used a shorter period of time. Staff also conducted an Internet survey to obtain an estimate of the extent of short-term rentals in Town and the research indicated that there were 25 condominiums, 10 town homes or duplexes and 12 other single-family homes available for short-term occupancy (a period of 2 weeks or less). He stated the opinion that those figures were an under-estimate and did not reflect a real total. Mr. Turner said that since the Zoning Ordinance did not distinguish short-term rentals from single-family use, an amendment to the Zoning Ordinance would be helpful in alerting the public to which short-term rentals might be considered commercial uses. In staff's draft amendment, they used 30 days as the distinction between short (kw term and long-term rentals. Regulating rentals of less than 30 days would not impact monthly rentals and was consistent with the definitions used by other similarly situated communities. It was also consistent with the Town's distinction between bed tax and rental tax. The proposed ordinance change prohibited short-term rental housing in all but Lodging Zoning Districts. This was the same approach that the Town used in regulating fractional ownerships. With regard to a few of the other issues that had come up, an application for a business license was returned to Golf Zoo as being incomplete; it lacked a State tax number. Based on the view of the Town Prosecutor,the Town will likely reject the business license application submitted for short-term rental that was deemed to have significant commercial characteristics. Even with the denial of a business license, it would be a good idea to amend the Zoning Ordinance to clarify issues surrounding short-term rental housing. Literature suggested that this type of use had characteristics of commercial uses. In addition, noise pollution, illegal parking and negligent property maintenance were commonly cited as negative impacts. Mr. Turner stated that staff recommended that the Town Council direct staff to pursue a change to the Zoning Ordinance to regulate short-term rental housing. If the decision is made to move forward on such an amendment, the Planning &Zoning Commission would hold a public hearing on February 8, 2007 and the Town Council would hold their public hearing on March 1, 2007. Councilmember Schlum requested additional input relative to the business license. Town Attorney Andrew McGuire explained that the business license process in effect required review by different departments prior to issuance. One of the requirements was that the licensee be in conformance with all Town codes to ensure that all necessary fire safety, zoning and public safety issues are covered. Mr. McGuire referenced a conversation with the Town Prosecutor about the facts surrounding the Golf Zoo case; the Town Prosecutor's interpretation was that the commercial nature of this use was not in compliance with single-family zoning. In Mr. Turner's review of the business license application, his recommendation was for denial based on not being in compliance with the zoning. One of the key distinctions in discussions with the Town Prosecutor was that it was impossible, under a zoning category, to make a "blanket determination" on whether or not a short-term rental was commercial in nature or single-family in nature. His opinion is that the current ordinance could be enforced to prohibit the commercial type of use on a case-by-case fact specific basis and he was comfortable doing so on Z:\Council Packets\2007\R2-01-07\1-18-07 minutes.doc Page 4 of 10 an individual basis whenever a case was brought before him. It was likely that most of those determinations cowould occur at the business license level and the zoning enforcement issues may not arise because the business license was the first"stop gap" for that issue. Councilmember Archambault said that because they had a proposal before them to remedy short-term rentals, he wanted to place before the Council the implications associated with that. He stated that he had checked with Pam Nabers of Nabers Realty, a long-standing business in the community, and found out that they do as little as four-day rentals. He stated that this seemed to be a strange amount of time for a rental and learned that the company gets inundated with calls for rentals when the fairs come to Town and all of the artists, rather than drive around in motor homes, pull their trailers containing all of the merchandise here and then drive their cars over to houses that they have rented. They then have access to washers and dryers and do not feel like they are "living on the run" all the time. He also advised that they get a lot of short-term rentals for less than 30 days that have to do with people going to the Mayo Clinic. They fly in and obtain treatment at the clinic and want to be in as much of a home atmosphere as possible so they rent for periods of two or three weeks. Visitors also' come to Town to"check it out" as a possible relocation site and those rentals usually run for a week or less. The company also accommodated people while they waited for their residences to be built. He pointed out that this was only one business license that they had on their radar but it affected 375 rental units the company had and of those 120 were furnished properties and slightly less than 100 were rented on a short-term basis. A lot of people who have had condos have rented them for some time and they make the mortgage in that three-month rental period when the snowbirds are here. He stated the opinion that these issues should be taken into consideration. Councilmember Archambault commented that if they wanted to avoid going down the short-term rental process, perhaps they could look at identifying a particular zone where they would encourage this type of use, such as Lodging, and allow the short-term rentals to occur in such an approved area. He requested input from the Town Attorney. (khr, Mr.McGuire responded to Councilmember Archambault's comments and stated that it was within the Council's purview to amend the Lodging Zoning category to allow this use but added that it would not address the current issue — a short-term rental a single-family or commercial use. He reiterated the fact that "blanket decisions" could not be made on this issue and decisions could only be made on the facts on a specific case-by-case basis. He said that they could include a short-term rental property as part of the Lodging District but the problem they were going to run into was that the Lodging District existed in two locations in Town currently and it really would not be appropriate for single-family residential neighborhoods. If there were single-family homes that were in the short-term rental pool, it might result in an interesting zoning map and he was not sure they wanted to go in that direction. Councilmember Archambault stated that they were certainly seeing a different type of landscape appear in the housing industry that they would not have thought of 20 years ago. He added that they had to constantly move to the changing landscapes that were appearing and perhaps they should consider limiting the short-term rentals to single-family residences because he was not in favor of changing the nature of a neighborhood. Councilmember McMahan said that he did not want to hurt the Town's individual short-term rental industry that had been operating very successfully for 30 years but added that on the other hand, this type of corporate operation disturbed him and he did not believe they could permit it. He noted that the City of Scottsdale addressed the issue through its business licensing process and questioned whether they had been successful in this endeavor. Mr. McGuire responded that there was no way of determining whether or not Scottsdale had been successful in their approach. He said that the reason staff raised the business licensing issue was to give the Council an understanding of the fact that the first time that the zoning was evaluated to determine whether it was a single- family or commercial use would be at that level by professional staff. The only concerns both he and Mr. Turner had earlier had to do with the inability to uniformly apply this application (what is or is not single-family use). The conversation that they had with the Town Prosecutor was very helpful and they were satisfied with Z:\Council Packets\2007\R2-01-07\1-18-07 minutes.doc Page 5 of 10 the approach the Town Prosecutor would take regarding the issues that had to be addressed on an individual Loy basis. Councilmember McMahan expressed the opinion that the Town should consider amending its Business License ordinance to counter this. Mr. McGuire stated that an amendment to the Business License Ordinance was not needed but that they needed merely to use the Business License regulations that were already in place to determine whether the ventures were commercial or residential. If the "check the box"process did not shed any kind of light on what kind of rental property it was going to be and staff had questions, staff would follow up with the applicant. He stated that staff would be moving forward, independent of this process, to develop a supplemental questionnaire that would require more detailed information about the rental and would help resolve a lot of issues. Mr. McGuire noted that addressing them from a code enforcement issue is a different subject than what they were talking about this evening but staff was moving forward on this matter at the same time. Councilmember Leger said that there seemed to have been a lot of communication between the citizenry and Town Hall staff and it appeared that when staff started the process it was doubtful that staff could enforce the current ordinance. He added that now he believes he was hearing, after much discussion and bringing the Town Prosecutor into the picture that they could in fact enforce the current ordinance. Mr. McGuire confirmed that Councilmember Leger's understanding was correct. Mr. McGuire added that what they were really talking about was "blanket enforcement" based upon a type of use versus individualized enforcement to evaluate each case as it is brought forward. He stated that if the Council wanted to move forward with any type of clarification, staff was willing to pursue that goal. Councilmember Leger said that he would be interested in hearing from the members of the public on this issue. Vice Mayor Kehe commented that he was hearing from staff that the approach they would recommend in an immediate sense was that the Town Prosecutor would prosecute apparent violations of the current ordinance on (60, a case-by-case basis, including violations of the Business License. Staff concurred with the Vice Mayor's summary. Vice Mayor Kehe stated that the Council would now like to receive input from the public and asked them to come forward as their names are called. John Wyman, 16905 E. Jacklin, stated that he was speaking on behalf of a number of residents from the immediate area around Jacklin and requested additional time in which to present his remarks. He read the following statement into the record of the meeting: "The single-family residence at 16915 Jacklin Drive has been purchased by a resident of Maryland who is a principal owner of a company named Golf Zoo, Inc. A review of that company's website shows the Jacklin residence and incidentally two other residences in Fountain Hills promoted it as golf vacation packages for up to 12 individuals in four bedrooms with amenities such as free beer, 4-flat screen TVs, private pool with Jacuzzi, professional poker and pool table, wireless hi-speed Internet and a private concierge. A number of concerned residents living in the area of the Jacklin Drive property are concerned with this situation. Many are present here tonight and have asked me to speak for them. The organization has not been granted a license to operate a commercial lodging business in a single-family zoning district but the Town's Planning&Zoning Administrator was concerned that it might be possible and this is why we are here to speak. It is our collective belief that even current Fountain Hills' regulations arguably deny the type of business promoted by Golf Zoo in a residentially zoned district. The documents handed to you by the Town Clerk and e-mailed to you by me over the past week or two provide a number of detailed examples. Here are only two: (1) Even a home offering bed and breakfast amenities requires a special use permit and they only offer a maximum of two bedrooms for lodging and no more than two persons per bedroom (Section 10.03B of the Town's Zoning Code). (2) Home Occupations (Section 5:4A—Zoning): Occupations shall be clearly incidental and subordinate to the use of the property and dwelling unit for dwelling purposes — and shall not change the residential character thereof. Additionally, and this is an important point, an Affidavit of Property Value executed in accordance with Arizona law was signed Z:\Council Packets\2007\R2-01-07\1-18-07 minutes.doc Page 6 of 10 on November 17, 2006 citing the Jacklin buyer's use as "to be occupied by owner or a family member." Granting a license would seem to be in violation of the statute and a contradiction of the arguably lawful intent of Fountain Hills' current zoning regulations. These packages belong in zoned Lodging districts including the many local commercial options such as Copperwynd Resort, the Inn at Eagle Mountain, Comfort Inn, Holiday Inn, Courtyard by Marriott and Radisson Fort McDowell. Those are all available. In purchasing a home in Fountain Hills, most residents understandably relied on zoning ordinances as restricting single-family residences to dwelling purposes, not for transient lodging in contradiction of the residential character intended. Area residents represented in this position statement respectfully request and recommend the following Council actions: (1) That the Town amend zoning regulations to expressly prohibit the type of commercial activities promoted by Golf Zoo in single-family districts; (2) That the Town refuse a business license for the packages currently promoted, pending a determination of the arguably lawful intent of current Town ordinances and the possibility that they are in violation of state statutes, and (3) That Town counsel seek to determine the arguably lawful intent of current Town regulations and to confirm the possible violation of state statutes." Cathy Fedak, 13404 N. La Montana, addressed the Council and stated that she was speaking on behalf of the property managers of Fountain Hills. She said that she managed the 120 furnished units for Nabers Property Management and Real Estate and was present to encourage the Council to take some time and speak to not only the residents who she has empathy for but also to the people who dealt with the renters on a daily and monthly basis and had been doing it for years. She added that Councilmember Archambault and the Town Attorney already raised many of the points she had intended to bring up but she did want to discuss demographics related to the average short-tern renter. Councilmember Archambault had talked about Mayo Clinic, winter visitors and the artists who come to the various fairs but she advised them that out of the 120 units that they rented, approximately 400 people would arrive within the next few months. Out of those 400 people, one was a gentleman in his twenties, one couple was in their thirties, four couples in their forties and all of the rest were in the fifty to sixty age bracket. They were mostly couples, husbands and wives, usually retired. She did not have any families renting any of the units nor did she have any group of young men or women. The Chamber could probably back her up as far as the statistics relating to the average renter. She stated the opinion that Golf Zoo was proposing something that probably would not work out in Town. As far as the idea of encouraging young gentlemen to visit the Town for a fun golf vacation and party with beer, she was not sure that Fountain Hills was the type of community that would support that type of activity. The Town did not have the bars, other types of nightlife activities and residents in that age bracket they were trying to attract for them to socialize with. She added that a solution was needed but encouraged them to take some time and speak with Pam Nabers and the other property managers in Town as well as the Chamber in an effort to determine the types of renters they actually attracted. She said that they also had to consider what the impact would be if they decided to make a change to less than 30 days. She also questioned if the less than 30-day rental period was prohibited whether that would apply to the month of February (28 or 29 days) and said that if so, that would significantly impact them because February was their busiest month of the year. Vice Mayor Kehe thanked the speakers for their input and requested input from the Council regarding this issue. Councilmember Schlum commented that based on what he heard this evening,there have not been any problems with what was already occurring and what was at issue were newer uses that were not allowed in single-family or residential areas. He said that"home occupations"really did not come into play because people were coming to use a rental property, not conduct business out of a house. He added that they were speaking about a commercial operation rather than what they had dealt with in the past and had no issues with. Mr. McGuire concurred with Councilmember Schlum's remarks. Councilmember Dickey commented that she agreed pretty much with everything that had been said and that she was comfortable with handling the issue on a case-by-case basis but she was uncomfortable with the unintended consequences of doing anything too broad. Councilmember Archambault advised that he was also comfortable with the belief that they have solved the problem for now but added that perhaps staff should be directed to look into this matter further and try to define Z:\Council Packets\2007\R2-01-07\1-18-07 minutes.doc Page 7 of 10 the specific zoning and where it belonged. He said that this may take some time but he would like to start pursuing it now. He added that he was uncomfortable with limiting short-term rentals because they had realtors in Town who have acted responsibly and their livelihood should not be impacted. He further stated that in the future they might want to look at limiting the zoning for single-family residences (short-term rentals of one month). Councilmember McMahan suggested that they proceed with prosecuting in accordance with the current zoning ordinance as suggested. He added that he would also like to see them take a look at updating the Business License ordinance to cover this type of situation. He said that he has a home business and a business license and must abide by certain restrictions. He stated the opinion that the ordinance could be revised to address this problem. He said that he would not be adverse to former Councilmember Wyman's suggestion relative to not granting them a business license at the current time. Councilmember Leger expressed the opinion that if the current ordinance could be enforced that that was the path they should take. He stated that when they start changing ordinances there were implications. He added that short-term rentals represented an economic engine that brought people into the Town. He said that this use was being deemed as detrimental to residential areas and if they could in fact initiate enforcement efforts under the current ordinance,he would be comfortable with that. Vice Mayor Kehe asked whether Mr. Pickering had sufficient direction with which to proceed. Mr. Pickering provided the following summarization: Staff will go down the path that was discussed this evening. As far as the other suggestions,he would have staff look into them and come back before the Council at a future date. He said that although the issue had undergone a great deal of research it still required additional study. He suggested that the item be readdressed at a future Workshop. Staff was to look at all of the various issues associated with this matter. Vice Mayor Kehe agreed with the direction Mr. Pickering outlined. Councilmember Schlum commented that everyone appears to have been comfortable with what they have had in the past but there were new uses coming into play and staff has now looked at them more thoroughly and found that they would not fit within a residentially zoned area. The Council was not looking to go back and readdress what they had been comfortable with in the past. Vice Mayor Kehe stated that it was very encouraging that the Town Prosecutor was willing to prosecute violations under the current ordinance in the business license area. He said that this was a positive step. Councilmember McMahan asked whether it would be possible to place on the next meeting's agenda the issue of whether or not to grant Golf Zoo a business license. Mr. McGuire responded no, and explained that the administrative decision to grant or not grant a license occurred at the staff level. He added that the only time the Council gets involved with a business license is if an appeal is filed. AGENDA ITEM #7 — TOWN MANAGER'S QUARTERLY UPDATE ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF COUNCIL GOALS. Town Manager Tim Pickering addressed the Council and stated that he was very happy to report that of the goals that were given for this fiscal year five were almost totally complete: Information to residents on the long- term revenue gap; promotion of the low-water landscaping ordinance; enforcement of the General Plan; approval of the Architectural Review Board and the annexation of the State Trust Land. Staff will continue to work on a couple of the items, such as the State Trust Land once the property was sold but they were far ahead of their goal marks. Staff continued to work on items such as working with the local schools and this will be an Le on-going item. On an upcoming agenda there will be a discussion on using some existing school land for parks and they will also discuss the creation of the pedestrian safety plan during the month of April. Staff continually works on improving the business community. Z:\Council Packets\2007\R2-01-07\1-18-07 minutes.doc Page 8 of 10 • In response to a question from Councilmember Archambault relative to improving the business community during the next quarter, Mr. Pickering advised that there are two major goals. Staff was going to hold a Workshop with the Council to discuss the economic development activities that occur in Fountain Hills and bring everyone "up to speed"on this issue(more of an educational process). The second goal was to continue to work closely with the Chamber of Commerce to offer a Business Excellence Program that will start this month. It will consist of a series of classes and costs will be split 50/50 between the Town and the Chamber. Another on-going goal has been to get the Town's Economic Development Specialist involved in facilitating the business application process, which had not been done as well as it could have been in the past. He said that they have been making great strides in this area and will continue to do so. Councilmember Leger questioned whether an overlap existed with the Chamber's Business Vitality Plan and Mr. Pickering said that he thought so. Mr.Pickering stated that staff has worked very hard with the Chamber on all business activities. He added that he and members of the Council have attended the planning sessions relative to the Business Vitality Plan and their goals often become the Town's goals. He added that another overlapping had to do with the Strategic Plan and many benefits were being realized as a result of building a stronger relationship with the Chamber. AGENDA ITEM#8—COUNCIL DISCUSSION/DIRECTION TO THE TOWN MANAGER Items listed below are related only to the propriety of(i) placing such items on a future agenda for action or(ii) directing staff to conduct further research and report back to the Council. A. Mr. Pickering stated that staff would bring back to the Council at a later date any recommendations they had relative to improving the Town's ability to define what was commercial and what was not commercial in residential areas. Lof Mr. Pickering announced that they had a guest from Congressman Harry Mitchell's office present this evening, Alexis Tameron, and said that the Town really appreciated the Congressman's interest in Fountain Hills and looked forward to working closely with his office. AGENDA ITEM#9—SUMMARY OF COUNCIL REQUESTS BY TOWN MANAGER See Agenda Item#8. AGENDA ITEM#10 - ADJOURNMENT Councilmember Leger MOVED to adjourn the meeting and Councilmember McMahan SECONDED the motion. The meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m. TOWN OF FOUN AIN HILLS By ayor chols, or ATTEST AND PREPARED BY: L Bevelyn J. B nder,Town Clerk Z:\Council Packets\2007\R2-01-07\1-18-07 minutes.doc Page 9 of 10 CERTIFICATION Lor. I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Executive and Regular Session held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills on the 18th day of January 2007. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this lst day of February 2007. Bevelyn J. nd ,Town Clerk L L Z:\Council Packets\2007\R2-01-07\1-18-07 minutes.doc Page 10 of 10