Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/21/2004 Regular Council Meeting Minutes MINUTES OF REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MARANA TOWN HALL DECEMBER 21, 2004 1. CALL TO ORDER By Mayor Sutton at 7:00 p.m. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Led by Mayor Sutton III. INVOCA TION/MOMENT OF SILENCE A moment of silence was observed. IV. ROLL CALL COUNCIL Bobby Sutton, Jr. Herb Kai Jim Blake Patti Comerford Tim Escobedo Ed Honea Carol McGorray Mayor Vice Mayor Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member ST AFF Mike Reuwsaat J aret Barr Frank Cassidy Jocelyn Bronson Jim DeGrood Jim Mazzocco Barbara Berlin Town Manager Assistant Town Manager Town Attorney Town Clerk Executive Asst. to the Town Mgr. Development Services Administrator Planning Director Attached is a list of public attendees. V. APPROV AL OF AGENDA Present Present Present Present Present Present Present Present Present Present Present Present Present Present Upon motion by Council Member Honea, seconded by Council Member McGorray, the agenda as written was unanimously approved. MINUTES OF REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MARANA TOWN HALL DECEMBER 21, 2004 VI. ACCEPT ANCE OF MINUTES Upon motion by Council Member Comerford, seconded by Council Member McGorray, the minutes for the November 16th Study Session and the minutes for the November 16th regular Town Council meeting were unanimously approved. VII. CALL TO THE PUBLIC! ANNOUNCEMENTS Sandy Groseclose, Marana Arts Council (MAC) Executive Director, presented the Council with photographs of the Honea Heights Water Tank which had been recently adorned with a mural through the MAC Water Tank Beautification Project. She thanked the Council members and Brad DeSpain for their outstanding support and assistance on the initial kickoff of this MAC project. Ms. Groseclose explained that the western motif depicted cattle and a cowboy in silhouette and had been designed by Marana High School students along with their art teacher, Brian Jones, who is also the MAC President. She concluded by thanking the Honea Heights neighborhood for allowing MAC to begin this project in their area. Brad DeSpain, representing the Town employees at large, thanked the Council for the upcoming Employees' Luncheon scheduled for December 22nd at the Marana Operations Center (MOC). He said that everyone was very appreciative to the Council for their gift of the holiday luncheon. Ed Stolmaker, Marana Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, spoke before the Council to thank them for their support throughout 2004. He said that the Chamber was moving along in a positive direction and could not have achieved all of its goals without the Town's solid support. Darice Larriva-Johnson, the Parks and Recreation department's Recreation Coordinator for Youth Programs, spoke to the Council regarding an award the Superstar Student program recently received from The Arizona Parks and Recreation Association, the Leisure Benefits Professional Branch. She said it was for the most outstanding program in 2004 and she distributed a handout describing the program. Ms. Larriva-Johnson explained that the Town was working in partnership with the Marana Unified School District (MUSD) on this program and that the primary funder was the Kai Family Foundation as well as other local businesses. 2 MINUTES OF REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MARAN A TOWN HALL DECEMBER 21, 2004 Mayor Sutton presented a gift basket and proclamation to Karl Horvath, longtime resident and community volunteer. The Mayor read the proclamation into the record and thanked Mr. Horvath for his unselfish dedication to the Town of Marana. He also explained that a plaque would be affixed to a front row chair in the first row of the new municipal complex's Council Chambers and would be inscribed with the following: "In Appreciation of Karl Horvath, Loyal Citizen and Friend, December 21, 2004" . Council Member Escobedo thanked everyone for the enormous amount of assistance he received regarding the Miracle in Marana charity event. He said there were too many "anonymous angels" involved to mention by name but that all would receive an individual thank you in the mail soon. He said that nearly 4,000 children received toys, lunches, goodie bags, and baskets of food. Mayor Sutton said that he would like to give a portion of his report at this time because of the scheduled executive session. He thanked all of the Town staff for their wonderful work contribution over the year. VIII. ST AFF REPORTS There were no questions regarding the staff reports. IX. GENERAL ORDER OF BUSINESS A. CONSENT AGENDA 1. Resolution No. 2004-166: Relating to Water Service; approving and authorizing the execution of the Agreement between the Town of Marana and Gladden Forest L.L.c. for Construction of Water Facilities Under Private Contract for Gladden Farms Block 3 (Brad DeSpain) 2. Resolution No. 2004-169: Relating to Water Service; approving and authorizing the execution of the Agreement between the Town of Marana and Gladden Forest L.L.c. for Construction of Water Facilities Under Private Contract for Gladden Farms Block 4 (Brad DeSpain) 3. Resolution No. 2004-170: Relating to Boards, Committees, and Commissions; approving the reappointment of Joe Reilly, Jerry Harris, Ora Mae Harn, and Sherry Rollins to the Marana Water Utility Advisory Committee (Brad DeSpain) 3 MINUTES OF REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MARANA TOWN HALL DECEMBER 21, 2004 4. Resolution No. 2004-173: Relating to Community Facilities Districts; approving appointments to the Redhawk Canyon Community Facilities Districts No.1 and No.2 ijocelyn Bronson) 5. Resolution No. 2004-175: Relating to Water; supporting and urging the Arizona Department of Water Resources to recommend and Central Arizona Water Conservation District to approve and authorize the transfer of a portion of the Flowing Wells Irrigation District's Central Arizona project allocation to the Town of Marana (Brad DeSpain) Upon motion by Council Member Escobedo, seconded by Council Member McGorray, the Consent Agenda was unanimously approved. B. COUNCIL ACTION 1. PUBLIC HEARING: Ordinance No. 2004.25: Relating to Development; approving the rezoning of 845-acres of land from J/R-144" to zone "F" and creating the Sanders Grove Specific Plan on property located east of Sanders Road, south of Hardin Road, east of Wentz Road and north of Marana (Barbara Berlin) Ms. Berlin addressed the Council and gave a brief outline of the rezoning request. She noted that it had been recommended for approval in November by the Planning Commission. She said that the recommendation carried with it a number of conditions, several of which had not yet been fulfilled such as the residential design standards and the completion of the development agreement. She said that until those items were submitted by the developer that she recommended continuance of the rezoning request until January 2005. Mayor Sutton asked if the applicant's representative would like to address the Council. Michael Racy, Diamond Ventures consultant, spoke before the Council regarding the rezoning request. He reminded the Council of his lengthy overview of the Sanders Grove project earlier in the month at a study session. He said that he would like to go over a few things that had occurred since the December 7th Study Session and noted that an initial draft of conceptual residential design standards had been submitted to the Assistant Town Manager. He said that the standards would be refined even further for full staff review and analysis in January. 4 MINUTES OF REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MARANA TOWN HALL DECEMBER 21, 2004 He added that a number of neighborhood meetings had taken place recently as well as meetings with individual residents and property owners in the Kirby-Hughes/Wentz Roads area. He said that the topic of discussion was the substantial changes proposed for the realignment of the roadway. He noted that discussions regarding new ideas for the development's incoming traffic were ongoing. Upon motion by Council Member Escobedo, seconded by Council Member McGorray, approval to go into public hearing was unanimous. Joe Parsons, lifelong resident and Marana Stockyards co-owner, spoke before the Council regarding this issue. He said that he and his neighbors wanted it on the record that they were not happy with the prospect of losing Kirby-Hughes Road. He recounted that the area residents were fearful of the potential cattle truck traffic on Wentz Road when the Marana Stockyards first opened and that his company had made a point of keeping the trucks routed down Kirby-Hughes Road. He acknowledged that new growth was inevitable and that he and other residents had been working with Mr. Racy on acceptable solutions to the roadway problems. However, he said that they were still not content or satisfied with the proposed plans and pointed out that the new route would add approximately 1.5 miles to each trip translating into an additional cost of $2.50 per mile per truck for his business. He said that he was looking to Diamond Ventures to offset some of these expenses. He predicted that the Marana Stockyards had possibly 15 to 20 more years of operation left with the growth in Arizona before the ranches were well stabilized. He remarked that the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan had icnluded the ranching industry a very important partner in the plan and this fact had also been proven by Pima County who had purchased several conservation easements in order to allow the land to stay as ranches. He asked that the Town staff and the developer study his business operations and not to interfere with the current residents but allow the trucks the freedom to come and go during all hours of the day and night. He explained that the cattle business was not simply an 8 to 5 business and that trucks were being loaded sometimes at 11:00 or 12:00 at night so that they could deliver the livestock in Los Angeles at dawn the following day. He said that he and other residents had been working with Diamond Ventures and Mr. Racy to resolve these issues and hoped that the TOM would be involved as well so that they would be aware of any deals made between the developer and the property owners. 5 MINUTES OF REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MARANA TOWN HALL DECEMBER 21, 2004 Kathleen Clark, longtime Wentz and Kirby-Hughes resident, expressed her concern with the possible closing of Kirby-Hughes Road. She said that it was an established roadway for the area and was very convenient. She acknowledged that she realized the current use of Kirby-Hughes Road by the livestock trucks was also not practical for the subdivision. She said that the re-routing of the truck traffic to Hardin Road and down Wentz Road to Kirby Hughes was not feasible to her either. Ms. Clark pointed out that the road was not constructed for the heavy traffic and that she would not welcome the truck noise at all hours of the night. She also agreed with the sale barn owner that the proposed plans were not acceptable. She remarked that transportation and where the traffic was routed was very important. Upon motion by Council Member Escobedo, seconded by Council Member McGorray, unanimous approval to close the public hearing was given. Mr. Barr said that he, Mr. DeGrood, Mr. Racy, and Mr. Parsons had met today and discussed regional transportation issues. He said that one of the things the Town staff recognized was that, in the community's best interest, the Town wanted to keep as much of the truck traffic away from residential uses as possible. He said that eventually as the area grew even Kirby- Hughes Road would be a problem for the truck traffic and he was hoping to work with all of the interested parties on the Marana Road to Luckett Road alignment. He said that at the same time the Town realized that this solution could cause a financial loss to the Marana Stockyards business and the Town would like to make amends somehow with the Parsons family. He said that these types of negotiations and planning were still ongoing and that he recommended continuance of the item until a date certain, January 18th. Council Member Escobedo pointed out that he resided in the close proximity to the area in question and was very interested in being included in the planning process. Vice Mayor Kai expressed his concern about the Sanders Grove project. He said that he thought it was irresponsible and inappropriate for the Town to close Kirby-Hughes Road. He said that the roadway was the same as Moore Road or Grier Road and was an east-west connection to Luckett Road which would eventually be a major north-south connection to Marana Air Park Road. He asked that the staff take this concern into consideration. 6 MINUTES OF REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MARANA TOWN HALL DECEMBER 21, 2004 Council Member Honea voiced his concerns as well and said that he did not think the Town could impose hardships on established businesses and families for newcomers to the area. He said that he understood the concept of the Sanders Grove Plan but that the families who owned properties around the sale barn would eventually want to develop their properties as well. He agreed with the Vice Mayor that access to this area was vital. He noted that cutting off major arterial streets would be like closing Grier Road because someone wanted to place a development on the other side. He said that lots of people used that roadway and considered it a major east-west transportation corridor. He compared Kirby-Hughes Road in the future to the current Coachline Boulevard in Continental Ranch, a four-lane divided road. The Council Member said that eventually the Town would need to accommodate the roadway to carry some of the increased traffic as the properties further north and east developed. He said the Town needed to take the project's entire concept into consideration before any further action was taken. Council Member Escobedo added that the staff should consider the possibility of developing Hardin Road as an arterial roadway as well. Mr. Barr responded that this concept had been discussed and included an extension of Hardin Road linking to the other three miles of Hardin Road that was paved and somehow connecting back to the frontage road. Mr. Racy said that Diamond Ventures would be happy to have anyone interested in the project to participate in the planning process. He noted that a fair ongoing dialogue had been established with the area's property owners and that this repoire was expected to continue. He said that he thought it was important to look at all of the aforementioned roadways in a regional context as the Council had and that he agreed with the Vice Mayor that it would be irresponsible not to do just that. He pointed out that this had been the practice of the developer over the past 12 months with a team of engineers and transportation consultants and that Diamond Ventures was committed to continuing that process. He also added that the Town had not designated those roadways as arterial roadways at this point and that this would be a concept to investigate. Mr. Racy said that in the meeting today the continuation of the Hardin Road alignment was the main concept discussed. He explained that the road was paved to the west of Luckett Road and that it did not currently connect but had an offset at Luckett Road. He said that there were ways to deal with those types of roadway issues. 7 MINUTES OF REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MARANA TOWN HALL DECEMBER 21, 2004 He said that the Hardin Road connection made sense especially in light of the proposed new Interstate 10 interchange nearby. Once again the consultant emphasized the need to look at the roadway issues in a regional context and to determine what sources of traffic generation were present and what routes were needed to travel back and forth, all the while recognizing that the 1-10 frontage road might not exist in the long term. Mayor Sutton said that he thought the Parsons family could be good witnesses to the Town's stewardship with the residents in northern Marana. He noted that the $2.50 per mile cost added to their business expenses would be more than offset by the rise in their property values in the next 10 to 15 years as the area developed. He said that there would always be hardships associated with development and that the Town was cognizant of this fact. He remarked that the Council was looking out for the welfare of the majority of the residents and business owners in northwest Marana. The Mayor asked for a continuance on this item. Upon motion by Council Member Escobedo, seconded by Vice Mayor Kai, unanimous approval to continue Ordinance No. 2004.25 until the January 18,2005 Council meeting was given. 2. TORTOLITA VISTAS SPECIFIC PLAN (a) PUBLIC HEARING. Ordinance No. 2004.26: Relating to Zoning; a request by Cottonwood Properties to rezone approximately 230 acres of land from R-144 (Single Family Residential, 144,000 square feet minimum lot area) to JlF" (Tortolita Vistas Specific Plan). The proposed Tortolita Vistas Specific Plan proposes to restrict the site disturbance to a maximum of forty percent of the site (92 acres). The property is generally located south of Moore Road, east of the Oldfather Road alignment and west of Thornydale Road in Section 31, Township 11 South, Range 13 East. This proposed action would repeal the Tortolita Vistas Specific Plan as adopted on July 20, 2004 and replace it with a revised Tortolita Vistas Specific Plan which, among other things, is proposed for a maximum of 155 units (reduced from 400 in the previously adopted plan) and minimum individual lot sizes of 32,000 square feet (increased from 6,000 square feet in the previously adopted plan); and Ms. Berlin presented this item before the Council and gave a brief history of the project. She said that the proposed plan made a number of changes including reducing the number of permitted houses from 400 down to 155, making a major change going from a mass graded plan to an individually lot grading plan. She said that Town staff was currently in the process of 8 MINUTES OF REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MARANA TOWN HALL DECEMBER 21, 2004 working on a development agreement but that an ordinance had not yet been proposed. She recommended the action for continuance. Mayor Sutton opened and closed the public hearing as there were no speakers related to this topic. Mr. Reuwsaat gave a brief background on the item and said that notices had been sent out to all petitioners and interested parties. He said that with the repeal of the ordinance the reason for the referendum was gone and that there would be no need for a vote. He said that there was some precedence already set for this action at a State level and that the Town was not forging new legal ground. He said that Town staff needed time to review the new specific plan and the recommended conditions and to make any additional comments that might be necessary. He said that the review process would begin on January 22nd. Mayor Sutton said that there were some issues that several Council members had and that these issues would be discussed when the action was presented before them at a later date. Council Member Honea remarked that he believed this plan needed to be repealed even if the action took place concurrently with the new proposal and that the action should take place at the next meeting or it would need to be prepared for the May 2005 ballot. He said that he had asked the applicant for either a written or verbal request to repeal the ordinance, preferably a written request, so that the Town would be covered for any vested rights the applicant had. He said that he was not in favor of amending the ordinance but that he would like to repeal it. Mr. Cassidy agreed with the Council member and said that if the Town wanted to avoid the referendum then repealing the ordinance was the only way. He said that the Town could not amend the ordinance because that left it in place and subject to the referendum. He commented that if the ordinance was not repealed then the referendum had to proceed. He remarked that one of the questions became whether or not the Town did a total repeal now and then brought the new rezoning through the entire process, perhaps on an accelerated basis, or whether the Town did the repeal and simultaneously adopted a replacement ordinance without send the action through the whole process. He said that in his opinion it could be accomplished either way. He stated that he believed that the Town still had jurisdiction the same as it had on July 20th. 9 MINUTES OF REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MARANA TOWN HALL DECEMBER 21, 2004 He pointed out that the new action was also subject to referendum and that a scenario of having both actions as referendums on the same ballot was possible. He said that the cleanest way to handle this issue would be to do an entire repeal as a separate action and bring the rezoning forward as a separate item. The Town Attorney reported that he was currently in discussions with the Cottonwood Properties attorney, Rick Roman, and that a method for dealing with the double referendum issue was being formulated. He noted that the legal concepts related to this issue were complicated and very confusing but that there were technical procedures that could be applied. Council Member Escobedo said that he had many issues with repealing the original action. He questioned the message that would be sent to the petitioners in light of the fact that only 31 signatures were required to begin the referenda process. He said that he did not want to set any precedents. Mayor Sutton agreed with Council Member Escobedo and said that everything would have been much simpler if the two parties had worked this problem out without beginning the referendum process. He said that he preferred taking this issue to election and defeating the referendum action. He noted that this would send the message that Marana residents supported their Council and were opposed to allowing any outside agency to run the Town. David Mehl, applicant, stated his appreciation of the Town's patience and consideration on this project. He said that he understood that the Town officials were weighing the quality of what would be the final project presented for their approval. He said that he felt the current agreement between the referendum petitioner and the developer was a true compromise, not a loss or a win, and that the end product would be spectacular. He said that this would not set a precedent for the future and that everyone was aware of the fact that the Marana residents were willing to fight for quality developments. Upon motion by Council Member Honea, seconded by Council Member McGorray, unanimous approval for the continuance of Ordinance No. 2004.26 until January 4,2005 was given. 10 MINUTES OF REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MARANA TOWN HALL DECEMBER 21,2004 (b) Resolution No. 2004-174: Relating to Development; approving and authorizing the execution of a development agreement regarding the Tortolita Vistas development project. Due to technical difficulties, this portion of the meeting tape was inaudible. 3. Resolution No. 2004-172: Relating to Development; approving and authorizing the execution of a third amendment to Gladden Farms Development Agreement (Frank Cassidy) Due to technical audio difficulties, this portion of the Council meeting tape was inaudible. 4. Ordinance No. 2004.24: Relating to Lighting; revIsIng the JlMarana Outdoor Lighting Code 2003", by reference under Title 7 JlBuilding", Section 7-1-2(B)(2); adopting the rules and regulations therein as controlling law of the Town of Marana in conflict therewith, and declaring an emergency (Jack Holden) Mr. Holden spoke before the Council and briefly outlined the changes to the Outdoor Lighting Code. He said that the primary problem with the old code was reducing the pole height for outdoor lighting of parking lots for projects in less than 6 acres down to 20 feet. He said that this would reduce the glare in any commercial areas abutting residential areas. He said that several definitions were added to the code that aided in the plan review process and directed the design engineers toward the acceptable lighting standards. Upon motion by Council Member Escobedo, seconded by Council Member Honea, Ordinance No. 2004.24 was unanimously approved. 5. Executive Session pursuant to A.R.S. §38-431.03(A)(1) to discuss the proposed terms of contract for continued employment of Town Manager Michael A. Reuwsaat (Frank Cassidy) Mayor Sutton adjourned the meeting for executive session. The time was 8:06 p.m. 11 MINUTES OF REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MARANA TOWN HALL DECEMBER 21, 2004 6. Executive Session pursuant to A.R.S. §38-431.03(A)(3) for legal advice concerning the public hearing, council action and referendum processes applicable to the Tortolita Vistas development project (Frank Cassidy) Mayor Sutton reconvened the meeting at 8:24 p.m. with all Council members present and seated at the dais. c. MAYOR AND COUNCIL'S REPORT Vice Mayor Kai reported on his attendance at the Colorado Water Users Association meeting in Las Vegas last Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. He said that the general topic of discussion was the condition of the water in the Colorado River with projected 2005 water usage was slightly above the runoff year and that the current levels in Lake Meade would be maintained. He stated that 27 desalinization purification plants were operating in California and that the main problem troubling the environmentalist was not the by- product of brine but the water intake process. He explained that the water purification process was bringing fish and kelp into the system possibly causing a negative environmental impact. Mayor Sutton reported that Congressman Kolbe and Senator Kyl attended a recent Regional Transportation Authority (RT A) meeting. He said that Mr. Reuwsaat and himself would be working on acquiring federal support for the regional transportation issues. Council Member Honea thanked Council Member Escobedo for a job well done on the Miracle in Marana event. He said that D. MANAGERS' REPORT Due to difficulties, this portion of the meeting tape was inaudible. X. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS There were no future items proposed. 12 MINUTES OF REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MARANA TOWN HALL DECEMBER 21, 2004 XL ADJOURNMENT Upon motion by Council Member Escobedo, seconded by Council Member McGorray, unanimous approval to adjourn was given. The time was 8:31 p.m. CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing are the true and correct minutes of the Marana Town Council regular meeting held on December 21, 2004. I further certify that a quorum was present. ~\,\'UW'/f" . ~ ~\. OF ~ ;91.' § ~'f..\\\'''rr",,, ~ r~.~,¡.\ ~ O'~ ~~,",.. ::: ~ # CORPORArf \, /... ::. _ s cec:. ~ ')J' dI _ _ _ rIPlS - =-SEAL= - ~ \ ~;: ill!: ~ -';: ~ ~:'II""\\~ § ~'7'IZ 19'1'~ ~/ I.U\\\~ 13 MARANA TOWN COUNCIL MEETING' Public Attendees Name ydress / .r./~-?, MARANA TOWN COUNCIL MEETING' Public Attendees DATE:~-- (~ Name Address