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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-13-2016 Study Session Meeting MinutesMARAN.A TOWN COUNCIL STUDY SESSION MEETING MINUTES 11 W. Civic Center :Drive, Marana, Arizona 85653 2 Floor Conference Center, December 13, 2016, at or after 6:00 PM Ed Honea, Mayor Jon Post, vice Mayor David Bowen, Council Member Patti Comerford, Council Member Herb Kai, Council Member Carol McGorray, Council Member Roxanne Ziegler, Council Member STUDY SESSION CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL. Mayor Honea called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.m. Town Clerk Bronson called roll. All Council Members except Vice Mayor Post were present. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE/INVOCATION/MOMENT OF SILENCE. Mayor Honea led the pledge. APPROVAL OF AGENDA. Motion to approve the agenda by moving item E(2 before D isctcsszoii lDzrcctiorzlPossihlcy Action by Council Member McGorra second by Council Me m ber I(ai. Passed b -o. CALL TO THE PUBLIC. Ed Stolmaker, President and CEO of the Marana Chamber of Commerce extended his belated thanks to Council for their support for the Chamber's Big Green Event held in November, Mr. Stolmaker noted that the event was very successful, and the Chamber is already planning; next year's event. DISCUSSION /DIRECTIONI1 "OSSIBLE ACTION Item E2. Motion to go lonto executive session in the Board Room by Council Member Bowen, second by Council Member I(al at 6:04 p.m. Executive Session adjourned at 6:35 p.m.; no action needed The public sess reconvened at 6:39 p.m. December 13, 2016 Study Session Minutes � DI Resolution No. 2016-136 Relating to Administration; approving and adopting a new logo as the official Town of Marana logo and authorizing Town staff to implement it; repealing Marana Resolution No. 201. 1-93 (Vickie Hathaway). Mr. ]Davidson presented this item, noting that the discussion related to this item had already been held at a previous meeting; this action was merely to approve the formal. resolution. Motion to aI)prove by Council Member Bowen, second by Council Member Kai. Motion passed 5--1 with Council Member MCGorra voting " ay. D2 Relating to Development; presentation, discussion, and direction regarding the update to the Town of Marana Land Development Code, including follow -up on the public input process and week --long assessment (Ryan Mahoney). Mayor flonea asked that Council hold their questions until Mr. Mahoney completed his presentation. Mr. Davidson introduced the item, noting that there was a joint meeting with the Council and the Planning Commission a few weeks ago which was the kick-off for the public input. Because this is a very influential and important document that staff uses every day, this presentation is lengthy with some interconnecting elements. Later, the Council will have an opportunity to weigh in on key points for policy - making purposes. 'To illustrate the many interconnecting parts of the document, Mr. Davidson described a sound mixer board with hundreds of levers you can move up and down to get different sounds, tones, and pitches for the outcome. That is what we can do with this update to the Code, Mr. Mahoney began with a general overview of the Land Development Code and it's processes as well as a recap of the consultants' outreach for public input which carne from community groups, farmers, developers, business owners and the environmental community. He asked that when Council provides input, they consider as inspiration their favorite places and, what it was they particularly liked and how it made them feel. Also, he and the consultants want to know what neighbors have said in addition to getting input from developers about the zoning process, We can write a code that will capture the places that can be envisioned. Mr. Mahoney then began with background, including the connection of how the community should build out from the General Plan to the Strategic Plan, the Economic Road Map and the Parks Master Plan. All of those documents have detail in them to build into and upon the Land Development Code which focuses on process improvements and Toning issues. He then identified several residential densities on a General Plan future land use map and used the Linda Vista village Specific Plan to illustrate various densities. Going back to the Strategic Plan, one initiative under Commerce is to update the Land Development Code to enhance simplicity. f �e also discussed the concept of a fixed use zone which we currently don't have but that people seem to want. The Community component asks us to identify creative ways to plan. neighborhoods and growth areas with appropriate open space, trail connectivity for multiple users and other active recreation areas. The General Plan is adopted by citizens and the Land Development Code is approved by Council. From those evolve the Strategic Plan, the Economic Road Map and Parks Master Plan as noted above. Staff~ and consultants are currently engaged in updating the Economic Roadmap to enhance the economic vision of connectivity and accessibility between duality jobs and residential areas as well as education to drive the economy and a strong labor pool. one question December 13, 2016 Study Session Minutes 2 to answer is can we create zoning that will accommodate high tech activity centers such as the Tangerine Corridor. During the week with the consultants a few ideas emerged, but we are sure there are more to col - ne. The feedback Mr. Mahoney is looking for from Council are process improvements which include a simplified zoning process with `zoning light" criteria, more compliance with the General plan, existing infrastructure, pre - determined access, developed area and limited size. Another opportunity would be to incentivize development, and another possible change is to eliminate the Council preliminary plat approval and move toward administrative approval. Other municipalities in the area are embracing this and also starting to work on consolidated processes. These would be treated similarly to a development plan and a technical engineering document to create more time savings for the developer and Council. Optimally, a preliminary plat and a final plat could be done simultaneously. Council would have input on the preliminary plats during the zoning process as well as the final plat. Mr. Mahoney asked for input at this time as to these concepts. The general consensus was that the development and engineering staff is qualified to approve the preliminary plats. Mr. Mahoney noted that during the public process for rezoning, the staff is aware of the standards to comply with the town's regulations and policies. By the time a developer gets to the preliminary plat stage, their cues come from the conditions that may have put forward in a rezoning, but they also have to be compliant with the Land Development Code. Mayor Honea stated that we need a process where the Council sees a project at least once and is able to make comments without it being a rubber stamp — that seems to be missing. The next item was zoning, and Mr. Mahoney presented a chart of exiting zones, gray zones indicating consolidations, the lot size density and then a simplified transition between zones and densities and zoning districts. In order to do a specific plan, you need 80 acres. anything below that you choose a zoning district. And if you are 100 acres, it will only be single family homes and you would choose a hard zoning district. These consolidations would create flexibility and predictability, reduce reliance on the specific plan, accommodate a 50-foot wide lot and still provide density caps. He then moved into the area of commercial zoning and consolidations and asked for feedback. The zones are neighborhood commercial, community commercial and regional commercial. we can add performance measures that accommodate or address some of the bene - fits of having flexibility. Mayor Honea's comments related to zonings where you can do anything inside the zone, developers and corporate people are in business to make money. They will ask for the smallest lots they can get. He is generally opposed to small lots. There was a proposal years ago for 3,000 square foot lots and three story homes and some years after that we didn't allow anything smaller than 6,000 square feet. Now it's smaller. Sanders Grove is loaded with 4,000 square foot lots, and those people are going to be crammed in there which he dislikes. In response to that, Mr. Mahoney noted that the develops. - rent costs are what they are. With grading, the addition of wet utilities and paving a public road as access, if you have a si lot, in order to get a return on your investment, you are going to have to have a very high - duality product. Developing smaller lots generally requires more open space for parks and other recreation activities. Council Member Comerford feels this opens the door for more diversity. Council Member Kal' noted that manufactured housing has been deleted to which Mr. Mahoney responded that all the rest of the districts talk about a lot size. Manufactured housing is a housing type, so there are laws in place that don't allow us to restrict manufactured housing. You can create specific places for these unless there are restrictions for stick -built or site -built homes, fir. Mahoney re- affirmed that the General plan still prevails over the Land Development December 13, 2016 Study Session Minutes 3 Code in terns of the character of the development, size of lots and densities. There is a lot of room for diversity. Mayor Hon.ea reiterated his objection to small lots of 3,500 square feet. Mr. Mahoney next discussed a couple of strategies staff has been kicking around regarding the old alphabet zoning which often requires rezoning to reflect existing land use. one is to do a blanket rezoning of alphabet zoned property to be reflective of existing land use. If the land in question is zoned A with a single residence on five acres, we might rezone the property to low density residential. with a blanket zoning, we might not engage with the neighbors. Another strategy is to see what the land use designation is under the General Plan designation. In some instances that could translate to a de facto upzone. In another A zone, the developer might want neighborhood commercial rather than low density. That would also be a de facto rezone. we may give up some of our rights to exact certain things from those properties so that we can get public input on things like buffering and plantings, we could, however, build into the code document what the buffers should be when you transition from a commercial use to a residential use; and what the landscaping scheme should look like. Prop 207 conditions may carne into play, Other options include keeping the Alphabet zoning with an administrative waiver or an optional rezoning process. It was noted that schools are not subject to the town's zoning, Before moving onto to access and circulation, Mr. Mahoney gave a brief overview of the update benefits to the Land Development Code. It will be more user - friendly with tables and graphics, have added flexibility, be simplified with the consolidation of 32 existing districts to 15, reduce reliance on a specific plan, provide time and cost savings to add more administrative approvals and clarify development standards for landscaping, design guidelines and parking. A third consideration is the downtown area. The tunes have changed since we first studied it. Staff went through a process nearly two years ago to change circulation coning off of the Marana interchange. one of the comments at that time was that in order to activate a main street, it has to be convenient for people to get there. So instead of having a lighted intersection or slip path, make it a roundabout. It allows free- flowing traffic into the downtown area. It would allow the Sandario commercial corridor to stay whole. It also deals with the issue of the northern property having greater access. we know that we have issues with the Marana interchange today with traffic backing up. we have three specific plans that cover downtown. ]Leaving the Susan Ong property out of it for the moment, we have the Chris Monson property; we have the Barios de Marana which is the Scott Stietler piece, and we have the town's piece. These have been identified as three separate character areas, and the further you get from the interchange, the less likely people are going to go to a restaurant or a retail establishment. A lot of the work done up to this point with the architecture and the streetscape is still whole, but some of the uses may get modified, but we will bring those back to Council when we have refined those concepts. Tonight, the focus is on the circulation aspect. It is probably the most important part of this conversation because without it some of these ideas probably wouldn't work. we have taken the concept the planning group had come up with and tried to lay it out geometrically so it's easier to see. Keith Brann continued with an explanation and illustrations of how access works, noting that we are creating a destination for people coning off of the interstate. Combined with the growth that is occurring on both sides of the interstate. As Ryan pointed out, we have taken the concept the planning group had come up with and tried to lay it out geometrically so it's easier to see. He then showed the last configuration from the general flan update in 2015. we have a traditional December 13, 2016 Study Session Minutes 4 intersection off the interstate. You can only get a good intersection off the interstate at quarter mile spacing. The fi rst signal we had set up to be the main entry into downtown we were going to allow for a double slip left which is similar to what we have at the Cortaro walmart. however, you would not be able to turn left out of the Marana Main Street area or out of the DEVCO site. one of the things that interests him about roundabouts versus signals is progression speed as you approach signals, get up to speed and travel a proper distance. Roundabouts are not sensitive to that same spacing because you are never really fully stopped in traffic. People are slowing down to yield. the right of way. Council Member Kai likes the idea of a double left or slip left. Council. Member Ziegler likes roundabouts, but you do have to pay attention. Mr. Brann agreed that that makes them a traffic calming device as well because you do have to slow down. Generally, a tr aff �c signal has 1 20 seconds of signal time; it could be 180 seconds depending on the volume of traffic. That is where the roundabout has distinct advantages. In answer to a question from Council Member Kai, a Michigan turn lane is effective but it does take more real estate because it adds another lane and more signals to make it work. You could probably have a. distinct advantage over a roundabout when you start looking at a three -lane roadway. But between single land roundabout and dual lane roundabouts, they start to function much better than trying to make signals work. So in the proposed circulation plan from the planning consultant, we already have a roundabout under design at the Marana Road location as part of the construction project for the Marana Road realignment. But the planning group had also recommended a roundabout at the ramp which would also involve a ramp /roundabout lane merger. ADOT did a study in 2013 as well, and they came up with a recommendation where that could be utilized as well as the signal. The other side of the road, however, will not fit a roundabout, so that will only be a signal over there. Another roundabout was drawn in addition to those two locations, and because they are not as sensitive to space, a roundabout will work at that location. That would give full left in and full access out for both Marana Main Street and the DEVCO site. There is a distinct advantage to using a roundabout in this location. Council Member McGorray asked what the speed limit was in a roundabout. She is concerned about the speed of people coming off of the interstate. Mr. Brann responded that generally it's about 20 mile per hour. The diameter of the circle is so tight you can't really get up speed. There would be a progressive speed limit drop as you approach the roundabout. The second roundabout would be located at the Circle K. Those businesses, which are leasehold businesses, would have to come down, which was the plan all along. Susan Ong, the lessor, is in favor of that. Mayor Honea asked if the roundabout right off the freeway could be built prior to the second or third ones to ease traffic. Mr. Davidson responded that it could be first. The one Keith Brann is highlighting is only when Tangerine Farms Road gets connected to the interchange, so we are talking years from now. ADOT's concept at the Marana interchange is that it could be signalized or a roundabout. Mayor Honea raised the issue of l ar ge semis co ming of the interstate to go to the sale barn and the arenas. Mr. Davidson noted that the reason we are talking about the Marana Road interchange is because the Villages of Tortolita wants to get started on their project, and they have some serious problems with access one is the access getting out of S an. L ucas. we talked to them about: building an exten of Adonis Road down to Tangerine w hich would immediately solve San Lucas's problem and give the Villages of Tortolita an exit out. Tied to that is the interchange which can. be a nightmare in the morning, and it's getting worse, So one December 13, 2016 Study Session Minutes 5 of the options we've been talkin to them about is a roundabout to g ive them more capacit on the west side. Then on the east side what we would re would be mer onto the onramp with a si All that would be financed throu an a with them. The discussion continued re the access from a roundabout to the Circle K, Chevron and McDonald's at Marana Road and Sandario. EXECUTIVE SESSIONS El Executive Session pursuant to A.R.S. §38-431.03 (A)(3), Council ma ask for discussion or consultation for le advice with the Town Attorne concernin an matter listed on this a E2 Executive session pursuant to A.R.S. § 38-431.03 in order to consider the Town's position and instruct the Town's attorne re the Town's position re the lawsuit entitled Carranza v. Town of Marana, et A Pima Count Superior Court Case No. C20164259. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Notwithstandin the ma discretion re the items to be placed on the a if three or more Council members re that an item be placed on the a it must be placed on the a for the second re Town Council meetin after the date of the re pursuant to Marana Town Code Section 2-4-2 ADJOURNMENT. Motion to adjourn at 8:44 p.m. b Council Member Bowen, second b Council Member McGorra Passed 6-0. CERTIFICATION I hereb certif session/presentati( certif that a q uo/ fore are the true and correct minutes of the stud b Town Council meetin held on December 13, 2016. 1 further son, Town Clerk December 13, 2015 Stud Session Minutes 5