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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/11/2018 Study Session Meeting MinutesZ C . .. . ..... C=t=! MARANA A-Z ESTABLISHED 1977 MARANA TOWN COUNCIL STUDY SESSION 11555 W. Civic center Drive, Marana, Arizona 55653 Second Floor Conference center, September 11, 2018, at or after 6:00 PM STUDY SESSION MINUTES Ed I ionea, Mayor Jon Post, Vice Mayor David Bowen, Council Member Patti Comerford, Council Member Herb Kai, Council Member John Officer, Council Member Roxanne Ziegler, Council Member CALL To ORDER AND ROLL CALL: Mayor Honea called the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m. Interim Town clerk Hilary Miser called the roll; Council Member Kai was excused. With six council members present there was a quorum. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE/INVOCATION/MOMENT OF SILENCE: Led by Mayor Honea. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Motion to approve by council Member ,Ziegler, second by Vice Mayor Post. Passed 6-0. CALL To THE PUBLIC: Jack Ferguson addressed the Council regarding his continuing concerns related to water quality in Marana. He thanked the Council for addressing the current water contamination issues, but Mr. Ferguson indicated he would like the Council to consider incorporating better water quality standards into the revised general plan going forward. DISCUSSION/DIRECTION/POSSIBLE ACTION September 11, 2018 Study Session Minutes Al. Relating to Development; presentation and discussion regarding the proposed revisions to Title 22 (off -Street Parking and Loading) of the Marana Land Development Code and proposed replacement by Chapter 17--9 (Parking) of the Marana Town Code. Presented by Steven Cheslak, Principal Planner. Mr. Cheslak explained that staff working to update the entire Land Development Code. The Planning department has already updated the downtown portion of the code and is currently focusing its efforts on the parking code. He noted the anticipated schedule for review on the parking code includes public and stakeholder feedback during the fall 2018. Mr. Cheslak noted that the current parking code is rather old requiring cleanup of duplicated regulations and requirements and also consolidation of sections with overlap. He explained that the new parking code revisions would reflect low -impact design initiatives including compact car allowance, incorporation of landscape swales, pedestrian paths, and water harvesting techniques depending on the size of the proposed parking lot for the development. Mayor Honea asked for clarification regarding the proposed parking space size for cars. Mr. Cheslak indicated that the proposed changes would decrease the length of a parking spot, but would not affect the width of the spot. Mayor Honea expressed concern that a shorter length parking space would present problems for residents that drive longer/larger vehicles. Mr. Cheslak responded that a compact parking space is typically marked as such, even though there is no enforcement mechanism to ensure compact cars use the marked compact space. He emphasized this proposed change will provide the applicant more flexibility when designing their parking lots with guidelines that more adequately meet their business needs. Mr. Cheslak stated that the changes intent is to tighten up the total size ofthe parking lots and to continually increasing parking lot sizes over time, Council Member Comerford asked if the proposed change is giving an applicant permission to go smaller. Mr. Cheslak confirmed this change will allow the applicant to incorporate compact parking spaces and have those spaces count to their total lot requirement, but the Town is not forcing the applicant to provide compact parking lot spaces, just providing them an additional option to incorporate in their design. Council Member Comerford expressed concerns that this would cause issues for residents and she wants to be careful about how much leeway the Town provides the applicant with regards to the parking space size. She asked that any changes proposed in the code provide a clear guideline to the applicant. Mr. Cheslak indicated that the guidelines will have clear directions, but the Town should provide more options to the applicant to meet the applicant's business needs. Council Member Ziegler expressed her displeasure at this proposed change and indicated she is already concerned with the current parking space size at most of the commercial developments around town. Mr. cheslak explained that the proposed change is for a small percentage of the total parking spaces allotted to an applicant. I Ie explained that the proposed change would provide the applicant the ability to use the land more efficiently and still provide the same number of spots. September 11, 2018 Study Session Minutes 2 Council Member Ziegler stated she was not aware of any water harvesting techniques employed by the Town. Mr. Cheslak said there are some applicants that use water harvesting techniques, but those techniques are not implemented consistently across the board. He explained that the code changes would more clearly encourage and articulate the incorporation of these techniques to better manage storm water runoff. Mr. Cheslak emphasized the proposed changes are to reduce the overall footprint of the parking lot. Vice Mayor Post likes the idea of providing the applicant options for designing their parking lots. However, he did agree with the other council members that the width of the space not the depth of the space causes problems for citizens. Vice Mayor Post asked if there is a possibility of creating incentives for developers to go wider. Mr. Cheslak stated the proposed change is simply the minimal standard for the applicant, but there is no restriction to go larger. Vice Mayor Post agreed that it is a good idea to create options for the design of parking lots because a business knows what it needs better than the Town. He did want to know if the change would address a requirement for appropriate signage. Mr. Cheslak stated that could be easily added to the proposed changes. Vice Mayor Post observed that the term water harvesting has a negative connotation and he thinks it should be referred to as something else, but he was generally supportive of changes as they will encourage additional landscaping requirements and other beautification designs to the parking lot areas. Mr. Cheslak explained that if the developer can make use of the water runoff rather than diverting it offsite it would help to sustain the landscape design. Moving to the next portion of his presentation, Mr. Cheslak noted that the current parking space requirements in the code were last revised in 1997. I -ie acknowledged that the methods consumers use to shop has shifted from a "stay and shop" model to a "distribution" model with drive -up and take away capabilities. Mr. Cheslak explained that the intent is to make the code more flexible to reflect changing market conditions in the retail sector. He explained that the revised code removed set requirements and replaced them with parking justification. The justification is based on an analysis of the business type, its needs, accessibility, and future anticipated uses within the vicinity of the development drawn from an established data source. The new parking justification analysis process provides the applicant more flexibility and streamlines the approval/ rejection process by the Town. Council Member Ziegler likes the prospect of providing the applicant "parking a la carte" flexibility and that adapts to the applicant's needs better than something mandated by the Town. Vice Mayor Post asked how the proposed parking code changes would address the development of strip -malls that change tenants over periods of time. Mr. Cheslak indicated the process to address these issues would be relatively unchanged from current practice. He explained that the zoning allows for all the uses and. the Town has difficulty saying no to uses and cannot control tenants after the fact. Mr. Cheslak did September 11, 2018 Study Session Minutes 3 mention that some strip -mall developers do use parking agreements among their tenants to allocate parking. Council Member Bowen stated the good thing about these proposed changes is it allows businesses to tailor their space needs to reflect what the business requires. He liked the provision of clear guidelines that will help applicants navigate the process. Vice Mayor Post agreed that these guidelines work to the benefit both the applicant and the Town. Mayor Honea thanked Mr. Cheslak for his presentation. The council took no actions. A2 Relating to Development; presentation and discussion of the Marana 2010 General Plan Update. Presented by Jason Angell, Development Services Director. Mr. Angell explained this study session is the "kick-off" of the General Plan update, which is branded as "Make Marana 2040 General Plan". He noted the Town has hired the Matrix Design Group to help consultant on the General Plan update. The Matrix Design Group team. includes Celeste P occieri-Werner, Vice President; Felipe Zubia, Project Manager; Kurt Waldier, Project Manager. Mr. Angell reminded the council that the General Plan update does coincide with the Land Development Code (LDC) revision schedule so as to reflect some of the changes made in the LDC. He briefly explained that state statute requires a municipality to update its General Plan at least every ten years. The general plan is a statement of the community's vision for growth and development, but also provides guidance and direction on development policies. Mr. Angell noted that the process of drafting the General Plan update requires substantial participation by the public. He explained that the first step to initiate the update process is to adopt a public participation plan. Mr. Angell directed the Council to review the submitted public participation plan provided in the council agenda packet. I Ie explained that the public participation plan creates a comprehensive outline defining how to engage the public and create constructive feedback to ensure future support and implementation efforts. Mr. Angell highlighted the proposal to incorporate the Marana Citizen's Forum as one of the many stakeholder groups to help advise the development of the plan. The public participation plan also includes the input of individuals from other town departments, such as Communications. He explained that guidance regarding the public participation element is three fold with the Advisory Committee which is the Planning Commission, the core general plan team with staff and the consultant, and the Council. Mr. Angell stated that the process is 78 months long with a timeline goal for ratification by spring 2020. Council Member Ziegler asked for clarification regarding the number of public hearings and their locations. Mr. Angell reiterated that there are two public hearings before adoption which will be scheduled in both North Marana and South Marana. Town Attorney Frank Cassidy clarified that the statute has a minimum requirement of two public hearings, but since the Town has three population areas it can certainly September 11, 2018 Study Session Minutes 4 increase the number of public hearings to include other areas within the Town. Mr. Angell emphasized as the process is 18 months long there will be plenty of opportunities to engage with the public to better meet the needs of the participation plan. Mr. Angell introduced celeste Boccieri-Werner, Project Director. Ms. Boccieri-Werner briefly reviewed Matrix Design Groups' experience in planning and development. The firm operates nationally, with an office located in Phoenix. They have helped numerous municipalities revise their general plans and work to make a policy document that is helpful and functional. Transitioning to an overview of Matrix's scope of work, Ms. Boccieri-Werner explained the current General Plan has 17 elements identified, seven statutorily required elements, and ten elective elements included by the Town. Council Member Bowen asked that if the current plan already addresses 17 areas, would the new plan add any additional focus areas or consolidate already adopted areas. Ms. Boccieri-Werner responded that new updated plan would consolidate elements that overlap and then bundle those elements under themes. The reason for bundling under themes is to avoid inconsistencies within the plan and ensure there is adequate cross-reference to establish rules and polices. She explained this is the same approach Matrix has used with other jurisdictions revising their general plans. Because the General Plan provides the foundation of long-term planning development for the Town, Ms. Boccieri--Werner noted it must be a comprehensively broad and general document that addresses land use, density ranges, and the Town's overall goals and policies for development. She emphasized that the success of any general plan is with its implementation. Ms. Borccieri-Werner noted Matrix's intent is to provide Marana an action plan based on the reality of the Town's resources and addressing its priorities with urgency. Ms. B occieri-Werner explained that Matrix's role is to provide the Town with all the possible choices/ alternatives and their associated consequences to various land use options and policy adoptions thus helping the Town make the most informed decision regarding its vision. She explained that the group's main focus is to develop a general plan that is fiscally sound. Deviling more deeply into the scope of work, Ms. B occieri--Werner reviewed the three phases of development with the first phase .focused on stakeholder feedback and research, the second phase focused on drafting the plan's elements to reflect the input from stakeholders, and the third phase focused on the public hearings and voter ratification of the plan. She presented to Council a project management schedule timeline over the 18 month process identifying the milestones along the path towards the plan's development and ratification. Ms. Boccieri-Werner also highlighted the "'Make Marana 2040" branding efforts presenting the logo and the plan's informational website. She stressed the importance of September 11, 2018 Study Session Minutes 5 providing the public as many opportunities as possible to participate and voice their opinions. Mr. Angell closed the presentation by reminding the Council that at the next regularly scheduled meeting he would bring forward a resolution to adopt thepublic participation plan and to use the Marana Citizen's Forum as a designated stakeholder group for public input. Mayor Honea thanked Mr. Angell and Ms. Boccieri-Werner for their presentation. The Council took no action. EXECUTIVE SESSIONS Pursuant to A.R.S. § 38-431.03, the Town Council may vote to go into executive session, which will not be open to the public, to discuss certain matters. El Executive Session pursuant to A.R.S. §38-431.03 (A)(3), Council may ask for discussion or consultation for legal advice with the Town Attorney concerning any matter listed on this agenda. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Notwithstanding the mayor's discretion regarding the items to be placed on the agenda, if three or more Council members request that an item be placed on the agenda, it must be placed on the agenda for the second regular Town Council meeting after the date of the request,, pursuant to Marana Town Code Section 2-4-2(B). ADJOURNMENT: Mayor Honea motioned to adjourn at T19 p.m., so moved by Vice Mayor Post. Motion passed unanimously 6-0. CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing are the true and correct minutes of the study session/ presentation of the Marana Town Council held on September 11, 2018. 1 further certify that a quorum was present. Hilary H. IAiser-, Interim Town Clerk MARAIVA AZ ESTABLISHED 1977 September 11, 2018 Study Session Minutes 6