City Council Meeting

Meeting location: City of Apache Junction, Arizona City Council Chambers at City Hall Meeting Minutes 300 E Superstition Blvd Apache Junction, AZ City Council Meeting 85119 www.ajcity.net Ph: (480) 982-8002 Tuesday, December 16, 2014 7:00 PM City Council Chambers This document may not reflect the most current legislation adopted by the City of Apache Junction and is for convenience and informational use only. For further information on the official version of council meeting minutes please contact the Apache Junction City Clerk’s office at (480) 982-8002. The regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Apache Junction, Arizona, was held on December 16, 2014, at the Apache Junction City Council Chambers pursuant to the notice required by law. A. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Insalaco called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. B. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Councilmember Waldron led the Pledge of Allegiance. Councilmember Wilson gave the Invocation. C. ROLL CALL Present: 7- Mayor Insalaco Vice Mayor Barker Councilmember Evans Councilmember Rizzi Councilmember Serdy Councilmember Waldron Councilmember Wilson Vice Mayor Barker appeared telephonically around 7:10 p.m. Staff Present: City Manager George Hoffman City Clerk Kathleen Connelly City Attorney Joel Stern Development Services Director Larry Kirch Assistant to the City Manager Matt Busby Others Present: Captain Troy Mullender Revenue Resources Manager Roger Hacker Senior Planner Rudy Esquivias D. CONSENT AGENDA Yes: 7- Mayor Insalaco, Vice Mayor Barker, Councilmember Evans, Councilmember Rizzi, Councilmember Serdy, Councilmember Waldron and Councilmember Wilson City of Apache Junction, Arizona Page 1 City Council Meeting Meeting Minutes December 16, 2014 No: 0 Councilmember Evans MOVED THAT THE CONSENT AGENDA BE ACCEPTED AS PRESENTED; AND THAT RESOLUTION NO. 14-46, A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF APACHE JUNCTION, ARIZONA, AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF APACHE JUNCTION TO ENTER INTO AN INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT WITH THE ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE MODIFYING ITS AUDITING AUTHORITY, BE APPROVED, AND THAT RESOLUTION NO. 14-45, A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF APACHE JUNCTION, ARIZONA, AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF APACHE JUNCTION TO ENTER INTO AN INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT WITH THE ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE ALLOWING THE CITY TO CONTINUE MUNICIPAL TRANSACTION PRIVILEGE TAX LICENSING SERVICES, BE APPROVED. Councilmember Rizzi SECONDED THE MOTION. VOTE: Unanimous. The motion carried. 1. 14-579 Acceptance of agenda. Consideration and action. 2. 14-580 Approval of minutes of regular meeting of December 2, 2014. Consideration and action. 3. 14-598 Consideration and action on Resolution No. 14-46, authorizing the city to enter into an Intergovernmental Agreement with the Arizona Department of Revenue modifying its auditing authority. Consideration and action. 4. 14-599 Consideration and action on Resolution No. 14-45, allowing the city to continue to collect transaction privilege tax licensing fees. Consideration and action. E. AWARDS, PRESENTATIONS AND PROCLAMATIONS 5. 14-581 Presentation of a check to Mayor John S. Insalaco and Chief of Police Thomas E. Kelly by a representative of The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Lodge Number 2349 for the purchase of uniforms for the Apache Junction Police Department's Honor Guard. Presentation. Revenue Resource Manager Roger Hacker commented Elks Lodge #2349 has donated $2,000 to the police department for the purchase of uniforms for the honor guard. Captain Troy Mullender thanked the Elks Lodge for their continued support throughout the years. This amount puts them close to being able to purchase the uniforms. Revenue Resource Manager Roger Hacker introduced Robert Cooper of the Elks Lodge who presented a check to Captain Mullender. F. ANNOUNCEMENT OF CURRENT EVENTS Councilmember Serdy commented parks and recreation did an awesome job with the Focal Point City of Apache Junction, Arizona Page 2 City Council Meeting Meeting Minutes December 16, 2014 again this year. The added lights show the Christmas lights and the lit up horse and rider even better and he thinks it is the best it has ever looked. Councilmember Serdy announced the big news in the area is the land swap and the resolution passed in the senate to help with Resolution Copper. That is one step closer to bringing a lot of jobs here. Councilmember Evans announced there is a new youth soccer group for boys and girls ages 8-18. The U-12 boys participated in the walk-a-thon and won $800 which will go a long way for a new soccer club. There is a Superstition Mountain Soccer Club website now. Councilmember Evans commented she would like to tell everyone happy holidays, but it is also the most depressed, stressed out, lonely time of year for many, many people. She encouraged everyone to call someone and say hello or buy someone a happy meal. She wished everyone a happy holiday. Mayor Insalaco announced he was at Talking Stick Resort on Monday for a retirement party for outgoing president Diane Enos, the president of the Salt River Indian Tribe. She has been fantastic. She has done a marvelous job but is going back to being a trial lawyer. She will probably run again in four years. This Saturday he will be there for Delbert Rey, the new president. Councilmember Evans commented on a couple more of the Santa photos at the Paws and Claws. They have done a lot of adoptions over the last few months. They will accept monetary, food or equipment donations. G. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT 6. 14-606 City manager's report. City Manager George Hoffman commented Assistant City Manager Bryant Powell is at an event with his daughter this evening. Matt is telephone patching in the vice mayor at this time. His report will be turned over to two speakers tonight. Assistant to the City Manager Matt Busby made the telephonic patch with Vice Mayor Barker. 7. 14-567 Presentation by and discussion with Lisa Rigler of Operation Welcome Home on the Arizona Wall Project. Presentation and discussion. Councilmember Waldron introduced Lisa Rigler and Roger Pollard with Operation Welcome Home for a presentation on the Arizona Wall project. The mission of Operation Welcome Home is to honor our veterans and families by sponsoring activities to express our support, pride and patriotism. Ms. Lisa Rigler stated they are excited about the project. They put on ceremonies for returning veterans and their families and look forward to bringing that to Apache Junction in the future. Under the Operation Welcome Home nonprofit, they are a partner with the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War Commemorative Partnership, which has some criteria. They have decided to bring a permanent tribute wall to Arizona. They are doing presentations to tell people about the project. It will be located in Gilbert. Mr. Roger Pollard stated welcome home to all Vietnam vets. He was a district intelligence officer in Vietnam. He described his experiences there. He commented on the history of the wall and how it came about. The Arizona wall will be 80% of the original wall made out of anodized aluminum alloy in black. The agreement calls for another wall to be within 100 miles so there will be one in Tucson. This is for people who cannot get to Washington, D.C. to come and see the City of Apache Junction, Arizona Page 3 City Council Meeting Meeting Minutes December 16, 2014 original. Ms. Lisa Rigler stated the Town of Gilbert has dedicated about a 7.7 acre parcel across from the town hall. The 911 memorial is across the street and a police and fire memorial in front of the police and fire safety building. The street has been changed from Civic Drive to American Heroes Way so it is fitting to be there. She gave a presentation on its design. Mr. Roger Pollard stated they will be promoting inspiration, healing and education. He read a paragraph about each one. Ms. Lisa Rigler stated they have been going into the schools to teach the fourth and fifth graders about patriotism. She commented on the different partnerships they have forming. She commented on the different supporters and the community support they have, and requested other wallunteers. Mr. Roger Pollard stated his is proud to be a part of this project. He described his training and different historical events that occurred in 1968. He knows this project is the right thing to do. 8. 14-603 Presentation by and discussion with Chris Coyle, General Manager of Republic Services, regarding the closure date of landfill. Presentation and discussion. Mr. Chris Coyle, Republic Services, gave a status update on the Apache Junction landfill, what has gone on this last year and what they are looking towards in the future. This year they had self-construction at the landfill, excavating and filling it with a liner. They will receive about 300,000 tons this year, a little above average. Their next self-construction will be in 2016, their final one. It will have full environmental compliance. He described how the liner is constructed and how it works. They are expecting about 210,000 tons next year but special waste is unknown. As the state is now doing dynamic compaction on the highway dig sites, they are no longer getting waste from them. The projected closure of the landfill is 2025. He briefed them on how that is calculated. They had a safe year with no accidents or injuries this year. The free dump weeks have been a success this year. He thanked the police department for their assistance during those times. H. PUBLIC HEARINGS 9. 14-585 Application for a special event liquor license for the Usual Suspects Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club Arizona Chapter to be held January 10, 2015 at Hitching Post, 2341 North Apache Trail. The event will consist of various entertainers performing a concert. The next step in the procedure is for the council to hold a public hearing on the application and make a recommendation for approval or denial to be forwarded to the Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control. Consideration and action. Yes: 7- Mayor Insalaco, Vice Mayor Barker, Councilmember Evans, Councilmember Rizzi, Councilmember Serdy, Councilmember Waldron and Councilmember Wilson No: 0 City Clerk Kathleen Connelly briefed the council on the item. Mayor Insalaco requested the applicant address the council. City of Apache Junction, Arizona Page 4 City Council Meeting Meeting Minutes December 16, 2014 Mr. Josh Springer, 578 S. Starr Road, addressed the council. He is a member of the nonprofit organization and advised he had their treasurer and vice president with him. They hold fundraisers to solicit donations that are given to families of police officers that have been severely injured or passed away in the line of duty. This year they have given out several thousand dollars. They have given out money for four officers this year, the two in Chandler, Detective Hobbs and the Navajo Indian Reservation officer that recently passed away. This will be another fundraising event they will have. They do not want to give this money away at all, but it is something they feel they should do. Councilmember Waldron commented the last time there was an event held out there we got several calls from citizens complaining about the noise. He would ask that if a citizen does come up that someone take the time to listen to them because that did not happen last time. They were basically told to leave. There are people that live back in that area. It was on a Sunday and he got calls on Sunday about it. He would ask they at least address those with those people should they show up. Mr. Josh Springer stated absolutely. That should not be an issue. This event will be held on a Saturday and the music should be over by 7 p.m. They will be tearing things down after that. Councilmember Waldron commented it is just in case somebody does come up they should take the time to listen to them and their concerns. Mr. Josh Springer stated it should not be an issue at all. Mayor Insalaco opened the public hearing on the item. Mr. Mehmood Mohiuddin, 2341 N. Apache Trail, addressed the council. Mr. Waldron made a comment about a police officer coming and then comments about having noise. A gentleman complained that lived about one mile behind him who said it sounded like somebody beating their Indian drums. He talked to the person controlling the music and told him to turn the bass down. The captain from the police department stated at the last meeting that one person has complained about Fillies, the Skies and the Hitching Post. He said he asked the captain what they would need to do to fix the problem. He said the police captain told him there is nothing he can do about it as there is one person complaining about every place in this area. There was a concern, he discussed it, and they fixed it. They did not turn the person away. Councilmember Waldron commented the reason he brought that up is the call he got is not from a person who complains about all the other ones. It was somebody else that called. There were several people that called. They are not involved in those other complaints. He is just asking that he address it with them. Mr. Mehmood Mohiuddin stated absolutely. Councilmember Waldron commented they felt that it was not addressed at the time. They had whatever going on at their houses. The only thing he is asking is that when they show up he please address it with them and try to mitigate the problem. Mr. Mehmood Mohiuddin stated absolutely. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated for purposes of clarification, there was one complaint that went to the police department but there were other complaints that went to the council. Councilmember Wilson commented he also got complaints and City of Apache Junction, Arizona Page 5 City Council Meeting Meeting Minutes December 16, 2014 telephone calls. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated they were not the same people. Mayor Insalaco closed the public hearing with no one else wishing to speak and reopened the item to council discussion. There being no further discussion, he called for a motion. Councilmember Evans MOVED THAT THE APPLICATION FOR A SPECIAL EVENT LIQUOR LICENSE FOR THE USUAL SUSPECTS LAW ENFORCEMENT MOTORCYCLE CLUB ARIZONA CHAPTER FOR JANUARY 10, 2015, SUBMITTED BY JOSH SPRINGER, BE RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL TO THE ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF LIQUOR LICENSES AND CONTROL WITH THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS: (1) THE EVENT WILL BE HELD ON A LOT ADJACENT TO THE HITCHING POST, NOT ON THE HITCHING POST PROPERTY AS THE APPLICATION SUGGESTS. OWNERS HAVE NOT COMBINED THE PARCELS AND THE HITCHING POST HAS NOT PERMANENTLY EXTENDED ITS PREMISES. (2) PARKING FOR THE EVENT WILL INCLUDE THE EXISTING PARKING AREA JUST SOUTH OF, AND NORMALLY USED BY, THE HITCHING POST AND DASH IN, AS WELL AS AN ADDITIONAL FENCED-OFF AREA ON PART OF THE FORMER BOAT STORAGE BUSINESS PROPERTY (WHERE THE CONCERT WILL ALSO BE HELD). THE SITE PLAN PROVIDED, HOWEVER, DOES NOT SHOW HOW 300 PARKING SPACES (AS THE APPLICATION SUGGESTS) FOR A PEAK ATTENDANCE OF 500 PEOPLE WILL BE ACCOMMODATED. FOR FUTURE EVENTS, WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE A PROFESSIONALLY DRAWN, SCALED SITE PLAN, SHOWING STAGE, PARKING LAYOUT, PORTA-JOHN LOCATIONS AND VENDOR AREAS. (3) THE STAGE AND AMPLIFIED MUSIC WILL BE POINTED IN A NORTHERLY DIRECTION, TOWARD THE UNDEVELOPED STATE AND BLM LANDS. (4) CONCERT EVENT LIGHTING SHOULD BE DIRECTED AWAY FROM TRAFFIC AND RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES, AND SHOULD BE SHUT OFF BY 10 P.M. (5) APPLICANTS MUST PROVIDE FOR ADEQUATE SECURITY, SUFFICIENT PORTA-JOHNS, AND PRE-EVENT WATERING DOWN OF ACTIVITY AREAS. (6) EVENT DAY SIGNAGE MUST NOT BE PLACED IN THE RIGHT-OF-WAY OR OBSTRUCT VEHICLE OR PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC, AND MUST BE TAKEN DOWN IMMEDICATELY FOLLOWING THE EVENT. (7) APPLICANTS ARE TO ADDRESS ANY OTHER SAFETY, CIRCULATION AND TRAFFIC ISSUES WITH PUBLIC SAFETY AND PUBLIC WORKS STAFF. I FURTHER MOVE THAT PLANNING STAFF CONTINUE TO MEET WITH THE PROPERTY OWNERS ON THE FILING OF A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT APPLICATION TO COMPREHENSIVELY ADDRESS THESE ISSUES AND OTHER ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH CREATING A PERMANENT, OUTDOOR ENTERTAINMENT VENUE ON THE PROPERTY. Councilmember Waldron SECONDED THE MOTION. VOTE: Unanimous. The motion carried. 10. 14-583 Consideration of approval of proposed Ordinance No. 1407, relating to annexation case AN-1-14, a city initiated annexation of a strip of approximately 50 acres of vacant state trust land for Elliot Road right-of-way near the Meridian Drive alignment. Consideration and action. Yes: 7- Mayor Insalaco, Vice Mayor Barker, Councilmember Evans, Councilmember Rizzi, Councilmember Serdy, Councilmember Waldron and Councilmember Wilson No: 0 City of Apache Junction, Arizona Page 6 City Council Meeting Meeting Minutes December 16, 2014 Senior Planner Rudy Esquivias briefed the council on the item. Mayor Insalaco opened the public hearing on the item. There being no one wishing to speak, he closed the public hearing and called for council discussion. There being no further discussion, he called for a motion. Councilmember Waldron MOVED THAT ORDINANCE NO. 1407 BE READ BY TITLE ONLY AND THE READING OF THE ENTIRE ORDINANCE BE WAIVED. Councilmember Evans SECONDED THE MOTION. VOTE: Unanimous. The motion carried. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly read the ordinance by title only. Councilmember Waldron MOVED THAT ORDINANCE NO. 1407, AS READ BY THE CITY CLERK, BE APPROVED AND ADOPTED. Councilmember Wilson SECONDED THE MOTION. VOTE: Unanimous. The motion carried. 11. 14-586 Presentation, discussion and action on Ordinance No. 1409 relating to case PZ-4-14, a request by Mesa Development Corporation and JBW Investments LLC, represented by John Wharton, for a rezoning of several properties (approximately 7 acres) at the southeast corner of US60 and S. Tomahawk Road, from General Rural Low Density Single-family Detached Residential (RS-GR) and Very High Density Multiple-family Residential (RM-3), to General Commercial District by Planned Development (B-1/PD). Presentation, discussion and action. Yes: 7- Mayor Insalaco, Vice Mayor Barker, Councilmember Evans, Councilmember Rizzi, Councilmember Serdy, Councilmember Waldron and Councilmember Wilson No: 0 City Attorney Joel Stern stated for item numbers 11 and 12, the annexation has to be voted on first as they cannot rezone a property that is not annexed yet. Mayor Insalaco asked if they can do both together but they would have to do the vote on the annexation first. City Attorney Joel Stern stated they can. One public hearing for both would be fine. Senior Planner Rudy Esquivias briefed the council on the items. Mayor Insalaco requested the applicant address the council. City of Apache Junction, Arizona Page 7 City Council Meeting Meeting Minutes December 16, 2014 Mr. John Wharton, 1580 E. San Remo, Gilbert, addressed the council for any questions. He stated this property has a problem he would like to discuss. There is only one point of access to this property, where 34th Avenue comes in. There is also only one access to Bill’s Ghost on the other side of the freeway and the cars stack up like crazy. Bill’s Ghost is on one acre and he has 5 acres of commercial. It will stack up like crazy. It is not a nice place to put a really good retail center. They have a hotel interested but they keep asking what else will be in there. They do not want their customers not being able to get in and out. He asked the council to amend item number 6 which eliminates the number of uses. Either eliminate 6 altogether or possibly say those uses are allowed with a special use permit. Let those users come to the city and show a plan that might be workable. With the type of retail uses the city would like to use, the hotel will balk and walk. It is not feasible from that standpoint. Mayor Insalaco asked Rudy to help them with that. Senior Planner Rudy Esquivias stated he had not heard these concerns to this extent before. It is up to the council. He asked if they want to allow storage lots, check cashing places, pawn shops, and tattoo parlors. Mayor Insalaco commented they do not. Councilmember Waldron asked which of the uses listed in there he would object to. It is a laundry list. Mr. John Wharton stated it is a laundry list, so he does not know what would happen if they talk with Choice Hotels and they want to put in a nice hotel. They want to be able to have their people come in and out and they want to know before they invest money what their neighbors are going to be like and what the traffic will be like that will be generated by that user. He suggested letting him tell them a lot of uses are available but many of them, the ones suggested by the board, are subject to a use permit, which may or may not be allowed. For him to just say the only thing that will be allowed in there now is retail, they will say they cannot get cars in and out of there. They will go somewhere else. Mayor Insalaco commented he does not completely understand. Councilmember Waldron commented that was part of his question. These uses are not compatible with a motel, such as horse privileges. Mr. John Wharton stated he is not suggesting massage parlors and check cashing places. He is just saying whatever comes, such as another Horne Ford wanting to build a place on part of it next to the hotel or what. But to put together a conceptual site plan where one could anticipate heavy traffic is scaring people off. Councilmember Evans commented her background is in real estate. Looking at this, if she was going to build a hotel, she would say “Yay”. This stuff that is not compatible with her use is not allowed there. What he is saying confuses her. She understands about the back up while trying to pull out from the location he mentioned. But without a site plan showing how big Choice Hotels would want to build, they do not know how much of this would even be available after they were done with it. Use that for a restriction. Mr. John Wharton stated that is a good question. They had brought a site plan to the city previously. Choice Hotels would require about two acres, which is about 40% of this site. It would leave the balance of it, mostly to the east, of about 3 acres. Bill’s Ghost has one acre, this is five acres coming out of one access point. It would behoove him to get the highest and heaviest retail in the world in there as he would get more for the land. He knows she understands real estate, but the more money they can generate, the higher the land value. In this City of Apache Junction, Arizona Page 8 City Council Meeting Meeting Minutes December 16, 2014 case, the access will not allow it. It is the only reason he brings it up. He has had this property for years and has been trying to sell it. He knows what the people are saying. They are saying the access to this property is poor and they can see that by Bill’s Ghost. It is the same thing. Mayor Insalaco asked what he is suggesting. He asked if he wants another access. Mr. John Wharton stated he would love to have more access. There is no other access. The Arizona Department of Transportation will not allow any more access. That is the freeway on ramp at the top and to the south is an existing mobile home park. There is no other access. Councilmember Evans commented she is still trying to follow him. The best, highest piece of this is along Tomahawk. With the objection he is stating, she asked what he sees happening back there that would have less traffic involved with it. These are not the highest and best retail uses that are on the list of objections. She asked what he sees as having less traffic that could be placed on the majority part of the parcel. Mr. John Wharton stated they could have another automobile dealership or an office complex. Councilmember Evans commented those are allowed. Vice Mayor Barker commented all those things are allowed. Mayor Insalaco commented that is allowed. Mr. John Wharton stated the office complex is allowed. The automobile dealership is not allowed. Mayor Insalaco asked if that was correct. Mr. John Wharton stated car sales are not allowed. RV sales are not allowed. Councilmember Evans commented that is pretty small for a car dealer other than used cars. Mr. John Wharton stated he understands but a car dealer, maybe the hotel will not want the parcel, maybe the car dealer will take the entire parcel. Councilmember Rizzi asked if this would accommodate the hotel and a building with businesses on the bottom floor and apartments on the top floor. Senior Planner Rudy Esquivias stated it would. Councilmember Evans commented like a live/work situation. Mr. John Wharton stated he is asking that any of these uses be brought to the city with an application for a special use permit, instead of just carte blanche taking them off. Councilmember Rizzi commented she thinks the reason they have done that is to diversify our community with the businesses we have. It seems like we have a saturation point of certain types of businesses and they are trying to diversify and branch out. Mr. John Wharton stated he understood and his parcel has been City of Apache Junction, Arizona Page 9 City Council Meeting Meeting Minutes December 16, 2014 vacant for a long time. He has been trying to sell it for years. If the access is a question, and it is, then people are not going to want to use it. Councilmember Evans commented instead of having six, as it is written, we just said any other commercial business requires a conditional use permit. Mr. John Wharton stated that is correct. Senior Planner Rudy Esquivias stated when they get to the part of the paragraph that states “include the uses normally allowed under the B-1 base zone” add “except that the following uses shall require a conditional use permit”, or language to that effect. Councilmember Evans commented but he is saying he does not want the verbiage in there anywhere where it lists the uses. Mr. John Wharton stated listing the uses is fine. Councilmember Evans commented he just wants it by conditional use permit. Understanding the challenges of this parcel and what could go in there, with the limited ingress and egress to it, building in the front instead of in the furthest east piece is something as a hotel, multi-story and easily seen than even a car dealership that would be down low. She did not know if it would be more beneficial for him to develop it first in back and then move forward. Mr. John Wharton stated they are not developers, they are just trying to read what the market is telling them. They have told him they are very interested in the property but they have concerns. Councilmember Evans commented they did not list them separately other than the ingress and egress to the back part of the parcel. Mr. John Wharton stated they did not. They were concerned with just getting in and out onto Tomahawk. If other peoples’ clientele is backing up traffic there then their clientele would have a hard time getting in and out. They would just as soon go somewhere else. Vice Mayor Barker commented she was going to ask Gail to give her parcel numbers as she said here and here. That would help. Councilmember Evans commented they are looking at the map. Vice Mayor Barker commented she is looking at it also. Councilmember Evans commented she is not looking at it right now. Vice Mayor Barker asked if there can be no other turns if they are from Tomahawk between 34th Avenue and US 60. She asked if there can be no other driveways or somewhere there. Councilmember Evans commented there could not be one in the deceleration lane. Senior Planner Rudy Esquivias stated the property to the south is developed. It is outside the city limits. They are trying to get the people to the south to agree to installation of a decel lane or some other type of public improvement. By the way, there is another entrance to the property very close to what is the entrance to this other property. One of the conditions that staff is suggesting is to allow for future reconfiguration of the property. It City of Apache Junction, Arizona Page 10 City Council Meeting Meeting Minutes December 16, 2014 does not have to stay in this configuration. For example, one of the early concept plans was one from 2010 which showed a hotel on 2.2 acres and some commercial pads to the west of the hotel. The access is configured differently than it is currently parceled out. There is opportunity within the development where it can be designed depending on the future developer’s needs. The access point, however, is 50’ wide, and that is it. The possibility of another access across Arizona Department of Transportation right-of-way is extremely remote. They are basically limited to the 50’ wide entrance. That is the typical public street standard entrance. The right-of-way is there and extends across the south and other parts of the property. It can be reconfigured to a more advantageous plan. Mayor Insalaco asked if they could put in another access further away. Vice Mayor Barker agreed. Senior Planner Rudy Esquivias stated he does not think they have any other access in. Mayor Insalaco commented if they have one down here they cannot put another one up there. Councilmember Waldron asked if that was not a right-of-way. Mayor Insalaco commented they have that right-of-way. Senior Planner Rudy Esquivias stated once they get to a certain point it becomes Arizona Department of Transportation right-of-way. This is it. It is the 50’ entrance to serve this development site. Vice Mayor Barker asked if 34th Avenue could be widened in his portion if they annexed the entire piece. Senior Planner Rudy Esquivias stated that would have to be a discussion they would have to have with the Arizona Department of Transportation. Vice Mayor Barker asked if the part that is on 34th Avenue is Arizona Department of Transportation. She knows they have a piece out there. Assistant to the City Manager Matt Busby stated he thinks she is saying 34th Avenue could be widened more on the north side on his property. Senior Planner Rudy Esquivias stated it could be widened within the property, but the entrance is probably going to have to stay the same. Councilmember Evans commented they could have two lanes exiting. Senior Planner Rudy Esquivias stated 50’ is probably wide enough for four lanes, two in and two out. Mr. John Wharton stated there will be people turning left and people turning right. Senior Planner Rudy Esquivias stated it may be at the time of development a traffic study will be required. Vice Mayor Barker and Councilmember Evans agreed. City of Apache Junction, Arizona Page 11 City Council Meeting Meeting Minutes December 16, 2014 Councilmember Evans asked Mr. Wharton if he is asking them to just add the verbiage on the conditional use permit. Mr. John Wharton stated that is correct. Councilmember Rizzi commented she does not have a concern about changing the verbiage, however, it is almost like making a list of items we do not want and then if we add the verbiage be saying we might consider these down the road. If they do not want to consider this list of things, they should not add the verbiage. They have already made the list of items they do not want there, so why would they add the verbiage that down the road would say they might consider it. They need to diversify the businesses here. Adding the verbiage, in her opinion, is like going back on the reason they had the list to begin with. Councilmember Evans agreed with her. They had the same similar situation on the north side of US 60 and Idaho where the ownership would build the hotel and agreed to a certain palette of uses we would not allow. They kept saying they had buyers come to the city and they never heard from them again. She asked the owner who came, what kind of business were they presenting and what were their questions after that. They never had any. Understanding what he is saying, other than a hotel chain, she asked what, if any, other kind of interest he has had in the property from businesses that are on this list. Mr. John Wharton stated none. And he has no interest in selling to those people. That is not their goal. Their goal is to placate the kind of tenants that you want. It obviously has an access problem. He thinks anyone can imagine the problem it would have just by looking at Bill’s Ghost. They do not want to scare them off with the threat of lots of cars coming in and out. Mayor Insalaco commented almost any business they put in there will have cars going in and out. Mr. John Wharton stated some create more than others. Look at Bill’s Ghost. They have a convenience store, gas and a drive thru restaurant. Then look at Horne Ford and how many cars come in and out of there. There is quite a difference. Mayor Insalaco commented he just said he might want to put a car dealership in there. Mr. John Wharton stated his point is that car dealerships do not create as much traffic as gasoline or a fast food restaurant. Councilmember Waldron commented car dealerships are not on the list of not allowed uses. Mr. John Wharton stated it was; it is not there now. Mayor Insalaco commented it is used car lots like we have up and down the Trail. They are just junkers. A new car facility is another thing. Councilmember Waldron commented he thinks diesel repair would mean trucks. Assistant to the City Manager Matt Busby stated he believed Larry wanted to offer some perspective or idea. City of Apache Junction, Arizona Page 12 City Council Meeting Meeting Minutes December 16, 2014 Development Services Director Larry Kirch stated used car sales are not allowed. New car sales would be. Any car dealer is going to want exposure. To have any car dealer behind a hotel is a tough site to sell cars from something as that does not have exposure. One is already passed it on the freeway when one sees the used cars. Not all of these uses but many of these uses were brought up last night at the work session on Grant Therion’s proposal. These are not desired uses in many of our commercial areas. His recommendation would be to stick to your guns and prohibit these uses. He thinks the hotel developer would be part of the planned development process. They can work on access and site plan with the developer. Councilmember Evans commented so they do not have that problem. Councilmember Rizzi agreed. Councilmember Serdy commented he was perplexed because as a business owner that retails he would love to see more traffic and he is not used to seeing someone that does not want traffic. He thinks since it has changed from Bill’s Ghost to Circle K the traffic has increased a lot. Bill’s Ghost was failing and Circle K has turned it around. He is asking them to have almost every business in there be approved by the council. Mr. John Wharton stated he really is not. He is just saying he does not have any regard for any of those uses whatsoever. If they had simply said any other use would require a special use permit that would suit him fine. He does not need a listing of those. He has no interest in having any of those. He is just trying to placate the users he knows are very concerned about developing and investing their money on a site that is going to have ingress and egress problems. If they could imagine with Bill’s Ghost, not just one acre but five acres coming through that one in and out spot. Councilmember Serdy commented it will be even busier. We would definitely want more rooms. If you talk to the chamber of commerce, one of the things they want is more hotel rooms out here as they do feed the restaurants, etc. Rudy stated it is very difficult to get another egress. He asked what the process is and if the city has ever gotten approval from the Arizona Department of Transportation to get more accesses. He asked what they would have to do to do it. Senior Planner Rudy Esquivias stated they have not been able to do so to his knowledge. For example, this past week they had a discussion with some appraisers representing the Arizona Department of Transportation through the attorney general’s office for the development at Meridian and Southern and the limit of their access because of the new freeway interchange there. It sounded to him that Arizona Department of Transportation was very inflexible about the number of access points they will allow on their right-of-way. Councilmember Serdy asked why it is so precious to them. He asked if it is for future expansion. Senior Planner Rudy Esquivias stated he thinks they just want to limit the impact on their right-of-way and the other facilities they may need to put in their right-of-way. They have their spacing requirements and their number of driveway requirements. If they present a better plan or convince them to modify requirements, there is always that possibility. It is his experience that it is very, very difficult to do that with the Arizona Department of Transportation. Regarding the convenience store, Bill’s Ghost, the property, by itself, does have a single access point. This is one lot. It is surrounded by a 17.5 acre property which will have another access point in another area. The two parcels do not have to share the same access point. This access point is serving just one business property. Councilmember Evans commented that the access point on 34th City of Apache Junction, Arizona Page 13 City Council Meeting Meeting Minutes December 16, 2014 Avenue could be wider depending upon a planned site plan. Senior Planner Rudy Esquivias stated it could be widened internally, or inside the property. Councilmember Evans commented it would not gain additional access but it would stop the build up seen at Bill’s Ghost because it is a single lane there. A developer could make that change himself. Mayor Insalaco commented now he is all confused. Vice Mayor Barker and Councilmember Waldron agreed. Assistant to the City Manager Matt Busby stated he wanted to clarify something with Mr. Wharton. One of his last statements turned the light bulb on in his head. He stated none of the other uses are desirable in his mind, which is in agreement with the council. He thinks he heard him say that any other use would require the conditional use permit. The thought is if the hotel comes in on the first parcel, they would want a say on what goes in on the property behind them through a conditional use process. He asked if that is what he was getting at. Mr. John Wharton stated he supposed they would definitely have some input. He thinks what they are looking for is the possibility that the rest of this can be used in a less intense way. Something that does not require a lot of cars coming in. That does not mean it does not have jobs and so forth. It is not something in such a retail manner that brings lots of traffic in and out of there. That is what their fear is. Mayor Insalaco asked why they do not just put in a bigger hotel. Assistant to the City Manager Matt Busby stated he is saying they would not develop every parcel at the same time. Councilmember Evans commented but they want to have a say. Assistant to the City Manager Matt Busby stated they want to have a say in what goes in there in the future. Councilmember Evans commented they want what the conditional use permit addition would give. Mayor Insalaco commented not to put a conditional use permit on those items when he said that about number 6; that is what he said in the beginning. Councilmember Evans commented Matt just clarified what he had been trying to say and what confused them in the beginning. Councilmember Waldron commented these are disallowed uses. Any other use allowed in a commercial district would be allowed without a conditional use. Assistant to the City Manager Matt Busby stated that is not his concern. Let us say that a hotel develops on the front parcel in three years. In five years, something else comes in that is very high traffic and volume. A fast food drive thru wants to develop behind the hotel. The hotel does not want that because of the traffic and they are afraid their access to them is being filled by just in and out fast food. The concern would be, and what he believes Mr. Wharton is saying, when the development comes in for the fast food, the hotel will City of Apache Junction, Arizona Page 14 City Council Meeting Meeting Minutes December 16, 2014 want to say to the city council that they have a concern for the traffic that this use would cause on our customers. Mr. John Wharton stated that is correct. Councilmember Evans asked if he feels, as they have a situation with another hotel in that area, they would disallow another hotel. Mr. John Wharton stated he did not think so. They tend to cluster together. Councilmember Evans commented they do, but the city had a unique situation with another hotel site. Mayor Insalaco asked the city attorney if it is legal to do it that way. He asked if it could be done, if the hotel could have say on whatever goes in there. City Attorney Joel Stern stated they would have to have a public hearing and they have a right to come to the public hearing. They have a right to speak if they are within 300 feet. They would get a notice. They can state their opinion. The whole access issue has come up before. At Idaho and the freeway, the Chevron station wanted a closer entrance and they could not have one. He recalled Goldfield and US 60 back in 1999. There was going to be a hospital there and they wanted a closer entrance and unfortunately that entrance is a private roadway into Dolce Vita. But it does come up. He remembers this going back to 1999; this has always been an issue. Arizona Department of Transportation will not allow a certain distance for safety or for whatever reason. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated it is not just the freeway and the Arizona Department of Transportation, it is also any of their other roadways. They may recall Idaho and Old West Highway where Quik Trip and Walgreen’s were told where they could put their exits and entrances. She asked if something comes to the mayor and council for conditional use permits or how does it work. Senior Planner Rudy Esquivias stated a conditional use permit would only go the planning and zoning commission. The only way it would come to the council would be if someone appealed it. In that sense, requiring these suggested excluded uses to be processed through a conditional use permit, those requests would go to the planning and zoning commission. There is a list of uses there. One of the other conditions states if someone wants to deviate from the conditions of approval they can process a planned development amendment. If someone wants to do an RV storage lot behind the hotel or some other use we are recommending not be allowed, today would require a planned development amendment which is planning and zoning commission and the council. If they include language in there about a conditional use permit it would only go the planning and zoning commission. It is a shorter process. Councilmember Evans commented both would give surrounding owners the ability to come and address. Senior Planner Rudy Esquivias stated everybody within 300 feet would receive notice. Councilmember Evans commented the way it is right now, he really does have what he is asking for. Senior Planner Rudy Esquivias stated that is correct. City of Apache Junction, Arizona Page 15 City Council Meeting Meeting Minutes December 16, 2014 Councilmember Waldron commented item number 8 in the ordinance would cover that. He believes that is what it is in there for. Councilmember Evans asked Mr. Wharton if that made sense to him. Mr. Wharton stated he is not sure because he is not certain of the procedures. Councilmember Evans commented as long as he is confident. She asked if he is going to split this parcel and keep the back half and sell the front half. If a hotel wants the front half, he could still retain ownership of the back half. Mr. John Wharton stated that is correct. Councilmember Evans commented he does not want these uses and he wants the front parcel to be able to have a say or object to what else may come in. Mr. John Wharton stated he wants them to have whatever is required by law. He is not looking for them to have any special say. Councilmember Evans commented she thinks what he asked for we now know is still here. She wanted to make sure he is confident about the way this is written, that he is getting what he is asking them to do. They are going to leave in these because we do not want which you said you also do not want. Mr. John Wharton stated not necessarily. That is not his goal. He just wants it to be more clear. He does not have any interest in those, but he does not have any interest in excluding them. He has nothing to gain by that, other than excluding them can make the property more appealing to the user. Councilmember Rizzi commented they have already established they can create an avenue for this hotel chain or whatever to have a say. She asked if they have a current instance in the city where that is being done for another business or site. Senior Planner Rudy Esquivias stated the only situation that may be similar in nature that comes to mind is the property at 29th Avenue and Idaho, just north of US 60. When that little commercial subdivision was created the hotel that went in there, there was a deed restriction saying no other hotel could locate in that commercial center. The other properties have not developed aside from the gas station and the hotel. The other five or six lots have not been developed and many of the inquiries have come from other hotels, but the property owners could not sell those lots to the other hotels because of that deed restriction. Maybe what Mr. Wharton is talking about is some kind of a deed restriction that gives the first user some kind of right of exclusion. He is not sure. Councilmember Rizzi commented they have already clarified that he has that safety valve, with the way it is currently written and not changing the verbiage. City Attorney Joel Stern stated it is. If he wants the ability to protest if these types of uses come up, he will have that right because this is within 300 feet. Councilmember Rizzi commented he has his safety valve and we have ours the way it is currently written. City Attorney Joel Stern stated he believed so. City of Apache Junction, Arizona Page 16 City Council Meeting Meeting Minutes December 16, 2014 Mayor Insalaco asked Mr. Wharton if he understood what they were talking about. Mr. Wharton stated he does. He is just trying to be as clear as he can. If this access cannot be made comfortable we are not going to get who he would like to get in there. We are not going to get a hotel that everybody says they want in there. He has heard it from John Q. Public, he has heard it from staff, he has heard it from Janine, and everybody seems to want to see this hotel. Their concern, aside from signage, they want the same signage everybody else has, is they want to have access easy in and out. If it is going to be congested it will not happen. Maybe it will, but he is telling them he does not think it will. Vice Mayor Barker commented she took a six week trip this summer and stayed in many choice motels. They were way in back with tiny little driveways leading all over. There was a way around all this congestion and they worked fine with it. There was no problem. If you want to stay at the hotel, you go however they tell you to go. Councilmember Serdy commented he was just getting involved in city business in 2005. This is the same property where the Value Place was going to go. Mayor Insalaco commented it is not. Vice Mayor Barker agreed it is not. There was general discussion on where Value Place was going to go. It was determined it was going to be further north. Councilmember Serdy commented they did not have these concerns because they were not dealing with the Arizona Department of Transportation problem. Councilmember Waldron commented he wanted to read him item number 8. He thinks it covers all that he is asking for. It states “any request for deviation from the city’s development standards or for uses determined by the zoning administrator to not be conducive to creating commercial, retail, office opportunities shall require a separate planned development amendment, rezoning, landscape code appeal or conditional use permit process first, as may be appropriate”. That is part of the ordinance. That is part of the process. Mayor Insalaco asked Rudy to put it up on the overhead so everyone can see it and he can see it himself. There was general discussion as to what agenda item they were still on. Mayor Insalaco commented that should cover what he is talking about. Vice Mayor Barker agreed. Mr. John Wharton stated he does not know what to say. He is not sure if he should say yes, that he agrees with what that says or not. He probably needs to have some counsel help. He suggested they table this for a while because he does not know how to respond. City Attorney Joel Stern stated someone can make a motion to continue this matter. Make it a date certain so that it does not have to be republished. Vice Mayor Barker asked if that would be both ordinances. City of Apache Junction, Arizona Page 17 City Council Meeting Meeting Minutes December 16, 2014 City Attorney Joel Stern stated he would recommend both. There was general discussion on the date to continue the item to and whether they needed a work session or just the public hearing. Mayor Insalaco opened the public hearing on the items. There being no one wishing to speak, he closed the public hearing and called for a motion. Vice Mayor Barker MOVED THAT WE CONTINUE THESE ITEMS, ITEMS 11 AND 12, TO TUESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2015 FOR A PUBLIC HEARING. Councilmember Evans SECONDED THE MOTION. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated this is on both items 11 and 12. She asked if they would need a separate motion on these items. City Attorney Joel Stern stated he did not think so. It should be fine. VOTE: Unanimous. The motion carried. Mayor Insalaco commented he thinks number 8 will probably help him out. 12. 14-590 Consideration and action on Ordinance No.1408, relating to annexation case AN-2-14, a request by Mesa Development Corporation and JBW Investments LLC, represented by John Wharton, for annexation of and assignment of city zoning districts to, their properties (approximately 7 acres, including adjacent ADOT right-of-way) located at the southeast corner of S. Tomahawk Road and US60. Consideration and action. This Ordinance was continued I. OLD BUSINESS None. J. NEW BUSINESS None. K. COUNCIL DIRECTION TO STAFF None. L. SELECTION OF MEETING DATES, TIMES, LOCATIONS, AND PURPOSES Yes: 7- Mayor Insalaco, Vice Mayor Barker, Councilmember Evans, Councilmember Rizzi, Councilmember Serdy, Councilmember Waldron and Councilmember Wilson No: 0 City of Apache Junction, Arizona Page 18 City Council Meeting Meeting Minutes December 16, 2014 Councilmember Waldron MOVED THAT AN EXECUTIVE SESSION AT 5:45 P.M. AND A WORK SESSION AT 7:00 P.M. BE HELD ON MONDAY, JANUARY 5, 2015, IN THE CITY COUNCIL CONFERENCE ROOM AND CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS RESPECTIVELY; AND THAT AN EXECUTIVE SESSION AT 5:45 P.M. BE HELD ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2015, IN THE CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS. Councilmember Evans SECONDED THE MOTION. VOTE: Unanimous. The motion carried. 13. 14-600 Executive Session at 5:45 P.M. and Work Session at 7:00 P.M. for Monday, January 5, 2015. 14. 14-601 Executive Session at 5:45 P.M. for Tuesday, January 6, 2015. Other meetings if necessary. M. CALL TO PUBLIC None. N. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Insalaco wished everyone a Happy Hanukah, Happy Holidays, and Merry Christmas. He adjourned the meeting at 8:45 p.m. City of Apache Junction, Arizona Page 19