Council Regular/Special Meeting

MINUTES OF THE GILBERT TOWN COUNCIL, IN SPECIAL MEETING, FALL COUNCIL RETREAT - DAY 2 OF TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2021 AT 9:00 AM, SOUTHEAST REGIONAL LIBRARY, 775 N. GREENFIELD ROAD, GILBERT, ARIZONA COUNCIL PRESENT: Mayor Brigette Peterson, Vice Mayor Yung Koprowski, Councilmembers Scott Anderson, Laurin Hendrix, Scott September, Kathy Tilque, and Aimee Yentes COUNCIL ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Town Manager Patrick Banger, Town Clerk Chaveli Herrera, Town Attorney Christopher Payne, Tourism Administrator Glenn Schlottman, Parks and Recreation Director Robert Carmona, Redevelopment Program Manager Amanda Elliott, Assistant Town Manager Mary Goodman, Development Services Director Kyle Mieras, Code Inspector Supervisor Lorrie DeOrio, Police Chief Michael Soelberg, Business Compliance Analyst Jordan Fasano, Assistant Town Manager Leah Hubbard-Rhineheimer, and Transportation Manager Chris Bridges AGENDA ITEM CALL TO ORDER Mayor Peterson called the meeting to order at 9:01 a.m. Mayor Peterson and Town Manager Banger welcomed the group and thanked everyone for their time and commitment. ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS 1. Signature and Destination Event. Tourism Administrator Schlottman discussed the agenda for the day. He covered some of the Fiscal Year 2020 Wildly Important Goals (WIGs) focused on prosperous community and strong economy through signature events. To highlight the importance of destination events, he outlined Gilbert’s Core Audiences: visiting friends and family, youth and amateur sports and business travelers, day visitors and Arizona events visitors, noting how they helped support the local economy. He shared hotel market distribution trends for Gilbert and the surrounding cities, then specifically Gilbert data between the years 2012 to 2021. He reported on the Gilbert Visitor Study conducted from September 2018 to August 2019, with an annual 4 million visitors, 1 839,000 of those being overnight visitors; and visitor spending trends for 2018, 2019, and 2020. He highlighted a 2.5% increase from 2018 to 2019 and a 36.5% decrease in visitor spending from 2019 to 2020. He shared visitor satisfaction rates that 88% of visitors planned to return to Gilbert within 12 months, 93% would recommend Gilbert to others, and a 98% overall satisfaction rate. He described the Destination Event Plan in detail and noted it was a Town- supported event that showcased the community, attracted participants from outside the area, and emphasized overnight stays. He explained that destination events were created as smaller local affairs and fostered growth, or they attracted existing events that moved from their original locations. He provided criteria used to measure the success of the destination events which included public safety, attendee satisfaction, performance, economic impact, and more. Parks and Recreation Director Carmona talked about the partnership with Parks and Recreation and Economic Development. He identified sports tourism, events, and the Riparian Reserve as the key avenues Gilbert Parks and Recreation utilized to approach Town tourism. He shared figures for weekend usage of Cactus Yards according to a 2019 Arizona State University (ASU) study, including 127,200 daily visits from tournament participants, 98,200 daily visits from non- tournament participants, 1,839 hotel night stays, $2,900,000 in direct tournament spending which resulted in $4,400,000 and increased interest in park bookings which averaged 1-2 bookings per 52 booking periods to an average of three booking requests for each period for 2022. He highlighted continued interest of the park by organizations beyond the regional level, a future hotel planned for the area, and gave visitor estimation numbers for a well-known planned tournament in June 2022. He reported increased external tournaments between Fiscal Years 2019 - 2021, which started at 7 external tournaments to 17 and totaled 85 by Fiscal Year 2021. He provided additional event figures for the Town for the Fiscal Years 2019 – 2022 that ranged from 19 events in Fiscal Year 2019 to 45 events in Fiscal Year 2022, and boasted a 90% good or excellent rating by participants. Director Carmona talked about the eye-opening interest of the 4th of July event attended by over 20,000 local and non-local participants and ways to improve the event. He compared the Gilbert Days events to the scope of the 4th of July event illustrated that they planned to increase the size of the event and budget to scale with attendee participation. He listed additional past and scheduled events with new vendors and mentioned attendee numbers averaged between 5,000 – 10,000 for most events. He identified community concerns and learned lessons regarding traffic, noise and closures in the area and explained the importance of working with the community to problem-solve and maintain the positive neighborhood relationships. Director Carmona detailed the Riparian Preserve usage and highlighted 50% of park visitors were non-residents, 20% of Gilbert visitors visited the park, and noted a recent ranking of the park and planned park enhancements. He summarized new park development regarding Gilbert Regional Park and Desert Sky Park and their anticipated economic and employment impacts on the Town. He talked about the addition of The Strand to Gilbert Regional Park, seeking proposal of lodging on-site and potential future development. He showed a map of the park and detailed the open space and opportunities for development. Mayor Peterson asked to see which section of the park received noise complaints from the surrounding neighbors. Director Carmona highlighted the northwest section of the park and 2 explained they have worked with the neighborhood to resolve the matter and reduce the number of events scheduled in that section of the park. Director Carmona closed with statements about Desert Sky and the opportunities for that location and parking availability. He talked about the next steps and said they intended to provide a presentation overview of past and anticipated events and wanted to solicit feedback on what types of events Council would be interested in having and what a destination event would look like. He talked about balancing all aspects. Councilmember Tilque talked about an incident in Houston and the importance of safety and parking. She elaborated and emphasized being ready to move into the future and ensuring they were ready to take on a big event. She said a community should have a single signature event rather than multiple. She expressed concern in events growing and moving out. She said she was torn because she thought it would be important to have a signature event but expressed concerns with impacts to the citizens and community in where it would fit. Director Carmona talked about the importance of starting small and seeing where events visitors. Councilmember Tilque discussed looking at transportation opportunities such as a Park and Ride. Vice Mayor Koprowski advised looking at examples with Scottsdale Sports Park and multiple uses of space and discussed considerations in future planning, such as multiple entrances and exits. She added she enjoyed seeing that people wanted to come to Gilbert and said it speaks to the Town, but she was not sure of having to generate a new event rather than continue to host events. She talked about Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) considering a path through Gilbert for a bicycle route, and remarked about issues with the Pedestrian Bridge, adding now that they had one there could be a potential bicycle event. Director Carmona spoke in support of the opportunities and talked about multiple use of turf and vehicles, looking at those opportunities, and using those in the future. Councilmember Anderson asked if there had been contact with the National Little League. Director Carmona commented about many sports leagues coming to Gilbert and noted the success of the market. He talked about the importance of the Request for Proposal (RFP) and taking a longer look at the groups, where they were coming from, and the demand. Councilmember Anderson asked if the State Fair was looking to relocate. Tourism Administrator Schlottman said they temporarily relocated to Gila River but the plan was to go back to the Fair Grounds, and he did not feel they would be leaving the area. Mayor Peterson shared her interest in the discussion if there was potential to bring the State Fair to Gilbert. Tourism Administrator Schlottman talked about conducting an economic impact study for the Town to review Gilbert-specific data. Mayor Peterson said she enjoyed the idea of a community- based signature event such as Gilbert Days, and asked if any other 4th of July events beyond a fireworks display had been explored. Director Carmona responded there were opportunities to look at more options. 3 Mayor Peterson discussed Gilbert being patriotic and suggested to look at other options for the 4th of July event and questioned how new events could be implemented and how to suggest them to staff. Director Carmona discussed continued interest in additional event opportunities and about sand volleyball as a specific example. He talked about working with Economic Development for interests, adding they would reach out to the appropriate departments to work together in a partnership. He emphasized the benefits of a combined effort. Mayor Peterson pointed out the importance of parks being available to residents and stressed looking at the balance of what was right for the community. She asked that staff continued to bring back new ideas. Councilmember Tilque asked if they were tracking from the medical side. Tourism Administrator Schlottman said they were tracking that through visitation but said the complete details would not be captured. He discussed visitation through healthcare and shared statistics. Councilmember Tilque discussed obstacles in event attendees staying in Gilbert. Tourism Administrator Schlottman discussed spending in the community for overnight visitors in comparison to day visitors and reported Gilbert outperformed the market. He elaborated on amenities of other resort-style overnight lodging in other areas and the importance of pulling those into Gilbert. Mayor Peterson asked how long the fireworks display lasted. Director Carmona stated it was estimated 18 minutes. Director Carmona said the event usually was the same amount of time but talked about multiple fireworks being launched around the same time. He talked about ground effects that others may not have seen and discussed the importance of balance. Vice Mayor Koprowski asked if residents got any preference in purchasing events. Director Carmona said they have not utilized that but said it could be considered going forward. Vice Mayor Koprowski said a little benefit might show some appreciation to Gilbert residents in their willingness to support events. Councilmember Anderson asked if staff was following any of the theme park work in Eloy. Tourism Administrator Schlottman said he was not following any information recently. Councilmember Anderson said some of the difficulty in finding investors was due to climate and asked if Arizona was more viable for theme parks and those events. Tourism Administrator Schlottman talked about the expansion of family-type theme parks and about looking at other options as other seasons in Arizona were more viable for visitors. Director Carmona thanked everyone and said they would continue to look at options. 2. Revitalization and Reinvestment. Redevelopment Program Manager Elliott discussed revitalization and reinvestment, noting the information was already shared with Councilmembers individually. She highlighted the areas of redevelopment area recap, boundaries overview, boundary options, and public outreach. She 4 said the Council’s input was needed on how to get the information to the public and get feedback. Manager Elliott discussed committing to a vision and gathering the input from nine different Mayors and various Councilmembers. She discussed value per acre and buffer areas. She discussed a steering committee, designated timeline, and summarized Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). She spoke of findings of necessity and the nine factors for redevelopment. She said at least one of the nine factors must be present per State statute. She talked about the cohesion of public infrastructure, Commercial and Residential. She discussed the importance of property rights and said there was no property designation in the redevelopment area. She outlined the next steps toward an adoption timeline of June 2022. Manager Elliott talked about residential areas and ways to make Gilbert special. She discussed assessor parcels and provided a map, noting non-homeowner association (HOA) areas and neighborhood neglect, providing pictures of areas within the community. She talked about the utilization of redevelopment and reinvestment in neighborhoods and the importance of a committed vision. She shared an FAQ about not living in the area and caring about redevelopment. She talked about the goal of creating an exceptional area for the residents and retaining vibrancy. She discussed gateways and options with streetscape and placemaking. She provided examples from other cities. Manager Elliott discussed the question of would a larger boundary require a modification to the General Plan. She stated no, because the area was identified as a growth area in General Plan. She discussed stemming the deterioration of the area and overlaying it on top of the growth area. She said a redevelopment will sunset after 10 years and discussed reaching out to the community if more goals were needed to be achieved. She provided a graph on outlining the pros and cons of the process and the importance of public input. She discussed advantages and disadvantages of a redevelopment area and working cohesively in carefully conducting timeline in order to achieve the goals within the timeline. Manager Elliott discussed the importance of public outreach to understand the boundary options and gain input. She talked about boundary determining the process and outlined the three steps: public introduction and boundary feedback, the steering committee recommendation, and the Council boundary decision. Councilmember Anderson asked if it was required to wait until 2028 to change the boundaries. Manager Elliott said the Town did not have to wait but we would have to go through more processes; there was discussion on areas of distress. Councilmember Tilque asked about a map on the General Plan and what was looked at. Manager Elliott showed a map with the overlay and discussed what was developed as a growth area and the recommendation on the redevelopment area. She said the heritage district would not be part of the boundary. Councilmember Anderson talked about expanding north and south to cover some of the commercial properties. 5 Councilmember Tilque discussed focusing on the northwest corridor in regard to redevelopment and growth, adding redevelopment was the natural cycle and the Town was 10 years behind where it should be in having this conversation. She said it was hard to define where to stop and talked about stress points in other areas. She talked about having good community conversation in reinvesting in the community, adding she would like to have a conversation with the community to gain feedback and discussed having some tools for reinvestment. Manager Elliott reiterated the importance in reinvestment. She discussed the five years of public outreach, noting the public overwhelmingly said no and said residents felt we should be developing and focusing on growth before we moved a larger boundary. She was hopeful through public interaction and engagement that the Town could learn what the hope was from the community. Councilmember Yentes shared some reservations and talked about the statutes that define this designation, noting changes come with a host of powers and concerns in raising alarms in the community. She expressed concern in the size of the redevelopment. She recommended a presentation by Legal to better understand what they were stepping into. She talked about tools and making things more flexible for developers and said she would request another meeting at a study session or similar in having a conversation with Council. She said there was a lot to this the Council had not been educated on or taken a deep dive in. Mayor Peterson spoke in agreement in having additional information on some of the details regarding legal aspects and potential impacts to property taxes. She expressed concern in the size of the redevelopment area. She talked about the overlay of the General Plan, adding it was a guideline and said she was concerned with the overlay being over the Heritage District. She said there were still a lot of questions to be had. Councilmember Tilque spoke in support of taking a look at some of the legal considerations. She said the Town needed to be careful in cherry picking in certain areas and expressed possible concerns from areas there were aging. Mayor Peterson agreed and said there were still some questions needing answers and asked if this area could be named something special. She said she envisioned smaller area and cleaning the boundaries. Vice Mayor Koprowski said community impact would be important; Councilmember Anderson spoke in agreement. There was discussion on when the Council first started having this conversation, and Mayor Peterson talked about it being an area of focus for the Council for a while. Manager Elliott summarized the desire of the Council having a legal conversation on public outreach and talked about building a landing page. Town Manager Banger asked if the preference was to do public outreach first or a study session first. Mayor Peterson discussed hearing from the community and addressing some of those concerns along with the legal ones. Vice Mayor Koprowski discussed including other options to move boundaries. Councilmember Yentes supported having a study session as soon as possible to understand the legal aspects before gaining feedback. 6 Councilmember Hendrix asked about Government Property Lease Excise Tax (GPLET). He asked about the challenges related to property and excise tax, discussed effects on school district funding, and asked that the Town finds out what the affect is with considerations in regard to GPLET. Manager Elliott said she would look into that. Councilmember Yentes recommended that discussion be part of the presentation. She outlined more information on the classifications that could be problematic and said it should be part of that conversation. Manager Elliott discussed other areas using GPLET and other districts being utilized. Assistant Town Manager Goodman discussed bringing back other classifications, adding the Town had never implemented GPLET and other communities had entertained those options but Gilbert had not and it was not part of this proposal but could bring forth more information. Town Attorney Payne spoke of the redevelopment statutes and Gilbert Code, adding the statute had been modified over the years. Councilmember Tilque asked Councilmember Yentes to send her list of concerns so legal could prepare information. She asked about the possibility of GPLET and be prepared to further establish intent while being clear and transparent to the public. Town Manager Banger summarized, stating there will be public outreach with that information being brought back to the Council for a study session and legal would bring back a presentation on some of the legal aspects. Mayor Peterson spoke in support of the direction and talked about the opportunity. Development Services Director Mieras discussed some of the tools for property maintenance and preservation. He highlighted the paint reuse program, community development block grants (CDBG), Emergency and Minor Home Repair Program, Community Cleanup resources and assistance, and the Tool Lending Program. He talked about a Property Maintenance Code/ Preservation Ordinance and about the purpose, mentioning some of the municipalities who had adopted an ordinance and some of the options for a pilot ordinance. Councilmember September left the meeting. Vice Mayor Koprowski asked if pilot ordinances could be used for areas with a Parkway Improvement Districts (PKIDs). Director Mieras said he believed they could not, since they were Town-owned. Mayor Peterson liked the idea of a Property Maintenance Code and said she wanted to be generous with it. She asked if some examples could come back to the Council from the cities to show what their codes looked like and what had worked and what had not. Director Mieras said they had begun the work of putting one together and said it was a measure of scaling it back to make it specific to Gilbert. Vice Mayor Koprowski said she supports the Tool Lending Program and talked about tools to help residents tackle their projects. Councilmember Tilque expressed concern on the enforcement with any new code and advocated for providing assistance and educating the community. Town Manager Banger summarized that the staff should take a softer approach and the topic bring back for study session. Assistant Town Manager Goodman asked if it would be a follow up 7 to the northwest growth in concert with one another; the Council believed they needed to be discussed together. 3. Gilbert Land Use. Director Mieras gave a presentation on Gilbert Land Use and provided data on the percentage of Town by Zoning Use for Non-Residential and went into more detail on the industrial, office, and public. Councilmember Tilque asked about some of the vacant areas. Director Mieras provided information on the non-residential totals and outlined both vacant and non-vacant totals. He clarified an error in the calculation and said Town the Non-Residential total should be closer to 30%. He discussed the percentage of Town by Zoning Use for Residential- Single and Multi- Family and the percentage of Town by Land Use for Residential. He provided data on Residential totals for non-vacant and vacant as well as Residential and Non-Residential totals and did a Land Use comparison with other East-Valley communities which was gathered from Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG). Mayor Peterson asked if the information could be sent to the Council with a link to MAG. Director Mieras talked about the use of data and MAG’s training on their data. He provided information on the Power Ranch Planned Area Development (PAD) and the total gross density of 3.7 DU/acre, and Seville PAD with a total gross density of 2.35 DU/acre and stated that he anticipated seeing larger acreage coming forward. He provided examples in the latest single homes and density and talked about what was new in Gilbert. Councilmember Anderson asked how best to deliver the message about what was happening in Gilbert. Mayor Peterson discussed Gilbert being a bedroom community and talked about residents not liking Multi-Family development and Gilbert having low Multi-Family. She talked about the requests from developers on what they want to build, their right to make such request, the Council’s responsibility to approve reasonable requests, and the trouble in finding the balance. Councilmember Tilque spoke in agreement that property owners had the right to ask for zoning modifications and talked about other options other than Multi-Family, adding sometimes those opportunities got lost. She talked about the right to ask for a deviation and talked about the process. She said she would like to better understand the transition from a growing community who had lots of land available to having less land and dealing with infill projects, noting she would like to understand what that looked like. She talked about the importance in understanding the process and guidelines and being able to provide the information to the developers up front. There was discussion on infill projects and trying to prepare. Director Mieras discussed the difficulty in knowing what properties would be released and available in the future and discussed annexations and infill projects. Mayor Peterson clarified that she considered an infill project may differ from that others think and there was discussion on defining the term. Councilmember Tilque discussed the importance in better understanding the different projects and having consistent dialogue on each project. There was discussion on concerns of neighbors living in areas surrounding these projects. Councilmember Tilque 8 discussed understanding inventory and options, and Director Mieras talked about trends and the use of smaller lots. Mayor Peterson talked about the future in subdividing properties later and any implications in that. She talked about resident’s preference in single family development and the changes in what developers want to now build and new residents want to live. There was discussion on a previous project in Vaughn Avenue of Townhomes. Director Mieras shared an experience as well regarding condominiums. Mayor Peterson said many developers would come to her to get an idea of what worked in Gilbert and what did not and said that they still had a right to move forward with their project request despite what may be recommended. Director Mieras said the Town accepts every application whether it supported the project or not and talked about the processes in place for review and having an unbiased process. Councilmember Anderson talked about some of the zoning categories and the historical changes and its impact to the totals shown in the data. There was additional discussion on the costs of homes and the construction. Mayor Peterson discussed the importance in looking at each property differently, seeing the changes, and understanding what was needed. She recommended a future Study Session to understand the pre-application process so that everyone could have a handle on what that looked like in Gilbert. Town Manager Banger discussed approaching build-out and having discussion on infill to understand haps and need. 4. Arizona/Federal Regulations – Small Cell Wireless, Group Home Overview, Short Term Rentals Director Mieras described 5G technology and outlined what Small Cell was and provided pictures for examples. He provided examples in putting up Small Cells on existing poles. He detailed Arizona House Bill (HB) 2365 and FCC-18-133 Order and the impacts to the Town. He stated that staff was proactive in the collaboration and development of Town Ordinances. He provided information on Ordinance No. 2631, which was passed by Council in November 2017, in response to HB2365 as well as the corresponding Resolution No. 3934 that allowed for the establishment of fees. He discussed the Town’s process and outlined the steps and provided statistics on Small Cell and provided insight on the process of some applications. Councilmember Tilque discussed the importance of the conversation on Small Cell and outlined her understanding of the device. She asked if the Town was the only community dealing with the issue. Director Mieras stated that it was an issue happening valley-wide and elaborated on the timing of some of the devices in other communities. Councilmember Tilque talked about demand, residents being upset, and the limited oversight and ability at the local level. Director Mieras discussed relationships with providers and reaching out on processes and the ability for the Town to shut down a project due to safety or incident concerns. Transportation Manager Bridges elaborated on the Ordinance and talked about the work of the internal focus group. Councilmember Tilque discussed neighborhood meetings, outreach, and education to the community. Councilmember Anderson discussed some information that was recently shared at a conference and thought it would be helpful for the Town to use similar information as a handout to residents 9 if concerns were to arise. Mayor Peterson clarified the speaker Councilmember Anderson was referring to and stated that she walked out feeling safer after receiving the information. Vice Mayor Koprowski asked if the Ordinance ensured the Town had the ability to give guidance on the design on the pole or streetlight pole department on the part of Town. Director Mieras confirmed and elaborated. Mayor Peterson asked if the Town did not pass the Ordinance, would companies still be able to construct. Director Mieras confirmed and discussed building in our aesthetics. Mayor Peterson asked how long installation took to construction, and Director Mieras stated he was unsure but explained some of the timelines for the entire process. Group Home Overview – Town Attorney Payne provided general information on Group Homes and talked about the Town’s limitations in oversight. He provided background on Group Homes types and stated they were licensed by Arizona Department of Health Services (AZDHS), Department of Economic Security (DES), or Department of Child Safety (DCS) and discussed the Federal laws that preempted what cities and towns could do. He talked about the Federal Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act and provided some of the definitions of the statutes and specified what was defined as a disabled person. He shared that cities and towns were prohibited from making zoning/Land Sse decisions or policies that exclude or otherwise discriminate. He detailed the State Law with the Arizona Fair Housing Act and provided an overview of Gilbert’s Role and talked about some of the details described in the Town’s Land Development Code (LDC). Vice Mayor Koprowski asked for clarification in the 1,200’ separation as described in the LDC, and Town Attorney Payne clarified that it was regarding separation from another group home. There was further discussion on the statement in Gilbert’s Land Development Code regarding “Prohibition on those who would pose a danger to the community”. Councilmember Anderson talked about the Town’s limited ability to enforce that section of the LDC, and Town Attorney Payne discussed that it would be impossible to know who was in the group home to assert whether a danger existed or not. Chief Soelberg stated that the Police Department was waiting to hear back on ways to better monitor and report. Supervisor DeOrio provided clarification on the language in the LDC and stated that its intent was to serve as guidance to the operators. Councilmember Tilque asked about additional requirements in the LDC for Group Homes, and Director Mieras confirmed that they would not be able to do so because they could not single out Group Homes specifically. Councilmember Tilque asked that staff continue to look into it a little more and talked about reporting and license requirements. She talked about the number of incidents and looking into those options and reporting incidents to Arizona Department of Health Services (AZDHS). 10 Mayor Peterson discussed reporting the number of calls and locations and Gilbert Fire and Police being another set of eyes for AZDHS and could report as appropriate. She discussed the difficulty in licensing, the lengthy process in appealing, and looking into the next steps. Councilmember Tilque discussed the complaints and asked about a mechanism in reporting certain concerns, like Group Homes residents being left unsupervised. She talked about the importance in getting people to the right people to file complaints. There was general discussion on issues in bad operators and revoking licenses and how AZDHS handled their processes. Mayor Peterson talked about concerns, both with the residents being cared for within the homes and residents around the Group Homes. Town Attorney Payne stated that the majority of Group Homes had no issues and talked about the minority in issues with some operators. Chief Soelberg talked about calls for service for mandatory reporting and how that would spike up call numbers. There was discussion on repeat calls and offenses and a balance, and he talked about waiting for feedback from AZDHS on how to handle it. Councilmember Tilque asked about occupancy requirements and enforcement, and Town Attorney Payne talked about the ability to allow for more per AZDHS. There was discussion on how a violation would be reported on a Town permit, and Chief Soelberg confirmed that the Town did not regulate AZDHS issues. Assistant Town Manager Hubbard-Rhineheimer addressed concerns in consistency and potential liability and responsibility in reporting to AZDHS and discussed the importance in learning from AZDHS on what their requirements might be. There was discussion on removing items from the LDC if they could not be enforced and using some of the information from AZDHS licenses to trigger enforcement. Director Mieras provided information on the standards and said, in addition to all other requirements, there were still Building Code requirements. Mayor Peterson asked about renewals of Group Home licenses, and Chief Soelberg confirmed that he thought they were annual but was not sure. Short Term Rental Project Update- Analyst Fasano with the Tax Compliance Department provided an overview on short term rentals (STRs). He provided a definition on what was considered a short term rental and information on Homeowners Associations (HOA’s) and some of the provisions they had. He provided clarification on why some HOA’s implemented something and others did not and stated that in 2016 Gilbert Council adopted language for short term rentals but not a process. He talked about HB2672 and stated it gave cities certain abilities and options. He provided information on civil penalty structure and talked about the rolling 12-month calendar period. He provided information on the internal staff group and discussed the work they did. He discussed the impacts to Gilbert and provided information on incidents and complaints. He said they were projecting 800 units in 2023, expressed concern in the data not being interactive, and talked about partnering with Granicus to have an interactive map with information on owners. He detailed incidents and complaints from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2021. He provided four options to tackle short term rentals and said each option being presented required an outreach and education campaign, short term rental internet page, and appropriate complaint resources. He discussed 11 Option 1: no registration, Option 2: Mandatory registration and no civil penalties at local level, Option 3: Voluntary registration, and Option 4: Mandatory registration with civil penalties at the local level. He talked about tax implications regarding reporting, taxability and tax data. Vice Mayor Koprowski discussed making reports on short term rentals and discussed incidents. Mayor Peterson discussed the process in Scottsdale and having someone designated to overseeing the registration. Vice Mayor Koprowski asked about the difference between registering and having a vendor provide the same information on how many short term rentals existed. Analyst Fasano talked about staff time and the benefit of an outside vendor having the information in a single place for all departments to utilize. Vice Mayor Koprowski asked about the expense in the program, and Analyst Fasano talked about different options and prices available ranging from 10,000 to 40,000 a year. Councilmember Tilque discussed concerns of residents and asked how best to address concerns and make issues better for the residents and their neighborhoods. Vice Mayor Koprowski voiced concern on whether or not STR was an issue that could be remedied. There was discussion on enforcement, reporting, and citing. Councilmember Anderson stated that he favored Option 4 and moving towards being more restrictive as neighboring communities moved towards the same direction. There was further discussion on civil penalties and notifying the State. Councilmember Tilque expressed concern in changing the behavior of some of the STR owners and talked about violations of the law. There was additional discussion on process and criminal and civil penalties. Assistant to the Town Manager Bay detailed some of the previous incidents and stated they were seen in County courts rather than local. Vice Mayor Koprowski asked how much effort there was at the local level to collect fines and talked about educational opportunities to inform residents what Gilberts expectations were as a first step. Mayor Peterson talked about a downloadable document that detailed Gilbert ordinances and resolutions for an education component and discussed the concern in trying to solve a problem with something that won’t entirely solve it. She discussed money up front and the work that needed to be done whether it was staff or an outside vendor and addressed concern in that it would be an ongoing issue. Vice Mayor Koprowski asked if the registration component should be part of the general business registration and asked about the current database being used. Analyst Fasano provided clarification on the picture provided by Granicus and emphasized the need for data and point in time registration. Mayor Peterson stated that she needed more time to think it through and digest the information. Vice Mayor Koprowski asked about complaints being tracked by Gi311. Mayo Peterson asked staff to look into more information and then come back to Town Manager Banger if more questions are asked. ADJOURN Mayor Peterson thanked everyone. Town Manager Banger thanked everyone for their time and summarized the staff direction from Council from the two-day retreat. Mayor Peterson adjourned meeting at 2:54 p.m. 12  ATTEST: ___________________________ ___________________________________ Brigette Peterson, Mayor Chaveli Herrera, MMC, Town Clerk CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the special meeting of the Town Council of the Town of Gilbert held on the 9th day of November, 2021. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this ____ day of ____________________. ___________________________________ Chaveli Herrera, MMC, Town Clerk 13