Planning and Zoning Commission

Jim Harris, Chair Lake Havasu City Tiffany Wilson, Vice Chair Council Chambers Suzannah Ballard 92 Acoma Boulevard South Joan Dzuro Lake Havasu City, Arizona Paul Lehr 86403 Gabriele Medley www.lhcaz.gov JP Thornton Phil Annett, Alternate Mary Costa, Alternate Planning and Zoning Commission Regular Meeting Lonnie Stevenson, Alternate Minutes - Final Wednesday, May 7, 2025 9:00 AM 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Harris called the meeting to order at 9:01 a.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Chair Harris led the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. ROLL CALL Present: 10 - Suzannah Ballard, Joan Dzuro, Paul Lehr, Tiffany Wilson, Lonnie Stevenson, Jim Harris, Gabriele Medley, Mary Costa, JP Thornton and Phil Annett 4. CORRESPONDENCE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS Planning Division Manager Chris Gilbert had no updates at this time. 5. MINUTES ID 25-4769 Approval of the Minutes of the April 16, 2025, Planning & Zoning Commission Regular Meeting (Shelby Hennigan) Vice Chair Wilson moved to approve the Minutes of the April 16, 2025, Planning & Zoning Commission Regular Meeting, seconded by Commissioner Medley. The motion passed with the following vote: Aye: 7 - Ballard, Dzuro, Lehr, Wilson, Harris, Medley and Thornton 6. PUBLIC HEARING Chair Harris provided an overview of the Public Hearing process, noting that as a discussion item, the Commission will not vote to recommend or take any action. ID 25-4765 Planning Commission 2026 General Plan Update Kickoff Meeting (Chris Gilbert) Mr. Gilbert stated today is the General Plan Update (GPU) Kickoff Meeting. Members of the Logan Simpson Team are present. He provided an overview of the GPU: Lake Havasu City Page 1 Printed on 6/4/2025 Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes - Final May 7, 2025 • Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS) requires cities to update General Plans every ten years. • Lake Havasu City is required to update their plan in 2026. • Earlier this year the City retained Logan Simpson Design, Inc. as a consultant to assist with the process after an open bid. • The City Council Kickoff Meeting was April 8, 2025. He introduced Terri Hogan, Project Manager for Logan Simpson. Ms. Hogan introduced the GPU project team, explaining they see themselves as an extension of City Staff. Logan Simpson has been working in planning and development throughout the Rocky Mountain region for approximately 35 years. They are a multiservice company that combines environmental services, cultural services, and community planning, as well as design, landscape, and architecture. Ms. Hogan was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona and has over 35 years in the field of planning and development with experience in all levels of government. After retiring from the City of Buckeye, she had the opportunity to work at Logan Simpson, which has been an extension of her public sector career. She has a passion for planning and serving the public. Ms. Hogan explained Logan Simpson has a broad team, including specialists that work in planning, graphic design, mapping, and more. Because the nature of a general plan includes a wide range of topics, they have several teaming partners that bring functional expertise. Ms. Hogan introduced Col. Rusty Mitchell, USAF, Ret., of Peacemaker Aviation. Col. Mitchell provided an overview of his background, which includes 22 years of active-duty service in the United States Airforce and United Airlines. He also worked as a consultant for Luke Airforce Base, focusing on community planning and development. He is excited to work with Lake Havasu City as he loves the airport and looks forward to discussing its potential. In addition to Peacemaker Aviation, Logan Simpson works with Kimley-Horn to review public services, water resources, and transportation/circulation components. Elliott D. Pollack & Co. will assist with economic components like growth, development, and housing. Ms. Hogan began her presentation, starting with the question of ‘What is a General Plan.' • It is a 30,000-foot policy document for growth and community vision, sometimes referred to as blueprint or map for growth. Lake Havasu City Page 2 Printed on 6/4/2025 Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes - Final May 7, 2025 • It is comprehensive in nature because there are several components and elements. • It is long range. • It is not a zoning map, although the two work together. • It can be changed or amended. • It is not specific, but can help focus master and capital improvement plans. • She reviewed planning hierarchy and how it works. • It is reviewed by the community. The Commission makes a recommendation on the plan, it will be adopted by the City Council, and presented to voters. Ms. Hogan explained the easy answer to why a General Plan is updated every ten years is because it is required by ARS. Cities have the option to re-adopt current plans. The City is moving forward with an update to take into consideration the current temperature, vision, and values of the community to ensure the General Plan is in concert with the community’s vision and goals. Public engagement is a huge part of the GPU. Ms. Hogan explained there are required topics that must be included in the GPU. Because the City's population is over 50,000, it must include all 17 elements. As the draft plan develops, some of those topics may be combined or themed into chapters, but there is statutory criteria to ensure they are all addressed. Ms. Hogan reviewed the structure of the current General Plan, starting with the Vision Statement. They will gather input from the community to determine if the current vision statement still resonates or how it may need to change. The Vision Statement is the overarching vision for the plan and everything else will stem from that. Ms. Hogan explained there are three main components of the General Plan. Two are required, one is not. 1. Future Land Use Map: This sometimes gets confused with zoning. It represents the types of land uses the community would like to see in the future. When a developer asks for rezone, it is required the rezone be in conformance with the Future Land Use Map. If it isn’t, they would need to request an amendment, which requires community input. The Project Team will review current land use designations to determine if they still fit the community’s needs and goals. If they don’t, how can they be update to represent the community's vision? 2. Goals & Policies: Goals & Policies address all the topic areas. She displayed an example of existing Land Use Goals, explaining how they relate to planning by encouraging a mix of housing options, infill, and redevelopment. Logan Simpson will enlist the help of a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), the Commission, and Council to audit the Goal & Policies to determine if current ones are still Lake Havasu City Page 3 Printed on 6/4/2025 Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes - Final May 7, 2025 valid, need revision, or if new ones are needed. 3. Implementation Plan: This is not a statutory requirement, but Ms. Hogan commended cities that include an implementation plan. It is a systematic plan to implement the community’s vision. It often includes things the City already does, but provides structure within the General Plan for how to implement the goals and policies. An implementation plan may include proposed actions, priorities, and timelines. Ms. Hogan gave examples of updating a development code section or amending zoning maps. Vice Chair Wilson asked if teaming partners are the same for every community, or selected based on individual needs. Ms. Hogan confirmed teaming partners vary. When they submit a proposal, they look at the community’s needs to determine what expertise is required. Towns with small populations, for example, don’t require all 17 topics, so they may not need to consult on housing or alternate transportation. Vice Chair Wilson asked if they received guidance during the bidding process. Ms. Hogan explained City Staff put together a Request for Proposals outlining the types of services they are looking for, which they utilized to create their proposal. They also researched the City's services, demographics, needs, and unique features. The City reviewed the proposals and conducted interviews to select a consultant team. During the interview, both City Staff and the consultant team had an opportunity to ask questions. Moving on to Process and Schedule, Ms. Hogan explained that while this is a procedural process, their goal is to make it fun and engage the community through open houses and interactive workshops. There are five main phases to the GPU: Launch, Discover, Envision, Build, & Celebrate. It takes about 1.5 years, from start to finish. She stated the team is wrapping up Launch phase, which involved creating a dedicated webpage, introducing the first questionnaire, Kickoff Meetings, and approval of the Public Education Plan (PEP.) Launch overlaps with Discover phase. Logan Simpson has been collecting data and reports to create an Existing Conditions Report, which will provide an understanding of the base conditions and community needs. It will be truth tested and reviewed by the TAC. The process is designed to include involvement by the Commission and Council throughout the various phases. Ms. Hogan explained Envision and Build phases overlap. Envision involves community input and outreach, which is very much the crux of a GPU. Build is where the project team utilizes input to develop a plan. They will receive public input, build some, and then Lake Havasu City Page 4 Printed on 6/4/2025 Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes - Final May 7, 2025 present the results to the community for additional input. Then, they’ll utilize that to continue building the final draft. It gives the community an opportunity to let them know what they like, what they don’t like, or what needs to be tweaked. After the Envision and Build phases, Ms. Hogan explained there is a statutory 60-day review period in which the draft General Plan is published to the website and sent out to local agencies. Comments received will be incorporated into the final draft, which will go through the legislative process of formal public hearings with the Commission and Council and, hopefully, ratification by voters in November 2026, which concludes Celebrate phase. Ms. Hogan stated public participation is the most important part of this process. The planners could write a beautiful plan, but if the community isn’t involved and it doesn’t reflect the community’s vision it would be meaningless. They want to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to be involved. Ms. Hogan provided an overview of the PEP adopted by City Council at their Kickoff Meeting, noting key participants: • Legislative bodies: The Commission and Council. • TAC Committee: Made up of City Staff to provide expertise in their related fields. • General Plan Steering Committee (GPSC): Made up of community members through an application process. • Members at large: Community stakeholders like health care organizations, educational institutions, government agencies, utility companies, and others. Ms. Hogan reviewed the project branding, which includes a unique logo, tag line, and consistent fonts and colors that will carry throughout the project. The website is live and includes the first questionnaire, FAQs, and links to other resources. As events are scheduled, it will be updated with dates and locations. For those unable to attend in-person, there will be opportunities to participate virtually. People can sign up for alerts to be notified of upcoming events and virtual workshops. Ms. Hogan stated the first questionnaire is live on the website and will be open through mid-June. So far, they have received nearly 500 responses, which is a great turnout. The data gathered will help guide the first community workshop. There are brochures to share with the community. Ms. Hogan explained their strategy is one of inclusive engagement. They want to include everyone in the community to ensure their voice is heard and included in the visioning process. Components include: • Visioning and scenario workshops, both online and virtual. There will be Lake Havasu City Page 5 Printed on 6/4/2025 Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes - Final May 7, 2025 interactive workshops to educate people about the GPU, land use designations, what different types of growth could look like, and what people see for the future. • The 60-day comment period will include in-person and virtual comment opportunities. • E-lists and social media will be used to share information. • 2-D pictures, 3-D mapping, and visual preference exercises will be utilized. • Logan Simpson and City Staff will participate in various drop in events to share information and encourage participation. Commissioner Annett asked how the City’s engagement is at this stage in compared to other communities and what types of numbers they are hoping for. Ms. Hogan responded that engagement varies by community, but in general to have 5% of a community participate makes them happy. Engagement numbers close to 10% makes them very excited. She acknowledged that may seem low, but it just depends on the community. They have had nearly 500 responses to the first questionnaire already. They hardly ever see first questionnaire engagement this high, so she sees good things for public participation in this community. Engagement, sharing information, and educating people is the key to high engagement. Commissioner Stevenson explained one challenge with Lake Havasu City is that we are a unique city with three identities: summer people, winter people, and year-round people. He asked how to engage all three segments when the workshops seem to focus on the summer months. Ms. Hogan noted that is a great question. This is really where the virtual workshops come into play, so it is important to get the website information out to people. The entire process will span the 1.5 years, so there will be opportunities for residents in the fall and winter to participate and provide input. Ms. Hogan explained they utilize participation tracking, which helps identify groups they may be missing, so they can strategize how to engage with those groups. For example, they can tell if they are engaging with different age groups, or if they are missing people from certain demographics. Mr. Gilbert noted the first questionnaire opened in early April when some snowbird were still in town, offering some early exposure to that group. Ms. Hogan stated that as Commissioners and GPU ambassadors, she encourages them to share the website and brochure with groups they are involved with. They have great networks within the community. Lake Havasu City Page 6 Printed on 6/4/2025 Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes - Final May 7, 2025 In closing, Ms. Hogan gave an overview of what to expect the next few months: • Logan Simpson is finalizing the draft Existing Conditions Report. Once it is reviewed by City Staff, it will be available on the website for the public. • City Staff is compiling a list of community stakeholders for listening sessions and interviews, which can be in-person or virtual. • The application and review process for the GPSC is underway. A Kickoff Meeting will be scheduled sometime in June. • The first Visioning Workshop will be scheduled over summer, although a date has not yet been determined. They will identify drop-in events to attend. • The Commission and Council will receive updates throughout the GPU process. • Periodic recaps will be published on the website to keep the public updated. Commissioner Thornton commended Ms. Hogan on an amazing presentation. He loves her passion for planning and community. They have an amazing team at the City and he is glad Logan Simpson is here to work with us throughout this process. Vice Chair Wilson asked how many times they will come back to the Commission throughout the process. Ms. Hogan believed the contract outlined a meeting during each major phase, in addition to the two required Public Hearings, so that would be at four times. City Staff may give additional updates as needed. Mr. Gilbert confirmed the contract has a cap on in-person visits due to cost, but Staff is happy to provide updates. Vice Chair Wilson asked how much involvement Commissioners should have in visioning sessions and open houses. Specifically will the information be the same as what is presented at meetings? Ms. Hogan stated they try to make each event a little different. In a formal meeting, it is hard to do a workshop, so what the Commission will see at meetings will be a summary of where they are, results of the workshops, and discussion. They’ll be asked for input, but it won’t be a workshop per say. She encouraged and invited them to attend and participate in the workshops and open houses. Mr. Gilbert encouraged the Commission to share information with any groups they belong to, or let Staff know of groups they could reach out to. Chair Harris noted professional groups and organizations that Commissioners are involved with, such as Rotary, Elks, professional boards, homeowners associations, and others are great places to start sharing information. Lake Havasu City Page 7 Printed on 6/4/2025 Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes - Final May 7, 2025 Commissioner Dzuro explained she was on the P&Z Commission in Indio, California when they did a GPU and the meetings and workshops are very helpful. In a summary, it is hard to convey all the various comments the City receives, but being able to observe and listen at these events really provides an understanding of what people like and where their focus is. Brochures are a great way to get information out. She’s handed out over 100 to organizations she is involved with and has received positive feedback that people are excited to learn and get involved. Recording Secretary Shelby Hennigan stated Staff will work with the City Clerk to ensure all events and open houses are properly noticed, so the Commission and Council Members can attend and be in compliance with all rules and laws. Commissioner Medley stated the Elk’s Lodge has a large membership and would be happy to host an event. Noting this is a 10-year plan, Chair Harris asked if there has been consideration about the potential of Lake Havasu's airport becoming Class Delta or towered in the future. Col. Mitchell responded this is a question he would ask the community. With the airport location and existing development, the City is in a good position to create a long range plan for the airport. Currently, it likely doesn’t have the number of operations per year to qualify for an FAA or contract tower. He emphasized now is the time for the City to decide how they want the airport to support the City 10 or 15 years from now. Chair Harris noted if the community ever wants to see commercial service, this is the time to plan for it. Good planning also has the potential to generate more military contracts. Col. Mitchell agreed, stating this is the ideal time to have discussions about the airport before there is more infill. The airport runway qualifies for military operations for fighter type aircrafts and that alone is huge in obtaining military contracts. Now is the time for the City to discuss what they want the future of the airport to look like and start planning. Ms. Hogan explained the airport discussion is great when it comes to planning, as it will lead to discussions about land use around the airport. It also provides a great example of what could be a future action item in the Implementation Plan. It could lead to the creation of a future Specific Area Plan or update to the Masterplan to help guide the community’s vision of the airport. With no additional questions or comments from the Commission, Chair Harris thanked Ms. Hogan and Col. Mitchell for their presentation. Lake Havasu City Page 8 Printed on 6/4/2025 Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes - Final May 7, 2025 As this was a discussion item only, a motion was not required and no action was taken. 7. CALL TO PUBLIC Chair Harris opened Call to Public. Bonny Toy, resident, expressed concerns about ADA accessibility of businesses and multifamily properties. She encouraged the City to keep accessibility in mind when considering designs and growth. With no further comments, Chair Harris closed Call to Public. 8. FUTURE MEETING The Planning & Zoning Commission regular meeting scheduled for Wednesday, May 21, 2025, has been cancelled. The next regular meeting of the Commission is scheduled for Wednesday, June 4, 2025. 9. ADJOURNMENT Chair Harris adjourned the meeting at 10:00 a.m. _________________________________________ Jim Harris, Chair _________________________________________ Shelby Hennigan, Recording Secretary Lake Havasu City Page 9 Printed on 6/4/2025