Planning & Zoning Commission

MINUTES OF THE PUBLIC HEARING AND REGULAR MEETING OF THE TOWN OF PINETOP-LAKESIDE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION, HELD ON THURSDAY, AUGUST 24, 2017 IN THE TOWN COUNCIL CHAMBERS LOCATED AT 1360 N. NIELS HANSEN LANE, LAKESIDE, AZ 85929 A. Call to Order Chairman Staley called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m. Roll Call: The following Members were present: Adam Staley Chairman Richard Smith Vice Chairman Mazie Hastings Commission Member John Salskov Commission Member Tim Williams Commission Member Also Present: Cody Blake Community Development Director Chief Morgan Pinetop Fire Department B. Call to the Public Chairman Staley called for public comments. No comments were addressed to the Commission. C. Minutes Member Hastings moved to approve the Minutes of Regular Meeting held on June 8, 2017, with the correction adding Member Williams to the members present. Member Salskov seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. Chairman Staley tabled the Minutes of the Regular Meeting held July 13, 2017, until the next meeting since none of the Members had reviewed the minutes. Minutes of Planning and Zoning Commission Regular Meeting – August 24, 2017 Page 2 Member Salskov moved to approve the Minutes of the Work Session held on August 10, 2017. Member Hastings seconded the motion and the motion carried 4- 1 with Member Williams abstaining since he did not attend the Work Session. D. Staff Reports Community Development Director Blake reported there is a sidewalk being installed along Woodland Road. This project is an ADOT Grant and the Town Council approved the project at the last Town Council meeting. Community Development Director Blake stated construction will not start until the spring of 2018 and he explained it is a sidewalk extension from Navajo Lane to Mountain Meadow Park. Community Development Director Blake stated there is a Town Employee Picnic being held on Saturday, September 9th at Woodland Lake Park beginning at 11:00 a.m. and the Commission is welcomed to attend. Community Development Director Blake announced the Town is sponsoring the Burger Burn on Thursday, September 21st beginning at 5:00 p.m. at Mountain Meadow. In the past the Chamber of Commerce has sponsored the event and the Town is now taking it over. This event welcomes the Run to the Pines participates with a free burger dinner provided by the Town of Pinetop-Lakeside. Community Development Director Blake said the Members are welcome to volunteer to help out at the event. E. Old Business No old business was discussed at this time. F. New Business F.1 Presentation and Discussion by Pinetop Fire Chief Morgan regarding Forest Health and Fire Protection Committee. Chief Morgan, Fire Chief of the Pinetop Fire District, stated he has been the Pinetop Chief for three years and over twenty-six years in the Valley. He says he sees the trees in our community as match sticks, further stating he has experience in the past wild fires in the community. He said his role now is to help mitigate catastrophic wild fires. He said the Town was very diligent putting in place an ordinance shortly after the Rodeo wild fire, but said the ordinance has not been Minutes of Planning and Zoning Commission Regular Meeting – August 24, 2017 Page 3 updated. He said Community Development Director Blake forwarded him the suggested changes the Commission recommended for his review. Chief Morgan met with Mr. Blake, Town Manager Keith Johnson and Councilmember Norris Dodd and discussed putting together a Committee that would look at the Forest Health and Fire Protection Ordinance and provide recommendation to the Town Council for improving the ordinance. Chief Morgan said the Committee would also look at applying for grants, stating one would be a Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program and the other would be a Community Planning Assistance for Wild Fires grant due on September 29, 2017. He said he would like to have representation on the Committee from the Planning and Zoning Commission. He said the first meeting would be held on September 14, 2017, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Executive Room. Community Development Director Blake said he is Firewise certified and he is also the Code Enforcement Officer for the Town, meaning he has the authority by the Town to enforce the Town Code. He said it falls under his department to enforce forest health and fire protection. Further, he stated the Town has not enforced this yet; he took over this responsibility when there were six people in his department. He said he has had over three hundred acres thinned in the Town through code enforcement and grant money. He said now he is a department of one and he will not issue a certificate of occupancy until firewise standards are met on new construction. Chief Morgan said grants can help offset the cost for homeowners to thin their property. He said the fire district has a seven person fuels crew that began in May 2017. This crew comes in and cuts down all of the non-technical trees and a contractor is hired to cut down the technical trees. Arizona Conservation Corps has also been involved in taking trees down on large lots. He said all of the contractors they hire are licensed, bonded and insured. Member Williams volunteered to attend the Forest Health and Fire Protection Ordinance Committee meetings. F.2 Discussion regarding Holding Special Planning and Zoning Commission Work Sessions to Discuss Possible Updates to Town Code Title 17 – Zoning. Chairman Staley said a successful work session was on held on August 10, 2017, and Member Salskov did an excellent job of streamlining the process. He said it is in the Commissions best interest to schedule another work session. Minutes of Planning and Zoning Commission Regular Meeting – August 24, 2017 Page 4 Member Salskov suggested having the meeting end at noon. Chairman Staley asked Member Salskov to take the lead during the next work session. The next work session will be held on September 14, 2017, from 9:00 a.m. to noon. This will take the place of the regular September 14th Planning and Zoning meeting at 6:00 p.m. F.3 Review and Discussion to Determine Possible Updates to Town Code Title 17 – Zoning. Chairman Staley said this will be discussed at the next work session scheduled for September 14, 2017. F.4 Discussion Regarding Any Future Agenda Items Community Development Director Blake stated Verizon is possibly looking at applying for a Conditional Use Permit to place a tower on Woodland Lake Road at the former Pico’s Nursery property. Cell reception in the area is terrible. The Town Code limits the height of a tower to sixty feet and Director Blake does not know if Verizon would be applying for a variance to install a taller tower. Community Development Director Blake said he has contacted a property owner that started a boat and RV storage business on Poplar Drive. He said there is a residence on the property that is a rental, a six foot high fence has been installed with razor wire along the top and the zoning is commercial but it is surrounded by residential uses. He said the code requires a block wall for commercial use and RV and boat storage is not a stated use under C1. Community Development Director Blake said a conditional use permit would be required to operate the business. He also stated a business license was issued to the owner in error. Community Development Director Blake said he left a message for the owner to contact him, but has not heard back from him yet. Minutes of Planning and Zoning Commission Regular Meeting – August 24, 2017 Page 5 G. Adjournment: There being no further business at this time, the meeting was adjourned at approximately 7:00 p.m. Adam Staley Chairman