Town Council

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE HONORABLE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF PINETOP-LAKESIDE, ARIZONA, HELD ON THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2020 IN THE TOWN COUNCIL CHAMBERS LOCATED AT 325 W. WHITE MOUNTAIN BOULEVARD, LAKESIDE, AZ 85929 A. Call to Order Mayor Irwin called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. ➢ Roll Call The following Council Members were present: Stephanie Irwin Mayor Jerry Smith Vice Mayor Kathy Dahnk Council Member Carla Bowen Council Member Jim Snitzer Council Member Mazie Hastings Council Member Lynn Krigbaum Council Member Also, Present: Keith Johnson Town Manager Kevin Rodolph Finance Director Jill Akins Town Clerk Cody Blake Community Development Director Tony Alba Community Services Manager Dan Barnes Chief of Police Guy Willis Commander ➢ Pledge of Allegiance and Invocation Mayor Irwin led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Keith Johnson delivered the Invocation. Minutes of the Town Council Regula Meeting – June 18, 2020 Page 2 B. Call to the Public Mayor Irwin called for Public comments. No comments were offered. C. Consent Agenda Mayor Irwin announced consideration of the Consent Agenda and explained that all items listed would be acted upon by a single vote of the Council, unless a member of the Council asked that specific items be removed from the Consent Agenda, discussed and voted upon separately. Councilmember Dahnk moved for passage of the Consent Agenda as. Vice Chairman Smith seconded the motion and by show of hands the following vote was recorded: AYES ABSTAIN NAYS Mayor Irwin Vice Mayor Smith Council Member Dahnk Council Member Bowen Council Member Snitzer Council Member Hastings Council Member Krigbaum Mayor Irwin then declared that all consent agenda items in these minutes were approved, passed and adopted with a 7-0 vote. C.1 Approval of the Minutes of the Town Council Regular Meeting held on June 4, 2020 By a unanimous vote under the Consent Agenda, Town Council approved the minutes of the Town Council Regular meeting held on June 4, 2020. C.2 Approval of the Minutes of the Town Council Work Session held on June 9, 2020. By a unanimous vote under the Consent Agenda, Town Council approved the minutes of the Town Council Work Session held on June 9, 2020. Minutes of the Town Council Regula Meeting – June 18, 2020 Page 3 C.3 Approval of the Minutes of the Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting held on February 27, 2020. By a unanimous vote under the Consent Agenda, Town Council approved the minutes of the Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting held on February 27, 2020 D. Business Before the Council Mayor Irwin announced that Public Comment will be taken at the beginning of each agenda item, after the subject has been announced by the Mayor and explained by Staff. Any citizen, who wishes, may speak one time for five minutes on each agenda item before or after Council discussion. Questions from Council Members, however, may be directed to staff or a member of the public through the Mayor at any time. D.1 Update and Presentation from Pinetop Fire District. Chief Morgan, Pinetop Fire District, had been dispatched to a wildfire and unfortunately unable to attend the meeting. This agenda item will be postponed until Chief Morgan is available. Robert Ingels provided the following comments: “I just wanted to be seated to hear the presentation by the Fire Department. I value the interaction of groups like that within our community and I was hoping to be in here instead of outside and miss the presentation. I have a great deal of respect for Chief Morgan, his crew and the firewise efforts and very much appreciate the quality of improvements that they have personally done and suggested for our community.” D.2 Information regarding UNS Franchise agreement fact sheet. Town Manager Keith Johnson explained that A.R.S. §9-501 provides that the Town shall not grant a franchise for a public utility unless authorized by a majority vote of the Town’s qualified electors. The Town of Pinetop-Lakeside has determined granting of the proposed franchise for UNS Gas, Inc. will be beneficial to the Town. He said that under Arizona Law, in order to approve a franchise agreement with a utility provider, the mayor and Town Council must (1) adopt a Resolution declaring that the granting of the franchise would be beneficial to the Town; and (2) submit a question to the electors of the Town as to whether or not to grant the franchise. The terms of the proposed franchise agreement will need to be published for at least thirty consecutive days prior to the election and if approved by the voters, the Town may Minutes of the Town Council Regula Meeting – June 18, 2020 Page 4 enter into the agreement. The Franchise Agreement will be on the August 4, 2020 primary election ballot. He explained that in order to answer any questions that citizens may have; Town Staff prepared a FAQ sheet for them to review prior to the election. It will be posted on our Town Facebook page and emailed out through our Talk of the Town newsletter. Town Manager Johnson said the goal for the fact sheet is to address frequently asked questions that the voters may have and said that if there are questions that are not addressed on the fact sheet to call Town Hall with any questions. He explained that the fact sheet is being provided for information only. D.3 Consider the approval of Resolution No. 20-1554 and designating Kevin Rodolph, Finance Director, as the Chief Fiscal Officer (CFO) to file the Annual Expenditure Limitation Report with the Arizona Auditor General. Finance Director Rodolph explained that staff recommends designating Kevin Rodolph, Finance Director, as the Chief Fiscal Officer (CFO) to file the Annual Expenditure Limitation Report with the Arizona Auditor General for FYE 6-30-21. He explained that on an annual basis, municipalities are required to submit an Annual Expenditure Limitation Report (AELR) to the Arizona Auditor General. As required by Arizona Revised Statues §41-1279.07(E), each political subdivision also provides the Auditor General by July 31st each year with the name of the Chief Fiscal Officer (CFO) designated by the governing board of the political subdivision to submit the AELR and certify its accuracy. Vice Mayor Smith moved to adopt Resolution No. 20-1554 and designate Finance Director Kevin Rodolph as the Chief Fiscal Officer (CFO) to file the Annual Expenditure Limitation Report with the Arizona Auditor General. Councilmember Dahnk seconded the motion and by show of hands the following vote was recorded: AYES ABSTAIN NAYS Mayor Irwin Vice Mayor Smith Council Member Dahnk Council Member Bowen Council Member Snitzer Council Member Hastings Council Member Krigbaum Minutes of the Town Council Regula Meeting – June 18, 2020 Page 5 Mayor Irwin then declared that Resolution No. 20-1554 approved, passed and adopted with a 7-0 vote. D.4 Public Hearing and Consider Ordinance No. 20-433 amending the Official Zoning Map of the Town to rezone APN-212-01-036K totaling 25.5 acres from Open Space (OS) to Recreational Vehicle Park Zoning (RVP); Section 16, Township 9 North, Range 22 East, Navajo County. Community Development Director Cody Blake explained that the property was owned by the Forest Service up until last year when a land exchange between the Forest Service and Brett Cote was completed. Brett Cote is now selling portions of the land. GJR Properties is acting as the agent for the property owner and is requesting a zone change on 25.5 acres of APN 212-01-036K. The property will be accessed off White Mountain Blvd. The property is bordered on the north and east by commercial land and a 150-foot buffer has been added between the park and the existing residential properties located to the south. The sale of the property is contingent on the successful application of the zone change. Due to the concerns of the neighbors, the developer has made significant changes to the proposed project in an effort to address many of the concerns. The developer is purchasing an additional 14.5 acres but is not asking for any change in the zoning on that property at this time. Director Blake stated that on June 11, 2020 the Planning and Zoning Commission made a recommendation of approval to the Town Council; five ayes, one nay and one Commissioner abstained from the entire discussion and vote due to being the broker for the real estate office representing the developer. Staff also recommends that the Council approve the requested zone change. Because of its location and ease of access from White Mountain Blvd., the property is an ideal location for a Recreational Vehicle Park. The developer has included a 150-foot buffer between the park and existing residential properties. Additionally, the developer will also maintain as many of the trees on the property as feasible and will prohibit permanent RV residents, RV skirting and built-on decks. Director Blake said that the development of an RV Park will bring additional seasonal visitors to the Town who will contribute to the local economy in various ways, including restaurant, entertainment, and retail sales which could have significant financial impact on the Town. Minutes of the Town Council Regula Meeting – June 18, 2020 Page 6 Director Blake explained that there has been a lot of inaccurate information from various forums and individuals in the community and he said that he wanted to thoroughly go through everything tonight and so that everyone knows what can and cannot be done. Director Blake provided the following time-line for this project and zone request change: This zone Change was first applied for on September 6th , 2019. October 8th , 2019 it was published in the newspaper, letters were sent to property owner within 300 feet and the property was posted for a Planning and Zoning meeting on 10/24/2019 and a Town Council meeting on November 7th 2019. Due to the concerns of the neighbors with the access being off of Vallery lane and requirements from Navajo County the developer asked the Commission to table the meeting to December 12th so that he could try and address the neighbors’ concerns. November 26th , 2019 new letters went out to the property owners and the property was reposted with maps showing the changes to the development, the changes included a 100 foot buffer along Vallery Lane and a new access point off of Saber Lane within the Maverick Commercial Center. The developer thought he had the access secured but just before the meeting on December 12th that fell through and he had to pull his application completely in order to look at other options. May 5th , 2020 we received a new application for the RV Park with a new access point off of White Mountain Blvd and an increased buffer of 150 feet off of Vallery Lane. We could have proceeded with a meeting for May 28th but asked the developer to wait till June 11th so that we would be able to have public at the meeting due to the Covid 19 pandemic, and he agreed. May 26th, 2020 we had the zone change published in the paper, new letters sent to the properties with in 300 feet and posted signage on the property. June 11th, 2020 the Planning and Zoning Commission held the public hearing and recommended approval of the zone change. Director Blake pointed out an error in the Council Decision Request (CDR) that it was not a unanimous decision by the Planning and Zoning Commission to Minutes of the Town Council Regula Meeting – June 18, 2020 Page 7 recommend the approval to the Town Council. The Planning and Zoning Commission recommendation vote was: 5 ayes, 1 nay and 1 abstain. He presented the following information: General Requirements of the RVP Zoning: • Each RV space must be at least 30 feet wide and a total of 1500 square feet. • There must be a minimum of 15 feet between each parked RV. • The RV park must be screened from adjoining lots by a solid 4 to 6 foot wall. • Must be a minimum of 5 acres of land. • Must have 30% open space exclusive of roads and parking spaces, that is approximately 7.65 acres of the 25.5 acres, not including roads or pads for open space. • Presented a preliminary land lay out and plot plan for the park. The developer will present a site plan if the property is rezoned and this would go through the normal plan review process. Citizens concerns addressed: • Noise – Town Code 9.12 addresses noise regulations. • Lights – Town Code 17.104.100 addresses outdoor lighting control. • Density – The Town Code for RV parks deals with the density by requiring minimum lot sized and 30% open space requirement, Timber Mesa fire does look at density, but only for exiting and water requirement, they do not limit density. • We are not rezoning Camp Tatiyee – this is a rumor. • We are not rezoning 360 acres – this is a rumor. • We are not adding a two lane road between Camp Grace and Camp Tatiyee. The property owner is giving the property to the Town for possible emergency entrance. • Access to trails – the property owner will give access to the trail; he will post a sign that prohibits ATVs, but hiking and biking will be allowed as a public trail so that the Town can maintain the parking lot at the trail head. Minutes of the Town Council Regula Meeting – June 18, 2020 Page 8 • Want “open space” designation so that nobody would be able to build on the property. It cannot be legally designated as open space or prevent any development on the owner’s land. • Forest Service does not state that the land can only be used for low density development. • Distance from the RV Park to Camp Tatiyee, owned by the Lions Club and and leased by Camp Tatiyee (the Lions Club is in favor of the rezoning, Camp Tatiyee is not) 365 feet approx. from corner of RV park to the Lions Club property line. From the corner of the RV park to the closet cabin at Camp Tatiyee is approximatley 1450 feet. The closest building from the highway is 150 feet. Noise from RV park will not interfere with Camp Tatiyee. • Land donation by property owner – land between Camp Grace and Camp Tatiyee – property owner is donating to the Town to maintain the trail head parking lot and trail. The trail does go onto the Lions property and Camp Tatityee and the Town will eventually take over ownership of the trail to maintain for public use. • General Plan – “in applying an open space element or a growth element of a general plan a municipality shall not designate private land or state trust land as open space, recreation, conservation or agriculture unless the municipality receives written consent from the land owner.” He said that we do not have that consent from the land owner. • Forest Service environmental impact statement – “future uses or development of the land conveyed out of federal ownership would become subject to all applicable laws, regulations, and zoning authorities of state and local governing bodies.” In response to Councilmember Dahnk, Director Blake said that even in the General Plan that open space is difficult to define and basically the Town has designated all Federally owned land as open space and designated open space within a subdivision. Certain tracks or drainage areas within a subdivision would be considered open space. He said that parks, ramada areas, drainage areas and walking paths can be considered open space. Minutes of the Town Council Regula Meeting – June 18, 2020 Page 9 In response to Councilmember Dahnk, Director Blake said that there would be a park manager on site. Mr. James Gabbmayer, potential developer, said that there will be an on-site camp host or manager at all times. In response to Councilmember Krigbaum, Director Blake confirmed that the RV pads cannot be counted as open space. He said that park roads and parking spaces cannot be counted as open space. Councilmember Krigbaum said that density seems to be a concern and she said that walking paths and other forms of open space in the park will change the density. Councilmember Snitzer said most of the concerns and issues are with the site plan and mixing it up with zoning issues. He suggested that if the zoning is approved, which would normally be the end of it and Director Blake would approve the site plan, the site plan be approved by Town Council and a public hearing held. Mayor Irwin said that she agrees and said it has been discussed to have the Town Council review the site plan. She said that this is a very serious issue and said that citizens need to know their concerns are being met as much as possible along with the developer’s interests. She said that we all have to work together on this. Councilmember Krigbaum said that she agrees and asked if there is a conditional acceptance of a zoning change? Director Blake said that a time limit can be suggested, and restriction can be put on the approval, but said it is a sticky wicket. If the developer spends $100,000.00 on a site plan and surveys and brings it back to Town Council and it is not approved, just based on the site plan, instead of suggesting changes to the site plan, this would really put the developer in a bind having spent all of that money. He said the Town also has to be fair and consistent and treating future zone changes and site plans equally. He said that the zone change can be approved and then the site plan would have to be approved, staying with Town Code, as a conditional of the approval would be alright; but if you make the zoning subject to the approval of the site plan that puts the developer in a bind after spending a large sum of money and then the Town Council turns down the site plan and zone change he would be out $100,000.00. Councilmember Krigbaum said that it seems that there should be more input at this point and making a firm decision regarding something that is concerning so many Minutes of the Town Council Regula Meeting – June 18, 2020 Page 10 people She said there seems to be a lot of “what ifs” and the density makes me uncomfortable and is such a big question. She said the open space requirement has not been fully addressed or the length of stay, concrete pads, location of hook-ups and open space. Director Blake addressed Councilmember Krigbaum’s concerns and said that it is not required in a zone change and would be addressed in the site plan. He said that a site plan is very expensive and typically that much detail is not required for a zone change. He explained that architects, engineers, land surveyors and flood plan surveyors is very expensive and we do not want the developer to spend money and not approve the zone change. The conceptional site plan is for information only and not for the final project and said that this is the typical process that the Town does. He explained that all site plans change after the initial approval before moving forward with the project. He said it is the Council’s decision if these requirements are to be made. Mayor Irwin stated that the Planning and Zoning Commission made a recommendation that there would not be any skirting or no out buildings or sheds and she said by her definition that would make it temporary. She said it is a seasonal park and people will not be living there year around. She said these are a couple of issues that have already been addressed. She said she has a problem with hearing that this has been rushed through and the time line from Director Blake this has been going on since last September 2019, it has been published in the newspaper and there have been several meetings. She said that there has been a lot of notice and discussion regarding this item and she does not feel that this has been rushed through by any means. She said most of the issues are site plan issues and the Town code does address those issues, for example the 30% open space is very clear in the code. Councilmember Bowen said what may be confusing is the fact that the Forest Service exchange took almost thirty years and said that this is something that is not new and it is certainly not something that happened over night. She said that Mr. Cote has worked hard to try and maintain a relationship with the community and do what he feels is necessary as has the developer. She said anything cannot take place on that property without being rezoned and she said that the reference to rezoning is a misnomer, because nothing can happen unless it is zoned. She said that it does not matter who comes before the Council there has to be zoning in place on the property and said that she is a property rights advocate for individuals. As long as compliance is being met regarding zoning, people have a right to develop their property and if something goes wrong then you have the ordinances to follow. She said right now there are VRBO’s and Airbnb’s in the Country Club and people are selling their Minutes of the Town Council Regula Meeting – June 18, 2020 Page 11 homes because there are half a million dollar homes where there are parties all night long and Navajo County does not have any ordinances to control this and there is nothing the county or homeowners can do about it. She said that having this in the Town is something that can be controlled by ordinance. She repeated that she is a proponent of property rights. She said that as her viewpoint as a broker the Town does not need any more residential lots on this mountain. She said she pulled up sixty-eight pages of vacant lots available just in the area. When you are looking at a piece of property as the highest and best use for the property, the highest and best use is to be able to generate income for the Town. She explained that residential homes do not do that and said the Town does not get one penny off of residential homes in the Town, not one penny. Everything is on the back of the business owners and said that when we get a chance to have something come in that generates income for the Town, because if the stay is less than thirty days sales tax has to be charged. She said that the space rent at Hon-Dah RV park is $511.00 per month plus tax. She said that the Town has been trying to get tax on VRBO’s and Airbnb’s and it is just impossible to try and police, even though it is state statute that they have to register with the counties in which they reside to pay that tax. She said there is a lot going on, but said that her bottom line is as a property rights advocate. Councilmember Hastings said that Director Blake had explained to her that the property owner plans to someday build and reside on the property. She said that the developer’s vision is different than Hon-Dah and said that she is not impressed with Hon-Dah. She understands that this is difficult for the neighbors, but said that we cannot choose our neighbors, we only have the right to choose the zoning and enforce the codes. She said that recreational owners have expensive rigs and staying for the summer can lead to permanent residents, like it did for her. She said that the developers should be looked at and considered and the property could be zoned commercial and developed and said that this may be the best choice for the property. Director Blake said when the land swap was first discussed, approximately five years ago, and a conceptual plan was brought in for and there were apartments on the entire property and said that it could be much worse. Vice Mayor Smith agrees with Councilmember Bowen regarding property rights and he said that property rights are very important in this discussion. He said that the businesses in Town would argue with this zoning and this could really help the Town to have the extra business. He stated that the Town does not get any property taxes if the property was subdivided. We do not get property taxes. He said that there is a real need for this kind of an RV park and said that there are a lot of people that come up here for the summertime and they would like to stay in Pinetop-Lakeside, Minutes of the Town Council Regula Meeting – June 18, 2020 Page 12 but they cannot, there is not enough space for them to stay in Town. He feels that this is a smart decision for them to develop this for this particular use. He said it will be full very rapidly and it will probably stay full all summer and he feels this is a good thing for the Town. He said to drive home a point that Director Blake made, if you or anyone, really wanted this property to remain open space, they could have bought it, donated it to the Town and it would remain open space, but nobody wants to spend that kind of money and donate the land to the Town but that is an option. Councilmember Bowen said that her view of an RV park is really nice recreational vehicles. James Gappmayer, JGR Properties, said that Director Blake was correct when he stated that on the ten-acre piece he and his two partners plan to build their homes on that parcel. He said that there is a four-acre piece on Vallery Lane that would be residential. He said that part of the reason that the site plan is the way it is, is because it has been changed three times trying to make people happy. He said that in talking to Director Blake about the road and where the RV would be parked is not considered open space, but the rest of the 1800 square feet at the site, where there would be trees, could be considered open space. He feels that would more than meet there 30% open space requirement. He explained that another reason why the site plan is not 100% complete is that they want to walk the property with Director Blake and the fire district or forester and remove the trees that need to come out first. He said that the RV spots are at different angles because they are going to try and fit the spots between the trees. But first they will have to remove dead, sick or dying trees and then designate the RV spots. He explained that each pad will have a concrete stoop and the utility hook-up would be on the back of the spot. He said that the roads will be gravel. He said they want the park too feel like you are still in the pine trees and they do not want black top and the feel of a parking lot. Mayor Irwin said that the gravel roads will help with the remaining trees as well and said that if this was zoned a sub-division there would be more paved roads and much more devastating to the health of any remaining trees. Mr. Gappmayer said that if the property was zoned one-acre lots with roads there would be a lot more trees removed. Councilmember Snitzer encourages Mr. Gappmayer to put in public access trails because the neighbors have been using the trail access for a long time. He said that the trail is heavily used and the community values this as a recreational area and said that he hopes this will be incorporated into the site plan. Minutes of the Town Council Regula Meeting – June 18, 2020 Page 13 Mr. Gappmayer said that he is working with his insurance company regarding what his liability would be to leave the trail access. Mr. Gappmayer said that they plan on letting residents stay seven to eight months at the most and might allow a few spaces open during the winter for skiers, but he said that there would be no permanent year around residents. Councilmember Bowen mentioned that someone would have to maintain the trails. Councilmembers Snitzer and Krigbaum said that TRACKS would maintain the trails. Councilmember Bowen said what happens when TRACKS members die and said that she is very serious about who would maintain the trails. Councilmember Snitzer said that any trails on the land would be the responsibility of the landowner and if he gives an easement to the Town then it would be the Town’s responsibility. They would try to get TRACKS to maintain a public access trail and with the acquisition of Woodland Lake Park he fully expects TRACKS to help maintain those trails. Councilmember Bowen said that her point is that if you are saying that the Town needs to take over an easement, then here we go again increasing the budget of the Town that does not have the budget to be able to maintain those things. She said that she is very concerned about spending that kind of money from a very lean and mean budget. She said that she keeps a scrap book on developments that have taken place on the mountain the last twenty-five years and as she was going through it today it was like looking at what is going on at this meeting. She said that it does not seem to matter what development it is, what is going to happen with it, everybody just likes to look at the trees and they do not want to see anything developed. She said it is like Vice Mayor Smith said, if you do not want it developed then buy it. She said as a municipality we are strapped as to what we can do legally. In response to Councilmember Krigbaum, Mr. Gappmayer explained that the plan is to complete Phase 1 as soon as possible. He said that all of the utilities have to be figured out and if the zone change passes then they would begin working on the utilities. He said that Phases 2, 3 and 4 would depend on how full the park stays and said that is why those phases are not currently being worked on. He said that they want to complete Phase 1 and possibly some RV storage and see how those two do. Minutes of the Town Council Regula Meeting – June 18, 2020 Page 14 In response to Councilmember Bowen, Mr. Gappmayer said that they do plan to have on-site RV storage in a separate contained area. Mayor Irwin said that RV storage would be addressed in the site plan review. Councilmember Snitzer agreed that this would be a site plan issue and we are here to discuss zoning. Town Manager Johnson added that one thing regarding the site plan and said that the main reason he and Director Blake suggested the conceptual site plan was to provide a conceptual idea and said that there is nothing in stone regarding the site plan and that it is just a conceptual idea. This plan is not even close to what the actual plan will look like and said that Mr. Gappmayer has a lot of money to spend in order to create a beautiful, quality site that will be a tribute to this community. Director Blake added that an ADOT traffic study report was done for Phase 1 of the project and the property owner Brett Cote did receive a response back from ADOT requiring a decel lane into the park coming off of the highway from Show Low and said it would not require a light per ADOT rules until 516 units were installed, which this park will never have that many units. When a commercial development is built on the front of the property, then ADOT will require a light. In response to Vice Mayor Smith, Director Blake said that a left-hand turn lane would not be required because there is a center turn lane. In response to Councilmember Krigbaum, Director Blake said that the property owner would not give access off of Savor Lane, but said that Joys Furniture will allow an emergency exit through the property but not as a primary entrance or exit. Mr. Brett Cote, property owner, said that it has been a pleasure working with the Town, he has enjoyed the process and said that this land represents, not only a long exchange process, but represents his dad’s real estate work of a lifetime. He said that he supports this project and feels that it is a good fit for the area. He said that his family has been in the camping business for over one hundred years and he said that camps survive as the community grows up around them. He said that his grandfathe’rs first business was a camp and his second business was a place for the parents to stay. He said that the front of the property is zoned commercial and with the Maverick Center and the Fun Park, he feels that this RV park makes sense for the location. He said that this is the right developer and the right purpose for this land. Minutes of the Town Council Regula Meeting – June 18, 2020 Page 15 Mayor Irwin called for public hearing to allow comments on this matter. Charles Kermes, 5343 Vallery Lane, Lakeside, offered the following comments: “I am impacted by the project. My wife and I have been in Town for 36 years and this is Arizona and I am a property rights person. I have a couple of things to add, this is a really high density project and if it goes to the 4th or 5th stage it will exceed the number of residents living in the Mountain Gate development across the highway. There is not PUD for this thing and it is built on a third of the acreage of Mountain Gate. Is the change consistent with the needs of the Town, and I don’t think it is. It is definitely not consistent with the neighborhood needs. Do we really want an RV park 150-feet from our driveway. Imagine the 4th of July, long weekends, Phase 1 with 81 possible trailers, an average of 4 people per trailer that is 324 people on the acres. Whether there is open space or not, that is a lot of people. A camping experience is being marketed for a high density project. There is no public access to recreational property. Correct me if I am wrong, but this is sited on four corners by private property. There is no public land that people can go too. If it is approved guests at the property will have no where to go on foot, ATV’s, which everyone has now, bicycle or other means. And they will be coming into our neighborhoods. It is busy now with the COVID stuff, we have a lot of people wandering around. I had a guy come up to my back door last week and he asked me if I wanted to sell a couple of items from my yard. That is a big issue. The fact that people will wander down the highway to get to the scenic overlook trail, they will wander in the neighborhood, and I don’t just mean down Vallery Lane, but on Birch Drive and all of these neighborhoods will be inundated with people. And that is just in the first phase. They really have no where to go. I have a couple of things additionally to what I have in my letter and the first one is that the homeowners on the west end of Vallery Lane have asked the County to provide road maintenance to see to it that an engineering plan was applied to Vallery Lane and that is part of the reason it had to be moved. In a way, I am kind of sorry for that, because I thought it was something that we had to do as a neighborhood. Overwise we would have the RV entrance and exit in front of our homes. This is not great. Second, the Town plan is to increase the number of residents so that federal and state flow through funds, like HURF and other opportunities will be available to us. Annexation of neighborhoods adjoining the Town are the most correct methods to increase the Town population. I read that 10,000 was a number for that. This project or a section of it will make people think twice about signing an annexation paper.” Councilmember Snitzer said that Councilmember Bowen said something about legal rights of property owners but nobody has said what that means. He said that his Minutes of the Town Council Regula Meeting – June 18, 2020 Page 16 understanding, which has to do with private property rights, is that if a private property owner comes to the Town and petitions a zone change and if we deny a petition for a zone change, we must provide the reason for the denial. If we fail to provide a reason, he is entitled to come back and ask for a reason and a chance to cure whatever we do not like. He said that is legally enforceable, he would be able to go to any judge and a judge would just issue a court order to give him a reason. He said that the minute we give a reason that would be open to court challenge, so we have to give a reason that would stand up in court. It cannot be that we just do not want something in our back yard. He said that he understands that argument. He said that he has been here since 1950 and condo’s were built along his property line and he said he was not happy about it at first, but I have learned to live with my neighbors. He asked Mr. Kermes what would be the reason to vote against the zone request? If these were apartment houses it would be about the same density. Mr. Kermes said this is a large project and it is bigger than the project across the highway that has a PUD. He said that if he was asked to make a decision like this, he would like to see more than is what is on that site plan. Councilmember Snitzer says he understands his point, but that is a site plan issue and he is talking about a zoning issue. Mr. Kermes says that he understands but disagrees because how can you make a decision when there is a project of this size and you do not have all of the information available on the site plan. He said that the last part he wanted to ask the Council to do, it is has been a week since the Planning and Zoning Meeting and he understands that the owner and the developer want to get on with this project, but this is really, really an important decision. Ms. Suzann Bingham, 5169 Valley Lane, Lakeside, addressed the Council: “Your question about what I do not like is that high density in that area, we have low density now, and there is acreage in the area, there are half acres across on Lockwood and so the use does not match. To put high density in that area of the 320 acres of the RV park in our area, we live across the street from the property being discussed tonight, we oppose the zoning change for several reasons. Our neighborhood is quiet and peaceful and we enjoy our acre and a quarter property. We sit out on the porch and enjoy the birds that frequent our yard, we have seen deer in our yard as well as javelina, bear, coyote, chipmunks, elk, ground squirrels and the elks were buggling it was so cool. We have chickens and goats and many other pets and the area is low density and we moved to the area thinking the property stay Forest Service until 2004. We want to retire here so we oppose the zoning change to RVP Minutes of the Town Council Regula Meeting – June 18, 2020 Page 17 and because it will increase the neighborhood to high density and will add more noise and trash, light and smoke from campfires, barking dogs, etc. We walked down the street last night and smelled the neighbors trash and we thought about what we may smell with the additional trash receptacles from 320 additional sites. When I talked to the neighborhood people in Blue Spruce the residents told me that they had traffic in the area during the summer that is so bad. Where will these people go to ride their ATV’s? Walk their dogs, ride their bikes, drive their cars, etc. I can see them using the other areas of the forest, Vallery Lane and the other neighborhoods for their recreational enjoyment at our expense. Keeping the zoning as open space matches the area of low density. As I walked around our neighborhood and elsewhere getting my petition signed, I found out that no one wants this area rezoned to allow an RV park, and I went as far as Woodland Hills. We are worried about evacuation of the park onto Vallery Lane. If we are evacuated because of a fire we will be following these vehicles all of the way out of Town. We could be trapped and not being able to get out, not to mention the fact that they could have started the fire in the first place. It concerns us that potential tourists will be added to the already congested Town during the summer season. I can’t even think about the 4 th of July weekend with vehicles coming into Town on Thursday or Friday night and on Monday to go home, motor homes and trucks and trailers trying to turn left onto White Mountain Boulevard to leave would be a big traffic hazard. I think that ADOT answered the first question about zoning but not the other three for the park. Walmart and Safeway are already packed with people and running low on supplies. The additional families will deplete supplies for our family cookouts. And with COVID? What about toilet paper? The twenty-five and a half acre property will produce some property tax for the land, but that will be minimal compared to what an acre housing development would add to our Town’s tax base. Blue Ridge School District is lacking in funding that only comes from the Town’s property tax or sales tax. They need this revenue. They are suffering, they need to pay their teachers like other districts and they do not have the funding. We had a barking dog that we had to listen to for years and you could even hear it through the windows. Who will police this activity in the park? There is a light ordinance in the Town, but we can see lights from Walmart and the Family Fun Park. My husband likes to look at the stars and other groups might enjoy coming in and looking at the stars.” Mayor Irwin said that she would like to address a couple of things, the Town does not collect property taxes, however the school district would gain property taxes from commercially zoned property as opposed to residentially zoned property, because they are taxed at a higher rate. She said her comment was not 100% accurate. Minutes of the Town Council Regula Meeting – June 18, 2020 Page 18 Ms. Bingham said she thought that an RV park would be residential and would have property tax and if they had acre properties like it is already zoned they would get more money. Mayor Irwin said no and explained that an RV park is commercial and stated that the Town does not collect property tax and that the school district levies taxes and the Town of Pinetop-Lakeside does not receive property taxes. Councilmember Snitzer said that many of the issues Ms. Bingham raised are site plan type issues and what affects zoning, I think your main concern is density. He said it is roughly the same as R-3 zoning which we have all over Town. Ms. Bingham said that the General Plan of 2015 are you going to go by that? The Council responded that they are following the General Plan. Councilmember Snitzer said that he was on the Planning and Zoning Commission when the General Plan was being worked on and he said from a zoning stand point this is consistent with the General Plan. He said that the General Plan talks about having a diversified base and trying to in fill. He said that if the zoning is approved he hopes that she will attend the site plan review meeting. He said at the time the General Plan was done back in 2015 we surveyed the Town and there are always people that are against development, but he said that most people were saying they want to improve the economy, have economic development and our children be able to stay on the mountain and not have to leave, but they also said they did not want to lose what is already here. He said a lot of people come here and think if we let more people come the Town will go to hell. He said that he came here in 1950 and the Town has not gone to hell and I can tell you what it was like in 1950, people were hungry in the winter up here, but for a kid it was paradise. He said right now we are just focusing on zoning issues and the legality of the zoning decision. He said the Town Council is obligated to protect the property rights of the landowner and we will never be able to make everyone happy. He said he has received letters that people like the development, but just not in my backyard, well if it is not in your backyard it will be in somebody else’s backyard. He said that several people have said to put it somewhere else, but nobody has provided a parcel number of where else to the park and he said there is actually precious little chunks of land that this could go on, in fact I am not aware of any. Mr. Maurice Colwell 457 W. Apache Lane, addressed the Council: “I have a slightly different take on this, because everyday I drive by the Lakeside Ranger District and Minutes of the Town Council Regula Meeting – June 18, 2020 Page 19 see on the left and I go north, an abandoned campground, and with this Council, some of you have experienced dealing for the Forest Service and negotiating deals, and I am wondering if a developer has ever been encouraged to sit down with the Forest Service, with your help, and perhaps take on the resurrection of that abandoned campground, there off of Highway 260. I agree, we need a really nice new campground. I am not opposed to that at all, but I hear some legitimate concerns being discussed. What if you vote this down, what if you decide to put it on the table for now, or for thirty days. What is he going to do? Maybe take on that abandoned campground with the Forest Service permission. We need something.” Mayor Irwin explained to Mr. Colwell that it took over thirty years to get this parcel and I do not think that Mr. Gappmayer and his family is interested in waiting another thirty years. She said that we need to get some things going in our community now. That is a valid suggestion, and maybe there is somebody else that would be interested in taking this on. Mr. Colwell said that he hopes someone would take it on and fix up the campground because we really need it. Councilmember Snitzer said that his property ends where the campground property starts and the way I come into my property is actually a road across that. He explained that it is a single parcel, about eighty acres, going from the edge of the campground north. He said the Forest Services works in a weird way and explained that a land trade is of one parcel and someone would have to take on the entire eighty acres. If it was a government body that wanted to acquire it, they could maybe speed it through in four or five years. If it was a private property buyer it could take up to twenty years. Councilmember Bowen she has been here for thirty-four years and she works with people that have been interested in that parcel, but this property that was Forest Service was not the only piece that was traded. The Forest Service does not look at trading small parcels, about ten parcels were traded, from all over the state, of Mr. Cote’s property. Councilmember Snitzer agreed and said that the Forest Services does not want to go through all of that effort multiple times. Mr. Robert Ingels, Penrod Lake, Pinetop, addressed the Council: “I’ve been a resident since 1978, bought properties and never requested a zone change. I believe in property rights also, my home is on a R-Low property, my business is on a C-1 Minutes of the Town Council Regula Meeting – June 18, 2020 Page 20 zoned property. Property rights are important. The land exchange that occurred here, I may be incorrect, but, I understood that the Forest Service land exchange that was done in 2017 depended somewhat on the Town Council complying with our General Plan and zoning ordinances because of the wording. As I read it here, was the document of record that talked about that land being conveyed to the Lions Club and Camp Tatiyee would maintain that and then the gateway would the land going to the Town of Pinetop-Lakeside and would be developed in a compatible manner, and so, I have some concerns as I have heard expressed here. I understand the need to have income to the Town of Pinetop-Lakeside, we need sales tax revenue, which creates basically the largest income. The population count for those of us that are fulltime residents here also helps, but this to me is something that has come about very quickly, what occurred at the Planning and Zoning meeting being last week and now we did hear that ADOT did provide the actual traffic study. A week ago we didn’t need a decel lane and I visualize trucks with boats and ATV’s on it and we own property that we access on Show Low Lake Road and our business is next to the Timber Mesa Fire Station, so we know how heavy traffic is. This is reassuring that whatever development would go in there and the property rights right now, one residential unit per acre for the entire three hundred acres. Is this parcel that is going to approach soon one hundred acres of RV park or commercial zoning, as maybe the end of July comes around, the intensity of use of the highway is going to be a concern. That property presently is not annexed into the Pinetop-Lakeside Sanitary District and the needs of addressing some of the upgrades to the lift station, all of this stuff seems to me that it should be or have been already brought forth. In your packet Council you saw there was a presentation by the Town Manager and the developer back in December 2019 expressing concerns about trying to conceptual plan this out and it seems we ae doing little pieces at a time. The parcel for Phase 1, when I heard Director Blake say that the open space has been agreed upon now, of all of the open spaces not being parked on, so when these things roll in and the slide outs come out on each side and all of the utilities are ran down the back of where these units are all of a sudden that open space is getting consumed by either overhanging or ground utilities, these foot prints of these units when they are set-up and 30% of the base requirement all of a sudden doesn’t become that valuable or useful. Those things, in my opinion, should be laid in these gravel roads so that you have useable open space instead of stepping onto pavement. Other things that came up, I think the Forest Service campground would be a wonderful place to refurbish for the park. Other things that came out as far as common areas, laundry facilities, open space and ramadas, as well as an on-site resident, not of that if shown on this first site plan. To rezone tonight the whole acreage, where nowhere in this community do we have an RV park zoning now to know if a 4 to 6 foot wall is Minutes of the Town Council Regula Meeting – June 18, 2020 Page 21 adequate or should it be taller, the paved entrance, I know ADOT would require leaving the highway, does that turn to gravel right away?” Mayor Irwin said that Mr. Ingels had referenced the economic impact to the Town of Pinetop-Lakeside and our treasury and I am also looking at the economic impact to the whole community, the businesses surrounding the park, the grocery stores, all of the businesses and several business around there are going to benefit from having more people there. For you to state that the Town is going after the Town treasury that is really not fair, it is helping community wide. She said that Mr. Ingels was on the Planning and Zoning Commission, and as you know, we do not get plot plans before the zoning, so I do not know why you expect it now and I think it is unreasonable and I believe that Councilmember Snitzer has addressed that very well. Councilmember Snitzer said a lot of the things that Mr. Ingels said I agree are issues, but those are site plan issues and tonight this is only a zoning hearing. From a zoning standpoint, if we do not approve this zoning, what would I tell the judge the reason for not approving the zone change and what would be justified ignoring the owner’s property rights. Mr. Ingels said that the land use goals that are in the general plan that was adopted before the Forest Service did the land exchange, that would be the reason that this does not comply with the General Plan adopted by citizens. Councilmember Snitzer asked where in the General Plan, because he said that he helped write the General Plan and there are places in the General Plan where it says economic development, infill and quality development and this meets all of those things. Mr. Ingels read a statement of the General Plan “Utilize a system for land use planning that is clear, easy to use, reinforces the vision, goals and objectives of the General Plan, and ensures the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of Pinetop- Lakeside and the surrounding area.” I think the lack of the information that is presently available does not warrant granting the zone change at this time into the RV park zoning. If it was a sub division I would not have a problem, it is very clear how to move forward and the process and what is required. He said that we are to trust that the site plan will address the issues and that we will have to wait for that. Hopefully there will be a public hearing for the site plan and I have heard the suggestion that it would come back to the Town Council. He does not believe our code requires site plan approval to be a public hearing. Minutes of the Town Council Regula Meeting – June 18, 2020 Page 22 Councilmember Snitzer said that it does not require a public hearing for approval and that is why he is suggesting if the zone change is approved I will motion that after Director Blake reviews the site plan and has approval from Planning and Zoning, because they are people with the expertise, and then make a recommendation to bring to the Council and the Council will make the final judgement, a similar process that is being done for the zone change. He said that this is normally not done for a site plan. Mayor Irwin said that the lift station and the annexation of the sanitary district will have to be done and would be on the developer to complete. Councilmember Bowen said that the current lift station was built in 1980, forty years old, and the sanitary district has been planning to replace that for quite a while and she said the developer would have to take care of this as part of their cost, which will be a huge cost. The sanitary district is not at capacity and there would be no problem handling this. Mayor Irwin stated that would benefit a lot more people than just the RV park. Mr. Gerold Clark, 4901 Vallery Lane, Lakeside, gave the following comments to the Council: “Most of the things that I was going to bring up have already been brought up, I think what I have is a question to you. I live at 4901 Vallery Lane and I’ve lived there for 38 years and I’ve noticed when there is a hard rain comes in there that both streets funnel right into there at my street. I have complained about this to the county, about fifteen years ago, and they put in drainage, my reasoning is we have young children that stand there and catch a school bus every morning during school days and I have sat on my porch and seen the water and that ditch outside my house I would guess is at least five foot and when we get a hard rain it gets so much water from Birch Drive and it all comes down and drains right there by the church, it goes across the road into the development that they are coming up with. I don’t know if anybody has ever noticed this or not but there is a lot of water than comes down through there and I brought it up that some kid is going to be drowned because of it in the whole area. They had come out and put the larger pipes in, but still, it is only once in a while, that this happens, but we still have a problem with our drainage right there in that area. Now I’m wondering about the people that have motor homes, and are any areas here that are requesting it this is going to go into their areas once this is built.” Mayor Irwin said that is a good question. She said that she walked the property and there was a drainage issue that we commented on to the developer that this will have Minutes of the Town Council Regula Meeting – June 18, 2020 Page 23 to be worked on. He will have to engineer all of the drainage. Everything that comes down the hill off of the Blue Spruce area, probably your street, feeds onto the property and this would be part of the engineering that would have to take place. Mr. Clark said that there is a ditch that comes from Rainbow Lake and it goes right across the top of the property right there. Ms. Jennifer Brimhall, 1407 W. Woodland Lake Road, Lakeside, provided the following comments: “Actually I have a couple of questions, from the developer standpoint, because I am a neighbor. My biggest concern that I have is the lack of information, lack of direction. I am in total agreement that it is not fair for James to put tons of money into developing something that we don’t have as a Town real stringent rules or regulations. So, if we had all of the rules and regulations in place then this would be a done deal and it is really easy. I think that is the biggest concern that we have as a Town and a community, and people are afraid that there is so many unknowns, so if we knew what the open space meant at an RV park then it could be easily develop and draw up his plans. If we had how much space was needed for an RV then he could work with that. I don’t think it is fair for the developer to expect him to front all of this time and effort and money in putting something together that maybe Council could have a work study session and determine for the future if you want another RV park what does this look like. So I think that is the biggest concern as a Town member, ask some questions, it is the only fear that they have is that it is going to be a similar RV park that we already have that is in the County that isn’t beautiful and it is packed where you can touch your neighbor. So, what I am requesting or my point is I think it might be a little early, and it is unfair to him to have to come up with all of the answers to these questions, and my biggest concern is establishing a precedence, because you can’t pick and choose which one you are going to have a meeting after Planning and Zoning, because someone might say that Cody denied me but now I want the whole Council to know what my zoning is going to be. I am concerned that if we pick an RV park, the only RV park out of this puzzle it’s going to cause a lot of problems in the future for development, because I am going to do development also, I am trying to develop a youth camp, a rec center on the property and I am actually working with Brett to purchase land to create open space on a portion of the property he currently has and I don’t want to go through the same problems that poor James is going through right now. We need to establish a precedence, we need to determine how it is going to be, a developer should be able to come know what to do and to know if this will fit in the plan. So that is what I am requesting, is maybe it is a little bit to early to make a decision and if you have a work study session over a couple of days, then you could lay everything out, he could produce a beautiful plan for you, Minutes of the Town Council Regula Meeting – June 18, 2020 Page 24 everything is granted and it becomes not so scary, because there are too many unknowns and I will be facing the same unknowns. If I buy land from Brett and can’t develop it and a rec center would be good for the community, so I think that is the biggest concern. Where are we going from here and how do we do something like this that is really cool for our community, if we don’t have direction first. Because I don’t want to spend a million dollars on a piece of property that I can’t put a rec center on.” Mayor Irwin explained we do have an RVP zoning code and those things are in our code already. Again, this is a rezoning and the developer is not going to spend money until the zoning is changed. Ms. Brimhall said that the Mayor is using terms she does not understand. Mayor Irwin explained that RVP stands for “recreational vehicle park” zoning code. Mr. Brimhall asked if there were already recreational vehicle park zoning for that in your code that includes spacing and everything? The Mayor and Councilmembers said yes, there is, and open space is also defined. Mayor Irwin explained again that a developer is not going to spend money and produce a detailed plan to cover how many units, where open space is going to be until he is assured that he can actually develop it with the RVP designation. Ms. Brimhall said she is still questioning what open space is, what is the exact definition, make it easy for all of us because we want to make it so there is conservation but also progression in the Town. She said that if we had more direction it makes it easier for everyone and the Town will not be up in arms. Mayor Irwin said that Director Blake and the Council will look to make sure the all of the neighbor’s concerns are addressed by the developer and she said that is our role as a Council to make sure this is done. Councilmember Snitzer said he proposes that after the Planning and Zoning review the Council has a chance to review and he said there is also an appeals process. He said the path that has been followed is the normal path for a zone change process and at this point there is not a full site plan. Minutes of the Town Council Regula Meeting – June 18, 2020 Page 25 Vice Mayor Smith said that the Town and Council needs to be consistent and not treat this project any different from any other. One of the big problems we have is that we pick and choose the changes we want people to make and then the next person might not have to make that and we need to be consistent. Councilmember Snitzer explained that when he said he would like this to come back to Council that seems like we are giving special consideration but really we would be at the same place if the project was appealed it would come to us anyway. Town Manager Johnson explained that the normal process is that the site plan would come back to the Planning and Zoning Commission for their approval and it would not normally come back to the Town Council. Mr. Everett Peterson, 73 N. Woodland Road, Lakeside, addressed the Council: “I just wanted to clarify something that Cody Blake said earlier, he referred to one of the original partners in this land swap with the Forest Service and referred to the Lions Club and I wanted to clarify this, as you all know I believe, it is an entity of the Lions Club called the Lions Foundation of Arizona. I just want to make that point clear and I think that many people here understand that but perhaps some do not. As far as the letter supporting the zoning change from the Lions Foundation of Arizona, my understanding is, and someone can correct me if I am wrong, their overriding interest was in recovering funds that they needed to put forward as they look for developer partners to make a land swap deal with the Forest Service. So their interest is really in closing the deal and putting it to bed sooner rather than later, but I believe that most Lions first priority would be the ongoing wellbeing of Camp Tatiyee, the jewel in our back yard, supported by the Lions Club and other corporate and individual sponsors throughout Arizona. A week ago at the Planning and Zoning meeting our camp director, Pam Swanson, came up here from her home in the valley and she has been the director of Camp Tatiyee for 26 years a staff member for three years before that, so she has nearly 30 years of connection with the camp and she acknowledged the difference between her position and perhaps the position of the Lions Foundation of Arizona. Even among the Lions we can have our differences, I would think that most Lions would be, I guess I am speaking for myself, but many Lions would be in favor of the best possible outcome for the campers. The question came up about problems with RV’ers encroaching on Camp Tatiyee as a family park, you are going to have kids with teenagers, it is a matter of a football field away, there is playground equipment there for the campers, it’s enticing to kids and a questions was asked a week ago to Pam at the Planning and Zoning meeting, “well does the camp have a perimeter fence?” the answer is absolutely not. We have been there since 1958, 62 years, we have never had a fence Minutes of the Town Council Regula Meeting – June 18, 2020 Page 26 because we were on Forest Service property then. Do we need to put up a fence around the 40 acre parcel? Do the Lions of Arizona and the Camp Tatiyee need to do that? I think that would be pretty cost prohibitive, so, I mean the other question would be is you have a 25.5 acre parcel here that they need to put a fence up around there to keep their people from encroaching onto the property behind them, mainly Camp Tatiyee, and perhaps other neighborhoods are well. So, that is probably something to think about in the site plan stage if this does move forward. So I just wanted to clarify that just because the Lions Foundation of Arizona is an entity that has been pushing this and saying alright, the Lions, in general or in mass, are not supporting this. There are over eight clubs in the state of Arizona. He said that no one has to pay to go to Camp Tatiyee. They run eight sessions, varying different disabilities throughout the year, of course this year they are not, they still have staff and are doing video events for the campers that can’t be there because of COVID- 19. It is a jewel in our community and it is very valued by Lions around this state.” Mayor Irwin asked Director Blake if she heard correctly at the beginning of his presentation that there will be a 4 to 6 foot solid fence around the RV park. Director Blake said there will be a 4 to 6 foot solid fence around the RV park. Mr. Larry McCormick, 5980 Mark Twain Dr., Pinetop, addressed the Council: “When I moved here five years ago, short timer that I am, I heard a lot that Show Low does this and Show Low does that, I had an opportunity to move to Show Low, and I preferred to stay in Pinetop for a number of reasons, but the forest and the laid back community. I probably fit into one of those anti-growth guys. But I think I could argue, debate, discuss with anybody and you’d be hard pressed to find too many people in this room to think a RV park is a good fit for this area. What is, I don’t know. Just shortly after the land swap we’ve had two opportunities to try and push the RV park through. I find a number of things, the impact study that Cody mentioned, but one thing he didn’t bring up was that the county addressed this in 2017, before the land swap, the specifically said that the area, if rezoned, should be designated low density residential. End of conversation. They had the foresight, they addressed that and we seemed to have kick them to the curb, of maybe we were not aware of it. As far as people mentioning the amount of money the developer and the owner have been spending, I find it hard to feel sorry for them. They are not doing this because they are in it to lose money, they see the profitability of the RV park, and to not address it with a more than adequate site map is a shame. A number on a lot of the questions of other people and myself and we have been told by Community Development and other people involved that they don’t want to spend the money until this amendment has passed. There are some things I take exception Minutes of the Town Council Regula Meeting – June 18, 2020 Page 27 too, it talks about impacts to historical, cultural, wildlife or natural resources being minimal to none. Sorry, don’t buy it. I think the noise factor, the traffic factor, the added pressure on the area. Public participate, has the applicant engaged with the public, this time around, as I understand it, there was no meeting with the neighbors, the letters that went out on May 1st, before Planning and Zoning, about five weeks before, possible taking the time to meet with the neighbors may have answered some of those questions and made them feel more at ease with the park. One of the other questions in the application was will the proposed change adversely affect property values. If I was buying a house would I want to buy there.” Ms. Shireen Walther, 3023 Birch Dr., Lakeside, offered the following comments: “One of my concerns is the fire safety, where we live is west of where the emergency exit would be and I’m concerned, that especially as we come to the end of phase 4 and there three hundred and some odd spaces that are there, and there are multiple vehicles there, because a lot of times there is more besides the truck pulling a travel trailer or whatever. I’m concerned about one way out and half the time you come up on Vallery, there is going to be a bottle neck there. There are numerous ones west of, I don’t even know how many people own there, but I’m concerned for all of our safety. The noise and the lighting have been addressed to some degree and the emergency exit on one of the previous attempts to go ahead and get this passed ADOT said they were wanting Vallery to go ahead and be widened, and I am just curious if Vallery is going to be used as an emergency exit is it going to be widened at least up past the emergency exit, so that it can accommodate the big rigs and so on and so forth coming out as they are coming out of there in kinda hurry. I haven’t heard anything if there is going to be any firepits or bbq’s, ramadas or at each specific site, and I am just wondering how that is going to be addressed. And I do think it would be a nice neighborly gesture to go ahead and work with Camp Tatiyee in regards to a wall, I don’t know exactly what they would feel comfortable with so I can’t say what they would feel comfortable with, but I know they have been trying to work with the residents on Vallery and I appreciate that. But I think it would be a nice gesture to work with them as well. Another concern is it becoming permanent. I was wondering if someone went back and looked at all of the different RV parks around here, from what I’ve heard most of them did start out as temporary and have over the years become permanent. So that would be a concern that some where down the road, five, ten, however many years down the road it is permanent, skirted and with decks and then people are there year round. And I am not quite sure in regards to this whole site plan thing, the difference between the zoning and the site plan thing and I agree there really has not been a whole lot of information and I appreciate your thought about having meeting, but I am against it.” Minutes of the Town Council Regula Meeting – June 18, 2020 Page 28 Mayor Irwin said there are three exits from this property; one of them will exit in front of Joy’s Furniture and Vallery Lane is not going to be changed in configuration at this time and it is a county road. Director Blake said he did send this information to the county and the county said that as just an emergency exit and not being used as a primary access or exit point there would be not county requirements to widen Vallery Lane. Mayor Irwin asked Mr. Gappmayer to address the BBQ and fire pit question. Mr. Gappmayer explained that they have discussed whether there would be fire pits or not and or propane BBQ or pits, but a decision has not been made at this point. He said their concern is also fire and want to do what is safest. Ms. Walther said all of the emergency exits are close together and when you get out onto the highway it is going to be jammed packed. Councilmember Dahnk said during an evacuation every road is jammed packed and it does not matter where you live. She explained that she has been through a couple of evacuations and the highway and roads turn into parking lots. Councilmember Bowen said in the defense of the fire department, evacuations are not done at the last minute, and said at the Rodeo fire they evacuated three to four days before the fire was close but it still took five hours to get to Springerville. Mayor Irwin said that Keith is working on a Town evacuation plan, along with other agencies, and there will most likely be one way out with the center lane for emergency vehicles. It is a valid concern and we are working on it for all of our residents and visitors. Mayor Irwin stated there being no further comments, the public hearing is closed. Councilmember Snitzer said there have been a lot of site plan issues raised when this is actually a zoning issue. We can require that this is not a year round park. He said that the other issue is density, which is addressed in the site plan. He said from a legal standpoint it would be very hard for us to say we are not granting zoning to thirteen unit per acre development but all over Town we allow twelve units per acre and do not even think twice. He said that most of the issues that have been raised are site plan issues. Minutes of the Town Council Regula Meeting – June 18, 2020 Page 29 Councilmember Bowen agreed with Councilmember Snitzer and said that most of the RV parks are located in the county and not in the Town limits and said that the county does not have good ordinances regarding any of these issues. She said she agrees with not having a permanent situation at the RV park and said she does not want to see a parking lot for RV’s, but knows this is also a site plan issue. Councilmember Dahnk said she is also in favor of seeing the site plan and said hopefully all of the expressed considerations will be taken into account. Mayor Irwin addressed Director Blake and said that the Planning and Zoning recommendation said no out buildings, skirting and or built on decks will be allowed and continued individual occupancy limited to no more than nine months per year. Director Blake confirmed that is correct. Councilmember Bowen stated that she imagines a beautiful, classy development that is maintained and said that some of the RV’s and Motorhomes cost more than some homes. Councilmember Dahnk said that Pinetop-Lakeside is the gem of Arizona and this being Pinetop-Lakesides first RV park we want it to be a gem too. Councilmember Snitzer moved to adopt Ordinance No. 20-433, amending the Official Zoning Map of the Town to re-zone approximately 25.5 acres of APN 212- 01-036K, located on White Mountain Blvd., west of the Family Fun Park, Lakeside, AZ 85929 in Section 16, Township 9 North, Range 22 East, Navajo County, Arizona, from OS, Open Space/Park to RVP, Recreational Vehicle Park Zoning District, with the following conditions: 1. The developer is to maintain as many of the trees on the property as feasible. 2. The development is prohibited from allowing permanent RV residents, no RV skirting, built-on decks or out buildings. 3. No occupied RV shall be on-site for a period longer than nine months. Vice Mayor Smith seconded the motion and by show of hands the following vote was recorded: AYES ABSTAIN NAYS Mayor Irwin Vice Mayor Smith Minutes of the Town Council Regula Meeting – June 18, 2020 Page 30 Council Member Dahnk Council Member Bowen Council Member Snitzer Council Member Hastings Council Member Krigbaum Mayor Irwin then declared that Ordinance No. 20-433 was approved, passed and adopted with a 7-0 vote. D.5 Reports from Council Committee Liaison. Councilmember Hastings reported that the Humane Society has cancelled their anniversary celebration due to COVID-19. Councilmember Snitzer reported that TRACKS is alive and well and doing work on trails. He said that they recently cleared trash from two camp sites from people that had been living in the forest for weeks, if not months. Vice Mayor Smith reported that he obtained the total budget for the transit projected for next year and said it is $850,000.00. Councilmember Dahnk said the White Mountain Nature Center has reopened for visitation and said that the Nature Discovery program has ben revamped for the summer. Councilmember Bowen said that the Blue Ridge School Board is working on plans for reopening the schools in the fall and their budget is a disaster. She explained that kids have to be in class in order to receive revenue. They are looking at on-line schooling or alternating school days or times. Councilmember Krigbaum said that the Natural Resources Working Group and 4Fri and the Rainbow Lake group are all meeting electronically. Mayor Irwin said it was decided not to hold the July Navajo and Apache Counties Mayors and Managers meeting and will hopefully be able to hold the meeting in October. She said that the Town is working on a mask recommendation and will hopefully have something next week. Minutes of the Town Council Regula Meeting – June 18, 2020 Page 31 E. Adjournment There being no further business at this time, the meeting was adjourned at approximately 8:24 p.m. __________________________ Stephanie Irwin Mayor ATTEST: _________________________ Jill Akins, CMC Town Clerk CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Regular meeting of the Town Council of Town of Pinetop-Lakeside, Arizona, held on the 18th day of June 2020. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this 18th day of June 2020. _________________________ Jill Akins, CMC Town Clerk