Regular Meeting - 6/20/2023 6:30:00 PM

anything it needs
give me just one
[Music]
if we run out of room in this room this
evening there is Overflow in our Tower
room right off the lobby there's screens
and able to hear everything that's going
on here in the console Chambers too we
appreciate the people in attendance this
evening
instead of
thank you all right good evening
everyone welcome to the Gilbert council
meeting for June 20th 2023 I will call
this meeting to order and move to our
invocation that will be offered by Elder
Trey Richardson of Center Church and if
you'd come to that Podium please
thank you for being here this evening we
appreciate you
glad to be here thank you
I could ask us to please pray
Lord we
we come to you in prayer and first we
want to thank you for those that are
serving us here in Gilbert
father thank you for mayor Peterson and
the Town Council how they lead us
Lord in leading our community
father thank you for the First
Responders and Gilbert that are
available to us in crisis Gilbert Police
and Fire
Lord that keep us safe
the Gilbert support staff that
effectively serves from the background
and finally Lord thank you for the
veterans and the military personnel that
have served us by serving our country
so for this town council meeting Lord we
just pray that you would give all of the
council all the council wisdom
and borrowing from what Apostle the
Apostle Paul prayed for the Colossians
in the first chapter he prayed wisdom
for them
Lord he said I pray that you'd be filled
with the knowledge of his will and all
spiritual wisdom and understanding
so Lord that's our our prayer for these
fine folks that serve us
and Lord we pray for Unity and we pray
against division in our community
Lord there's so many different ways to
be divided in today's culture
may we discover how to live how to work
how to serve
how to play even well together
may we embrace the principles found in
your word that says we're to love our
neighbors as ourselves
finally Lord we close our prayer I close
this Prayer by just expressing
Thanksgiving for the greatest gift that
we've ever received and that's your son
Lord thank you for giving us Jesus
Christ
in your glorious gospel through him and
the message that for God so loved the
world that he gave his only son that
whosoever believes in him shall not
perish but have life Everlasting
Lord we thank you and we ask your
blessing on the remainder of the meeting
we pray
amen amen thank you Elder Richardson
that was lovely we appreciate your time
this evening thank you for joining us I
just a reminder for everyone to turn off
and Silent cell phones and devices
I'll look to my left and to my right for
that next we will have our Pledge of
Allegiance led by council member Bon
Jovani please
I pledge allegiance to the Flagstaff
next if I could have town clerk Herrera
please take the role
mayor Bridget Peterson present vice
mayor Kathy tilkey
here council member Scott Anderson here
council member Chuck bongiovanni here
council member Bobby Buckley here
council member young Kapowski
here and council member Jim Torgeson a
quorum is president
thank you chevelli I appreciate that
councilmember kapowsky is joining us
virtually this evening for this
evening's meeting we have one
Proclamation on our agenda this evening
as a proclamation declaring July 2023 as
Parks and Recreation month and council
member Bon Giovanni will present this to
the Parks and Recs Department
Kylie Sorensen and team if you would
please come down and join council member
Bon Giovanni
I'm good I can see
hey team
I'm excited about this one
okay today our July is Parks and
Recreation month whereas Parks and
Recreation is an integral part of
communities throughout the country
including the town of Gilbert and
whereas Parks and Recreation promotes
health and wellness improving the
physical and mental health of people in
the community and whereas Parks and
Recreation promotes time spent in nature
which positively impacts mental health
by increasing cognitive performances and
well-being and whereas Parks and
Recreation encourages physical
activities by providing space for for
popular sports multi-use multi-use pass
swimming swimming pools and many other
activities designed to promote active
Lifestyles and whereas Parks and
Recreation programming and activity and
educational activities such as youth
programming special events and
Environmental Education are crucial in
childhood development
and whereas Parks and Recreation is
fundamental to the environmental
well-being of our community and whereas
the U.S House of Representatives has
designated July as Parks and Recreation
month and whereas the town of Gilbert
recognizes the benefits derived from
Parks and Recreation recreation
resources
now therefore I Chuck Bon Jovani
for Bridget Peterson mayor of Mayor of
town of Gilbert Arizona do Proclaim July
2023 as Parks and Recreation months in
Gilbert Arizona and I urge all citizens
to celebrate by visiting your local
parks and recreations a recreation
locations
[Applause]
can I say whereas one more time
whereas we're going to go this way
okay
you need to put an X here whereas
whereas where the x is
yep
awesome here you go sir
thank you councilmember bon Giovanni
congratulations to our parks and recs
team on that Proclamation
vice mayor are you all settled over
there I know it's been a lot to
get ready
are you good okay we will move into
Communications from citizens the vice
mayor will handle that portion of the
agenda
thank you mayor
um welcome everyone the Gilbert Town
Council values citizens comments and
input anyone wishing to speak before the
council must fill out a request to speak
card for each item they wish to speak on
and submit it to the town clerk or place
it in the bin provided prior to the
start of the meeting the communications
from citizens portion of the agenda
provides citizens an opportunity to
identify for the Town Council matters of
Interest or concern related to town
government that are not on the printed
agenda under the provisions of the
Arizona open meeting law the Town
Council is prohibited from responding to
issues that have not been properly
noticed therefore the Town Council may
only listen to citizens who wish to
address them on non-agenda items at the
conclusion of the open call to public
response is limited to individual
members of the council responding to
criticism made by those who have
addressed the public body asking staff
to review a matter or asking that a
matter be put on a future agenda the
town asked that when your name is called
you come forward to the podium state
your name and place the residence and
then begin speaking all speakers are
expected to observe common standards of
decorum and courtesy
personal attacks political speeches and
threats of political action are
inappropriate in this forum and will be
grounds for ending a speaker's time at
the podium
mayor we have several speakers this
evening and I'd just like to clarify
because the topic is HD South and we do
have an agenda item on consent agenda
that does not take public comment if you
want to speak and come forward it cannot
be on the agenda published agenda item
so I'm happy to have you speak you just
can't speak on the agenda for those that
are here I have not received a request
to pull that item from the council
agenda which means it'll be voted on
with the rest of the agenda items so I
just wanted to give you that information
ahead of time you're always welcome to
speak
you just in this portion you can't speak
on a agenda izone so I'm going to call
your name if you want to speak please
come forward it's three minutes the
first one up will be Gail dish we'll
need you to turn on the microphone you
will see the timer there which will
allow you to know how far you are into
that so Gail come on down to this middle
Podium right here
thank you
and the little red light should come on
and push a little button down there
the big button I think yeah there you go
is that it
good evening mayor Peterson vice mayor
telkey and Our Town Council
my name is Gail dish and I'm here just
on behalf of HD South I've been a
resident of Gilbert for 38 years
since moving here in 1985
I have been involved in arts culture
and preservation of history in our
community
I was the organizer of Gilbert's
inaugural Global Village Festival almost
20 years ago now and I still continue to
serve
with global village on the steering
committee and raising funds so that the
costs are minimized for Guilt for Global
last year I received the Geneva Clay
Community award for volunteerism
and I have been a long time member of HD
South's Historical Society board
what I'm here to say
is that HD South is a wonderful gem in
our community quite a treasure
and I think that we all need to support
it
very wonderfully our community supported
it in the last couple of years here with
our new vision
so what I'd like to say
about HD South it's been the heart of
Gilbert ever since we picked Gilbert as
our home
please join in continuing to enhance our
town in our community thank you
thank you Gail and thank you for your
service to our community next up we have
Joan McPherson
and following Jim will be Wally dilecki
hello mayor and members of council my
name is Jim McPherson board president of
the Arizona preservation Foundation our
state's historic preservation advocacy
organization I live in Phoenix
I'm the only non-gilbert residents on
the HD South Capitol campaign but since
2011 I've been involved in efforts to
preserve and promote your Town's only
building listed on the national register
of historic places the 1913 Gilbert
Elementary School now Gilbert Historical
Museum it's a building with such a rich
history that tells the story of your
community with an equally Rich history
but more importantly I've come to meet
and work with incredibly dedicated and
caring group of citizens who have
devoted their time talent and treasure
year after year after year to the place
you all call home
they care so much not only about
Gilbert's past but its future and that's
what building communities for all ages
is about HD South provides a positive
economic impact HD South helps to boost
tourism H.G South enhances the Arts and
cultural experiences not only for
Gilbert but the entire East Valley and
HD South offers unique and Innovative
educational opportunities for the young
old and in between again here in Gilbert
and the greater East Valley
and HD South in its devoted board and
staff continue to stand ready to enhance
the Heritage district and showcase the
unique town of Gilbert as the vibrant
forward-looking and caring Community you
know it is and continue to be thank you
thank you Jim very nice to see you again
Wally dilecki is up and following Wally
will be Maria Hesse
good evening mayor Peterson vice mayor
tilkey Town Council staff community
I'm Wally dilecki I've lived here 45
years
1349 East catamaran Drive Gilbert for 23
years I worked on the campus and complex
of HD South
and I see it as the anchor to the
Heritage District I see it the anchor to
the public school system
and moreover I think I want you to
understand that Arizona law requires the
citizens of Gilbert have an election in
order for us to sell the land in the
building to HD South
it was a unanimous election not one
negative vote was cast so thank you for
the opportunity to share my thoughts
with you thank you
thank you Wally it's great to see you
here in the council chambers Maria
is next Maria Jose and Then followed by
Alan Fitzgerald
mayor Peterson vice mayor tolki members
of the Town Council Town staff and
guests my name is Maria Hesse and I've
been a resident of Gilbert for more than
30 years
tonight I'm advocating for HD South the
home of the Gilbert Historical Society
created to preserve the town's history
H.G South has expanded its programs and
services to include much more than
history
and the true Spirit of Gilbert we are
intentionally engaging people of all
ages in a broad range of Civic
educational cultural and recreational
activities
as the former president of
Chandler-Gilbert Community College and
vice Provost at Arizona State University
and now as a professor of practice in
higher education at the University
I'm a believer that we must be mindful
to preserve and study our history in
order to better understand our present
and to plan for a bright future
and I love the expanded vision for HD
South providing intergenerational
programming that further strengthens our
community by creating a sense of
belonging and connectivity
those of us who have been serving on the
capital campaign cabinet have raised 1.6
million dollars to fund the renovations
and the expansions that are needed at
H.D South
this should be an indication of the
support of our fellow community members
for this organization in the directions
in which we are headed
we would sincerely appreciate your
continued support for the important work
that H.D South is doing thank you so
much
thank you Maria Alan Fitzgerald is next
and following Alan is
Sven
Severson
good evening mayor Peterson and all the
town council members uh new faces for me
as I've stood here a few times in total
agreement with everything that was going
on and tonight I expect that we're all
in the same space
HD South is a wonderful environment for
something that I hold to be critically
important for any community and a place
where we can deliver excellence in our
community and that's public art
I have been part of the gallery four
inside of the Historical Museum for
about seven years the first exhibition
that we put on there was early in 2017.
we put on nine exhibitions in that space
as well as other organizations in
Gilbert such as the Gilbert Visual Art
League
and I know that public art is a very
important tenet for the considerations
that you all are making for the future
of HD South
I want to thank council member Buckley
for attending the opening on the 6th of
June and to ask you all to please join
us down there the exhibition is
currently up is there through July 28th
and it is a photographic retrospective
of the Heritage District
it is Rings completely true with the
history and the history museum in the
sense that you can see Liberty market
while they were still selling T-bone
steaks you can see the restaurants that
pre-existed uh Joyride and Postino and
the beginnings of so much else so as the
Gilbert Historical Museum the historical
society and HD South this tenant for
public art is alive and can grow and
become more vibrant in our community and
I do want to thank you all for standing
up and seeing this Vision as how
critical that can be and I do hope to
see you in the gallery and at HD South
in the future thank you very much
thank you Allen Sven you're up next
and um
following will be Terry Natty
hello everyone my name is Swan Severson
I'm a 21 year old resident of Gilbert
currently studying aerospace engineering
at the University of Southern California
I'm here on behalf of my mom Adelita
Severson who is the chair of the HT
South Capitol campaign cabinet
she was unable to make this meeting
tonight as she is out of the country so
she asked her favorite son to say a
couple words on her behalf
so here's a dear Mary Peterson and
members of the council Adelaide
receiverson here chair of the HD South
Capitol campaign but my day job as CEO
and founder of Bush tax Incorporated an
International satellite Communications
company right here in Gilbert Arizona in
the 22 year resident of this wonderful
town
I wanted to first thank you all for your
support of H.T South Gilbert Historical
Museum
My Hope tonight is that you will
continue to support the Gilbert
historical society and HD South
we are excited to partner our offerings
with the town so we can continue in our
efforts to serve our community while
preserving our history
I know you all are dealing with major
issues that face our town but your
support means volumes and for that my
sincere gratitude to all of you
genuinely AdAway to Severson
finally it's me swine speaking this time
uh I wanted to personally ask for your
support as someone who's lived here all
my life I love seeing how far Gilbert
has advanced I remember always running
into that construction on Lindsay as I
was already late for high school wishing
that it wasn't there after coming home
from college and seeing that new on-ramp
it makes me super jealous of current
campus students who don't have to deal
with that construction but it also makes
me appreciate how much this town has
progressed
and for me HD South is very similar to
that construction I've been a part of
helping my mom with all the grunt work
whether that be helping setup events
film videos or read her speech to the
Gilbert Town Council
but I know I look back on this process
and be glad that it not only added to
the town's growth but also ensured we
don't lose sight of our history and the
town that I grew up in thank you all for
your time and all that you do and I
don't look at uh speaking to you guys as
grunt work by the way but thank you and
have a good night
thank you so much Terry Natty is next
and will be our final speaker
foreign
my name is Terry Natty I am a I live in
a county Island within the Gilbert
planning area
I love to hear the community come out
and speak of positive things I love to
have
a change of pace I'm sure you all are
tired to listen to me but I'm back up
here again with something not quite so
positive
um I know that
I gave you all a copy of this many many
months ago I don't know if you actually
read it so I'm gonna assume that you
didn't
um I'm going to talk about
lies and manipulation and what your
staff is doing and I want the public to
know about it too
when I was told from the beginning by
Fabiano what is truly driving the need
for 65 feet of Ocotillo with for one
half of the road
um
that was utilities
under the ground obviously that's not
true or there would be no diagrams that
you guys were shown for 60 feet 60 55
feet or 50 feet easements
um Slide Five
which looks like this that you saw their
numbers on residents directly affected
are definitely manipulated this slide
says 19.
that is absolutely incorrect there are
19 affected homes marked in purple on
the north side of Ocotillo alone plus
three vacant Lots marked in green on the
south side and there are 13 affected
homes and two vacant Lots those are 32
homes on a total of 37 Parcels in your
staff's own image
when fabiani originally told me that
rwcd required 20-foot and SRP required
12 foot on 6 8 of 22 I thought it was
excessive in a phone conversation I had
a few days later with Brad Strader of
rwcd one of my neighbors had with Henry
Solis of SRP we discovered that those
measurements were indeed inflated
that rwcd typically requires 14 feet and
SRP typically requires eight feet this
is the beginning of me uncovering
Fabiano's lies during my small group
meeting
Fabiano and reinheimer told us that SRP
dictates whether lines are overhead or
buried and whether I and when I asked if
the lines could remain above ground
reinheimer even went so far as to say
that the relocated overhead lines on Val
Vista will be relocated again when the
subdivision goes in per SRP requirements
I said that's illogical she agreed I and
said it wasn't an option more not more
lies in a conversation with Henry Solis
myself in November of 22 he told me that
SRP does not make the call on whether
the line is above ground or below ground
SRP does what is requested as long as
the request is reasonable safe and
within their parameters
uh slide 26 number nine Town deviations
to or deviations to town standards at 55
feet
they would said that no there would be
no room for existing relocations this is
just three of eight minimum lies and or
manipulations on the part of town staff
to you to me to the rest of my neighbors
and to the public and it's not okay
it's not okay
thank you Terry mayor with that that is
the end of the communications from
citizens
thank you vice mayor now we'll move into
our consent calendar so I'll turn it
back over to you we had some changes to
that this evening
we did so we've had some addendum items
add to the consent agenda
um first I would like to note that item
number seven will be has been
resubmitted as a change order instead of
an agreement and that is item 25A
we will be removing item 31 which will
come forward to a future agenda
um also we will be bringing forward
item number 43 as part of the consent
agenda as a motion to appoint the
veterans to the veterans Advisory Board
Aaron henningen Peyton Parker Pamela
Ryan Smith and Dave Rosenfeld with terms
beginning June 16 23 through ending June
15 2026
and with that I will this is going to be
a long list so please be patient but
there's been some additions and I want
to make sure we we get all of them and
if I miss anything please call me out on
it
um I make a motion to approve consent
items number two three
four
five six
eight nine ten ten a 10 B
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24
25 a
26
27 28
29 29 a
30
32 32 a
33
a
34
35 and 43 as noted
I have a motion to approve can I have a
second
second I have a motion by vice mayor
tilkey a second by council member
Torgeson please vote
mayor Peterson I do have council member
kaprowski's vote to consent items
um consent items 10A 10B 25A 29a 20 32A
33a
23456-30 32 35 and 43 so just
reaffirming the vote
and that would be a 7-0 vote correct
unanimously passing with um
councilmember Kapowski voting via the
clerk's office this evening thank you
chevelli for that thank you
councilmember koprowski thank you vice
mayor it was asked if the council would
consider going down to the floor and
taking a picture with the members from
HD South that are here this evening
similar to what we did with rwcd a
couple of meetings ago is anybody
anybody be willing to come down and have
a photo taken great join me down on the
floor please
thank you for indulging us for a moment
everyone we will now move into our
public hearing portion of our agenda
items will be heard at one public
hearing at which time anyone wishing to
comment on a public hearing item may do
so comments will be heard from those in
support of orange are in opposition to
an item them we have
several items on our on our public
hearing agenda this evening we have two
liquor licenses
and then number 38 and 39 which I know
will require extra time number 4040a 41
and 42. does anyone require additional
presentation or comments for the two
liquor licenses or 4040a 41 or 42.
seeing none I'll open the public hearing
on items 36 37
40a 41 and 42 close the public hearing
and see if I can get a motion
to approve those move approval seconds I
have a motion by council member Anderson
seconded by council member Torgeson
please vote
we have a yes vote from council member
koprowski as well thank you that motion
passes with a 7-0 vote including
councilmember kapowskis and we'll go
back to items 38 and 39 I'm going to
open the public hearing on both of these
items together I understand that staff
has a joint presentation and the
applicant has a joint presentation we'll
open items 38 General plan GP 22-05
zoning
z22-05 also GP 23-12 and zoning
z23-04 and ask our staff member Veronica
to please come to the podium for her
presentation I'm let me also comment
that we have some online public comments
received we had for number 38 we had a
total of 47 in support of and two in
opposition of and for number 39 we had
42 in support of into an opposition of
thanks Veronica
good evening mayor council members
Veronica Gonzalez from planning here to
present for you the cases
gp2205 and z2205 for the ranch and GP
2312 NC 2304 for residences at the ranch
the site is approximately 311 Acres
located between Elliott Road and Warner
Road on the west side of Power Road
the project has been divided into two
parts the first part being the 271 Acres
which includes the major general plan
Amendment which is to change the land
use classification from industrial
general office and General commercial to
Industrial and General commercial as
well as rezoning to change the zoning
districts from light industrial Business
Park and General commercial to light
industrial General commercial and mixed
use large all with the pad overlay Zone
is a minor General plan Amendment and
rezoning a request on approximately 39
Acres the minor General plan amendment
is to change the land use classification
from industrial general office and
General commercial to residential 14 to
25 dwelling units per acre and General
commercial the rezoning request is to
change the zoning from light industrial
Business Park and General commercial to
multi-family medium mixed-use small
mixed use large and General commercial
all with the pad overlay
both the major and minor General plan
amendments propose to change the
existing mix of land uses on the
property on the left hand side of the
screen here is the proposed land use mix
for the major general plan Amendment so
the 271 Acres
the proposed land use classifications
are
221.3 acres of industrial and 50.3 Acres
of General commercial
on the right hand side is the proposed
land use for the 39 Acres that make up
the minor General plan Amendment the
requested land uses within the 39 Acres
includes
35.7 Acres of residential 14 to 25
dollar units per acre and 3.8 Acres of
General commercial
the purpose of this 39 acre area of the
development was to provide that
additional buffer between the existing
residences to the west and the future
proposed industrial uses on the property
the property is identified in the
general plan as being located within the
Power Road growth corridor
um as part of this growth Corridor the
areas identified as a prime location for
employment uses because of its proximity
to the Santan freeway and the Phoenix
Mesa Gateway Airport
in addition to that our general plan
encourages mixed-use developments within
growth areas where higher density
residential components of a mixed-use
project is designed as an integral part
of the development and creates a
distinctive a distinctive living
environment
and as we all know the property is also
located within the Morrison Ranch
character area the land use policy
within the Morrison Ranch character area
does encourage a creation of
neighborhoods with a variety of uses and
densities as long as they integrate with
the overall rural character of the area
to accompany the major general plan and
minor General plan amendments the
application the applicant is also
requesting to rezone the property again
on the left side we see here the 271
acre portion of the site
where within this area the proposed
rezoning is to approximately
221.3 Acres of light Industrial
46.4 Acres of General commercial and 3.9
Acres of mixed juice large
down in the southwest portion of the
site is approximately 18.2 acres and
this is noted as restricted light
industrial on the plan what this means
is that the buildings within this 18.2
acre area will be limited in height to
35 feet and any roll-up or bay doors on
the buildings will be oriented on the
east side of the of the buildings away
from that west side
on the right side is the proposed layout
for the rezoning request for the 39
Acres within this area the applicant
proposes to rezone approximately 14.9
acres to multi-family medium nine acres
to mixed use small
11.7 acres to mixed use large and 3.8
acres to General commercial
and again the intent of this zoning
pattern is to create that buffer that
that is desired by the residents for
from the future employment industrial
uses
so the general plan and Zoning
classifications on this property have
been modified since the original request
in 2022
um and you'll see that broken down on
this Within These tables here
um
The Proposal before the council tonight
still includes Industrial and Commercial
components that were seen in the
original request but a multi-family and
mixed-use components have now been added
to the land use and Zoning mix along the
west side of the property and these new
land use and Zoning designations will
act as a buffer between the more intense
uses of the employment industrial and
the existing residences
both rezoning requests do include a
planned area development or pad overlay
within the 271 Acres the purpose of the
pad is to request
accessory structures within the light
industrial portions to exceed the
maximum height of 55 feet or in this
case accessory structures allowed to go
up to 65 feet the standard height within
the light industrial zoning district is
55 and this height increase would only
be applicable to accessory structures
the pad request for the 39 acre area is
the result of the applicant and
neighbors working together to create a
compatible development that softens the
transition between the different land
uses and meets the interests of both
parties the pad overlay within the 39
Acres includes items such as minimum
design standards height limitations
density caps
minimum amount of non-residential uses
on the ground floor of mixed the mixed
use components of the project
and here we have the proposed
development plan for the site just to
kind of Orient you a little bit here
North is to the right so Elliott road to
the right Warner to the left and then
Power Road along the bottom of the
screen here
the bright green area along the west
side is the Open Space Landscape buffer
between the residences and the the
remaining portion of the of the site the
amenities within this area will include
Landscaping a pedestrian Trail a double
row of trees bench seating and the
signature white split rail Morrison
Ranch fence
the area in yellow indicates where the
multi-family medium would be located
the area in light purple is where the
mixed juice small would be located and
that pinky beige color is where the
mixed juice large would be located
these areas are where the multi-family
units will be located within the project
where the maximum total number of units
will be capped at 750 units
the red areas designate the locations
for the commercial and Retail uses and
the aqua and blue areas signify the
employment industrial areas
I'd like to point out that this
development plan also provides some
internal circulation on the site
the black dashed line indicates the
residential and commercial retail
traffic on the site which would mostly
be filtering up to Elliott Road a little
out to power and down south to Warner
Road
the yellow dashed line indicates the
truck traffic for the employment uses
and those will circulate out to Power
Road and Warner roads another item I'd
like to note is that if the council
chooses to vote to approve this case any
changes to this development plan would
have to be approved by the Planning
Commission and the Town Council through
the public hearing process
so what we've got here is the conceptual
site plan to demonstrate how the two
parts kind of fit together
um this site plan is for illustrative
purposes only the site planning the
landscape plan the building design those
will come along in the future as
separate design review cases
the project will be developed in phases
phase one includes the installation of
the Landscaping within the open space
space area along the west boundary of
the site
once that Landscaping has been once the
installation of that Landscaping has
been completed
then the developer May begin with
vertical construction on the area called
out as phase 1A
phase 1A includes the multi-family mixed
juice and the northern General
commercial portions of the development
within phase one the developer intends
to build the multi-family in mixed-use
areas from west to east but it is
important to note that the site planning
for these areas will be done in its
entirety
once a vertical construction has started
on phase 1A the developer made them
begin vertical construction on phase 1B
which is the southern portion of the
industrial uses
phase 1C is the proposed General
commercial located in within the
southeast corner of the property and
this phase may be built concurrently
with any of the of the other phases
within this plan
phases two and three until the remainder
of the employment industrial areas and
these may not begin construction with
the exception of roadways and utilities
until construction of 13 acres and 20
acres respectively within the phase 1A
area is underway
this phasing plan is the result of the
applicant and developer working together
and has been agreed upon by both parties
and again should the council vote to
approve this project construction in
compliance with this phasing plan will
be required and any changes to this
phasing plan would have to be approved
through the public hearing process
four neighborhood meetings were held
regarding this project two were virtual
and two were in in person
some of the commonalities in terms of
questions comments and concerns that we
received from the residents in
attendance were about noise truck
traffic concerns with multi-family use
questions about the landscape buffer and
Building height
in addition to these neighborhood
meetings though the applicant met with
members of the Morrison Ranch
neighborhood several times to come to a
mutually agreeable development plan and
phasing plan
um I'd also like to point out that I
received a write-up from a Morrison
Ranch resident this afternoon and I sent
a copy to you so hopefully you've had a
chance to read that indicating that he
is an acceptance of the proposed plan
the goals and policies of the general
plan are meant to work together to
provide a balance and compromise for
development proposals
this project will provide a mix of jobs
commercial retail and residential that
supports the goal of a plan of a
balanced land use framework that
provides transitions between distinct
land uses promotes A diversity of
housing types and contributes to an
increase in the town's economic base
and so on that note I would like to turn
it over to Jennifer Graves from Economic
Development to speak on the economic
development impact of this project
uh thank you Veronica mayor members of
council delighted to be here Jennifer
Graves deputy director for the office of
Economic Development Economic
Development was asked to provide some
information on how employment-oriented
land use and development aligns with the
goals and priorities of the general plan
efforts around job growth are focused on
base industry jobs like the examples you
see on the side in front of you that
provide family supporting wages
this type of job growth is critical to
building a prosperous community and a
strong economy
Gilbert has just over a hundred and
thirty three thousand resident workers
and about 92 000 jobs resulting in
approximately 41 000 net commuters or
resident workers needing to leave the
community every day for work
within just the stem and STEM related
occupations that Delta exceeds 14 000
jobs
economic development focuses on closing
that Gap by attracting and growing more
job opportunities in Gilbert that can
help support our residents and increase
their quality of life
reserving and providing areas for job
growth is critical to create jobs and
industries that provide family
supporting wages and serve the needs of
Gilbert as a whole at present Gilbert's
development inventory and land use do
not position the community to respond to
opportunities to grow these types of
jobs with only six percent of Gilbert's
total land use designated for employment
only about a third of that still
available for development
and existing inventory of employment
industrial space sitting at less than
three percent
employment-oriented land is concentrated
in Gilbert's designated employment areas
and the map on the left of the slide
highlights the vacant employment
oriented land in red
preserving and providing sites for
employment and expanding and maintaining
areas for manufacturing and distribution
are not only key policies of the general
plan
but are principles that also support the
goal of economic diversification through
a healthy mix of residential commercial
and employment land uses
this is to help create a community that
is financially sustainable and help keep
taxes lower for Gilbert residents
fiscal benefits from employment and
commercial-oriented developments include
things like impact fees construction
sales tax lease tax as well as utility
taxes
and also potentially benefits from
Gilbert residents who work in the
community because more of their daytime
spending will be here increasing the
town's tax base the development
themselves
and their business operations that
occupy these developments provide
significant impacts to the community
direct impacts come from business
operations and their employees indirect
economic impacts come from spending by
the businesses supplying services and
products to those tenants
and induced economic impacts come from
direct and indirect employee spending in
the community
as an example of the importance of
diversification and how high value
employment and Commercial development
helps to keep taxes lower for Gilbert
families consider that one 150 000
square foot employment building
generates the same amount of secondary
property tax for Gilbert as about 125
single-family homes
working in harmony with our residential
communities these employment and
Commercial assets can help create the
diversification necessary for fiscal
sustainability
these types of developments also
directly build out critical
infrastructure projects in and around
their sites
benefiting neighboring properties
residences and commuters
and now I'll turn things over back to
Veronica thank you for your time
thank you Jen
mayor and council with that staff does
recommend that
um
adoption of the resolution approving
General plan GP 2205 for the ranch and
to make the findings a fact and adopt
the attached ordinance approving zoning
case z2205 as well as adopting the
resolution for General plan GP 2312
residences at the ranch and make the
findings of fact and adopt the attached
ordinance for zoning case z2304
residence is at the ranch
and with that that concludes our
presentation and I'd be happy to answer
any questions you may have thanks
Veronica council members any questions
or Veronica at this time
she will be able to come back up and
respond to any afterwards so thanks
Veronica next up we'll have the
applicant
Sean you'll go to this Podium
you are
I thought okay
oh you want to use thank you sorry Sean
sorry Sean sorry Sean
sorry Mr Lake I didn't realize oh you
have the thing that you
thank you Sean Lake for the applicant I
know you'll introduce yourself thank you
my name is Sean Lake seven uh here on
behalf of uh
uh Langley call Meena and indicap on
this project uh we appreciate the
opportunity to be here
um
before I kind of get started
I wanted to go over a couple of things
because uh
I think if we look around this room it's
quite different than it was in November
of last year regarding this project and
there has been a substantial amount of
work on behalf that the neighbors have
put in their time
in working with the Langley and and
komina and indicap on this project to
try to work together to try to come up
with a solution and so we first the
first thing I want to say right out of
the shoots is express my appreciation
for the time that they have put into
this the neighborhood the neighbors and
the groups and it's not just the groups
that we we've met with but but everybody
that has put a lot of time and effort
into this because a lot of thought and
Blood Sweat and Tears and and endless
hours of knocking doors that the
neighbors have put into this we
certainly appreciate their willingness
to work with us on this project and come
to you with a plan that is supported by
a majority of the people
um about eight months ago this Council
with some different members but the
council for the town of Gilbert
had a very different meeting in November
of 2022.
and at that time this Council directed
the applicants and the neighbors go work
it out
go make something happen go get together
go see if you guys can work it out and
reach a compromise
in that it involved working with
neighbors and having Open Door policies
with everybody that wanted to
participate
but that's what's happened that's why
we're here this evening because if
something wasn't worked out we're not
coming back to council we wanted to come
back to council with something where
we've tried to work and come up with a
plan that the majority of people so at
the direction of the council we are here
now eight months later with a plan
that we believe is a good compromise
that gets everybody a little of what
they're looking for both with the town
as far as economic development and the
Town Council and the broader town of
Gilbert
but also Morrison Ranch who are very
very much affected and in the Lennar
project by this project
um
let me point out as economic development
was just stating this will be one of the
largest projects in the town of Gilbert
as far as the tax base goes
we're talking upwards of a billion
dollars worth of uh assessed valuation
or or taxes that could come out of this
project
I was on the phone today with our own
Eddie cook
saying Eddie what does this mean of all
the taxes just taxes we're not talking
jobs that Economic Development was
talking about just taxes what does that
mean that goes to benefit as was pointed
out the secondary property tax and pay
for a lot of the things that the town
wants that benefit the entire town
but also schools about 50 percent of
that assessed or that tax of this
property goes to the school district
which we all want
to have better schools and funding for
the schools and so that money then goes
to the schools and that's what we all
want with that tax and that's without
producing many children at all because
most of this project will be a
commercial type neighbor so they will
not only pay into the system for the
school district but they won't be
putting a lot of cool kids in the system
which is what we want to have that type
of assessed evaluation so this is a big
deal for the town as a whole as far as
taxation secondary property tax school
districts but also jobs and creating a
lot
um
I also want to point out and it was
raised throughout the process we want
this we want that we really like that
we need to understand we live in a free
market I'm not a market maker
the developer isn't a market maker the
market is what it is today but it's
going to change and it changes over time
I've been doing this for 30 years I can
remember doing projects in the town
years and years ago or in the city of
Mesa or in the city of Phoenix where I
had planning directors begging me to
bring apartment projects
because we don't have any that's not the
case today but the market today is
apartment projects and and Rental
project but that could change in two
years that could change in five years
and with this project that could change
as well based upon how the market goes
so as we present this case understand
we're talking multi-family type
development right now the market is for
rental but that could change to a for
sale type product for a town home or a
condo type product that's all based upon
what the market is when that's coming
out of the ground and we often I
remember in 2007 I converted probably 50
apartment projects to condos
that changes as the market changes you
you get through construction defect
litigation those type of things so I'm
not a market maker but that's what the
market is today who knows what that
market will be in two years with this
project
um
we worked extensively with the neighbors
and I thank the neighbors but I want to
point out we were working through a
private use agreement but we're still
committed
to put in our ccnr's restrictions on
land uses like semiconductors and those
type of things that use hazardous raw
materials that could be dangerous and so
we're still going to work with the
neighbors and commit and I wanted to go
on the record to say that we're going to
work with the neighbors on restricting a
lot of uses in our ccnrs that we've
discussed and will work with them as we
go forward
and also remind everybody that this
process does not stop here tonight with
the vote of the council hopefully if the
council so decides to move this project
forward there's site planning and design
review and permitting for many many
years this is a big project that will
take a long time to develop and and so
we'll be at this hopefully with the town
to have this project that will benefit
the whole town for many many years to
come
and and finally before I get started I
want to point out
I think the change came
um
when we got some people involved in the
project that wanted to create a legacy
type project here
not just do another industrial stamp
project cookie cutter
stamp it and go stamp it and go when
Langley and Stacy got involved and
colmina really stepped up to the plate
and said no we want to do something
different here we want to work with the
neighbors to make something unique and
different and outstanding and so I know
it's been Stacy's goal from the
beginning in working with these
neighbors just to create something that
he can continue to be involved in that
will be a legacy for this area and I
know in working with colemina and miss
and the Bolin family they want to create
something unique here that is a legacy
something that they're proud of and we
have several Legacy projects in the town
but I think this can be another one that
we can look back on and be proud on so
having said that I'm going to go ahead
and get started with my presentation
that was my introduction
sorry about that I'm being a little
long-winded I'm a little excited about
this project because it really has been
a lot of work to get to where we are
today as we pointed out in November we
were given a mandate go work with the
neighbors come back to us with something
that works for everybody and we believe
we have done that with the majority of
the people we did we have staff support
we have the Planning Commission support
and we have a lot of neighborhood
support for this plan
when we started working with the
neighbors really
in November and December and January and
February and March and April we
identified several things that the
neighbors were really concerned on that
we had to change the plan to address we
had to look at these and make changes to
the plan and come back to planning staff
sorry I'm pointing to playing staff
they're usually sitting over here in the
old days
we had to make changes the plan we had
to
work with staff to fit within the law
but also work with the neighbors to make
something work that addresses their
concerns and that's what we tried to do
with identifying these are five of some
of the many issues that we try to change
the plan with
the first was to look at the existing
zoning this is not a vacuum a typical
big zoning case in the old days was acre
lot or farming land where your only
other option is just to go farm it or
build acre lot homes on it that's not
the case with this property
there's existing industrial zone
property on this that goes right up to
we'll say Morrison Ranch and Langley
along our west side there is existing
General commercial zoning that exists on
this property today that has rights to
develop for example the light industrial
could build
25-foot landscape strip and building 75
feet off the property line
that would be a right that they have to
do The General commercial there's about
a hundred acres of General commercial in
the middle there's a lot of uses that
could build right off of the property
line on the west side today those are
existing uses including residential
multi-family apartments are allowed in
General commercial that hundred acres in
the Merc in the middle does allow Loft
over first floor retail second third
fourth floor multi-family apartments
under the code today so those are some
things that are allowed today but that's
not a good plan that's not trying to
work with the neighbors so on the right
we came forward with a conceptual plan
and a development plan that Veronica
pointed out that we think is far better
than what exists there today and
addresses buffering and trying to work
with these neighbors to make this a
better project and to create something
like the restaurant District that we're
trying to create that really is
something cool so let's go forward where
were we were plans started out
if industrial developers had their
druthers here we would be here with a 93
percent industrial stamp plan with just
a bunch of industrial on it that didn't
work that didn't fly nobody liked it
that was changed and dropped down to
about 80 percent plus 10 a business park
again a lot of industrial 80 to 90
percent type of industrial plan again
that didn't work
so we worked with neighbors to come up
with a revised plan that created buffers
on all side bringing that industrial the
true industrial down to about 65 with
some business park at about five six
percent for a total of about 71 percent
with a lot of really cool mixed-use
commercial type development including a
restaurant District in that project so
that's the plan that we came forward we
work with the neighbors extensively on
now let's walk through some of that
the first one of the big issues was the
buffer along the west side that doesn't
exist on the zoning today
we agreed to work with the neighbors to
take where the utility site is on the
North West corner
on their Eastern property line and just
draw a line straight down
all the way to Warner and create a big
massive open space buffer between
existing residential and food
residential being developed and the
proposed development
that creates the largest buffer I've
ever been involved in in 30 years of
doing this project of doing this type of
work it's about 16 and a half acres
of open space that's equivalent I think
to what was it like
12 football fields lined up along the
west side and a substantial amount of
that will be grass and open space that
will work with staff going forward
we created some vignettes or or some uh
sight line studies of what it's going to
look like from and across that open
space from Morrison Ranch open space you
can see up on the top or the bottom
right hand corner where those Graphics
would be looking through that open space
buffer so it creates a huge area of
landscape and open space across that
that will help to buffer any future or
the future development on this project
one of the other key components was to
create a a really nice destination
restaurant area
and there's a lot that goes in to make
you just don't plop that up in the
middle of nowhere you have to have a lot
of things or elements that contribute
and make that work and this plan we
think does that
but we created this unique destination
restaurant retail area mixed use area
right there at the entrance to Cactus
Cactus yards
sorry I've known it for too many years
but right there at the interest of
cactus yards which we think is a good
convergence of a lot of activity that's
going to not only happening now
but as that grows and and it's it's busy
all the time but there's a lot of people
that will be visiting in addition to the
Morrison Ranch in addition to the people
that are going to live here and in
addition to the people that live in the
area that will be able to visit and help
make this destination restaurant area
successful
we prepared some exhibits the staff of
the quality of the type of destination
restaurant that we'd want to see there
at Elliott and Cactus yard way there's a
traffic signal there today and that will
be the entrance into that really
destination restaurant area that was a
critical component to the neighbors they
wanted something cool they wanted
something unique and we're committing in
this plan to do that with the commercial
development
here's some other existing or some
exhibits of of what that would look like
in working with staff going forward
should the council approve this we would
work with staff on a site plan and
elevations and building elevations and
the next step on the design to bring
this to fruition
I think everybody's seen these Graphics
so I'm going to flip through those first
people who haven't seen them in the
audience but really creating that
destination area where you can go take
your family go take your your partner or
whoever you're going to be with
and have a drink or have dinner or or
just hang out and have a good time so
it's it's really going to create a
unique area
as Veronica pointed out truck traffic
was a big deal and so we created a truck
traffic plan you can see on this the
yellow would represent how that truck
traffic would circulate they did not or
we did not want to have trucks accessing
Elliott we wanted to keep Elliot more of
a a residential commercial type feel not
a truck area so you can see the with the
land plan we designed it so all the
truck traffic will go out to power and
down to Warner
that would be represented by the yellow
and then the more the passenger vehicle
type business
and residential type traffic commercial
retail would be in the black and that's
part of the the plan that we're
presenting
one of the other things in driving
through this area
the roads need to be done
and so with this project there will be
almost 20 million dollars worth of
off-site improvements that will be
completed with this project you'll have
improvements to Elliott the power to
Warner that will help finish this area
off it's busy and the roads need to be
done this plan is a viable plan and can
help get those roadway improvements done
at the cost of the developer so that's
we're excited to see that happen
including a traffic signal kind of at
the the center of the project that will
help facilitate movement in the area of
all the truck traffic
some of the physical buffers the
existing zoning that's there today
as I mentioned early on they could build
industrial building 75 feet off of the
property line with a 25-foot landscape
buffer
we created this huge buffer both with
the open space along the west side
remember all the football fields that
green on the top represents all those
football fields along the top but also
with distance and with buildings where
we created the Town Home Project which
is that two-story kind of in the Middle
with a restricted light industrial over
adjacent to the Lennar so your first
building is going to be 870 feet away
from the property line in comparison to
the existing zoning which you could
build 75 feet off the property line so
it is a big huge difference and
enhancement or betterment of what's
existing there today
that vertical construction both with the
the business park restricted light
industrial and the town homes and the
mixed use over there will create
physical structures that will not only
separate but will help with the sound to
help dissipate that sound that would
come
oh from over a thousand feet or more
internal to the project with the
commercial traffic that goes so we
created distance and vertical physical
structures to help with that
um
I just talked about this we're also
going to be restricting some of the uses
in this light industrial area that we've
worked with the neighbors that's part of
our plan as well
here's some views of what that would
look like from the Morrison Ranch
we also created a buffer from Elliott
road that was important to the neighbors
that Elliott remained different they
don't want Elliott to become the truck
traffic Corridor Elliot's going to be
different more of a passenger vehicle
type commercial retail traffic and so
those buffers with the mixed use
development and the retail development
and the restaurant development along
Elliott would do that both visually so
as you drive down Elliott you're going
to see residential buildings and Retail
buildings as opposed to industrial
buildings right out on the street and so
that will create a much softer
presentation to both Cactus yards but
everybody who's driving up and down
Elliott Road
and here's some renderings of what that
could look like with our design
submittal with the different projects
this would be the mixed use project this
is where both the residential and would
have some first floor retail on that
that's presented in the plan
as well I'm just kind of working through
these I know you've all seen them you
can see some areas with some first floor
residential first floor retail
on that design but very high quality
nice project
so let's talk about the Gilbert Town
values I'm doing this tongue and cheap
but I think it's also important and I
enjoyed it last time so that's why I'm
doing it this time
um
I think this project will help well
let's talk about be driven it will help
drive this portion of Gilbert into a
different area it will create
substantial employment jobs and taxes
with almost a billion dollars in
valuation that are going to go here it
will benefit both the school districts
and secondary property tax so all of the
town of Gilbert by development here
that the taxes just aren't happening
today so it's driven it's kind in that
we in working with the community and the
neighbors we created substantial buffers
that are significantly more and bigger
than exist today and so it worked with
the neighbors to be sensitive to the
surrounding Community bold
this developer is making substantial
concessions to try to work with the
community that is very bold in working
with them they're allowing it or they're
proposing instead of one big stamped
industrial project that everybody would
like to see and if you go across the
street into Mesa on the other side of
the rwcd that's what you see just
stamped industrial projects building
after building after building of
industrial this is different this is
bold this is unique where they've
Incorporated a lot of different land
uses into this 300 acres to try to make
it unique and different and a place that
as you drive down Elliott or power or
Warner Road or you live in Morrison
Ranch to the West you can look at and
say okay this turned out much better
than what Mesa is doing on the other
side of rwcd this is very very bold and
it's a risk for this developer most
developers wouldn't take this risk but I
think that goes to the type of Legacy
project that called Mina and Langley
want to do here to have something that
will be they'll be proud of for years
and years and years to come
my favorite one is humble
for those that know zoning attorneys and
developers this is a difficult one to be
humble because a lot of developers this
is the way it's done this is the way
it's always been done this is the way
we're going to do it and that type of
mentality gets you in trouble I think
that my type of mentality got him in
trouble
but when they started to be humble and
and say you know what let's sit down and
listen
let's listen to the neighbors let's
listen to their concerns let's listen to
what they have to say
and then try to work with them to make
something happen that is the humility I
think that this developer and and and
developers presented to the community to
say hey we want to do something unique
here we want to do something nice we
want to do something that we're going to
be proud of five years 10 years 30 years
from now and sitting down and listening
to the neighbors to be humble and and
incorporating those into the plan that's
the difference there's people that will
listen
and then there's people that will
incorporate into the plan and that's the
plan that we've presented to you tonight
we think it's an outstanding plan we
think it is it's going to be really uh
something that we can be proud of now
having said that
we have a recommendation of approval
from the planning staff and a
recommendation approval from the
Planning Commission in working with the
planning staff we identified something
in condition number six that we need to
um revise
if you remember over adjacent to the
Lennar project here we have these
restricted single-story Business Park
type buildings these are restricted in
height and and all the docks we design
these buildings so the docks can't face
Lennar or Morrison and Lennar here the
docs have to face this way which means
this is the front of these buildings
facing the open space
and so these are going to be business
Suites
and the way the stipulation is written
is we can't have signage on the front of
these business Suites
which is a problem for us because when
you drive up to these buildings there
might be three businesses in this
building
you need to know which is XYZ
Corporation or ABC business and in
working with staff we said guys we have
to have some type of signage that when
you drive up you know which Suite to go
into
they said we agree let's work with you
we just don't want big illuminated signs
or lit signs that are going to be
obnoxious and that's why we we came up
with a a revision to condition number
six that we would hope should the
council choose to move forward would
incorporate I think staff is supportive
of this
I'm getting a nod by the front row that
this would allow these business Suites
up here to have signage on the front
door of these businesses so when people
go to work
they know this is you know
Joe's business and Sally's business and
their different signs you got to have
that on the front of your business I
don't know anybody that doesn't have a
sign on the front of their their
business to let people know where they
are at so that is important we hope if
you choose to move approval that you
would do it with this revised condition
of approval
so I've been a little passionate about
it
this is a great project that has taken a
lot to get here I think a lot has been
done we've again I started with this and
I'm going to end with this I want to
express our appreciation for the
Neighbors there's been a group of
neighbors a large group of neighbors
that have worked with us both in
meetings but also called me directly
called State Stacy directly and called
I'm sure you council members directly
and we've tried to really listen
and incorporate those ideas to come up
with a plan that we're presenting to you
this evening so I appreciate those
neighbors and their patience to be at
this for eight months is a big deal and
we appreciate their time in in working
with us and trying to come forward with
a plan that can be supportable by the
council so with that I'm going to shut
down and say thank you very much we
appreciate your your time we hope you
can see the value that this project will
have to the town as a whole
the value and time and effort that's
gone in by the neighbors and the and the
developer to make something that will
benefit the town for many many years to
come and so we hope you can support
these four different applications and uh
happy I'm happy to answer any questions
with that
thank you Mr Lake
I think the neighbors have actually been
at it for longer than eight months I
think you came into it a little later
than the neighbors did and they think
they've been out they've been out for
years longer with this case in
particular any questions council member
Anderson I see your mic on yes yes sir
thank you I noticed on the side plan is
there is there a particular reason that
we're zoning the open space General
commercial we didn't know what else to
Zone it there's no open space zoning
District I I was concerned of zoning it
multi-family because then people might
think I'm pulling a fast one so we
didn't Zone it multi-family I didn't
want to Zone a single family
we just picked a category put it on the
development plan and then restricted it
okay
it's not there's not enough depth there
to do anything with commercial anyways
there's not and the development plan
wouldn't allow you to do that anyway
it's restricted to be open space only
and speaking of the open space could you
describe again the treatment of that
it's not all going to be Turf I'm
assuming no and that's something we're
going to be working with staff there's
conditions that address that but there
will be because we're adjacent to
Morrison Ranch so there will be some
Turf Incorporated that that's addressed
in the condition of approval and that's
something that we during the site
planning and Landscape planning the
design review that we'll be working
through that process
thank you
are there questions for Mr lake at this
time we will be able to bring him back
up for more questions
councilmember Bon Jovani can I ask one
quick question oh I'm sorry Chuck it'll
be quick
this is kind of a silly question
probably but you keep saying that the
traffic you know we don't want that
traffic on Elliott and it's going to go
down power Road or down Warner Road
it's gonna it's gonna go is it going out
Elliott where is it going out from
and I know it's on there but when they
go out are they gonna they're gonna exit
right on Power Road correct
mayor councilmember Buckley let me
clarify that just there's two different
types of traffic that are generated by
this project right the first would be
more of your truck
big business type traffic and that would
be the the center of this development
and that traffic we are if you're a
truck and you need to go deliver
something to another business the
quickest route to do that would be to
get out to power and go down to power
get on the freeway or go out worn or
based upon where you're at and at Warner
go out to power and get on the freeway
and leave that's where we want to focus
the traffic out to power and Warner for
that big truck type business heavier
business type traffic that's different
than the residential passenger vehicle
traffic so if you live here or you're
live here or you're eating here in the
restaurant area or you live here or
you're you're going to this retail area
that traffic will go
primarily out to Elliott or to power and
we'll go that direction that's more of
your passenger vehicle type traffic that
we see out on Elliott road today and so
we wanted to separate those two
different types of traffic so that you
didn't have
um my wife and I going out to dinner it
co-mingle or going out to lunch
commingling with a 18-wheeler that's
headed to Buckeye
for example yeah
okay that that explains that well
however there's no guarantee when those
trucks exit onto power of where they're
going to go whether they may go down to
power and turn left and still go down
Elliott or still go down Warner
that's a bit of a concern for me I mean
we can't guarantee where they're going
to go
and I get that you are trying your best
to have them exit in in the most
appropriate way
but I have a little bit of concern uh
because they could they could take
Elliot or they could take Warner all the
way out to the 101 the arterial
interior road so I have a little bit of
concerns about that but I just wanted to
clarify with you exactly where that's
going that that's that's a great Point
we've talked with our traffic engineer
about that
particularly your bigger vehicles like
an 18-wheeler
um I don't see them they don't like
um arterial roadways or collector
roadways they want freeways and so their
preference to for them they physically
because of the buffer that we've created
here along Elliott they physically
there's no way for them to drive out to
Elliott so for a big truck to get to
Elliott Road they're going to have to go
out to the traffic signal on power
and decide do I want to go
get on the freeway
and go to the 101 or do I want to go
back to Elliott and take a surface Road
somewhere to get on a freeway to go
where I'm going our traffic engineer
looked at this and and believes that
just about all the big big trucks
they're going to choose first and
foremost get on the freeway less
accidents less problems you can you can
we can control our drivers how they you
know when the tenants lease buildings
where they go and how they go but once
they get on an arterial roadway there's
nothing to I guess stop a 18-wheeler
from going wherever they went on they
could
but we think they're all pretty much
going to go down to the freeway and head
out of town wherever they're headed
foreign
thank you
hello Sean yes sir I thought you were
far away from me because you weren't
going to included
I was about 10 yards further yeah okay
quick question for you um
I noticed that the bay the truck base
you're not going to face towards the
neighborhood
any consideration for these apartments
slash potential condos
to have the back of those buildings
not have windows so they don't look
outside and see these big buildings
either can you put the bathrooms maybe I
know you're not there yet but maybe put
the bathrooms in the back of the
building so there's no windows facing
the industrial buildings because I
wouldn't want to have an apartment or a
condo looking outside and see in a
building like that
the mayor council member Bon Giovanni a
great point and that's something we have
talked with staff about designing these
buildings and that's the next step
that's the site plan design review
and you can see on some of these or
these buildings we've tried to design it
so for example here on the Elliott
roadside we've tried to design that
those buildings face either East or West
as opposed to South so that your front
porches and your patios and your your
areas that you would go
would would go into you know other
residential areas as a we don't want any
porches patios or those type of things
facing to the South to the industrial
likewise on these buildings we can work
with staff to try to design it maybe we
put the garage of some of the units up
against facing the industrial because
nobody they want to go to the other side
where the patio is so that's something
we can definitely work through with
staff to minimize as much as possible
that okay thanks
council member Torgeson
Lake yes sir
with the current zoning
people could put industrial this was the
problem I believe we were encountering
in November people could have industrial
facing Morrison Ranch correct
uh yes let me go to that so the with the
existing zoning on the property that
light industrial or the business park
type uses those could be facing there's
no restrictions on design or dock doors
it can be much closer
the zoning code only requires those
buildings be 75 feet away
and our open space tracked alone
is 280 feet in that area and so just the
open space let alone the the the the
town homes or the mixed use homes that
are going in there
and that's by right by right could do it
they could go design and submit a Dr
package today and do that okay and then
the there's about 70 Acres of GC which
could be mixed use Apartments
Etc at this point and with the rezoning
that comes down to about half of that
yeah mayor council member Torgeson
yes I was estimating because in the old
days when this was zoned we didn't have
exact meets we didn't we probably should
have but we didn't have exact legal
descriptions The General commercial is
about a hundred acres which was in stats
presentation
the current Gilbert Town code allows
leftover
residential in General commercial by
right and what that means it's a mixed
use type project like epicenter where
you could do two three four stories up
to 45 feet by right
in that hundred acres and so if somebody
wanted to do first floor retail with
second third fourth floor residential in
The General commercial in the center
they could go do that by right
today just submit a site plan a design
review and go with it now I haven't
pushed that because this process has not
been about
threatening or or anything this has been
about guys let's work together to come
up with a plan but you're right there
there is a right right now on that
hundred acres to do
apartments on it multi-family that would
be much closer
and
at this plan with with the agreement and
the pad it brings it down to am I
reading 34 Acres from almost 100. we
would be about there'd be about 14 acres
of town homes here which is two-story
type Townhomes which is a you know a lot
less in impactful and then this would be
a mixed use project first floor retail
type use with residential that's about
11 acres
nine acres and then this is about 11.7
so you got 11.7 plus nine
is 20 that would be mixed use
three story type stuff and then
um 14 acres of two-story so 20 34 Acres
versus 100 acres
so it brings it about a third
of what it is today
all right thank you
any other questions for Mr lake at this
time
Mr Lake you may have a seat thank you
and rest your voice for a little while
I know you'll be back
now we'll move into our public testimony
the vice mayor has the slips of anyone
wishing to make comments on this issue
this evening Vice Merrell pass it to you
thank you mayor before we begin calling
people up I wanted to note that I have
three cards where they did not wish to
speak
Daniel strasa against
mark
Bramlett
four
Johnny bergenshaw
four so those three did not wish to
speak
um we had a resident who
um requested I think 24 hours ago to
or more to
have additional time
and speak on behalf of others I know
that that's not what we do every time
and I believe I just want to check with
the council to make sure there's no
objections before we move forward
okay
thank you
um Sarah Strazza will be allowed to
speak for six minutes and she is
speaking on behalf of herself Tessa Lee
Deb Grover
Sarah Groves
Kelly Johnston Mark Lawless Jamie
Lawless Jennifer Pullman Brandon stin
and Chelsea good Sarah if you would come
forward
chevelli are you able to do six minutes
great
once Sarah is completed then we'll go to
the three minutes each for the rest of
the thank you thank you
good evening staff Town Council mayor
Peterson my name is Sarah straws and I
stand before you tonight as a resident
of Morrison Ranch Community and thank
you so much for the opportunity to speak
you know how very important this is to
the community and after hearing all this
my speech is a reiteration of some of
this so for time's sake I'll condense
some of my points
I want to acknowledge the developer and
Stacy Brimhall they've made some
concessions that were tremendously
meaningful to the community
for example the developer improved the
circulation as he spoke to the biggest
one was diverting the semi trucks and
then also blocking so it doesn't go near
the cactus yards or that church that's
right there that was very important to a
lot of the folks in the neighborhood
the prior proposal just didn't have that
safety or quality of life for the
residents of Morrison Ranch so that was
a very big Improvement
the amenity was placed on the Western
border as Sean had mentioned that sound
barrier and safety barrier and that pod
overlay limits the building Heights that
border that Western Edge which was very
important to provide a transition zone
all the crosstalks as you said aren't
facing and that was really wonderful as
well people were concerned about the
sound increased walkability was added
with dining and entertainment and then a
thoughtful mixed-use zoning was
incorporated with the consideration of
luxury multi-family over commercial
buildings to ensure that the people that
work in engineering jobs adjacent
industrial spaces would have the ability
to have a residency for any work
contracts that were near there probably
donating like industry and growth
without disrupting the character area
and providing transition
Additionally the developer has proposed
putting in use restrictions in a
property document that would restrict
harmful Manufacturing
these would prohibit any end users at
any time now or in the future to
manufacture noxious or harmful chemicals
prohibit semiconductor or chip
manufacturing EV battery storage and
Manufacturing I only speak for myself
but personally this was extremely
important and helped me have not as many
reservations Gilbert is at a precipice
and we do not want to fall
history has shown industry operations
can sometimes expand beyond their
original plans and reassurances and the
long-term effects can be detrimental to
nearby communities so it's vital that
Our Town Council prioritize the interest
and safety of the residents they
represent both now and in the future
if this proposed zoning is passed I
respectfully request that the Town
Council votes against any use permit
applications for some magic conductor
computer chip manufacturing as well as
electric battery storage Recycling and
Manufacturing this area my biggest hope
being a dedicated part of this process
was to unite all of us as a community to
make changes that lead to prosperity and
meaningful growth for all parties
involved
on a personal note I would love to see
aquaponics in a desalination plant
um just because of our water demand
issues I appreciate the I appreciate the
developers willingness to reduce
industrial zoning to more General
commercial and mixed-use Zoning these
changes will help to create a more
diverse zoning which is essential for a
town like Gilbert
I believe that the proposed development
is a vast improvement from what was
initially proposed and the developer
took our concerns seriously ultimately
the responsibility of making the final
decision lies within the Town Council as
you're entrusted to represent the best
interests of the community I trust that
you'll take this into account our
concerns our opinions of the
constituents while carefully evaluating
the potential risks and benefits of this
development thank you so much
thank you Sarah
next we have Brandon riff and following
Brandon will be Jennifer Wada
good evening
um I'll try to condense some of my
comments to avoid repetition but
um the fact is uh last year I received a
phone call from a council member that uh
said he said that this plan was probably
going to pass they had the votes
and I was pretty upset about it until he
told me to wait a second the developer I
I want you to meet this guy he doesn't
want to ramrod this thing through he
wants to work with you guys will you
guys meet with him and I said absolutely
let's set it up and his name is Stacy
Brimhall and he's present I
I don't know if he's going to speak or
not but I want to make sure everybody
understands that he voluntarily
set this up when he could have rammed it
through and and didn't have to do any of
this I think that's really uh really
unique and really speaks to his
character
but we all came together and we're
talking a dozen meetings and I probably
spent close to 100 hours and I know that
I wasn't alone in doing that in the
group of residents that worked together
to make this thing happen it's true
apartments and Industrial aren't popular
with residents and this proposal does
have both
um I ask that everybody look at the
bigger picture
because this plan has significant
changes that will protect the people of
Morrison Ranch if you vote for it this
will secure those critical protections
for Morrison Ranch residents
if you vote against it this will
surrender those critical protections and
that means that the next time a
developer comes along and he may not be
as kind as Stacy Brimhall it means we
start over again it means that we begin
the whole process of trying to secure
all of these protections that we've
worked so hard to establish this has
been a grueling process and it's come at
an incredible price to me and my family
my business
um time spent on this away from My Wife
and Kids time I will never get back and
um I know that the other residents made
these same sacrifices all for the
betterment of the community
um again the industrial and apartments I
know neither are popular
I want to applaud some of the council
members in particular Jim Torgeson and
Chuck for that matter who have pushed
very hard to make the apartments instead
of rentals turn it into a fee simple
type of structure with town homes
condominiums
to make it so that people can afford
homes sooner than they would otherwise
by paying somebody else's mortgage
through rent and promoting strong ties
to the community with that
um I'll finish up here I'd like to thank
the council for supporting this process
and for putting us up to the process
this should hopefully serve as a model
for how residents and developers can and
should work together
and the council members who supported
all of this and were open for
communication from all of us in the
group I sincerely thank you and I urge
you to please vote to approve this
project thank you
thank you Brandon next we have Jennifer
wada and following Jennifer will be Ryan
handelsman
mayor Peterson council members my name
is Jennifer wada and I live in the
Elliot Grove subdivision of Morrison
Ranch I'm greatly relieved to be here
speaking to you about a plan that has
changed significantly since the council
meeting last November as part of the
group of Morrison Ranch residents who
have been communicating with the
developer to relay the concerns of the
neighborhood I can say that the process
to get here wasn't perfect and the plan
before you tonight reflects a lot of
hard work and frankly a lot of
compromise but there has been
significant Improvement in I like many
of my friends and neighbors no longer
oppose it I'm not here to tell you how
to vote to complain to praise or to make
suggestions but I do have a request
I'm thankful for the involvement of the
developer and their willingness to
listen to our community's concerns they
shared a few different plans over recent
months including at the neighborhood
meeting and made changes based on the
comments and feedback they received we
as residents didn't get everything we
asked for and most of us still believe
it's too much residential near our
neighborhood but with the added retail
transitional residential buffer and
green space amenity we hope that what
has made this project bearable on paper
will also make it bearable and parts of
it even enjoyable when it's built out
that leads to my request if this project
receives your approval we will be at the
mercy of the town and the developer to
see that it gets built the way it's been
presented yes there might be small
necessary engineering or design changes
that make a little difference but should
any significant changes a request be
presented we are trusting the town
including this Council the Planning
Commission and town staff to uphold the
vision and the plan that you approved a
number of residents have dedicated
significant time effort and resources
for the better part of a year now some
even longer and any lack of opposition
from our neighborhood has been not just
because of the plan's elements but also
because we were assured it was created
with integrity and honest intention
tonight if you vote to approve this
project I'm asking that before you and
other Town departments make any
decisions down the road that may come
before you in the future of this project
you consider a few things including all
that the neighborhood went through to
get to the point we're at tonight the
impact it will have on the residents in
close proximity the Integrity of our
town government and the value of having
and enforcing accountability it would be
greatly appreciated
I would like to also at this time thank
vice mayor Kathy tilkey she stepped up
to be the town liaison for the
discussions between the neighbors and
the developer and she has stood by us
the entire time dedicated to
transparency providing information
support and honest feedback
I'm also thankful that the development
team was open to creating a plan that
has more benefits and less impact on our
community than the original plan and
lastly I'm grateful to my fellow
neighbors who stepped up and tirelessly
gave of their time talents and heart and
dedication to protecting and maintaining
a neighborhood that we all love thank
you
thank you Jennifer Ryan
following Ryan is Kevin Marvin
good evening everybody Ryan handelsman
town of Gilbert a lot of this probably
will be repetitive but I think it's all
for the positive
echoing what was said already eight
months ago I was one of many at the
Forefront of a mission and a movement to
take what was an originally a horrific
plan and make sure it met its demise
some of you were on the previous Council
and ultimately decided to table that
vote and gave us explicit Direction as a
community to go back to the neighbors to
go back to the Developers
and go to the drawing board and see if
we can sort of work things out
it was an open invitation to any
Community member that wished to step up
to the plate which ultimately through
time whittled down to about seven of us
many of which you heard already speak
who spent countless hours with both the
developer and various members of the
community as well
to make a plan on a plan that is before
you today
every step of the way both the neighbors
and the developers took the time to go
back to the community at large for
feedback
the majority of the community became
more and more accepting of the plan as
each iteration of the plan continued to
be presented to us
and it all over time addressed a lot of
the Hot Topics that you heard Sarah and
some of the other people come and talk
about
such as safety traffic use restrictions
transition areas and the desire for
additional retail in a place that was
quote unquote cool as per the packet
since this agenda item I believe you
have the opportunity to ask us questions
so I welcome them but if in anticipation
of perhaps the one or two comment cards
that you saw there might be a couple
people that stand before you tonight in
blatant opposition of the plan
and I know that if I was sitting in your
position I would be curious to know were
they all involved in all of the
opportunities that were presented
themselves along the way if anybody
stands here before you and is in a
blatant opposition of the plan I would
be curious where they at the
neighborhood meeting that only 20 or 30
people showed up to
were they at the two plantings and
Zoning meetings that I was at I mean I
was one of two citizens that showed up
to that those meetings
and I can speak on behalf of the
community and say that with whether it
be Stacy or colemana or Sean's office
it was an open door policy so at any
point leading up to tonight they had
plenty of times to be constructive in
the process
um
some people again will simply want to
argue and oppose something and not be
willing to be constructive and provide a
way to resolve but with the help of the
community and council members and
developers working together
we've gone from arguably if I remember
correctly 1500 people in opposition in
that November meeting
to only a handful
and I think that is a testament to all
and I'm proud to be a part of the
process and I am excited to hopefully
Patron some of these destinations of
restaurants and retail shops thank you
thank you Ryan Kevin are up and
following Kevin is Jace Robinson
can you hear me okay I'm Kevin Marvin uh
Gilbert resident in Morrison Ranch
and I've spoke with you a number of
times on this
when I got my one minute in November
um at the very end I talked about a
win-win
and I think Jennifer summed up
everything I would want to say
so you know there's really not a lot
more to be said there but really thank
everyone who participated and put the
tireless hours in it was a great team
effort and I really appreciate that
um so I am I believe we're at the
win-win State it's a compromise sure but
it is a win-win
and so what what I'd like to talk about
is just
what have we learned from this
are we going to make changes in how
maybe the Planning Commission works
because
ever the majority of them when they
approve this like in October and
recommended it they all said the
transition wasn't good enough but still
the majority voted for it and that's
just still baffling to me and so I hope
we're figuring out a way to use this as
a model
for the future so it doesn't take heroic
efforts because it really was a heroic
effort by so many people and it doesn't
have to be that way
and so that's what I asked for
is for the other projects that come you
know forward but I do ask you to approve
this I am in favor of it and thank you
for thank you for your time
thank you very much Kevin
Jace following Jace is Josh Brimhall
my name is Jason Robinson I live at 3931
East Gale Drive and I'm in favor of the
ranch thank you
thank you Jace
Josh if you'll come forward and
following Joss will be Stacy brummell
uh good evening mayor vice mayor council
members my name is Josh Brimhall I'm
with Langley properties
more importantly I'm a sixth generation
arizonan
um
great great grandparents long history in
Arizona
specifically actually
I spent majority of my life in the town
of Gilbert
um
and uh and intend to keep doing that
actually it's the one thing my wife and
I can agree on is
is living in uh having our kids raised
in Gilbert go to school in Gilbert all
the way
um all the way up through high school so
that's our plan and
um and in regards to this specific plan
um that we're that you guys will be
voting on tonight the I kind of have the
same attitude as I do with the town of
Gilbert being involved
um
being involved in Gilbert and then
continue to be involved in Gilbert with
this plan a lot of people put a lot of
work into it a lot of meetings a lot of
collaboration a lot of time and
um we all came to a
a plan that we can also would agree that
that works
and so
so tonight I'm in favor of the plan and
ask for your approval and thank you for
your time
thank you Josh Stacy up next and
following Stacy will be Brian Mosley
hi Marion Council my name's Stacey
Brimhall I'm better known as Josh's dad
and uh I'm not as well I can't speak as
well as he can nor am I as near as good
looking as he is but uh
he is sixth generation arizonan and
we're vested
and
um
we would this is our town and
you know it will be a place where not
only where we raised our kids but we're
our grandkids will be raised and great
grandkids will be raised and we want
something really great and a legacy of
that
um but
I'd like to just primarily focus on
something that I learned or what I
really learned through this process
so
growing up in Gilbert we didn't have
um a street sweep
and downtown Gilbert would get a lot of
cotton and a lot of hay off the off the
trucks blown into the gutters and
without a street sweep it got really
really quite quite ugly and every month
my mother would get us all together and
we'd closed down Gilbert Road
um
I guess without a permit and
sorry please guys
um and she she'd get all her friends and
we would clean uh Gilbert wrote she
taught us volunteerism and it wasn't
always fun but we did it and we did it
every every month and so that was how I
was raised but so what I relearned from
the Morrison Ranch
neighbors the ones especially that got
heavily involved is the importance of
volunteerism and it kind of renewed my
spirits in humanity
and so
I just want to just
say thank you
thank you
thank you Stacy Brian
and Brian will be the last speaker
tonight
hello I'm Brian Mosley president of
Morrison Ranch I think even the new
council members remember from that I'd
like to start with the story
so last night I was talking with my I
just turned 18 year old son about
whether it's really worth it to vote
um
because you know gerrymandering and all
the things that he's learning about in
high school that getting into Civics
education and whether it's whether it's
all rigged um
and you know I try to explain to him how
important it was um and I think uh you
know I told him that you know I knew I
was going to have the same dilemma
tonight which is that you know we had
1500 people vote and participate last
time and tell you what they felt and you
know it's summer some people are going
to be out of town and but even so we
have less people we have to assume that
means that that a lot of them are are
not as opposed but but I don't know you
know like I say I didn't try to ask my
neighbors to to represent a bunch of
people and take a lot of time tonight
because I know some of them you know
have mixed feelings about this
um and you know it's much easier to
oppose something and get people to be
all on board with opposing it than to
say you know this is far enough
um you know my goal from the beginning
was to to push this as far as we could
um and to make as many improvements as
possible so that it wouldn't mess up our
neighborhood I live right up against it
um and you know from our perspective it
was a done deal and it was going to be
approved and and
um we appreciate the support of the
council to to tell them that it wasn't
good enough and to give to make them
come back and work with us and um you
know
Mrs Lake would say this is you know a
huge open space 16 and a half acres or
16.7 acres and I would say you know we
only gave up three 3.3 Acres of the 20
acre amenity that's currently planned
under the current zoning and he would
say that you know
um they gave up you know maybe a quarter
of the of the light industrial that
they're asking for and I'd say well we
only you know allowed a three to four
four times increase so you know it is
more it's more light industrial than we
want you know it's not everybody excited
about about multi-family for sure but um
to have somebody you know build
something that works with the
neighborhood that respects the
neighborhood that's there that we can
look out from the end of our street and
and have a good view that we can get out
to and connect to
um the restaurants and and Retail and
have an opportunity to really do that I
think is something that you know I just
don't know will come next time and
that's why I I support this and I
appreciate the changes that have been
made
um and you know it's been a long process
uh it's been a lot a lot of time as
people have said
um and you know been been some bad
feelings all around or or or
animosity and things like that and so
um you know but I appreciate the chance
to to participate in this process and
and that it listened and was was that
you listened it was that it was a you
know an effective process that brought
about real real change and uh you know I
guess I'll say in closing that you know
uh like I say um I I I I support it at
this point and and I think that it's
made good changes I look forward to to
eating there and uh you know maybe as an
attorney myself I feel bad in particular
for for Adam Baugh who had to represent
the developers at a time when they
hadn't been taken down to Peg and they
weren't quite ready to work with us uh
so don't shoot the messenger I and maybe
I'll take him out to eat at one of these
restaurants someday thank you
thank you Brian mayor that is the end of
the public comments
thank you vice mayor next on our order
of proceedings we will have
the applicant come back up and respond
do you want to
or why are you shaking your
councilmember Anderson
I don't have a question for you Sean
thank you I haven't quite somebody else
may have but I'd like Jennifer to come
back out for a kind of good
just a couple of things to kind of
illustrate how important this project is
to the town
I think
the uh
council member Anderson one second is it
okay if we go out of order proceedings
because this is a public hearing and we
do a very specific order of proceedings
that we're supposed to follow Chris so I
just want to
thank you mayor probably probably be
best to see if there's any other
questions for the applicant first and
then we could move and if not we can
just continue on thank you and I heard
that I had a question over here for the
applicant so
sorry Jen no problem Mr Lake if you
could come back up please
vice mayor
thank you mayor
um Sean Mr Lake apologies ma'am I um
I know you briefly mentioned
um some items that you were willing to
put in the ccnrs it came up in in the
comments I wonder if you could just
reiterate the commitment
to put those items in a ccnr
yes when in working with the neighbors
here a list of of uses that we have
agreed to work with them to incorporate
into the ccrs that would prohibit uses
such as
sexually oriented business
um
dispensaries
crematories
I'm sorry I don't have my glasses on
recycling primary business is a
recycling type facilities
um
hazardous waste storage and
Manufacturing those type of hazardous
materials semiconductor type using raw
materials that to create cementite
conductors that can be dangerous to the
community
um and and working with them we had like
a distance for firearms for firearm
sales that we were going to incorporate
so yes we're going to work with continue
to work with them to incorporate those
into the ccnrs
thank you very much that's all I had
mayor
any other questions for the applicant at
this time this is your opportunity to
ask him questions
if you have any
thank you Mr Lake thank you now we can
bring staff up and if we'll ask Jennifer
to come up first please Jennifer thank
you Jen
councilmember Anderson sorry Jen you're
fine
uh you showed us a pie chart that showed
the land use percentages in town yes do
you happen to know it showed residential
is 58 percent do you happen to know what
percent of that residential is in
multi-family
mayor councilmember Anderson I don't
know that off that percentage Breakdown
off the top of my head
how about Ava or I would phone a friend
to my planning yeah phone a friend maybe
one of them know
just an estimate
mayor council member Anderson Ava coutro
planning manager last year we ran some
statistics and it's about 10 percent of
all residential in the town is
multi-family
and just for reference what is it in
Mesa and Tempe
I don't know theirs in particular but we
were the lowest in the area in the
valley yes
it's probably pushing 50 percent 40 to
50 percent I would guess
in 52
thank you thank you the other the other
number was six percent for industrial
and it's always been my understanding
that we should be pushing 10 percent to
avoid being a bedroom community is that
is that accurate mayor councilman
Anderson that's about right and I should
just point out that that six percent is
not just industrial that's all
employment designated so that would be
I'm including our business park office
so the land uses that are industrial as
well as the general office land uses
make up only six percent of our land use
thank you the only reason I bring those
both up is it shows the importance of
this project and and what it brings to
the town and I think is very important
thank you
thank you councilmember Anderson I'm
Veronica if you would like to come back
up does the council have any questions
for
Veronica our planning staff at this time
mayor yes vice mayor if it's not a
question can I just make a comment
or do I it's too Veronica
yes okay thanks
um
Veronica I just wanted to say thank you
you have been there every time I've
called
when the residents have had a question
and I always wanted to make sure I gave
them the right answer and you've been
there and thank you I know this process
is a little different than we're used to
but I just want to acknowledge that
thank you very much
mayor vice mayor thank you very much I
do appreciate that
I haven't asked council member koprowski
do you have any questions I think she
would have she would have said something
if she has any questions councilmember
Kapowski
thank you for checking in I don't have
any questions at this time
thank you
um Veronica we heard the um
comments about the use permit and I just
wanted to ask you if you could review
what a use permit process is in the
future because
they don't necessarily come to the
Gilbert Council they go to the Planning
Commission could you cover that please
yes mayor thank you
for some of the uses that have been
talked about do require a conditional
use permit
um the process for that it is a public
hearing process it is it's a public
hearing to the Planning Commission
though they make the ultimate decision
on the use permit process
if there was an appeal it would come to
the to the Town Council um the use
permit mayor that's correct um appeals
at that point would then be heard by
the council I just wanted to be clear on
the process in case anybody thought that
they would automatically be coming to
the to the council yes thank you any
other questions for
Veronica
seeing none Veronica you may have a seat
mayor if I may I would just like to
comment on the proposed change to the
stipulation that Mr Lake referred to
that would be within the um the zoning
ordinance for the 271 acre zoning case
uh the z2205 and staff is in support of
that change
the initial reason for that condition
was we did not want any lit signs to be
projecting towards the resident so
making that clarification in that
condition staff is supportive of
thanks for covering that Veronica yes
councilmember Anderson how about A-frame
signs
those are covered under the sign code
for the town of Gilbert
thank you Veronica I don't see any other
further comments do you have anything
else that you'd like to add that you
heard no thank you mayor thank you
appreciate it I will go ahead and close
the public hearing and bring it back to
the diocese for discussion
would anyone like to make some comments
councilmember Anderson
all Bleed It Off briefly
I want to thank especially the they've
always been affectionately referred to
as the G7 I don't know who all they are
out there but thank you so much for
being involved
and all the other residents who've been
involved throughout this process and
especially to the council members that
have been involved thank you so much
planning is a process it's not an event
and sometimes it's a messy process but
the the idea is to get to a point where
we find the best solution that will
benefit everybody that's concerned with
whatever we're working on and planning
and I think
Brandon was right this is this is kind
of a case study that we have coming
before as compared to when you compare
what happened in November and what
happened tonight
I have to take my hat off to everyone
including our staff that has been
involved in this process and it should
be something that is looked on
in other communities as an example of a
way that neighborhoods can work together
with Town staff and with
the council and developer and come to a
solution
that benefits the community as a whole
and I again I commend you for what
you've been able to do thank you
councilmember Bon Giovanni
um well this is It's been a journey you
know um
I started on that side of the diocese
with this thing with the pitchforks
and from there gone to about a number of
meetings 2000 pages of reading material
which everyone here has had and some of
them have actually more of that
countless hours also but to see the
community go from
enraged to engaged was remarkable to see
I I really appreciated that I see some
benefits here
Kodak was in my school district when I
was younger so I saw the benefits of
having that kind of tax base for my
education when I was younger and
a good friend of mine um
mentioned to me the other day that the
best negotiation is when everyone walks
away not happy
but satisfied
and I think that's exactly what happened
and what's Happening Here I mean
personally I'm not excited about 750
apartments or condos without any kind of
property maintenance ordinance yet
um but I can walk away from this
satisfied scene what everyone's done
um when Mr Lake first started this
project
he was talking about Disneyland you know
for that that restaurant area and I was
really concerned that it was going to
turn into a 25 cent horse ride at
Walmart
but it didn't he stayed true to his word
on that
um the coolest thing that I saw through
this whole process was the engagement in
the citizens working with Council
working with staff seen everyone had a
goal together and the the best thing I
saw throughout this whole process
is the conversions of being humble bold
driven and kind which are Gilbert values
so thank you everybody involved
vice mayor thank you mayor
um
first I just want to thank the residents
for coming together when the developer
was ready to have these conversations
because you didn't have to do that
um I was invited in and I didn't know
what to expect when I showed up and and
met you all and worked through this
process it was a hard process but you
stuck together and I appreciate getting
to know each of you individually as
we've gone through because you don't
always have that opportunity when you
when we're sitting up here and you have
a one time to come talk to us and then
we never see you again
um
there was a lot of concessions made I I
I've been
in in this business I guess through the
chamber through Economic Development
efforts
for 33 years before I retired and
I've never seen a developer
work so hard and give so much
to What the residents wanted and and
that's a testament not only to the
developer but to the residents because
you were willing to have those hard
conversations you were willing to make
some of those compromises for the
betterment of the whole Community while
protecting your neighborhoods and I want
you to be very
proud of the time and the effort because
it did take a lot of time away from your
business from your families I know I I
was there for a lot of those meetings
and I understand
so we are here today
to
vote on a project that
the community came together
for a much better project than we had at
the beginning
as I mentioned thank you to Veronica but
the entire staff
they were always there willing
to
do what they had to do to get us to the
next stage but always staying tight on
the quality and the standards of what
makes Gilbert great and I feel very
confident that as we move this project
forward
everything that is in writing will be
adhered to
they will not get past our staff
because they have the integrity and the
best interest of this community the same
as you do and as the developer has
um
already put forward for us to be here
today I am supportive of these projects
and
I know other people want to talk so I'll
just stop at that point thank you
thanks vice mayor council member
Torgerson
I just want to say that I'm going to
have to eat some Humble Pie on this
because
in engaging in this process I saw a
developer
well humble himself
and I looked at what could have been by
right and I see something that's come
out of this that is through engagement
an acceptable thing to the most affected
people uh by the project and it by all
metrics it's a a great looking project
and it'll be good for our town
and everybody accepted a little less
than they wanted to get there and you
know again to see them not have
industrial facing these homes for them
not to build up to a hundred acres of
mixed-use apartments and bring this down
I'm
really impressed by by Mr Brimhall Mr
Lake stuck to this and
worked extremely hard and patiently and
you know I feel that that
a lot of people here have earned my
respect and again I have to uh I have to
humble myself in this and look and see
what this is I feel by far the best
thing for the town and I appreciate
whether it's the mayor or the council
people that were here before me uh
letting us engage in this way kicking it
kicking the can down the road wasn't
kicking it down it kicked it down to
make a better product and uh
I'm just grateful to have been part of
it and to have met some of these people
that really gave of themselves and I
just wanted to say that
councilmember koprowski
I would just like to reiterate the thank
yous to the community members and the
developer and other stakeholders in this
project but everything else has been
said thank you
thank you councilmember Kapowski
councilmember Buckley
you don't have any comments
I will I would like to thank um
vice mayor tilkey for stepping up and
being involved in the process obviously
because of open meeting laws we are very
limited in how much we can all
participate at the same time together on
any given topic and so it makes it very
difficult for us when we have one two or
three people stepping up to be part of
the process then the rest of us cannot
and it looks like maybe we're not
engaged as much or don't want to be
engaged but that that's not the case we
just can't have the opportunity to be
engaged because of the way that state
law is written and I appreciate I had
never met Mr Brimhall and I think you're
just as good looking as your son so
and your fifth generation arizonan if
Jace is sixth generation right
um and Jace I love that the one thing
that your wife and you agree on is
bringing up your kids in Gilbert I
appreciate that too
um I appreciate the fact that you were
so willing to work we were at a very
difficult spot in November when we were
facing the fact that this case had to be
settled by the end of the year or being
told that we had to settle this case by
the end of the year and then being told
no you don't have to settle this case by
the end of the year and having it
brought to us to be continued and I
think we were all just a little
um
for clumped as to how to best handle
that at that time I've done a lot of
planning cases over the years a 184
meetings with the Planning Commission in
my time on that commission and I've seen
hundreds and hundreds of cases very
similar to this one that developers and
neighbors have come together to work to
come out with a better product so many
times and I think you all went Above and
Beyond in this case and I appreciate the
fact that you all did that it's been
said that
we're not fans of the 750 units of
multi-family I would
I don't like that fact at all it puts so
much more multi-family in Morrison Ranch
and
between Gabriella point and and that
location it's not something that I would
have chosen as um
an option for this property
um
I've struggled with this case a lot I
I haven't liked it from the beginning
and to have to now make the final
decision on the case this evening as is
a difficult one and like I said I've
done hundreds of these
this is a huge piece of property
I know you've all come here with
the best case scenario I think for
everybody you've come to a compromise
and you've come with the best case
scenario for everyone
so we will
I will wait for somebody to make some
motions they have to be done separately
we have to have a general plan motion
for
gp22-05 we have to have a zoning motion
for
z22-05 and then we will also need to
have a separate motion for
gp23-12 and a separate zoning motion for
z23-04 because there are four separate
entities in this case
if anyone would like to attempt the
first motion
just a reminder for the motion on the
Zoning for the z2205 if Council wanted
to include that stipulation about the
signage they would need to include that
that's stipulation number six I believe
and you could just refer to the sign to
stipulation number six
that would be
um
and you could say to include what that
stipulation has modified this evening
and you also need to say make move to
make the findings a fact for that item
because it's a zoning because it's a
zoning item they're written out in oh
you don't have your packet sorry
um
so would someone like to make the first
motion for the general plan I'm prepared
um so the first motion is to approve
General plan gp2205
. I'll second that I have motion by vice
mayor tilkey a second by council member
Bon Giovanni please vote
mayor we have a yes vote for item 38 as
well from council member
and the
motion passes
six to one
in this case and it needed to pass with
a 5-2
vote in order to for a super majority
for that General plan now the second one
would be for the z22-05 if someone would
like to make a motion
I'm happy to but let me know if you want
to jump in anytime
I'll make a motion to approve zoning
z2205 with the addition of stipulation
number six as presented tonight
I have a motion by vice mayor telkey
I'll second that one too second by
council member Bon Giovanni please vote
mayor we have a yes vote for item 38
zoning z2205 from council member
thank you chevelli that motion passes
also with a 6-1 vote moving on to the
next item which is GP 23
-12
if someone would like to
oh the motion
the motion on our packet says move to
recommend approval the Town Council
moves to approve
gp-20 23-12 if someone would like to
make that motion
mayor I'll make the motion to approve
General plan GP 23-12
I have a motion by council member
Anderson
second by council member Torgeson please
vote
I have a yes vote for councilmember
koprowski for item 39 General plan GP
2312. thank you
and that motion passes with a 6-1 vote
and the next one would be
the
z23-04
I'll move approval of zoning KZ 23-04
make the findings effect
I have a motion by councilmember
Anderson
seconded by council member Torgeson
please vote
I have a yes vote from council member
Kapowski for item 39 zoning KC 23-04
thank you chevelli that motion passes
6-1 all four of those
um the neighbor was council member
Buckley
thank you everyone
I'm going to ask for a break before we
move on to the rest of our agenda thank
you to the residents for attending this
evening
and we'll take a I don't even know what
time it is about a five minute break
okay folks I'm gonna give everybody a 30
second warning we have more items on our
agenda to get through and still another
me eating to do
okay everybody we're coming back to our
meeting
we have a few more items on our agenda
and the council still has an executive
session to go so we need to sorry about
that sorry to remind you about that but
um item number 43a Council
Administration is to consider adoption
of a resolution designating the chief
fiscal officer to submit the f f y
excuse me 2023 2024 expenditure
limitation reports of the office of the
Arizona auditor general does anyone have
any questions or comments on this item
usually it's you okay vice mayor doesn't
have any questions and vice mayor's
ready to make an item a motion if 43a
we're on item 43a
which is an addendum
um so I'd like to make a motion to
approve 43a I have a motion by vice
mayor tilkey to approve 43a I'll second
that I have a second by council member
torges and please vote
is is councilmember Kapowski back on I
think so she is Mayor and she is a yes
for item 43a thank you chevelli motion
passes seven zero moving on to boards
commissions and committees I know that
council member kaprowski has a comment
that she would like to make about the
new um Public Works board councilmember
Kapowski
thank you there are current board
openings for the Town's new Public Works
Advisory Board the new board will
consist of nine volunteer positions and
they must live in the town of Gilbert
the applications close on July 9th but
may be extended hopefully we'll get
interest
and would love a broad spectrum of
applicants from the Public Works
Industry
if you want to apply you can go to
gilbertaz.gov board openings thank you
thanks councilmember koprowski does
anyone else have any other reports from
consolations on their board's
commissions and committees
seeing none we'll move on to policy
items number 45 we have a few items here
number 45a is repeal of council policy
22 excuse me 20 1203
um B is approval of council policy well
we'll start with a A repeal of council
policy
2012.03 adopted August 2nd 2012 and
revised November 2nd 2021 known as the
code of ethics for members of the town
of Town Council and Boards commissions
and committees with an effective repeal
date of August 20th 2023. any discussion
or would somebody just like to make a
motion for that
let's make a motion
go for it except I'm sorry he wanted to
speak no go for it go ahead
move approval
of a motion to approve the repealing of
that policy
do I have a second
I have a motion by councilmember
Anderson seconded by council member
Torgeson please vote
I have a yes vote from council member
koprowski thank you chevelli that motion
passes with a 7-0 vote moving on to 45 B
approval of council policy number 2023
O2 adopting an Ethics handbook for
elected officials and members of boards
commissions committees and task forces
with an effective date of August 21st
2023. council member kaprowski would you
like to make a comment about this
yes I would for item number 45 in
section 2 of the ethics handbook it
states that complaints must be filed
with the town clerk within 30 calendar
days of the alleged misconduct and I had
a concern that if
um
a complaintant wanted or needed to make
a public records request
to get more information about the
alleged misconduct that they might need
more time so I'd like to add
after the section that says complaints
must be filed with the town clerk within
30 calendar days of the alleged
misconduct to add notwithstanding the
foregoing if within two weeks of the
date of the alleged misconduct a
complainant makes a public records
request to the town clerk about the
subject matter of the misconduct
then the complaintant shall have one
calendar week after fulfillment of the
public records request to file a
complaint
and I will send this all to chevelli but
it essentially allows time if a if
public records information and that
request
is needed it it kind of gives more of a
buffer there
thank you council member caprese does
everyone understand that um Amendment to
the to the sum item the concern was that
if you were if you wanted to file an
Ethics complaint and it had a 30-day
timeline that you might not be able to
get your foyer request back in time to
actually do that and so this would be
able to answer that
um vice mayor thanks mayor
I'm not opposing it but I'm looking over
at Chris in chevelli as we went through
the intent
um
the
the ethics complaint process begins with
notifying the the clerk that there is a
complaint
that sets a time clock
to set a meeting between the
complaintant and the person that they
believe violated the
the ethics code
I don't know if that would be the time
that the time could be extended once the
complaint was received until
the for your request was completed I'm
trying to figure it because even the
timeline that councilmember korowski
outlined depending on the depth in in
the scope of that foyer request they may
not still be able to you know get that
information in time so
it's hard it's always hard to do these
things on the dice but I'm I'm wondering
if we if that's not more inserted after
the complaint has been filed that that
timeline could be expanded if a foia
request is needed to complete that
process before they sit down together
so I guess that makes sense yes Playing
devil's advocate
I've already submitted a foia request
and it's day 29 and I haven't received
my foyer request back so I'm not really
sure if there's an Ethics complaint so
I'm going to file the ethics complaint
anyway
oh that's true and then anybody could be
filing the ethics complaints and then
waiting for their foia request to be
submitted just plain Devil's Advocate I
appreciate that
um
uh
I believe what the intention is to
review this again and every year or to
see if there are and maybe that's what
we want to do
go ahead and include that but then
um
see how it's working do a check-in in a
year and see if we need to adjust that
to see if we met the needs maybe that's
a better way to do it so
um so okay I'm okay
um in addition to that I don't I don't
think she did a formal motion but I
wanted to put another item on on the
table Chris did you need to stop me here
oh no go ahead if you want to explain
that I was okay I was going to talk
about that but if you want to feel free
okay oh
go ahead do you want me to yeah feel
free yeah thank you
um part of the ethics
um handbook
has a a a portion that deals with
mediation and who we use for mediation
and as since we met in study session we
learned that
um
the Arizona State University College of
Law
is made up a lot the people who would be
helping us are retired and they may not
be in session or around in the
summertime so if something happened
during those summer months we needed to
be able to contact someone else to
assist us and so based on that
um
in addition to councilman council
members kapreski's Edition I'd like to
add
in parentheses
or similar neutral bodies such as the
American
Arbitration Association after
the the section that says Arizona State
University College of Law so all we're
doing is is showing that we can reach
out to a similar type of organization
should the Arizona State University
College of Law is not available so that
way we wouldn't postpone any of the
proceedings
did I do okay Chris
councilmember Anderson do you have
comment just a very brief comment about
council member kaprowski's proposal I'm
I think I'm in the same place as the
vice mayor is that we could try it if
you remember when our discussions went
on about the 30-day period we wanted we
did that on purpose with the intent to
make sure this process moved along and
that it wasn't just put off for some
reason that is made up by the
complaintant for some reason
and just drag it on for for a long
period of time so I think it's good to
Monitor and see how it works with the
language that she's got in there and
we'll come back and visit it if we need
to
and essentially it will still be 30 days
unless somebody has filed a foia request
so yes
um would anybody like to make a motion
with those amendments I will attempt
um recommend approval of council policy
number
2023-02 the ethics handbook with the
addition of council member paprowski's
language I didn't write it all down so I
know that you'll have that in writing
and the addition of the item that I
mentioned
um
I'll read it again if you need it but if
not that that will be the motion thank
you
I'll show you that I have a motion by
vice mayor Toki seconded by council
member Bon Giovanni please vote
we have a yes vote from council member
caproski thank you chevelli that motion
pass is 7-0 moving on to item C approval
of council policy number
2023-03 adopting a code of conduct for
elected officials and members of boards
commissions committees and task forces
with an effective date of August 21st
2023. any discussion
seeing none would someone like to make a
motion oh did you have discussion no
I'll make a motion make a motion I'll
move approval of council policy number
2023-0 what was that three six three oh
three
I have a
motion by councilmember Anderson
seconded by council member Buckley
please vote
we have a yes vote from council member
for Kapowski for item 45C
thank you chevelli motion passes 7-0
mayor yes can I uh remind us and maybe
it's more for staff that during this
period till August this does affect the
other boards and commissions we need to
get this out to them so they are aware
of it
yep yes as discussed during the study
session if we could send this out to our
board and commission members so that
they're aware that this change will be
going into effect thank you
hence why we made it 60 days from now
to give everybody time moving on to
Communications report from the town
manager on current events
thank you mayor members of the council a
couple things tonight first want to
thank Kyle Eva and Veronica from our
planning department and Dan and Jennifer
from Economic Development departments as
well as all the staff who worked very
very hard over a very prolonged period
of time on the ranch project I know that
was a very challenging development for
the neighborhood for the developer for
this community and really appreciate
their efforts throughout that entire
time I also want to wish Eva happy
birthday your birthday is today I'm sure
there were better ways that she would
like to spend it but happy birthday
we appreciate you
next uh the town's integrated Water
Resources master plan won the 2023
American Water Resources Association
integrated Water Resources management
award and our Zone one water
transmission main assessment project
along the power line Trail received the
Arizona chapter of the American public
works Association 2023 project of the
year in the environment less than 5
million categories so congratulations to
our teams who worked very hard on those
and then lastly when I announced the
retirement of a long time Gilbert
employee recreation facility
superintendent Howard Davis is retiring
after 27 years with the town Howard was
instrumental was an instrumental part of
the growth of the facilities division in
Gilbert and helped construct and
maintain over 1 million square feet of
facilities Howard also served as an
Aquatics Tech in the department and
served in lead roles in the growth of
the aquatics and Parks facilities very
thankful for Howard's service to Gilbert
and wish him the best of luck in his
retirement that's all I have tonight
when is Howard's official retirement
date does anybody know
because he's been telling me for like
three years that he was getting ready to
retire and I hadn't heard
I don't recall the exact date I think
it's pretty soon I mean also does not
want any parties uh or recognition he
doesn't want any public I knew that
Howard would not want any public
recognition knowing hours like I do
right to retirement but um I will
message him tomorrow thank you for that
um report from Council on current events
no one has any report from the mayor and
current events I would like to say a big
congratulations to our friends at the
Gila River Indian Community they opened
their Casino down at Gilbert and Hunt
Highway
um this weekend we were invited out
Friday night for an event and then
Saturday morning for their ribbon
cutting when they officially opened to
the public it is a beautiful facility if
you haven't been down there yet it's
really very nice and I highly recommend
you stopping by and they should be very
proud of that
um
I don't have anything else it is
officially going to be summer break when
we are done with our executive session
meeting this evening we have
um we will have the month of July off
from our regular Council meetings we
have a heat relief Network up on the
screen extreme heat in Arizona can be
deadly and we're looking to you the
public to donate items such as bottled
water hats light colored t-shirts and
sunblock and there's a bunch of donation
sites there's a there's a QR code if
you'd like to scan that or visit any of
the locations listed on our screen which
is
um our Gilbert Community Center Heritage
Resource Center all our fire stations
Cactus yards Freestone Rec you get the
idea there and Southeast Regional
Library which I know a lot of people
will be at since it is summer break for
your kids and you'll be going to the
library otherwise I don't have anything
else I hope everyone has a lovely month
of July and we will see you back here
for our August meeting meeting adjourned
foreign