Chandler City Council Regular Meeting & Study Session 10/14/2024

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e
for
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e for
are they ready to
start on there just pound it let's
go good and Welcome to our city council
chambers we have two separate meetings
tonight a regular meeting of which we'll
also be uh giving out service
recognitions there will be other
recognitions proclamations that will
have a short agenda then we have a study
session that follows that of which we
will be looking at items that we will be
voting on on Thursday so I'd like to
call our regular meeting of the Chandler
city council together i' call this
meeting to order clerk please take the
role mayor Harkey here vice mayor Harris
here council member andc here council
member Ellis here council member Stewart
here council member Orlando here council
member P here we have a quorum thank you
so much we're in vacation tonight will
be presented by Peggy Schlesinger of the
Chandler Community of bahai Faith and
our Pledge of Allegiance will be led by
council member Poston
um tonight I actually would like to
remember our brothers and sisters in
North Carolina and in Florida and
everyone who's been affected by the
hurricanes and and floods and probably
tornadoes as well so with this I
dedicate this prayer to
them Lord pitiful are we grant us thy
favor poor bestow upon us a share from
the ocean of thy wealth needy do thou
satisfy us aasted give us thy Glory the
fowls of the air and the Beast of the
field receive their meat each day from
thee and all beings partake of thy care
and loving kindness deprive not this
feeble one of thy wondrous Grace and Bou
safe thy might unto this helpless Soul
thy
Bounty give us our daily bread and Grant
thine increase in the necessities of
life that we may be dependent on none
other but thee May commune wholly with
thee may walk in thy ways and declare
thy
Mysteries Thou Art the mighty and the
loving and the provider of all
mankind please join me in the Pledge of
Allegiance I pledge allegiance to the
flag of the United States of America and
to the Republic for which it stands one
nation under God indivisible with
liberty and justice for
all thank you Miss leser thank you
council member
Poston next on our agenda tonight is
scheduled public appearances but and I'm
going to invite council member Ellis to
join me up front but before so like to
recognize any of the mayor's youth
commission who are attending please
stand
[Applause]
all right can you uh give us your your
name and what school you
attend all right well thank you all for
being
here we'll tell the other uh commission
members they missed a really good
meeting tonight so all right council
member let's go up front
all right next on our agenda is service
recognitions city manager thank you Mr
Mayor members of council we do have four
service recognitions this evening and
for the first I'd like to call up our
Public Works and utilities director John
[Applause]
canuteson yes good evening mayor and
Council tonight I'd like to invite Jose
Ortiz up for his 10year
[Applause]
recognition Jose began his career with
the city of Chandler in 2014 as a member
of our streets RightWay team and later
with the alley maintenance team keeping
all of our city roads and alleys looking
great after five years of learning all
the ropes with this group he took took
on a newly created position called our
first responder this is a unique
position that Jose has made all his own
part of his daily duty is to drive the
city keeping an eye open for anything
unusual or in need of attention he
routinely is in contact with police
Neighborhood Services utilities and of
course his Public Works team when
something comes up he is often the first
on the scene for down trees lifted
sidewalks pothole repair and to assist a
resident he has even rescued a few cell
phon Lo that residents have dropped in
storm drains so always very
helpful Jose always demonstrates a
professional demeanor is respectful and
courteous to all customers and embodies
excellent customer service we are
grateful to have him as a member of our
team and appreciate all that he does for
the city of CH thanks Jose for the great
work
[Applause]
mayor and counsel for our next
recognition I'd like to invite up Kevin
Snider our development services
director mayor and council at this time
I'd like to invite James Kami up for a
recognition of 25 years of service to
the city of Chandler and its
[Applause]
citizens James
so James started with the city of
Chandler on October 25th 1999 as a
utility operator one in the water distri
distribution Department in this role he
was part of the repair team installing
fire hydrants water meters Valves and
Main Brakes in 2001 he was promoted to
utility Operator 2 James was then
promoted to GIS technician one in 2004
where it was instrumental in
incorporating GPS features into all the
cities W utility Network's major
accomplishment in 2016 he was promoted
to a GIS technician 2 which took him out
of the field into air conditioning and
into the office where he primarily
processed as built rinds in 2023 James
was promoted to senior GIS specialist he
has completed his Arizona Department of
Environmental Quality grade four
certifications and water distribution
water treatment Wastewater Collections
and wastewater treatment he was
nominated Chandler Public Works value
employee of the quarter in October 2001
October 20 2003 and October 2006 we had
the honor of inviting and having James
into our department although he was a
member of Public Works previously James
is a Chandler Community volunteer and a
member of several veterans organizations
including the Salvation Army and
American Legion Post 35 again
congratulations James for 25 years of
service
[Applause]
spe
[Music]
[Applause]
mayor and Council for our next service
recognition I'd like to invite up Mike
Hollingsworth our facilities and fleet
manager mayor and Council I'd like to
invite Renee Mareno to come forward to
be recognized for 25 years of service
tonight she's joined by her daughters
both Ariana and Daisy as we celebrate
your remarkable 25 golden years of
dedicated service with the city of
Chandler we want to take a moment to
express our heartfelt appreciation for
your unwavering commitment and
exceptional contributions since you
began your journey with us at the age of
25 as a customer service representative
for solid waste and recycling on October
25th there's a theme Here 1999 your
career has been marked by excellence and
profound impact to our on our community
your transition through various roles
from administrative Specialists for
parks and Aquatics to Fleet Specialists
showcases your versatility and
dedication the accolades you have
received including the Excellence and
customer service award in 200 and
employee of the year in 2006 are a
testament to your outstanding work ethic
and passion for public service your
commitment to going above and beyond
recognized by multiple above and beyond
Awards in 2015 16 and 17 reflect your
ultimate dedication to our mission thank
you for your 25 years of Exemplar
service we look forward to 25
[Applause]
more go watch
than
[Applause]
mayor and Council we do have one final
service recognition tonight I'm actually
going to turn this one back over to you
mayor wow this is what you guys look
like
from not saying that I'd like to invite
uh Chief magistrate Alicia magistrate
Alicia scoin to receive her 10year award
judge scoopin I remember when you came
to Chandler to serve as a magistrate
under uh Chief magistrate Michael
trainer 10 years ago you were highly
recommended the the process was good and
I do have in my hand your initial
employment agreement dated September 19
2014 I submit this as evidence a for
your 10 years of excellent service to
the city of
Chandler not
done you were a good judge and a great
hire for the city of Chandler your story
then and now continues to be a testimony
of inspiration and really the
Fulfillment of the American dream and
we're glad glad that you not just keep
that to yourself but you tell that story
often and you inspire many many in our
community I also have in my
hand your application to serve as
presiding magistrate I submit this as
evidence of a life committed to
service and since the time you were
asked to serve both as acting Chief
magistrate and then the presiding
magistrate you have looked out for the
interest of our other judges and our
community you have been committed to
work with Team Chandler at every
opportunity and I have noticed and it
does not Escape me that it is an unusual
week to not see you sitting over there
at Council meetings are our study
sessions judge scoopin you continue to
be an innovator you promote access to
Justice in our community you build trust
and transparency
you bring compassion and adherence to
the rule of law together so that people
if they don't even like the decision
they know that they've been heard you
align our courts with Community Partners
and take advantage of opportunities to
speak and whether it's at elementary
schools high schools or Beyond and other
nonprofits you operate our court system
efficiently and you provide excellent
Services we want to thank you for the
past 10 years of being part of Team
Chandler and thank you for a steadfast
commitment to continue to serve our
community for
another oh however long we all
right may I approach the days
[Applause]
we need to over
and city manager I believe that's all of
our service recognitions all right corre
May our next recognition is the
2024 achievement of excellence in
procurement so I'd like to call up Matt
Dunbar and our procurement
[Applause]
team I am excited to highlight team
Chandler for another well-deserved
National recognition our purchasing
division has once again received the
achievement of excellence in procurement
Awards highlighting the hard work of our
team to ensure that we're being
responsible stewards of our City's
resources yeah mayor uh I speak on
behalf of Don Lang who couldn't be here
this evening as much as she wanted to be
here for the budget kickoff meeting she
wanted to be here for this more as she
truly appreciates the work that this
team puts in uh tonight I have the honor
of recognizing the city's procurement
team for receiving the achievement of
excellence and procurement award for
2024 from the national procurement
Institute or NPI here to receive the
award tonight is our uh procurement and
Supply senior manager Christina prior
sir Davidson procurement officer and
rosenda contas procur senior specialist
the other 14 members who contributed to
the award application could not be here
tonight although they are a big part of
this effort as well this distinguished
award recognizes organizational
Excellence by measuring an agency's
commitment to continuous Improvement in
areas such as Innovation professionalism
and continuous Improvement uh in
productivity and Leadership the city has
received this award for 20 consecutive
years and is one of only 12 agencies in
Arizona and one in of only 72 cities in
the United States and Canada to receive
this
award
right Chandler's purchasing division
belongs to an elite group of purchasing
organizations in government that operate
with the highest standards for quality
and efficiency receiving the best value
with our city tax dollars for our goods
and services many thanks and
appreciation to our outstanding
purchasing team for their commitment and
dedication to their profession the city
and the
community e
all right our next Proclamation is the
national Friends of the library week we
could have Bob Lowry Tara England and
Sue Van Horn join us up
front whereas Chandler public libr liary
serve as cornerstones of our community
providing resource and space to engage
in lifelong Learning Community
enrichment and connection and whereas
many of these resources are made
possible because of support from the
friends of the library are the Chandler
Public Library a nonprofit
volunteer-based organization of
dedicated Advocates who collectively
support the mission Innovation and
inclusivity of our libraries and whereas
through their unwavering commitment the
friends of the Chandler Public Library
support many library programs events and
resources help expand Collections and
Foster a love of reading and lifelong
learning amongst citizens of all ages
and whereas the contributions and
volunteerism from the friends of the
Chandler Public Library have helped make
our Library community more vibrant
accessible and enriching spaces for
learning Discovery and Community
Connection and whereas National friends
of library week celebrates the vital
role that volunteers Advocates and
donors play in our community and
recognizes the significant impacts of
the friends of Chandler public library
now therefore I Kevin Harkey mayor of
the city of Chandler Arizona do hereby
Proclaim October 20 through 26 2024 as
National Friends of the libraries week
and encourage all residents to visit our
libraries and share appreciation with
the friends of the Chandler public
library for their generous Legacy of
service to our
[Applause]
community give me a microphone I'm gonna
say something thank you Mr Mayor thank
you Council um this past year the
friends organization has been able to
donate over
$100,000 for Library events and programs
plus
$135,000 was given to the city to help
with the purchase of a mobile Library
those of us of a certain age called a
bookmobile um this new Outreach vehicle
the new name uh will act as the city's
fifth Branch Library bringing Services
directly to the people where they are
and yes it will have books but much more
technology resources space for
instruction and staff on board to assist
users this 38 foot long mobile Library
will become a familiar site to everybody
in the city beginning next spring again
thanks to the generosity of Library
users and the community the friends of
Chandler Public Library is now in its
42nd year proud to help the city of
Chandler provide worldclass assets for
us all thank you
[Applause]
all right council member Ellis you get
the next one Proclamation uh Chandler
celebration of Arbor Day if John sepon
and Corey pvar can join us
yeah well I didn't forget my glasses
this time all
yours come on in gentlemen right in the
middle thank
you all right whereas gendler's Urban
Forest plays a crucial role in our
City's identity M Waring the diversity
of Chandler's culture and residence and
adding Beauty environmental benefits and
shade to our parks and neighborhoods and
whereas trees have an immensely positive
impact on Chandler's air quality heat
Heating and Cooling costs and Wildlife
as well as providing an appealing
landscape to Parks neighborhoods and
business centers and where eyes Chandler
Park stewards encourage and Inspire
residents to plant nurture and celebrate
trees and sustainable environmental
efforts throughout the year by investing
in our trees and parks we have create
long-term Community vitality and where
eyes through education volunteer
opportunities and workshops we continue
to encourage the community to take an
active role in environmental
preservation and whereas fall is the
ideal time to plant trees and Chandler
and the appropriate time to celebrate
our bir day emphasizing the importance
of benefits of trees within our
community and how they impact our
everyday life now now therefore Kevin
hary mayor of the city of Chandler
Arizona do air by Proclaim November 2nd
20124 as Chandler celebration of Aubra
day and invite residents to our
celebration at Desert Breeze Park for an
educational interactive experience and
witness thereof I have by stood
up certainly Cory would love to
speak thank you thank you mayor and
Council so um we thought it would be a
perfect time to also mention that we had
just received a notification that are
from the international Society of abor
culture uh that the we received the
Golden Leaf award for our outstanding
Arbor Day activities uh from 2023 and it
has been highlighted on the front of our
Breaktime magazine um so we really look
forward to seeing everyone out at our
Arbor Day event on November 2nd at
Desert ree Park thank you from yes
9 to noon you won't miss it if you're
there from 9: to
noon thank you all right let's take a
photo get bumper sticker too
all right our next Proclamation is
National Community planning month we
could call up the planning division
hello
everybody right keep moving that way
council member
all
right whereas change is constant and
affects all cities Town suburbs counties
and planners can help navigate this
change with datadriven insights and
expertise that provide better choices
for how people work and live and whereas
Community planning provides an
opportunity for all residents to be
meaningfully involved in making choices
that determine the future of their
Community including the current downtown
region area Plan update and the upcoming
General plan and whereas the full
benefits of planning require public
elected and appointed officials who
understand support and demand excellence
in planning and plan implementation and
whereas the month of October is des
designated as National Community
planning month throughout the United
States and its territories whereas the
national Community planning month is an
opportunity to highlight how planning is
essential in every community and how
planners are uniquely positioned to
identify solutions to communities most
difficult housing transportation and
land use questions one more and whereas
the celebration of national Community
planning month gives us the opportunity
to publicly recognize the participation
and dedication of the members of
planning commissions and other community
planners who have contributed their time
and expertise to the Improvement of
Chandler now therefore I Kevin Harkey
mayor of the city of Chandler to hereby
Proclaim October
20124 National Community planning month
in Chandler we celebrate and recognize
the Innovative work and continued
commitment to public service by the
Professionals of our planning
[Applause]
division thank you mayor and Council
appreciate the Proclamation more
importantly thank you for your ongoing
support of our planners and uh in our
planning profession many people think
that the career of a planner it sounds
very boring um and so I've got a trivia
question for you that might prove it
otherwise so which of the following
questions have planners been asked by
customers a can I run a colon cleansing
business for my home B can my child have
a therapy chicken C what are the rules
to sell shrimp from the back of my
pickup truck or D is my property zon for
a body donation
business if you answered all the above
you are correct and that just scratches
the surface of what uh these folks get
to hear on a daily basis so it is by far
not a boring career quite exciting so
our world as planners uh it revolves
around the general plan as mayor
indicated in the proclamation uh we are
kicking off off our general Plan update
in fact this Thursday on council's
agenda will be our contract for our
consultant to help us through that
two-year process that will end in 2026
so as a Shameless plug uh I encourage
everybody to get engaged in their
community's General Plan update there
will be a incredible amount of different
opportunities to provide that input
whether digital or in person um so
please keep an eye on our website uh and
please come out and participate in your
city's General Plan update thank thank
you mayor all right Kevin pull out your
sheet again and tell us the answers to
those
questions a would be yes B would be
yes so uh can you oh you want to
actually an the
question so can I run a colon cleansing
business from my home answer would be no
uh can my child have a therapy chicken
that actually answer is yes uh what are
the rules to sell shrimp from the back
of my pickup truck thankfully that's not
zoning that is
that is this that is a state issue and
is my property zone for a body donation
business uh the answer is
no well done all right let's take a
photo I was hoping the answer was going
to be no in that last one
thank you
[Applause]
that concludes our public appearances
[Music]
council do any of you have therapy
chickens I wasn't asking if you needed
therapy all right um next on our agenda
is the consent agenda Council how would
you like to proceed mayor council member
move to approve consent agenda of
October 14th 20124 regular meeting items
one and
two second all right we have a motion
and a second Council please
[Music]
vote motion carries unanimously very
good thank you Council
that concludes our regular meeting uh
welcome to the October 14th 2024 study
session clerck will you please take the
role mayor Harkey here vice mayor Harris
here council member incen here Ellis
here council member Stewart here council
member Orlando here council member
Poston here we have a quum very good
thank you uh Council we've got um few
more than normal
uh consent agenda items that have been
called in for presentation the first is
item number eight our downtown
wayfinding signage called in for a
briefing by council member Orlando and
Kim moer is going to give the
briefing mayor council the item that you
have before you today implements the
first phase of the downtown pedestrian
and wayfinding study in July of 2021
city council approved an agreement with
J2 engineering and environmental design
to complete a downtown pedestrian and
wayfinding study the study included a
four-step approach identifying and
confirming the goals and the needs of
the project studying the existing
conditions of the downtown developing
draft recommendations and presenting the
city and the stakeholders with those
results and finalizing the
recommendations and preparing the report
input was gathered through an internal
stakeholder group including the downtown
Chandler Community Partnership surveys
to downtown businesses and to
Residents the study was completed in
September of 22 with the following
recommendations uh the recommendation
for uh uh signage and wayfinding
improvements included garage vehicular
signs downtown directional signage
pedestrian identifiers pedestrian
identifying signs and bicycle signs as
well as some pedestrian Improvement uh
Improvement recommendations of
pedestrian Crossings placemaking and
pedestrian
Comfort phase one focuses on directing
vehicles around the downtown to our five
parking garages the signs will create a
consistent parking signage throughout
the downtown and will include a total of
41
signs including
garage indicator in vehicular signage
named garage signage on the city-owned
parking garages interior garage signage
directing vehicles to other garages if
the garage is full crosswalk signage
between the city hall and the City Hall
parking garage and the beginning of The
Pedestrian directional
signage these are a few examples of some
of this signage that we will start to
see in the downtown creating that
consistent look and helping people know
how to
identify uh uh directionally where uh
the garages are and with that I'm happy
to answer any questions you may
have Council M Linda you called this
thank you may yeah the only thing this
is good good stuff I know we're trying
to get folks to disperse on the parking
which is great the only question I had
for you is we have signage down there
now is there be too many signs I keep
thinking of that 60 song signs signs
every never mind well I mean do we have
too much or the 70s maybe it's anyway do
we have too many signs down there are we
going to be moving some signs or what
absolutely through the mayor council
member Orlando uh part of the reason
that we did this study is quite frankly
we have signage everywhere right um and
but with a growing downtown and there's
so much to see and do and there's so
much signage I think it sometimes gets
lost right so part of the
recommendations from The Pedestrian and
wayfinding plan was to take down all of
the varied parking uh signage and have a
clear consistent theme throughout the
downtown so out of these first initial
41 signs you'll see the exact same look
and feel and as we start implementing
phases two and three and four um they
will all be the exact same we were so
insistent that if you happen to look at
uh this one we will actually have
signage coming down Arizona Avenue from
the south to the north it says look for
the p and it says buy free garages
because that continues to be something
that we hear all the time so we are
making it very loud and clear throughout
the downtown this is what to look for
and here's where the garages are and as
the mayor always says there's plenty of
free parking in Downtown Chandler thank
you yes and that's um what about phase
two and three what's time framing on
that uh uh through the mayor council
member Orlando phase two will focus on
The Pedestrian this will be the path
mostly from Chandler Boulevard all the
way down to fry so that when we come out
of the parking garages you know exactly
where to go to and uh Council actually
did approve funding for that for this
year so after the implementation for
phase one we will immediately go into
phase two and we'll have that completed
in um 2025 okay all right thank you
appreciate
mayor council member Poston I can thank
you how is the capacity I know we you
like to say we always have plenty of
free parking but how is that capacity I
know some garages fill up a little
quicker than others absolutely through
the mayor council member Poston uh we
almost have the same issue today that we
had before the two parking garages on
the west side where everybody wants to
park on the West Side they they're very
well aware of the parking on the west
side but there's three parking garages
that are on the east side of Arizona
Avenue so we continue to try to educate
and encourage people to go to the east
side part of the phased ass signage on
phase one is is the garage full look at
where the other three parking garages
are and to try to get them to cross the
street so we're hoping through um this
first phase that we're really going to
start educating people that it's no more
extra steps to park on the east side
than it is on the west side thank you
you're welcome C any addition questions
comments I just have a comment for you
and uh our downtown crew congratulations
the uh Downtown Chandler was named the
state's best foodie destination today so
congratulations keep those signs coming
thank
you all right thank you
Kim next item called in was by me um
looking at the district downtown I'd
like to call up Lauren Schuman for a
presentation I see Brennan's in the back
in case we have additional questions
so good evening mayor and
Council all right item 10 the district
downtown uh to give you a brief overview
of the property I'm going to go over a
little bit of background before we get
into the request
um the subject site it's located at the
northwest corner of Arizona Avenue in
the Santan 202 uh freeway uh it's
approximately 44.7 Acres
large a little bit of background about
the property uh it was originally
rezoned in
1987 from ag1 to pad planed area
development for office retail uh uh
Hotel
multifam uh as well as a convention
center and it was part of a larger
master plan including the multifam to
the West uh in 1989 the zoning was
extended since nothing was built and the
property was vested in 2000 when the uh
multif family along the west side of the
property was
constructed fast forward to 2007 uh the
property received a zoning Amendment uh
they rezone the property to P to allow
for office retail and hotel they a
midrise overlay was approved over the
entire site allowing for buildings up to
120 ft over the entire site uh buildings
not outlined in a color uh were proposed
under phase one phase two would be the
buildings outlined in yellow uh with
phase three being red uh phase three did
require a separate PDP for the future
Hotel
in 2012 uh they came back to revise the
preliminary development plan for site
layout and uh Building architecture they
wanted to move a parking garage to be
more centralized within the the property
and they shifted a hotel to the East and
it was approved for seven stories under
this case there were phasing
stipulations uh the phasing plan
included uh under the first phase 12,000
Square fet would be built
under the second phase no more than four
pads would be constructed prior to an
office building in the last one no more
than six pads would be constructed prior
to the second office building or hotel
being
constructed as of today you know the
properties currently zoned uh the case
received entitlement uh two years ago in
November of
2022 uh it's the site plan before you it
was reson planned area development for
mixed use for office commercial and it
added a multif family
component um here's the site plan there
were uh setbacks were reduced within
this case to allow for 30 feet along
posos and Arizona
Avenue within this case there were
stipulations added regarding the phasing
plan uh in order for the first phase of
parcel 5 multif family to develop
outlined in Black a portion of The
Office Buildings outlined in back black
would need to be uh completed and
receive uh the commercial development
must occur before any multif family and
a certificate of completion for the same
or for the commercial must occur before
at the same time for that multif family
in order to unlock the second phase of
multif family all commercial development
along Arizona Avenue had to be completed
and received a certificate of
before a permit could be pulled for the
multif
family so before you today we come
before you with a request the applicant
is requesting uh there's a whole lot of
words within that rezoning but in
reality it's to rezone the property to
plan area development for mixed use
development including multif family
office commercial uses which are
permitted under Community commercial C2
type uses as well as ADD uh on the site
plan I've indicated add had uh
automotive and truck sales which isn't
permitted by right under C2 uh it's
permitted by right under C3 so the
addition of that additional use has been
added the applicant also requests that
uh uh conditions regarding phasing and
uh on the previous case be
eliminated uh the preliminary
development plan has also been amended
to show that the first phase of multif
family is no longer a uh a garage trap
development but surface parked uh here's
a comparison on the left side is the
2002 approved plan and the request is on
the right uh they're still requesting
the same amount of units but as I stated
the current plan shows the first phase
of multif family to be surface surface
parked um they uh decrease the amount of
office building from four buildings to
two buildings uh they reduced the amount
of retail at the corner but they are now
proposing the possibility of two
Automotive uh vehicle sales and Truck
Sales and they've increased it to allow
for two hotels under the current
submitt uh a stipulation has been added
to the case to stip that um only
franchise dealership would be permitted
within uh the the property indicated
for the phasing plan uh the the
applicant has uh provided uh Landscaping
along the street and internal drive
would be pulled at the time of a first
permit for development uh phase two
indicated on this plan would really be
phase one because the offsite
improvements would be required with
whatever development came first uh the
applicant was requesting that future
phases uh be built upon Market
demand at planning and zoning
commission uh this item was pulled for
an action item from the chair uh with
concerns regarding the phasing and the
types of uses that would occur at the
downtown
Gateway um in order to um address the
phasing concerns the applicant did
modify one of the steps there's a step
that says uh the second phase of multif
family does require a separate
preliminary development plan for to come
back to Planning and Zoning commission
and city council and to city council and
the stipulation has been modified to say
that um a separate PDP shall be
required um and it cannot be pulled
until one hotel and 75% of the
commercial buildings in Phase 2 have
received a certificate of
completion as I said this went before
our Planning and Zoning commission uh it
was was recommended for approval 5 to
one with the chair uh recommending
denial um staff has stipulations in
place regarding the types of uses and
where they could occur uh there's
stipulations regarding the high quality
of design it's consistent with the
general plan and with that I open it up
to any questions thank you um I've got a
few so to start uh from shifting from C2
to C3 uh what else could could possibly
show up on this site and is that C3 area
just that bottom far U right quadrant or
is that extend to the entire so
possibilities of C3 and is that for a
site specific within that overall or
general to the entire mayor great
question um it the site would only allow
for C2 type uses and uh the addition of
automotive and truck sales okay so not
generic c3s
okay
um obviously I you know I've been
looking at this site since I was first
appointed back in the 2008 with
different models and we've seen quite a
through quite a few from a lot
more
uh office are uh retail at one point a
Convention Center to what we have now
which is uh substantial more
multihousing I guess one of my big
questions is what is to guarantee that
um anything other than phase one gets
built on this the pictures have changed
but that concept without handcuffing
this
to uh the other things being built what
what guarantees are there mayor that's a
great question and I would have to
direct it to the applicant who's
requesting to remove the stipulations of
phasing okay so by removing that
stipulation it allows for phase one to
be built and then put puts handcuffs on
that that Center apartment complex but
terms of everything else whether these
pictures change or or anything else
there is no
specific statement uh other than the
pictures that we see that these will
happen am I right or wrong on that that
is correct mayor
okay um I'm gonna call Brandon up but
first let me see if any council members
has any question with Lauren before we
further
conversation
no okay um thank you Lauren of
course uh good evening Mr Ray how are
you good evening mayor members of
Council uh Brenan Ray 1850 North Central
here on behalf of the applicant um thank
you for allowing the opportunity to
answer some of the questions um this has
certainly been a process that we've been
in a while and it I think it's
appropriate that the planning department
received their recognition tonight
because we don't get to this point
without working hand and glove with them
to ensure it including a two-hour uh
sitdown meeting with Mr Mayo uh to go
over the site plan and changes to it but
with respect to the question I think as
we look at this it's not a removal of
the restrictions it's an exchange um
because we are trying to look at
balancing um what uh the council desires
with the market government regulation
versus allowing the free market to to do
what it needs to do and I think what
we've done um we've tried over the
course of the past two years to address
um the initial concerns and haven't had
much success given the stipulations that
existed uh from the prior approval and
so really what we're here to talk about
is system of checks and balances um I
cannot stand up here and give a
guarantee and I will not um this Council
has had other people stand up and give
guarantees as to things and those have
not worked out and I am not going to be
one that is going to go down that path
but what we can do is give a number of
reasonable assurances based on the tools
that is at your disposal that is at our
disposal to ensure again that there is a
system of checks and balances in place
because as we've gone throughout this
process and as you alluded to Mayor the
question that that's come up is how do
we know something's going to get Built
Well if I knew that with certainty I
wouldn't be before you I'd be on a beach
probably drinking a coke uh maybe with
some ice in it uh and relaxing there um
I would not be before you but
nevertheless as we look at it um and
talk about really multifam because that
was one comment I've heard as we've gone
through this how do we how do we have a
guarantee that no more multif family
isn't going to just spread across the
entire site and so you can see there
there's a number of things including
stipulation number one and rezoning in
the preliminary development plan we've
got within the development booklet a
site plan that identifies where the land
uses can be we've got an additional
stipulation that specifically says
residential is only permitted on two
Parcels within it and then um as Lauren
indicated we do have an additional
stipulation in the preliminary
development plan that requires a
separate application city council
approval for multif family on phase four
on parcel four so as we look at this any
changes to the location of
multifam again numerous checks and
balances in there require me to come
back before you for your approval
there's a question that's come relative
to auto dealerships what's the certainty
that we have for auto dealerships and if
I need to I'm going to guess economic
development director Mike mirand is here
we were on a uh about a 30 or so minute
call I believe Micah was someone who's
representing and working with the
developer on the dealership and I can go
into more detail on that but you can see
clearly as staff indicated there's a
stipulation that is pursuant to State
Statute that indicates that it's got to
be a new dealership and again that
entire process dealerships are heavily
regulated by state statute on the
process of locating and relocating
dealers and stuff like that so again any
changes to that I've got to come back to
you when we talk about development
phasing and stuff like that you can see
on there that again there's a number of
stipulations that vment booklet phasing
plan language in the development booklet
um again a stipulation and then
including a revised stipulation um that
was worked out with the chair of the
Planning Commission required that we
build a certain amount of of the
development before I can even file an
application on the multif family you all
know you've had many people come to you
many cases that have not been before you
that have talked about multif family
development and so there is certainly
huge incentive for multif family
development to go forward but again
we've placed a series of checks and
balances so that this Council that the
public also knows that I just can't go
build the multif family and walk away um
because of the incentive um than the
checks that we've gotten in here
additionally um we would like to propose
a new stipulation tonight on the
preliminary development plan and what
that does is that I've got to pull a
building permit on non-residential use
is within 18 months of the effective
date of this rezoning ordinance because
the challenge that we faced is that
there was a number of handcuffs that
were tied to the multif family
development to where lenders would not
lend on it no one wanted to make that
substantial of investment into property
that was so heavily encumbered as it was
before yet this I believe again doesn't
remove the Restriction I guess
technically you could say it does but
we've tried to be fair and Equitable and
give you reasonable assurances as best
we can and we know the market can
support it uh and that's why as we look
at this that's that area outlined in
black um which would be applicable um to
it so um again as we as we kind of look
at it we we think that we've we've done
a good job of exchanging if you will the
requirements with a series of checks and
balances that are um give I believe you
all the Assurance as to how things can
be without putting a strangle hold so
that nothing gets built on
it so I'll start um I respectfully what
you are asking us is is to remove the
handcuffs off the first not just move
them elsewhere so in order before for
order to get those Apartments built
there was conditions that other thing
and so my understanding is you are
asking to remove those it's clever
language but it is asking to ship those
elsewhere I still don't know for my
regard and you and I have talked about
this multiple times uh that even
everything except for what you we you've
talked about today and I I did bring
that up to staff uh that re that
request would you be willing to what I
what I what I don't do if you could go
back to the last slide please or to yeah
what I would not want to see again is is
a bunch of nice looking photos there and
then the very top right corner have a uh
a little coffee shop and that would
satisfy this because um I would I would
need for me to get on board with this
some substantial in Earnest good work
towards that so I will throw out would
you agree to 25,000 square feet of
development as part of that and you
don't need to answer me now but I would
expect an answer before Thursday rather
than a three-foot pad or 3,000 SQ foot
pad and saying I've met the requirements
for this 18 months would you agree to a
minimal amount of development and if
that's going to be the the car
dealerships a hotel some of these others
but the way this is currently in
language I I think you could have a
little coffee shop or something in the
corner and say we've met the
requirements and I don't think that that
would meet the intention of that you are
expressing or that we would
expect yes I will discuss that with my
client here okay I I would need to know
that on Thursday or or I will be
requesting uh a continuance of this case
if so I'm I'm willing to to hear that
and I understand but I to me I just
don't think as I mentioned something
small with this language would achieve
the purposes that that you are
expressing mayor I would agree in
isolation uh one could certainly take
that approach I've appeared before this
group many times and that's certainly
not my intention to play games
with you or the public as it relates to
this but I think when we look at it in
connection with everything else that
we've got in place that already exists
again the probably the biggest one deals
with that with a revised stipulation
that does have a requirement that I
can't even I can't even file an
application on multif family until I've
completed
75% of the commercial Frontage and uh
one of the hotels um so while while we
understand and as I I said I will visit
with my client about it we feel that if
you look at in totality again all the
series of checks and balances that we've
got we think there are certainly enough
there but we we understand and your
comment as as I said I will visit with
my client would you also agree or at
least discuss with your client within
that shot clock if if this is not met
that there could be uh uh some sort of
financial incentive to further that
whether that's a a daily fee or
something so if it doesn't reach within
that certain time please have that
conversation as well because again
I I see everything that you're saying
here but to me there I see Zero
incentive past the development of this
first apartment complex that your client
could easily sell this the rest of this
property and then he's done with it or
something else and there's still no
guarantees that anything else could
happen so I am I would love to see this
plan filled out but I would love to see
some more assurance
uh to that whole process so please ask
your client I'd love to I'll look
forward to hearing that on Thursday as
well mayor I I will also have
conversations with the city attorney I
don't know that we're interested in
rewriting the city's criminal code or
civil code as it relates to violations
of zoning ordinances being class one
misdemeanors but I will certainly get
with the city attorney and and try to
figure out what's appropriate again
without rewriting the the civil code
mayor yeah and I think some of those can
be tied to the property so I don't see
that as a as a demand beyond that but I
certainly would welcome that
conversation as well so um council
member orando thank you mayor so you
brought up the point about 25,000 square
foot of development I'm sorry what was
the exact word you used I'm just
clarifying I'm I'm looking for a number
that before anything would happen within
that time frame that there would be a
substantial development that would be
pulled and initiated
not just a a pad of one 3,000 no and I'm
saying so if they got the hotel
built would that satisfy the requirement
I'm trying to just figure out what we're
trying to do that's all I'm asking if um
challenging I think it's a good approach
I'm just trying to figure out what that
definition of 25,000 sare foot because I
agree with you I don't want to see a
coffee shop and say we're
done and that's why I would be looking
for a major structure in there that's
what we're trying to say I would look
for a major structure
whether it's a dealership whether it's
something that is more than a couple
shops but I don't know the necessarily
the square footage of the hotels being
proposed so okay you want to see
something substantial in there other
than one pad being develop is what I'm
hearing you say exactly okay thank you
mayor thanks for clarification Council
any other questions I had a question
mayor concerning the dealership it's my
understanding when Mike uh uh had the
conversation
with you sir Reay that um we didn't we
were not sure that those dealerships
really in play and they will ever um
manifest or because it also takes so
long for those kinds of licenses and
everything to be given and the ones that
you have mentioned to us they've already
either interested somewhere else or have
already paid to move somewhere else is
that the fact or this is just something
that I I it was my understanding that's
what I heard sure mayor council member
Ellis thank you I'll certainly defer to
Mr Miranda and see if my recollection of
our conversation is wrong but as it
relates to um the the three dealerships
if you will that kind of started us down
this path to begin with uh I had a
chance to speak with the representative
uh and he informed me that those um
potential three dealerships are still in
play for this particular site um there
was some discussion of a site Landing uh
that one of those three had landed
somewhere but again unless Mr Miranda
remembers differently in the course of
our conversation that dealership landed
somewhere out at signal bu in us24 which
is approximately 21 miles away um which
according to State Statute and their 10
Mile restriction again the rules I can
get way into the weeds I don't know it's
the purpose of tonight's meeting but
rules for a new dealership versus
relocation are a little bit different
but I think on our conversation and Mr
Miranda can correct me why I'm wrong it
was confirmed with the expert if you
will who's done 1,200 car dealerships
across this nation um said that those
three dealerships could still locate on
this site he also did go on to explain
it's kind of the chicken in the egg when
we're talking about franchisees and the
oems as he referred to it uh and stuff
like that so there is a process by which
it goes I again we can if if necessary
go into details tonight or or we can
continue to have discussions with Mr
Miranda to ensure that um you all
understand that process
any additional questions mayor real
quick Council M yeah so right now the
pdb calls for two and I understand
checking for the egg if you don't have
it Zone sometimes the other dealerships
are shying away but we're only looking
at two tonight staff if there's a third
one which we initially heard is there
enough room there to do this and do we
have to rezone a particular parcel again
so I'll I might know the answer to the
question mayor council she'll make sure
you get the right answer so she'll make
sure I get the right answer but with
respect to the let's just use the plan
it's hopefully um let's just use this
plan for argument sake in connection
with this development human correc me
before I'm wrong this this plan locks in
where those land juices are that's why I
can't go spread multifam willy-nilly on
site and so with that being the case the
only place that auto dealerships can be
located are in the location shown on
here those two buildings should another
dealership want to land here then we
would need to go back through the
process amend the zoning um amend the
PDP um to be able to uh locate a third
dealership on this
site if a third uh dealership did exist
um it if it fit in parcel one it it
could be reviewed
administratively uh but it has to meet
all of our site development standards so
the setbacks that are established within
this case parking and making sure that
there's an landscaping and so if a third
was able to fit in that parcel one it
could be
considered administratively okay that's
negotiable I get that all right but my
point is you there's enough land here
there's enough uh on this canvas there's
enough room that we could change this
cannabis through through through the
mayor council member Orlando yes there
is it would require the deletion of some
of the other stuff to make yeah I mean
quite frankly a de ship there's a lot
more valuable than a couple of those
retail shops that's for darn share sure
okay thank
you any additional questions for Mr Ray
all right thank you sir we'll see you
Thursday thank
you next item called in is item number
12 concerning the license agreement with
crown castle fiber tell T communication
system and Kevin
Snider good evening mayor and Council
normally you'd have Dennis Al for you
but he's off happily uh celebrating the
wedding of his daughter so you have me
this evening I will do my best as a
standin so mayor mayor Kevin um I did
talk a little bit earlier today the only
question I have
is um I'll save you some time here
getting late the the question I have is
where are we going to to do these uh
cuts the experimental Cuts have you
figured out the
locations and how are we going to
monitor that as far as longetivity will
it be because that's been an issue all
along is that the different cuts and the
the striping and it's going to upset the
um the asphalt and things like that so I
really I want to home in on that no
through the mayor council Orlando so as
it stands right now uh the locations are
currently discussions with crown castle
on the locations however but they will
be limited to certain areas of the city
they will not be permitted on Aral
arterial streets only local and
collector streets uh we will be
monitoring since this is a pilot study
we'll be working hand inhand with crown
castle they will have to get appropriate
permits encroachment permits and other
permits needed in order to work in our
right of way we'll be monitoring the
introduction and use of their technology
the micro uh trenching technology uh
they will not be allowed to Bor under
any sidewalks or break open any
sidewalks they only be allowed to bore
under sidewalks so it is intended to
only be limited to about 10,000 lineal
feet uh and right now based on
conversations to date with crown castle
they would anticipate starting in
southeast Chandler again only on local
collector streets and we'll be working
hand inand with them to make sure that
they are minimizing any inference within
the public space you're talking for the
micro trenching approximately six inches
off the curb is where they would be
doing their work again in local or
collector streets and we would be making
sure that they uh they'd be minimal
impact to the functionality of the
roadway and or to people utilizing the
public space okay so it's a timeline
here we're concern has always been the
what it's going to do to the streets
long term and I get that um do you have
data that they've looked in other areas
that over a year this is what happens
because I can see this happening we put
the 10,000 linear square feet in because
again this is a new process and two
years from now we find a
problem help me solve that riddle that's
a great question so we are aware that
they have worked with the town of Queen
Creek and have reached an agreement with
them and we'll be implementing uh this
rapid what they call Rapid connect
program uh there uh this pilot program
study will be uh again for three years
in the city uh any impacts negative
impacts to the right of way would have
to be immediately addressed
uh that would be part of the agreement
that we have with them they have to meet
City technical specifications and
Designs any damage to the roadway
roadway they are responsible for they
proceed at risk and also there is no
guarantee that they will be number one
allowed to retain the uh technology in
the RightWay after the end of the pilot
program or expand it elsewhere in the
city so we're going to keep a very tight
control on this for the very points
you're making council member uh because
we are this is new technology at least
to the city not necessarily to crown
castle but to us and we do not want to
uh have any instances where it
negatively impacts the public space and
creates damage or other issues for users
so the we're they're indentified if
there is an issue leakage uh crack into
the street whatever the case may be yes
and we'll be immediately upon that we'll
be working hand inand with them Dennis
and his team GNA be working in close
coordination thank you thanks mayor May
C member Stewart thank you and you know
I remember we had on our 101 we talked
about this in detail about the the
technology being able to lay the the uh
the fiber faster with less uh impact on
the neighborhoods where we used to be
able to we dig up roads and they'd be
closed down for weeks and this will be
just a strip down the middle and so this
is really good that they're bringing
this forward as an Innovative technology
that we can use here uh to push this
forward I guess what I was curious about
is is I if I remember correctly this is
being used in Colorado where where they
have ups and downs and cold and heat and
all those kind of things you're see it
already being used like El Grove
California in places like that so it's
proven technology is that right that is
my understanding uh we do have a
representative of crown castle to give
give a more detailed explanation but is
my understanding that they have utilized
this technology in other locals with
various weather conditions as council
members to it so yes I believe the
answer your question is yes yeah so this
is going to be less intrusive for the
neighborhoods I appreciate that thank
you council member Ellice yeah well you
you talk about it being a pilot program
for hollow through the mayor council
member Ellis uh the if if approved by
city council it would be a three-year
pilot program okay and that whole three
three years we'll be monitoring it and
making sure that uh I I understand that
with the applicant we had an issue in
the past of them um staying in contract
with us uh what Mak me think that this
is not going to be another issue through
the mayor council member Ellis uh to
answer a question there was a dispute
over fees we worked proactively with
crown castle and I can report that they
have successfully paid all outstanding
fees to the city are in a good standing
with the city uh we will be working hand
inand with this is a new technology even
though it's been proven in other
communities it's new to us so uh Dennis
and his team will be uh doing extra
oversight on this working in close
coordination with crown castle to make
sure that there is no negative impact we
don't know exactly what will be the
impact of the roadways we expect it to
be minimal based on the micro uh
trenching technology but if there is uh
more significant impact then we will
work to immediately address that with
crown castle that could include stopping
the work that could include uh other
actions that may be necessary I think
the the council can be assured that we
will be keeping a very close eye on this
appreciate that Kevin thank you so much
I've met with some of the people from
crown castle Years A couple of years ago
and they seems to be very amicable and
wants to work with us I was very
surprised when I heard that they were
not you know meeting their obligations
towards us but I'm glad to hear the
report tonight that they have come and
um agreeably let's move forward and
everything so looking forward to
continue working with them thank
you seeing no additional questions thank
you
Kevin all right Council we're halfway
through the called in ones item number
14 General Plan update if I could have
Lauren Schuman return and council member
Orlando and Poston called this and
asking for a
briefing all right thank you again uh
we're excited to come before you this
evening item 14 on your agenda is an
agreement with Logan Simpson designed
for a general plan and comprehensive
Plan
update all right to just give you a the
word General plans been thrown around a
couple of times this evening but to give
you a a reminder of what our general
plan is our general plan is a
comprehensive set of broad policies that
guides development within our city um
it's a strategic plan and it's not
parcel specific the general plan is our
ultimate what we want our city to look
like look like at ultimate buildout uh
it takes input from all community
members uh and has Community goals
Within
it uh the general plan the state statute
requires that we update it every 10
years so planning staff is initiating uh
the update of the general plan the last
one was approved in 2016 and it was
approved by the voters at
85.8% which was very high we received a
reward for that an award um since then
no major or minor uh Amendments have
occurred
uh per the State statue there's 17
different elements that the state
requires us to look at uh the general
plan is not a just a a planning document
uh other departments uh use uh this
document to put their policies and goals
within it uh we anticipate that there is
going to be a lot of focus on housing
Water Resources um and per Direction
given by the mayor um conservation
Rehabilitation and Redevelopment as well
as a
circulation uh it's important that we uh
update our general plan every 10 years
as it's required by the state statue but
we also want to look at uh developing
Trends uh to make sure that you know
we're still on track for ultimate
buildout and how we want our city to
develop uh we are city of Chandler is
approaching buildout we're at 93% built
out of that 7 7% That's remaining only
3% of it is envisioned for residential
uses uh so we just want to make sure
that we're headed in the right track for
buildout uh so today we come before you
with the uh contract for a
consultant um The Proposal was sent out
in July uh we received three
proposals um and on your agenda today is
an agreement with Logan Simpson design
as our consultant uh this is the kickoff
really to the next two years of our uh
General Plan
update um next steps uh once approved uh
on Thursday's agenda uh we do have a
meeting with the consultant and uh
important and other departments within
the city uh to start up uh uh to
identify our goals and as as well as the
next step would be to set up a
residential advisory committee uh
they're appointed by the mayor and voted
on by the city council that that should
be on an agenda uh before the end of the
year uh that committee is comprised of
uh interested stakeholders business
members activists and residents uh in
the 2016 General Plan update there were
23 uh uh committee members the year pre
uh before that there were 21 so
generally there's about 20 but there's
no rules or regulations regarding how
many and this committee is used to help
guide staff and the consultant through
the
update uh start next year is is the the
real work the real work with the boots
on the ground uh the public output uh
getting uh weekly meetings uh for topics
regarding our general plan and how we
want the city to develop uh because
because we uh we want to include
everybody um we will be engaging with
the youth uh as well as uh residents of
the city we hope to partner with uh
local businesses to host events uh one
of the reasons Logan Simpson was chosen
is their robust um public
participation uh processes um and so we
really look forward to working with them
and seeing what um Innovative uh ways
that they have to reach out to the
public to to get this message out so we
can get as much feedback uh and then as
well as meet with regional stakeholders
uh check in with uh a majority of our
hearing boards back to city council Park
and W uh airport
commission and then we hope by June of
next year uh we will have finalize the
comprehensive housing plan in order to
comply with uh Governor hobb's State
bill that was recently signed in state
Bill
1162 so the comprehensive housing
portion of the general Plan update
should be complete by June of next
year uh and then from there it's just uh
sending out the uh General plan draft uh
for review to start the 60-day statutory
review
period uh with hopes to get this to a uh
January of
2026 uh Planning and Zoning Commission
and on a city council agenda by February
of
2026 uh in order to reach the August
2026 uh election as once Council
approves or denies it it gets put on a
ballot where residents uh vote on the
general plan uh so today is uh this week
would be a kickoff to to this whole
process of the next two years and with
that I'm open for any questions or
comments let's start with council member
Poston thank you mayor um my questions
would be a little more specific to the
housing plan um we we've been asking a
lot of our residents lately um in terms
of putting them on committees for the
bond um and now the general plan and the
housing plan do you anticipate that the
committee for the general plan would be
the same as the housing or is that going
to be two separate committees running
together um in terms of who we're going
to pull into the community just to get
one done a little sooner than the other
of course that's a great
question I'm going to uh look to Leo
pow good evening Council through the
mayor council member Poston we will have
a separate stakeholder group that will
be looking at the comprehensive housing
plan one of the reasons for that is the
idea is to have the comprehensive
housing plan wrapped up prior to the
final draft of the general plan because
we want that plan to roll up into the
general plan for continuity we've
already been working at a kind of
identifying those broad categories of
stakeholders so for example we want to
make sure we have nonprofit providers
involved for-profit and nonprofit
affordable housing developers we want to
make sure we have the business Community
the school districts because this is
housing for all income levels in a
diverse housing base we want to make
sure that we have a diverse stakeholders
group as well okay and because I wanted
to clarify and make sure because
affordable housing is such an important
issue that we've been facing across the
country it's not only affordable housing
that we're looking at it's all housing
and where it belongs in Chandler is that
correct yes through the mayor council
member Poston that is correct we will be
looking at all different types of
housing stock in addition to what we may
already have in Chandler today we also
want to look at Innovative housing stock
that may also meet a diverse audience
how do you always answer my next
question so I was just going to say I
would I would like to just encourage
this group um and our city staff to get
as creative as possible I know you and I
have had this discussion many many times
whether it's materials um whether we
need to be looking at the city code and
what we're allowed to have um whether
it's
revitalizing I'm seeing across other
cities where they are taking and I know
we had a presentation from our economic
development director um that it's
difficult but other communities are
finding ways ways to change businesses
into housing where it's appropriate um
so I just want to encourage that
creativity and to be willing to explore
all the options and give us a good idea
of where those housing where that
housing stock needs to go um will we be
looking at city property as well as a
possibility in terms of putting housing
on any of that some of the real estate
that we own uh through the mayor council
member Poston that will be twofold we
will be coming back to Council in the
near future looking at the housing at
our own public housing stock and
continuing with our plan to redevelop
our public housing stock as part of that
conversation and future conversations we
may be looking at other City Parcels
along the way so I think that will
happen at a couple different times okay
thank you it's all my questions thanks
man yeah let me I'm gonna go to council
member Orlando next since he also call
this but let me ask a a follow-up
question just a process question so this
housing group will that report directly
to you will they make presentations to
the general plan committee will they how
how does the process of these two
concurrent committees work mayor hary
that is the reason that we wanted to do
this as a joint plan with with the
general plan again to make sure that
that there is consistency and continuity
we have been doing housing assessments
every year we've been updating it but
that data hasn't not has not necessarily
been rolling up into a larger plan for
the city so that was the reason for
doing this in conjunction um Amy
Jacobson and myself will be overseeing
the comprehensive housing plan piece of
it but we'll be working very closely and
in conjunction with development services
on the general plan as well as having
staff within my department also be
leasons with the general plan we want to
make sure that there is that continuity
and we want to make sure that any report
that's generated as far as that
comprehensive housing plan is something
that can roll up as a document so being
presented to the general plan committee
certainly getting staff's input on it up
really vetting it through the entire
process as well it will just be
happening a little bit off track
simultaneously for the most part but
will be completed prior to the general
plan being completed
so at some point then this will there
will be a presentation to the general
planned uh committee and they will in
essence for of better words accept this
to morph it into the general plan rather
than these two continuing to work
divergently correct yes mayor that is
correct okay okay very good um council
member Orlando no I just wanted to know
the desired outcomes of the housing plan
obviously we know the general plan been
doing that for a long time but I think I
got a good handle on what we're looking
at for the desired outcomes of where we
want to go the housing piece of it
that's all I had thanks council member
Stewart thank you so on the on the
comprehensive housing plan you're going
to kind of organize the the group that
kind of puts that together will the Home
Builders Association be on that will
there be neighbors on that will there be
uh folks that sort of expand outside of
what maybe your Department's generally
worked on which is the I don't know if
it's even Workforce housing it's more of
uh our veterans and elderly and folks
housing H HUD housing that kind of stuff
right yes through the mayor council
member Stuart yes to all of those groups
that you identified exactly again we
want to make sure that this is not just
focused on affordable housing but it's
focused on all different types of
housing products right throughout
Chandler and again meeting a diverse H
base of future residents current
residents it'll be looking at where what
our assets are today not just as a city
but as a city as a whole what types of
housing we have where it is and where
those gaps are sure and then on the
selection for that committee will that
go will you be handling that mayor and
then we vote on that or how will that
selection be done
so similar to the the bond committee and
correct me if I'm wrong is it I will be
taking input from you all assembling a
board and then Council will approve the
the general plan I'm looking to my right
for yeah so similar to what we've just
done with the bond Pro and there might
be some carryover of existing folks or
and I'll need to make sure that we're
working closely together so that someone
does not recommend someone who's also
going to be serving it seems like there
was a fair amount of work on both of
these to council member poston's
question to my right any questions
comments okay council member thank you
actually this was a followup to the
mayor's question am am I hearing it
correctly that the comprehensive housing
plan wouldn't come back to us um but it
would just be folded into the general
plan and then move forward in
conjunction with that after June through
the mayor council M post we will
certainly be presenting information to
council um it's just a matter of as a
there will be a report from the
comprehensive housing plan so it will
have its own report but that report will
roll up into the general plan so it's
really kind of twice I guess that you
could say um we will certainly have a
report to at for that piece of it we
also want to make sure that we're
meeting any state guidelines as you know
there's legislation for the most part
we've been doing that but this
formalizes what we've been doing and so
we will make sure that we are meeting
any of those State deadlines and that
piece of it but in addition it will roll
into that General plan okay thank you
and council member Rec could we can
certainly do um a study session make
sure that we're aware and any questions
that we have before this becomes a a
sealed you know stamped document that
Council can have input on thanks mayor
okay all right thank you
our next item called in was called in by
council members Ellis and Stewart item
22 vehicle purchase and upfitting uh
Mike Collinsworth for a
presentation well may thank you mayor uh
truly do you two just have questions or
do you correct I just had a couple of
questions I didn't want a full
presentation it was just brought to my
attention that you are going to do a
whole full one I just wanted you in a
few words to kind of concise it why do
we have to make an8 million something
dollar investment into Vehicles right
now because a lot of people are talking
about this is it the right time to buy
with the inflation and not only that the
money should we invest it into vehicle
I'll tell you for me personally um a
couple of weeks ago I took one of the
cars with the mayor down to uh we went
uh somewhere that car was
pitiful I was like oh my goodness this
really Belong To The City there was not
even any light in the in in the roof
when we open the door so kind of just
concise it for me I don't want to fool
why do we need to make this investment
right now so through the mayor com
remember Ellis number one it's not $8
million it's like $4.1 million and it's
actually a reduction from last year it
also includes upfitting but we go
through an exhaustive process to
determine what vehicles need to be
replaced and to answer your question now
versus later uh it's one of those things
pay me now or pay me later um the
inflation I don't know if anybody has a
crystal ball that's going to tell us
what inflation is going to be in another
year I personally just went through a
vehicle purchase myself and I went
through the same debate with myself
should I wait or should I should I do it
now I ended up doing it now but and have
really no but M my situation may be
different from other people and
obviously the city but we go through an
exhaustive process to evaluate the
vehicles to understand is this the right
time to to to replace based on mileage
cost of repairs the actual condition of
the vehicle through physical inspections
and also the feedback we get from the
fleet advisory committee so there's a
lot of different aspects that go into
determining whether we need to buy
vehicles now or later and we started off
with approximately 86 vehicles to
replace and now we're down to 51 so
we've gone through a a pretty exhaustive
scrub of this list if we scrubed it in
your heart it' be bleeding so you know I
but I do understand your concern about
the economy and where we're at now with
inflation interest rates um we don't
play that game in the city um and with
car prices uh they're they are a bit
high but they are coming down too uh I
would say you know Mike crystal ball
says we're probably unchanged from last
year or maybe even a little little less
by a single digit percentage so I think
we're the timing uh for some of these
vehicles we're at a at a point where the
vehicles we've selected are kind of a
must replace Point yeah I'm with you I
I'm not I don't have a concern because I
I look through it and and I know what
you're trying to accomplish and I know
what we have done in the past and we're
going to continue to do we are very
fiscally responsible here in the city
but there are people who brought this uh
what I just said here up so I wanted to
make sure that we answer them in the
square right here so that they
understood why why we need to do this
right now so I appreciate you thank you
so much thank you
mayor thank you mayor uh some of the my
questions were answered just now but I'm
interested how much less versus last
year have we reduced the uh the expense
and then you know I think it's it's
notable it's it's noteworthy to mention
that we've got a number of my neighbors
number of our residents that run I just
turned in a truck that was 180,000 miles
right that we run our cars to the very
end so I want some insurance is when we
make an expense like this that we're
taking our Fleet to the the last
possible moment and then turning that in
when we need to replace that and so this
is a has been an ongoing as Josh knows
this has been something I've really been
a bug in my in my saddle buring my
saddle buring my saddle for about five
years yeah when I see four million eight
million whatever that is come across and
I see fresh new cars every year um I
want to make sure that that's respecting
our residents who don't get a new car
every year right through the mayor
council member Stewart I I again I'll
share a personal comment myself I took
my car recently at 202,000 Miles and I
still have it so it's but it's on its
way out um but to answer your question
regarding this year versus last year uh
last year was 93 vehicles um and this
year is 51 uh this year it's $4.1
million and that's with upfitting and
that's the the large difference between
this year and last year last year we we
presented those Vehicles without
upfitting and it was around $4 million
but there was a considerable upcharge
with upfitting uh because of cost
increases over the past couple years
with upfitting it's it's considerable
it's probably about 30% more on top of
the actual purchase of the vehicle so
it's it's substanti
as far as
uh um you know when we develop our
original list again we started off with
86 vehicles um we go through that
process with the F advisory Community to
understand what their needs are uh what
the actual condition of the vehicles are
we make sure that hey look do you really
need this vehicle can it last we asked
the question can it last another year
and if it can we cross it off the list
so that's how we we physically beat this
list up to get to that point that that
that's all I wanted to hear right as
we're running to the end so thank
you any additional questions for Mike
mayor council member Orlando yeah so
just looking at your list here of
vehicles you're
buying from what I understand uh three
almost three million of this is for
police vehicles 36 Vehicles which a lot
of that's the upgrade you're talking
about in your experience are police
vehicles uh overutilize much more wear
and tear earlier uh probably get beat up
a lot more often they're on the road 24
hours a day basically so is that why the
wear and tear with these are more
occurring versus like a utility vehicle
through the mayor council member Orlando
short answer is yes these vehicles go
through a tremendous amount of abuse and
and we want to provide our our uh Public
Safety folks the you know a tool the
right tool for the job uh they do do go
through an extreme environment I mean
it's it's it's pretty obvious that a lot
of idle time U obviously a lot of
driving uh but yes sir it's a and then
you're expanding obviously the place
department is expanding with more
patrols and and then the other seven
vehicles uh are for fire I'm assuming
same reason yes sir yes sir again it's a
very very uh harsh environment okay all
right and again some of these vehicles
Community Services two cultural
development one or two so there's a lot
of these other vehicles here that are
are are just necessary repayment okay
thank you appreciate thanks
mayor mayor see no coun mercy yeah and
just to be clear as we've always talked
about on the Das here my question's
never been about Public Safety it's
always been about the the uh volunteer
cars then we've got cars for different
departments and things like that that
are outside the fleet cars so I
appreciate that's one one of the reasons
that about four years ago I asked for
the for the police and fire to be
separate in the in the bus budget from
the fleet cars because Public Safety is
its own entity and everything else that
we do they have their own Pi they have
their own everything which is great
that's why they're so great at what they
do but then everything else is General
but these always seem to be lump lumped
together so I could never really really
dig into that because you didn't want
didn't want to vote no if I didn't agree
with it obviously we we need cop cars so
appreciate that Mike cart that the P PD
is also a very great source for trickle
down Vehicles oh that's right we're able
to we're able to reutilize those
vehicles in many cases where departments
won't have to purchase a new vehicle
you're doing a great job Mike I
appreciate it thank you all right thank
you Mike our last question called in is
item number 34 also called in by council
member Ellis Stewart and myself looking
at the temporary accommodation um
services please give us a very brief
presentation you bet don't even have to
use the PowerPoint if you don't want um
hi mayor hi Council thanks for having me
so see how
fast all right skip the slide already so
this item is simply an amendment to an
existing contract for one of the two one
of the two hotels that we use for
operation open door which is our non-
congregate shelter program um this
amendment would um extend the contract
for an additional year um for an amount
not to exceed
600,000 um starting October first this
contractor did not ask for um an
increase so it would be at the same rate
as last year um very brief overview this
program as you know started in 2020 when
shelter breads reduced It's very
effective um both in outcome and in cost
um it is staffed by our city Navigators
who provide services to people that are
staying in our non- congregate program
seven days a week um the ultimate goal
is to go to permanent housing and we've
been very successful with that um this
last year 98% of our clients um went to
permanent housing or another positive
exit we only lost six people who either
um unfortunately either passed away
before exit or did not um or return to
homelessness that's amazing out of 301
persons that we served last year
um the purpose for Contracting is to
avoid um High fees so I've learned a lot
about hotels in the last couple years um
the rates fluctuate by the by the day if
not the hour and are also very dependent
on um things that come to town for
instance uh Super Bowls or um the uh the
golf tournament um the Phoenix Open
things like that so getting into
contract with a hotel gives us a a flat
rate and the best rate and make sure
that we always have access to Rooms
we're not competing with the General
market to provide shelter to our
residents and then of course most
importantly it provides a safe um place
where we can really work with somebody
and very quickly get them stabilized and
on to permanent housing um and those
people are then not on the streets of
Chandler that is very important because
when on the streets um people are
generally costing our Public Safety our
Public Service systems you know $35 to
$40,000 a year um and if we make a quick
$6,500 investment um in our residents
are experiencing homelessness within
about our our average last year was 72
days when within about 72 days we can
have a positive resolution for them and
avoid spending that
money council member St thank you and
that's that that was the answer to my
biggest question right is why this
program has been working for us so I
used to be on sort of the I've had
people ask me like what have we doing
buying hotel rooms for but the the end
result has been when people get into the
rooms right when they get the help that
they need then one they take that
pressure off our Police Department two
they actually get the help that they
need and the wraparound Services they
need so this this housing crisis that
we're in we're feeling the everyday
effects of that but what we're doing
here in the city of Chandler is why you
see very very few unhoused people
throughout our community because our
Navigators this whole program is helping
them get into housing and then helping
them find job training or helping them
is that I mean that's basically what's
going on here because I'm going to get a
question on why are we spending this
money on hotel rooms yeah through the
mayor um councilman Stuart that's you've
got it exactly right this gives us a
very quick way to interact with people
immediately we know where they are
they're safe they're getting good sleep
they can work towards their goals and
they're on to permanent housing thank
you great
Keon um so let's see this is actually
our last slide so this is just looking
at actual expenditures over the time
that we've had this program since 20120
um you can see that our first year we
spent about five uh 400
450,000 um that was half a Year's worth
of service and every year since then
we've spent um somewhere around a
million dollars um this year year to
date we've spent 145,000 of City funds
and 102,000 of federal funds you can see
we're always trying to um balance um
spending federal funds and spending uh
City funds um the biggest thing to note
here is that unfortunately we as a city
are not eligible for emergency Solutions
Grant funds which is the designated
Federal fund source for shelter so we
are always looking to every Grant we can
find from state or federal sources and
then we are of course um contributing
some ourselves so it's very important
very good um council member Ellis did
you have any questions yes mayor thank
you so much I remember the first two
years of sitting here when I was pushing
this program so much that it was being
said in the community that we should not
take any money from federal government
to do this program and look at where we
are right now it's nonexistent campign
is non-existent into our city right now
I have used this program more than
anybody that I know by making a phone
call and getting people off the streets
because I believe in it and I know it
works you saying that it's very valuable
that it's very successful I think it's
more than that it's saving lives not
only that it's saving life we have
people graduating from this program now
with master's degrees and those who are
going to college right now and getting
their whole bloodline out of poverty
This Is Why We Exist we don't keep
giving fishes we teach people how to
fish and getting them out of
homelessness by giving them that little
help because people don't realize what
it takes sometimes a good night sleep
what it's going to do for someone just
to be able to think to say yes to
Services just by letting them be off the
street for that night we know that we
have their hearts so that we can talk to
them and help them to help themselves I
applaud you I thank your team for
continuing doing that and we're going to
continue to invest as long as I'm here
we're going to continue to invest into
this because it works and we can see it
in our city every single day that I
drive around thank you I thank you for
that testimony and my staff thanks you
Ryan you answered my question with the
just the cost comparisons that uh we
actually there are real cost to
homelessness and by avoiding them there
it just has a greater toll on so many
other services so thank you for that
slide Council any other questions or
comments related to this all right thank
you
that was the last item called in that
concludes our study session Council I'll
see you on Thursday