Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

Well, who's going to cheer tonight? Stand here. just said a few minutes. I'm on my way. I might get a few minutes. I just sounds good.

Yeah. Oh, here. What's the deal?

This is crazy. You know, that's what I just need to do. We have a printer at our house. Yeah. It would be nice because they have um sticky notes in here and you could be so nice.

Well, the The story that I'm getting right now is that she will be a few minutes late. So, I'm I'm not looking at you. I'm looking out to see see if I see her walking up. Is it a truck or a car?

Yeah, but are they going [Music] [Music] Yep. There we go. Drum roll. Was that what we're [Laughter]

Okay. Gosh. Hope she'd be. She could be stuck at Starbucks like I was. Glad she has her priorities. Scooters. Scooters. Just scoot on out. Was it two minutes or three minutes? It's true. It is very true. Is that right?

You can get in and out. Am I on now? I'm on. Okay. Apologize for the delay. We understand that our last active commissioner was going to be here momentarily, but uh we'll go ahead and start and hopefully she'll pop in shortly. Um start with calling the meeting to order of the October 2nd, 2025 uh planning and zoning commission. And if you all would rise and join me for the pledge. I pledge algiance 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. I was hoping she'd come walking in so I didn't have to move the agenda around. Um, okay. Go ahead and call the role.

Member Kle here. Member Smith here. Member Alderette here. Member Hubard here. Chairman Benedict here. And then I'd like to note for the minutes that member Vender Hayden and member Garza are absent. Okay. Thank you. Any changes the to the agenda? No changes, commissioner. Thank you. Okay, we have uh new planning commissioners, but we do have a new planning commissioner. Andrew, anything you want to say to introduce yourself or

Sure. My name is Andrew Clig. I've been a resident of Kas Gran since uh 200 8 n uh the years start going together. Uh work at Central Arizona College on the academic side and happy to be a member. Awesome. Thank you. Garrett, you don't get to say anything because you've been on here for uh a little while. If you'd like to introduce yourself, that'd be fine. Introduce myself for everybody. Uh my name is Garrett Alter. I'm currently a planner with a private company working in Tucson and I've lived here my entire life. So, a whole 28 years.

All 28 years. Okay. Uh, commissioners, we have minutes from the last meeting in front of you. What's your wishes?

Sure. I'd like to make a motion. I'd like to make a motion to approve the minutes of the September 4th, 2025 meeting. Second. Okay. A motion is second. Any discussion? Hearing none. All in favor say I. I. Any opposed?

No. Okay. Um the next section of our agenda is the uh public comment section. Anybody from the public is invited to make comments to the commission regarding matters that are not on our current agenda agenda. And uh we we can't respond to those comments, but we could direct staff to follow up as would be appropriate. Anybody from the public like to uh address the commission on things that again we only have the one u one that action item but uh anything anybody from the public like to address the commission of things in general. Okay. Seeing none I'll close the public comment portion. Did I not see her

walking in to the restroom? What? She went into the restroom.

No, she doesn't get to go. She's late. Well, nice to have the whole commission here for the presentation. But such as it is. Next on the agenda, we will consider a request by Collier's Engineering uh to allow a chemical production distribution facility on Peters and Burus Road. That'll be a conditional use permit and its resolution and a major site plan. And Jacqueline, talk to us.

Good evening, commission. Uh floor is requesting a conditional use permit in major site plan to allow a chemical manufacturing facility. The site is generally located south to southwest corner of Burus and Peters. Uh the site is approximately 10 acres and zoned I2 and the total building area is approximately 50,000 square feet. I'll be going over the site plan on an additional slide, but just here's a a quick look at it. A little bit of overview. Quorum is proposing a new chemical manufacturing facility. to specifically operate chemical manufacturing which will produce uh be producing sodium hydraulic site or bleach uh hydro hydrolotic acid and costic soda at 32% and 52% concentrations. The purpose of the plant is to reduce uh replace uh products imported from other states for local supply into the Arizona market including several companies in Casrand and provide a reliable supply of essential base chemicals for a number of different industries including water and uh wastewater treatment semiconductor industry food and beverage mining and others. A conditional use permit is required for any use involving the storage, utilization or manufacturer of volatile or explosive materials or products located with in the general industrial I2 zoning district. Here are the conditional use permit review criteria. They're all covered in staff report. I will be highlighting um this one. I just do want to note that some of the criteria is also covered in the major site plan review that I will be covering on additional slides as well. So regarding uh the C we make sure that the proposed use will have no adverse effect upon the budding properties. Again, the site is in the I2 uh general industrial zoning district and as stated in the city code, the purpose of the I2 general industrial zone is provide for the development of industries which based of the nature of their operations um traffic generation or emissions would

not be compatible with land uses in other zoning districts but would nonetheless are necessary and desirable activities in the city. Uh so this zone district provides an appropriate area for the intended use and the map on the right shows the cups that have been processed in the area. Um some are in operation um some are under construction or some have just um CU entitlement approval and have not moved forward as of yet. Uh here's the site plan overview. Uh again the site consists of several buildings for administration and employee support control room lab guard house workshop, truck driver support services, salt storage, production process equipment and truck loading. And then on the south side is the fire emergency access as well. Regarding the major review major site plan review criteria, again this is all covered in the staff report. I'll be covering the three highlighted items here. First one is that the um conformance to the city's general plan. Again this uh in the general plan 2030 plan a designation for the site is within the manufacturing industry which supports I2 zoning and the proposed use is cate categorized again as a conditionally permitted use in I2 and one of the goals of manufacturing industry is to encourage appropriate and responsible industrial developments in appropriate locations u which this area has been identified as uh regarding the impact of the plan on existing and anticipated traffic and parking conditions. Traffic statement was prepared and approved by the city's traffic engineer anticipated to generate 154 weekday total trips. 60 trips during the AM peak hours, 12 during the PM um peak hours, and also Burst Road is designated as the city's future um traffic uh truck traffic route um and um will be constructed in a future CIP project. I do want to note that there was some uh

miscommunication between planning and public works and the time of writing of the staff report. So we will be um um updating one of our conditions of approval on our recommendation slides. So I just want to note that here as well. Uh regarding building location and height, the proposed building and equipments are located throughout the site and meet all required setbacks. Site buildings and facilities are gen generally no more than 40 feet in height with the exception of the boiler unit which is expected to be approximately 110 ft um which is permissible per section 17.52.250D of the zoning code which exempts manufacturing process structures that are less than 25% of the total site area and setbacks of at least 25 ft from every lot line which it meets. Oh, and here's another image of the site as well. Regarding notification efforts, uh staff sent out notifications of application and review in June and the uh tonight's meeting was published in the dispatch and um postings of the site was done as well as notice of the public hearing. Um each mailing was done within a thousand feet of the site. I did receive one email today um that has been provided to you as a handout that was against the project. Uh, regarding recommendations, staff recommends the commission approve the conditional use permit and associated resolution. And staff recommends the commission approve the major site plan to allow for chemical production distribution facility with the following conditions. And as noted, we are um removing the first one. Again, this will be done as a CIP project. So, they um do not have to do the Burus Road Half Street um improvements. And then happy to answer any questions. It will note that the applicant and um the um owners are here to also answer any questions the commission may have.

Correct. Commissioners, any questions for staff? I have one question. Thank you.

Uh in regards to the transport of these chemicals, will they be actually routed through to I8 to go to I 10 or will they be coming the trucks be hauling through the city? Well, future um with uh the development of Burst Road, it will go um up through to Val Vista, but um right now they it's up to I can't answer that. It's really like ideally we would like them to go to I8, but as you know, most of them do not do that. Mhm. So therefore, they'll probably default and actually haul those chemicals through the city with pedestrian traffic and also regular car traffic,

which all of them all truck traffic goes that way as well. Okay. Thank you, chairman. I just I have a question for Clark probably more than Jacqueline. Do you know if the city is looking into a designated truck route? [Music] Yes. Okay.

Yeah, we're advancing planning for Burus Road, uh, as Jacqueline had alluded to, uh, to provide a railroad crossing and to continue up Burus Road and, uh, intersect with, uh, Panal Avenue uh, on the north side of the airport fence. So, we have a concept in in mind and we're advancing that with appropriate studies to make sure we have all the necessary right away, but nothing in the the meantime as far as forcing some of this commercial traffic to use Thornton i8 and around the city. There isn't a mechanism to force them to do it.

Okay, that's what I was wondering. Thank you. Um, anything else to not for staff but for the Okay, company.

We'll we'll have we'll have a session. Um, so obviously I heard concerns I share the concerns that have been expressed. I'm wondering um and I don't know how to do it. I mean if you go out there it's it let me back up. It feels like there's a whole lot of truck traffic on Panal Avenue. If I drive out, you know, into that industrial section and I look at all the trucks and trailers that are there, I'm thinking, okay, those don't all go. I mean, that's, you know, there's a bunch going to I8, but there's a bunch coming up now. and and and it and it you know it's a concern and has been a concern for me with with some of the the things that we have already approved that are already functioning and and um so I is there is there a way I don't know you smart people is there a way to count how many of those semis are going out to eight and how many are going other direction. I mean I just I don't know how to get get a grasp of is this becoming you know huge hugely out of balance or I just don't know how to do that.

The origin and destination of the traffic uh that goes to our industrial sector of town has never been evaluated or counted to the best of my knowledge. uh in terms of a mechanism to do that I can't think of that type of study short of you know asking the various Walmart LKQ right asking them specifically to to ask their drivers how they're reaching but I'm sorry that to date there's nothing that's No I

I um I'm just wondering if there's a way through weight sanctions that you can impose limits on the structural section of the road and the asphalt and the I'm saying that because there's one in title 28 for counties to for local authorities to apply those restrictions of tons that you can have on the roadway that would force the other direction. I'm just curious and maybe there's an opportunity there. You should probably look into it. Does that make sense? I I don't know. You you all professionals are

if they if they weigh too much for the structural section of the road and they're deteriorating too fast, there's a way for the city to to apply those. Well, counties anyway. I'm only coming from the county side. Okay. Just checking. Panel is managed by ADOT, correct? Correct. So ADOT would have to be the one putting those restrictions, correct? Yes. Okay. That's my thought. Yes. Should still be looked into. Yeah. Regardless, that's Yes. It'd be a good conversation with them.

Yeah. We Yep. Okay. Any other questions for staff? Okay. This at this point, would um the uh owner, the applicant, or their representative please come forward and address the commission. Please give us your name and address for the record.

Sure. Good evening, chairman and commissioners. Cindy Paddock, Kier's Engineering and Design, uh 4742 North 24th Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85016. Happy to be here this evening. Um we're excited to bring this business to the city. Um it's as Jacqueline did a good job explaining it. Um as you can see, it's a currently vacant piece of property in the industrial area of the city. Um it is been located here to provide a local regional source of these base chemicals that are needed in a lot of different industries. Um as is well or you know noted there's a lot of new industrial and manufacturing coming to Arizona and so this this support facility has been located here to reduce transportation from elsewhere. Um it's not a partic it's it's a facility that um is everything is self-contained. There's no emissions. They just got their air permit air quality permit from the county. Um there's no actual toxic emissions from this property or from this from this facility. And um again, it's a 247 facility. There's these facilities that are located around all the way around the uh the c the actually the country and and elsewhere in in the world. Um the owners are here um if we have questions that we need to speak to them. Again, they're very excited to be here to address um see this project approved and move forward. But the expectation is if it's approved, it would proceed to construction early next year. And I'm happy to answer any other questions.

Okay. Commissioners, questions for the applicant. I have one question um in regards to the facility like you're actually proposing here. Do you have them in other locations? And if so, where? Yes. Sure. Sure. I'll have to have the uh the developer speak. You just have to give your name. Yeah. Uh my name Daniel Crochi from Chlorum Solutions. Um your address, too, please. Uh two two 228. Had to think about that. 228 Walker Avenue, Highland Park, Illinois.

Thanks so much. Um so chlorum to give you a little bit more background we focus on smallcale chloralki chlorine facilities right which are the three products that Jacqueline mentioned uh sodium hypocchlorite or bleach um HCl and costic soda and I think the big difference that we do uh is usually these are very very big prochemical pubs in the US, it's over 80% of the production is in Texas or Louisiana linked to oil and gas producing plastics. And then you're taking the excess chlorine gas, putting in a rail car, and shipping it to the rest of the country, which is that's how the products arrive here in Arizona today. And what we do is we build this, you know, a miniaturized. So give you an example, we're this is a 50 ton a day facility. you have facilities in Texas that do 4,000 tons a day. Um, so this is, you know, a fraction of the size of what what one of these, which means impact is a lot smaller and and the and and the overall safety of the of the facility is is is significantly less. So, we started we're I think the only company that I know in the world focused on these small scale facilities, but the technology is proven. It's been around for 40 years. We're not, you know, it's not our technology. We're not, we're not and uh, you know, coming up with anything innovative other than the type of business model that we do and and the focus on safety. So, to answer your question, uh, we've got eight facilities operating in Latin America or six operating, two more coming in line over the next couple two months. So, by the end of the year, we'll have eight facilities. This will be our first in the United States.

Okay. Thank you. Sure. And there's before you go, there's no um you mentioned about rail um that that this is shipped often shipped by rail. There's no rail in this.

Oh, so yeah. So, so I guess explain a little bit more. Bleach, which is used primarily in water treatment or pool treatment in Arizona. um also industrial you know some of the other companies here in cas and and the I'm sure the semiconductor industry as well uses some bleach in their process but the way bleach is produced is you're bringing in chlorine gas and you're bringing in costic soda from somewhere else and then you combine the two here in Arizona which then produces sodium hypocchloride or bleach which is a much safer product it's mostly water it's 80% % water versus the gas which is which is the other option. And what we're doing is we're bringing in salt uh with water. You're producing a brine and you you take NaCCl and you split that up to chlorine and costic soda and then we combine that again immediately in our process. Uh so we're splitting it up and in in what's called the electrolyer that splits that the the the the elements and putting them back together. So what we're doing is we're eliminating the rail of inbound more toxic inhalation hazard which is chlorine and and and and bringing in salt which is an you know an inert thing and that salt so speaking a little bit to the truck traffic that that you mentioned that salt our plan today would be to bring into the um park is that CCAZ the the park that's that's CCAZ right right around the corner there um with the rail and then truck. So part of that truck traffic is really going from CCAZ across the street into our facility to bring in the salt. Um and then the product the finished products will go to customers wherever they're located. So the water treatment facil I go to be 100% service

Arizona. So we're not going to be railing product out. Maybe a minor exception here or there, but the plan is not to to to service other states to service Arizona. So, no no rail. Everything would be truck serviced. All right, great. Thank you. So, I have a followup to to his question. Um, at the six sites that you have down in Latin America, have there been any recorded issues of containment at the site for any of the chemicals? um in terms of in terms of uh environmental or accidents or

I mean in in um in terms of environmental the answer is no um we don't have any toxic chem or or effluence

what we release is is salt it's it's it's a you know we basically we take salt regular you know table salt we take out all the minerals in the salt. So we have a 100, you know, 99.99% thing and what comes out is is the minerals with salt water. So it's a salty water that comes out of the process. So in terms of environmental issues, we don't in any any of the plants. One of the we've built of the eight facilities, seven of them we've built from scratch like this green field. One of them we acquired which is an older plant, an older technology. And what we're doing is we are cleaning that up and we're currently converting that to the same technology that we're using here which is membrane which is the cleaner

version. So that is the one facility where we've got I would say legacy environmental stuff from the 60s that came back that uh you know part of our process that is to try to clean it up. Um we're we're we we are very concerned and we wouldn't I mean our whole business model is to be clean and safe and local. Those those are I think the three pillars and why we're in Arizona and why we think we add value to the community. Great. Yeah.

Thank you. And then just a couple extra things just on the more on the economic development side. Um are you bringing staff in or are you going to be hiring local? Um, and all of our plants we hire local. The one exception that may I'm not saying that that we will or won't do this, but the one exception we've had in other plants is is the plant manager. We usually want somebody with chloro alkali experience. Doesn't have to be. You want chemical manufacturing.

So that will evaluate as we go. But in terms of the operators and the lab and we've always, you know, hired people and trained them up uh into into our plant and we've been in very very remote. We're in some of our plants in Brazil are in very very remote places. I'm confident we can train local people to do what we need to do. Perfect. Thank you. Yeah. Okay. Any other questions for the applicant?

Okay. All right. Now, I'd like to open the public portion of the meeting for this agenda item. Anybody from the public that would like to address this uh this item, please come forward, state your name and address for the record. And uh we'll the normal process will give you three minutes to tell us what you think and we really appreciate hearing that. And uh so anybody from the public that would like to address this issue, please come forward. Okay, seeing none, close the public portion. Commissioners, it's back to you. Okay, us. Yes. So, who wants to where we going here, guys? Chair, I'd like to make a motion.

Thank you. I'd like to make a motion to approve the conditional Yeah. Approve the conditional use permit associated resolution DSA250069. Uh yeah, we'll just leave it that. Okay. No. Yep. No conditions on that. All right. I have a motion. Second. Second. Any discussion on the motion? Okay. Hearing none, please call the RO. Member Kle, yes. Member Smith, no. Member Alderret, yes.

Member Hubard, yes. Vice Chair Garza, I chairman Benedict. Um, oh, that's going to be it'll pass. Um, no. My votes no. Okay, since that has passed, we're on to we had another motion is in order. Chair, I'd like to make a motion. Thank you. I'd like to make a motion to approve the major site plan DSA 250070 to allow for a chemical production and distribution facility with the following conditions. Uh strike one and uh leave two.

Okay. Okay. And to be clear, that's the change that was you had discussed. Yes. Um it was just a miscommunication with us in public works that we're not requiring them to do the half street improvements. Gotcha. Okay. We have that we have everything. Yes. They just need to dedicate the right away before we move on. Okay. Very good. So I have a motion with one condition. Second. I have a second discussion on the motion. Hearing none. Please call the role. Member Kle. Yes. Member Smith. Yes. Member Alderette. Yes. Member Huard.

Yes. Vice Chair Garza. Hi. Chairman Benedict.

I think it's interesting. I think uh I think everybody uh I think we're all pretty clear on what our thoughts were. Um we certainly don't mind didn't mind the plan. We're very concerned about the traffic issues. Anything that you all can do as you move ahead that can get that traffic. We love to have the business. We'd love to have the industries. We need you to go out to the freeway and, you know, stay off of our, you know, we just got we got tons of traffic. But I'm sorry. I vote yes. Okay. Motion passes. So, what's next? Planning director [Laughter] So there were um uh a few minor site plan administratively minor site plans administrally approved for Abbott. Uh Chameleon Industries had a minor amendment to their major site plan and um two final landscape plans were done as well as an amendment. uh board of adjustments had a uh temporary use permit for um Mesa Cobra for a um solar project at the at the mining facilities and city council um decisions on planning commission recommendations on the final plat for commons at um Palm Creek and the um amendments to the general plan for open space at the Cascan Mountains. And uh they approved the zoning for um the P8 to Urban Ranch as well. Um on Erica and final plat for this was a a

read a redo for the resubision of North Desert View subdivision and a map dedication for Rideaway along Florence Boulevard. And then you have the monthly development center report as well. Okay, commissioners, anything else for the good of the order? Seeing none, we are adjourned. The regular meeting is adjourned and five minutes we will open the uh special meeting.

Thank you. Thank you guys for coming. We appreciate it. Can I buy your back?