City Council - Regular Meeting

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I have to go Friday in Tuesday night. I've got a house full of companies that flew in and I gave my Friday up for them. Yeah. So, I got to get back before they all go home. this like to call the work session to order for March 9th, 2026. Clary, city clerk, please read a roll call. Let the record reflect that all members are present.

Okay. Thank you very much. Uh we have three items on the agenda tonight. would like to remind council that staff will be pausing intermediately so often to answer any questions. So, with that, first one up uh item to receive Greater Phoenix Economic Council annual update. Uh please introduce yourself. Good afternoon, Mayor and Council. I'm Wendy Bridges, the economic development director. It is my pleasure tonight to introduce Chris Mackey, the CEO and president of GPEC, and I will hand it over to you. Thank you,

mayor, members of the council. I'm very excited to be here with you this evening and talk about all the great work that's going on in economic development and particularly here in Goodyear. But for your viewers this evening, I thought I would give just a quick overview of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. I know you all know it well, but our viewers that are watching us this evening, GPEC is made up of 22 cities, uh, 22 cities and two counties, both panal and Maroba County. And then we really exist to serve the communities on an economic development front. So to bring good quality jobs into the community, help our cities grow and to work on policy that supports the economic development strategy that's identified by the mayors and councils. if uh GPU was formed in uh 1989 over an article in Forbes magazine called Boomtown Gone Bust and it was during the of course it was coming into the end of the RT the resolution trust corporation days and um I got to start working with Gpek in 1995 with one of the original founders and have been an economic developer working with GPC since 199 uh 1998 and since our founding 35 years ago we've helped nearly,00 00 companies come into the market with nearly $200,000 jobs and about 77 billion dollar in capital investment. It's a true public private partnership. When you look at regional economic development organizations, some have gone one way or the other. They're all either private sector or they're all either public sector. But in the true Arizona spirit, we always find, as you well know, that it's better when we collaborate together. And we work with private sector and public sector to create the best that we possibly can. And we with our 22 cities also have 200 private se just over 200 private sector members. And I'll apologize for the small writing. I uh this is one thing I haven't gotten fixed yet since I got to GPE. my old eyes. Uh this is the services that the Greater Phoenix

Economic Council does provide to our cities and towns and our counties. So we will do for prospects that are coming in and considering Goodyear or another city here in the region. Vice Mayor assures me it's only Goodyear that we're considering within the region for all of our great new jobs that are coming. We can do an operating cost comparison. So we can show if they're looking at Washington and Oregon and Arizona and New Mexico, we can actually show the true cost of doing business an economic impact analysis. So as the mayors and councils are making decisions on uh kind of those land uses moving forward in those companies, it can show you over time this is what this 300 jobs will bring or this is what this particular company will. So it lets you make really good financial decisions and land use decisions for your city. Of course, labor market uh analysis. Everybody's looking for a workforce today, uh site selection assistance. We help companies look, we work very closely with director Bridges and her team as uh Goodyear is putting to forward its site. And then once we've all landed those great companies, uh the public relations side, so the ribbon cutting and and all of the press releases. Uh what we're all here to talk about tonight is that business development activity. So fiscal year 2026 to date and this is through the end of uh this is through the end of January. So we still have February's numbers to go and I'll talk about those but they're being validated still. But so far in 2020 uh fiscal year 26 which began on July 1st we've located 20 new companies into the region with 1.3 billion in capital investment just over 2,800 jobs and their average uh high wage salary 80 just over 83,000. You know, it's interesting to think about if you go back to 2014, our average salary was below 40,000. So, all the work that we've all done together to really elevate Arizona into the the city and the region and the states that we want has come to fruition. So, we're our our

stats, we are a group that's measured by its metrics. We're at 107% of goal on our prospects. 25% of the of the development is from international activity. Council member Kano was with us at a Japanese with a Japanese delegation last week. We had 40 Japanese companies that are here looking for potential locations here in the region. And then right now we are at 105% of last year. So we're seeing a good year. Now we are uh just as an FYI, they've not been validated, but our numbers now are are closer for adding in February. We had three really great locates in February, closer to 5,000 coming into that. Now, if we look at our year-to- date prospect activity, and a prospect is qualified, meaning it's a company we're working with. We're providing them information. It's not just someone's kind of drive by and say, "Hi, how are you?" We're actually trading information. Actually, they're considering. They've lowered the locations that they're considering. And those prospects, if you see them, we have aboutund about 184 active prospects as of the end of January. Uh 32 million square feet potential that are in there. 27,000 job potential and 67 billion in capital investment and 145 of those prospects are new to fiscal year 26. So they're not carried over for years and years and years which would drive your numbers up. The lion share of them are are new to us over the last six months. And um not a surprise about 70 uh 77 so about twothirds of our prospect activity is in manufacturing whether it's in basic manufacturing whether it is in advanced manufacturing of course looking at the federal administration's desires and goals to be able to move manufacturing back reonshore back into the United States we're seeing lots of that activity and Arizona really is the darling of manufacturing we have done an incredible job in going back to 1942 too really setting the stage as to how and

why a good quality manufacturing job is here. As you see, we're seeing we're seeing activity in back office. Contrary to popular belief, office is not dead. It is, in fact, it's rearing its head back up again in a quite a strong fashion. Um, we're seeing in warehouse distribution, not as much as we used to see, but uh um health services and bioscience and technology and others. If we look at our prospect activity, you'll see on the industrial prospect and again no surprise 113 of our prospects are on the industrial side, which is what we're seeing here today. And you can see 35 of them are 200,000 and above. Three years ago, we had eight 100 thou a million square foot warehouses. And as of last month, the last one has now been taken, which is causing the development community now to have a demand for building of million square foot buildings. And if you look at them, they didn't just go to distribution and logistics. A a number of them went to advanced manufacturing and and support companies for TSMC, for LG, and for others in the market. You can see we have 32 office prospects that we're working with. What's really flipped from office of old is their smaller uses. They're really right sizing. They're looking at going into really new and modern space. I love your office building that's outside of this beautiful city hall in close proximity to restaurants. I understand you're getting a hotel built. So, that's the type of office space they're looking for, where they can be outside, where they can walk to the amenities. That's exactly what they're looking for. If we look at where our prospects are coming from, um the 20, as I said, 25% is international. No surprise here. 26 of them are still coming from California. We're still seeing strong business activity, but you can see across the United States where we're where we're seeing activity. One of the surprises to us has been since the pandemic is the number of companies that are coming out of New York now that are really

considering Arizona. Our most recent announcements as you see um Schneider Electric of course landed in our wonderful Goodyear first phase 350 jobs with a total of approximately 750 jobs all total. So great new jobs for the region and for the citizens that live in the in the support area. If we look at GPEC and and the city of Goodyear and our long-standing partnership, uh you'll see on the revenue on return, you are $223 for every dollar invested. So for those of your viewers that are watching today, uh the uh city council does approve a contract on an annual basis for the Greater Phoenix Economic Council for the work that we do. It is 48 cents per capita. So, our numbers have not gone up uh since uh we we went up after the the great recession, but um leveled back out again just to help our companies, our our um cities. And if you look at 220, it means for every dollar uh Goodyear invests, we're returning $223 to the community and economic impact. If we look at uh we look at our rate of return as you saw we've had if we look at uh you uh new jobs to Goodyear just over 4,000 54 million in new uh revenue into into Goodyear 404 million in consumer spending meaning for those jobs that are coming in and people are following and they're spending money. So, um, Goodyear is the the, um, decisions that the mayor and council have made to be able to represent a strong business community are clearly evident on the screen and the rate of return that you've caused to happen to the city of Goodyear. If we look at the community benefits report, again, it's a bit small, but if we look at fiscal year, um, if we look at the five-year total, 24,000 jobs have come in, high wage jobs have come into Goodyear. Uh if we look at uh just jobs, 43,000 jobs for Goodyear uh and the

citizens can read on the screen, but 1319 qualified prospects have considered Goodyear. Uh assisted locates are are 240. So you can see the activity that's been happening in the market and you'll see Amazon and American Eagle Outfitters and others. If we look at our partnership with uh GPE, we look at our competitive intelligence and the work that we do, 240 locates in greater Phoenix that we've assisted in the last five years, 15 of which have landed in Goodyear, 4,000 jobs, and 520 million as we talked about in capital investment. So, I wanted to go through that quickly so that we had time for any questions that the mayor and council might have for me. And again, thank you for the privilege of being here and presenting before you this evening. Any questions? Start over here on the left. Any questions? Joy, Wall-E,

I don't have any questions, but I'm one of your ambassadors as well, and I've been doing this for 15 years, and I absolutely love the relationship we have with GPE because you have brought quality businesses and jobs to us that we would not necessarily be exposed to. And I know you look after our interest even though you're looking after 22 other cities and towns. So, you just try to find the best fit. But we really thank you, Christine, and we want to wish you the best at your new position. I love seeing you moving around. I followed you from the very beginning when I first went with Georgia to do some things and we ran into you and we knew then that you were going to make a difference and so thank you so much and we just appreciate all you do and please continue to put our best foot forward or tell us how we need to do it.

Council member, thank you so much. We've actually moved you to gold ambassador status. So, you've done such a great job for GPE and for the region. Wow. Thank you. How's that, Mayor? I got a Oh, yeah. I may get something. You don't know.

Laura, well, I also wanted to congratulate you on your new role. I know you did great work in Phoenix and uh for you to be able to take this to a next level really serving the region is just really um a great addition and certainly a benefit for all of us. Uh like Wall-E, I'm also in the ambassador program. Very proud of that. I I am one that just like I barely get my my minimums in. It's just but you have great topics. Uh I would encourage other council members who'd like to learn about various topics, the things that you offer uh quite a bit and um and like you mentioned I did go to the Japanese business delegation. It was very interesting to learn how much money is available from foreign investors and uh I know that we have gone several times uh accompanied with somebody from ECD and and you know made relationships and connections and I said once our bies gets done I'd like to put some on a bus and have them come out here because I think that would definitely set us aside uh you know set us apart from what how they might view the West Valley and uh that would be a lot of fun. But um and I've learned that we have a number of European companies out here as well. So uh that for investing money is is definitely a really critical thing and we definitely have the land and all of that. Um, one thing I wanted to ask you, especially since your role with TSMC is, um, I went to a seminar and Greg Vogle made the comment that we are the Silicon Desert and what your thoughts were on our how we're emerging as a tech identity and how does power and water factor into all of that.

Council member Kano, first I'm going to be driving the bus to Bies because I can hardly wait for it to open. I'm an Arizona girl, but I understand it's a place that I have to go to. So, uh, very, very excited to to be driving that bus on that day. Um, you know, if you go back to 1942 and kind of come forward, it Arizona was really a place that was built on a high-tech mecca. If you look at Galvan Electronics came here in the 1940s and became Motorola in 1952. Intel was a little startup company. 1971. It was only three years old when a group went after Intel to bring them here. Honeywell has been here. GE Computing came in in 1956 and built the first mass-produced computer, you know, in the entire country just north of Sky Harbor. So, it's been a a a region that was built on its tech hub. And I would argue in the 90s and early 2000s, we kind of lost our way.

We were we were bringing in jobs that didn't focus on that high-tech mission. But as you know, coming out of the Great Recession, we swore we were never going back again. And I would also tell you that I firmly believe the tools that were put in place during the Great Recession for us here in Arizona are what have put us in this position today. We can now compete on a global level where we couldn't before and now we can. So when you think about I know they they call us the Silicon Desert and I would tell you we are actually the greater Phoenix is now ranked as number one in semiconductor and its supply chain in the entire US. That number was released new about two weeks ago. So there is no region that is over us in semiconductor and its supply chain. So I would I think we should all wear that as a badge of honor. But it can't just be in one sector. We are working diligently always as we always have in aerospace and defense. It is something we've known for we're known for with Luke and an old school girl. So I still call it Willie. So I apologize. Mesa Gateway Airport. I still call it Willie from the work that we did. But if you read the Arizona Republic last week, two of the companies that were providing technology into the war fight were both here in the West Valley and the North Valley. and they are drone manufacturers and missile manufacturing companies that are getting these government contracts and things. So, as we continue moving forward in national security innovation, I think with mayor and council's expertise and leadership across our 22 cities, we are going to even grow further and uh even more known as being that high-tech mecca. I can tell you, Director Bridges and I are not turning back. We are, we know where we want to go and we are with the guidance of mayor and council, we're sticking with it.

Wonderful. Thank you so much. Did you have some? Yeah, like I said before, thank you and welcome to to GPE. We're glad that you're here. So, we're looking forward to more more projects in the entire valley. So, thank you for all of that. And um let us know, like I said, I know you work closely with our economic development department. So, if anything we can do to help attract or on our from the council perspective, yeah, definitely let us know. We definitely want um all the options if they're coming to coming to Arizona. So, so thank you. So, that's all I have.

Uh I app I appreciate the presentation. You did a great job. Question I have is is uh is there anything that you would recommend or the group would recommend that we need to talk to our state legislators about to make us more um you know um what's the term I'm saying? more aggressive or or or whatever out there in the marketplace tools that can be added to your tool shed tool shed.

Mayor, that's an excellent question. So, the first of course is the continuation of title 42 and title 42 is an infrastructure reimbursement program that cities and towns can take advantage of to build the public infrastructure that needs to come to attract some of these large-scale manufacturing companies. So they have to make a half a billion or more in investment and then the states sales tax, construction sales tax can be reimbursed to the cities. All of the taxing jurisdictions benefit from the great work that the cities do. It shouldn't always be a burden to the cities that you have to pay for all of this infrastructure. It's a program that exists today. It is moving through the legislature as we speak uh to move from a $200 million program cap to a $75 million annual cap. And what that does is it allows cities to put in arterial streets and roads and water and sewer and water reclamation truly public infrastructure and then get reimburseed by the pro the state's portion of the project sales tax. So advocating for that at the the state level of course infra people always ask me what is an academic developer that keeps you up at night? Mary I always tell them it's infrastructure. I know everybody thinks it should be workforce. It's infrastructure. It's the power grid. It's our our wastewater treatment plants. If you'd ever told me in history that constraints would be in power in wastewater, I would have laughed you out of the room for decades of my career. But those are those are those things I think as we look forward. The other would be and we're talking about this. There's nothing before the legislature today, but one of the basic tools that we have to help our citizens move into a good quality highpaying job is job training. and that we're the only state in the union that doesn't have a a job training program that is at the at the state level. We have our workforce innovation opportunity at grant funds and we have other things, but would love

to work uh work with the elected officials within the state to bring back a true job training program to help our citizens uh move into those knowledge economy jobs. And you're not talking about a two or four year degree. I'm talking about a 12 or 16 week training program that gets somebody a 60 or 65 $70,000 a year job in battery manufacturing or autonomous vehicles or in drone manufacturing or semiconductors. So that would be if I was thinking of two infrastructure and and job training. Thank you very much. That was a great presentation and we're going to have to work with our legislators to get that other one you had mentioned 42. Do you know where it is right now in the legislature?

It is with the it is moving forward. It's moving forward between two committees. We can what we'll do is we'll send to you director Bridges and your your interim city manager and let them know where that's at. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Mayor, thank you for your time. Thank you. Nice to see you, Christine. Uh, next item is to receive an update on Goodyear Senior Services. if you if you would too please introduce yourself for the public. Good evening, mayor, council members.

Good evening, mayor, council members. I'm Gene Oslansky. I'm the parks and recreation deputy director and I'm joining Jeremy Dyke this evening, our neighborhood services manager. He's here to provide you an update on Goodyear Senior Services. Um these services have been provided through a longstanding intergovernmental agreement with the city of Aendelle. And while he'll be talking about Goodyear senior services, I did want to mention, you know, in the city of Goodyear, we have some great senior programs that our recreation division provides, but these are very specialized with a recreational value for our participants. Where our senior services, they go much deeper. These are resources, programs, and community connectedness that really increase the quality of life for some of our seniors that need these services. And with that, Jeremy's going to share a bit more about that with you.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. As Skylane said, my name is Jeremy Dyke. I'm the neighborhood services manager of the city of Goodyear. Thank you so much for the opportunity to come here tonight. Uh, I'm here to provide an update on senior services in Goodyear. Uh, this conversation was initiated by a significant cost increase in our long-standing agreement with the city of Aendale. Uh while that increase requires our attention, it's also created a natural pause point that allows staff and council to step back and evaluate how senior services are delivered today and how they may be delivered in the future as Goodyear continues to grow. Now, to understand where we are today, it's going to be helpful to briefly revisit how senior services have historically been delivered uh to Goodyear residents. Prior to 2014, the city of Aenddale was applying annually for the Goodyear community funding to provide senior services to Goodyear residents. And as those requests came forward, council determined that it would a more stable and predictable approach would be to formalize a relationship with an IGA. So in 2014, Goodyear entered into an IGA with the city of Aendale at an annual cost of $42,000. Now, this agreement allowed Goodyear residents to access uh senior programming, home delivered meals, congregate meals, and transportation services at Aenddale's family resource center uh without Goodyear needing to operate its own senior services program. Now, for more than a decade, that agreement uh has remained unchanged. During the same period, Goodyear has experienced substantial growth, not only in population, but in our approach to human and social services and expectations from our residents. So under the existing IGA, Aendale continues to provide senior services to Goodyear residents at the Aenddale Family Resource Center and this partnership has been valuable and we want to be really clear. Aenddale has been a strong and reliable partner and

we are grateful for their collaboration over many years. Now, recently Aenddale conducted a comprehensive review of its cost structure and implemented a per participant pricing model. And based on reported utilization by Goodyear residents, this resulted in a proposed increase to approximately $189,000 annually beginning in fiscal year 27. So that change represents a significant increase from the current $42,000 agreement and is a primary reason this item is before council. While the increase is substantial, it is important to note that Aendale is applying a consistent methodology across participating jurisdictions. So rather than viewing this solely as a financial adjustment, staff see this as an opportunity as an appropriate moment to reassess our long-term approach to senior services while maintaining service continuity in the short term. So senior services encompasses a range of essential supports that promote health uh independence and connection. and the included uh senior focused programming. It would include congregate meals served in a social setting, homed delivered meals for those with mobility limitations and transportation that ensures access to services. Now, these services play a critical role in quality of life for older adults and become increasingly important as a community grows and ages. Aendale has successfully provided these services to Goodyear residents for many years. And at the same time, Goodyear's continued growth and the scale of the proposed cost increase prompt us to thoughtfully examine how these services may be best delivered in the future. As Goodyear evolves, staff are exploring how senior services might be delivered in a way that is sustainable, that's locally accessible, and aligned with the city's broader human and social services framework. Now this could be a public

private partnership, a traditional partnership or bringing the services back in-house to Goodyear. This work is still an exploratory stage and effort will be incorporated into the city's strategic planning process to ensure alignment with council priorities. What is important to emphasize is that there will be no interruption in services. staff recommend continuing our partnership with Avendale while this evaluation is underway, ensuring that Goodyear residents retain uninterrupted access to senior services. And as we move forward, there are two key actions that will be coming before this council. First, during the annual budget process, council will be asked to consider a supplemental reflecting the increased cost of services for FY27. And second, because the current IGA with Aenddale expires in June, council will be asked to approve an amendment and extension to the agreement to formalize continued services service delivery during that transition period. So these actions, they're procedural in nature, uh, but they are essential to maintaining stability while staff continue to evaluate long-term options for council consideration. So in closing, this conversation, it's really about stewardship. It's about continuity and it's planning responsibly for Goodyear's future. Just looking at the numbers, between 2018 and 2023, Goodyear's population aed 65 and older grew by more than 54%. That's placing us among the fastest growing senior populations in the country. That growth brings opportunity, but it also requires thoughtful planning to ensure services evolve alongside community needs. So staff appreciates Aenddale's partnership and we remain committed to working collaboratively to ensure that our residents experience no disruption in services. These conversations really set the stage for us to bring Goodyear services for Goodyear residents in Goodyear. And with that, I'm happy to answer any questions.

Thank you, mayor and councel. Thank you. Um we'll start over on the right side. Go ahead, Bonita. Uh yes. So when it started, do you know approximately how many residents were utilizing that service and was it 2014? I don't have the numbers with me tonight that that show the increase yearbyear. I know in fiscal year 20 that the last fiscal year's reported was an average of 76 total seniors. Okay. Um when you say transportation, can you explain what transportation what that means to the senior?

Absolutely. Uh at the Aenddale Family Resource Center, they do operate a curbtocurb service. So they have their own fleet vehicle that they utilize to get seniors from their homes to the Aendale Senior Center. Uh transportation can take on a variety of different options from we ride to if someone's ADA uh certified ride choice. Uh but they do offer that curb to curb service through a vehicle that's maintained by Aenddale. A city of Aenddale. Excellency. Okay. Okay. That's all I have. Thank you, Laura.

It seems that we got a pretty good bargain for 12 years. Um, and it's we no doubt that there need to be some adjustment. Now, that feels like a huge adjustment. U, but you, like you said, it's a catalyst for us to start the conversation about um what what do we want to do? And I believe it was much higher initially. So kudos to whoever worked hard to to negotiate that. Um and through the community funding uh subcommittee, we also provide funding to a couple of other agencies who provide senior meals. So when I think it's good to look at it even holistically um in addition to what Aenddale provides, there's a couple of other providers and you know what would make the best sense to to meet the needs. I know that aging in place is just a really important concept for people. Um it's it's it's a it's a tough thing, you know, for those of us dealing with aging parents and things like that. I mean, it's it's um it's exciting. This definitely sounds like a great strategic plan uh item and uh would love to see that as part when we meet this fall, I believe, uh to start talking about strategic plan putting on there. And uh I think Goodyear has always been strong in working out um partnerships. Uh maybe we don't provide everything, but we find out uh who can help with the services and where it would make sense. Um I think we all have an idea like the Loma area would be great, but that building is so small and so I know there's a lot to consider, but I appreciate this being a a topic for discussion and you know, sometimes push comes to shove and here it is. We'll talk about it, but it it's a good topic and I look forward to uh talking about it further. Thank you,

Ryan. Yeah. So, I think it's a great service that we we offer to our residents and you said that the 189,000 is that how long does that go for if we approve that or we we go forward with that? Is that every year for how long? Is there a contract? you said there there isn't that again that will be coming in the the amended IGA that will be coming here at the end of June.

Okay. I just want to verify I couldn't I must have missed that but no I think it's good. Um I don't know if there's any increase natural increases when that comes up if it's going to keep going up or if it's going to stay the 189 when we negotiate that with them. So I'm just curious what that looks like. So yeah but no I think we're getting a good deal. Um yeah I'm okay continuing to partner with Avendale because I think they do a good job. So, um, I know we'll talk about in the future, but yeah, I'm not looking to build an exact copy of what Aenddale has. So, I'd rather have stay with going to the Aendale using their their resources, partnering with other people. So, um, so yeah. So, I think it's good. So, looking forward to more discussions around it. So, thank you.

Thank you. Trey, have anything?

Oh, yes. I've been waiting for this. As you know, I've served as area agency on aging chair for four years and I understand this program probably better than anybody. Um, the concern I have number one, the price is too high for 76 people. That's just out of the question. The second concern is while you say they serve meals, you have they have to be served the meals there. That's a congregate meal and they do bring some people in, but they have a service area. They do not cover all of Goodyear. So, do not give that impression that they do because they don't. And when I first came on council, I asked where our senior center was and they said we don't have one. And of course, we were all young in those days, but you know, 26 years later, we're getting old. And now we really need it. But I kept asking, can't we use CBDG funds and build it? And I don't think that they've changed the rules where we could, but I'd like Christine to look in that to see because we really need to have a conversation to have our own senior citizen center. So many of my friends used to go to Aendale, but they don't go there now because it's all Spanish-speaking people. They're very uncomfortable there because they don't know what they're saying and they have their own clicks. But there are people that probably do go that enjoy it because I've been over many, many, many times. And it's interesting. I could not find anyone from Goodyear the times that I went, but they promised me there were women and not they didn't see any men. They said there were some women that came. So, I think we really need to have an in-depth conversation because now our population is aging and we need to have our own services. But I honest to God think 147,000 for 76 people is just outrageous. And also

uh Area Agency on Aging is the agency that provides all of these meals and they're government federally funded and they can feed more if they had more coming there, but then they can only house so many and they have to have a special kitchen to prepare these meals. And then they have to have volunteers to deliver those meals. Now, Meals of Joy used to be uh a a nonprofit that delivered meals. They have now gone out of business. So, we do not have Meals of Joy anymore. Um I was able to get a large grant where we have food delivered to 70 seniors in their home frozen with the microwave so that they can have fresh food every week. and I don't know how long I'm going to be able to continue to get that, but I'm trying to pick up the people that are lost that they they can't get out of their house and they don't necessarily drive anymore. So, um I agree with Laura that this should be a strategic plan, but let's not take 25 years to build it or 10 years to build it out. Let's really get let's see if we can make another partnership with someone to build it. I mean, we've got land when we build a community park. Maybe there's a portion of it we could designate for a senior center or something. Our recreation staff is outstanding and they can provide any program that Aenddale provides except for the meals because we do not have that kitchen in the rec center. If we did, we could serve our own meals right there. So, I do want to commend our rec center staff and and our park and recreation staff because uh I attend those and everybody can hardly wait till the next event and it's the best place to go to get the gossip. So, I like to go to find out what's going on. So, um but I really think this is really uh an important uh population we need to reach out to and we need to

provide some type of service and not pawn it off on Avidel. Avendale's been a great partner, don't get me wrong, but I think it's time now we can do our own. And Aenddale's always had a much older population anyway because they've either had older folks that moved in before we did because a lot of us when we moved in we were just barely in our 50s if that. And then we, you know, the average age here they say is 31. But there's a lot of seniors here that I think you could feel it every day. So I'm all for us putting our thinking caps and seeing where we can get funding. Surely maybe there is some federal funds that are available. Well, but we really need to think about it and and search it out. I think because I don't want to these 76 seniors, it should be more than 76 seniors. It should be several hundred if it's really a program for our our citizens, not just 76 because that's not 76 every day. That could be 76 throughout a month or a year or whatever. So, they they count. If I go in three times a week, I'm counted three times, but I'm the same person. So, um, I'd just like us to have our own if we can, if we can afford it.

Okay. Thank you. Well, thank you for the presentation. Looking forward to uh your analysis on what you're looking at for price. Okay. Thank you, Mayor C.

Last item is receive an update on the zoning ordinance comprehensive update. Who's coming up? Please introduce yourself if you would. Oh boy. Thank you, Mayor and Council. Katie Wilin, development services director, and I am joined by Matt Klyico with Michael Baker International and Christian Williams, our planning manager. Sorry, this up. All right, we are before you tonight to continue our discussion on the zoning ordinance update, which is a city strategic plan item. I hope you are able to review all 158 pages we provided for you in your packet. I apologize only 33 were new, but we don't expect you to have thoroughly read through everything. Part of the purpose of tonight is um these topics we've chosen of our importance to the community. And so this is the release of those drafts for the public review as well, which is why we provided all the detail of the draft language. You might remember we kicked off this project back in January 2025. We had touch points with you um in the spring of 2025 to get your input on the project. And then we were just here in November on a variety of other topics including h including housing use permits and signage. Tonight we have a few topics for you which I'll go over in just a minute. And this is leading toward um our big push on getting the drafts out to the community for public review and comment so that we can come back to you with the

draft and all the input we've received from the community um working toward a June adoption. So the topics we're going to be discussing are battery energy storage systems and data centers. And um they are hot topics across the valley. In fact, I just received an email alert from Phoenix Business Journal that Goodyear is going to be discussing data centers tonight. So, there are people watching our discussion tonight interested on these topics. There are some additional um items we have to review, time permitting. We figure these first two items will have a robust discussion. So, if you have questions um for us, we can go through those items at the end. Otherwise, again, as I said, this is kind of the release of the public information, so we can continue those discussions on those items um later as well. So, delving into battery energy storage systems. So, this is something newer to the community. They are necessary facilities to help ensure that we have a safe and reliable power grid. However, um we're also all aware that there were two fire incidents, one in Surprise in 2019 and one in Poria in 2025. And so, of course, the safety of these facilities of are of the utmost important. I can tell you we have worked in partnership with our fire department in bringing the recommendations for you tonight. Um myself and the fire marshall and some other staff members have visited best facilities so we could see these firsthands and talk to um other communities about what they're doing with them. We do have one best facility existing in the city of Goodyear. Um it was permitted by a previous zoning administrator. I don't know if I would have made the same zoning um determination they did because our zoning ordinance actually does not explicitly address this use which is why we're discussing this tonight because we

do need regulations as I said that we can um make sure we can allow these as part of our community as there are necessary infrastructure but also make sure we're ensuring a safe community as well. So with that I'm going to hand it over to Matt who's going to go over the proposed regulations.

Great. Thank you Katie. Thank you, mayor and council for the opportunity to discuss this uh topic this evening. Um uh Katie gave a great intro in terms of uh why we're uh focusing on this particular use and we all recognize that it's something that's becoming more common across the valley uh and the state and uh and thus there's more requests for these types of uses. And so what you have in your packets is a draft ordinance that uh that uh we put together for conversation purposes. Um in your staff packet there's also a table that shows some of the uh approaches that other communities have utilized in developing best ordinances as well. So naturally, we looked at some of those uh best practices uh across other communities um and considered those in the development of this draft ordinance. So uh for conversation purposes this evening, we're not going to go through every aspect of that draft ordinance. We selected out some of the key topic areas that are uh probably most um uh most frequently discussed in other communities when looking to adopt such uh ordinance language. So um we'll use those to structure our conversation and then you'll see how we apply that through the data center conversation as well. So for best facilities, um the draft ordinance that is in your packet is uh being proposed to allow best facilities as a special use permit and that would be limited to the I1 and I2 zoning districts. So the special use permit obviously is a uh formal process that you would have to go through. It has a public um review consideration, a neighborhood uh consideration. Um and so

that aspect was favorable when we were looking at that. Special use permit also gives some flexibility to staff and council to apply maybe different uh considerations during that determination or that use uh permit process. um if there are any unique considerations that might go above and beyond um what is considered in this draft ordinance. Um and uh and of course uh limiting it to the I1 and I2 districts is uh just trying to make sure that we're linking it to um uh zoning districts that would be more uh applicable to this type of use and uh the facilities that it often is associated with. Now, separation separation of these facilities from existing uses is another uh big topic when considering these. Um, in your handout, we looked at a lot of different uh communities and you'll get a range. You'll get some communities that are looking all the way uh up to 1,000 ft separation from residential um down to there is a national standard the NFPA 855 standard which suggests that a separation distance from any occupied structure should be 100 ft. So we see this range from 100 ft as kind of the minimum all the way up to a,000 ft as maybe the uh largest from a residential application. From non-residential applications you start to see a little bit more consistency. Um and in this draft we uh landed at on 150 ft from commercial or industrial uses and 500 ft from residential uses. Now, the residential uses um uh that number there's other conditions within the existing zoning code that utilizes 500

feet as a separation consideration. And so that's where that starting point uh arrived from. Screening and landscaping. Now, these facilities uh in other applications kind of like the image you see on the screen here can be in maybe rural areas. They can also be in developed areas. Um and so screening and landscaping is a is a consideration. It is a requirement. Um however, there are some provisions within the draft ordinance that uh give staff some flexibility as to how to program that screening. So if it was in a more rural area, there might be opportunity to take that into account and adjust the screen screening requirements. Um but it also uh reserves the ability for staff to require that more robust screening if uh uses were to uh develop adjacent to the facility. Um, of course, uh, with the description that Katie provided in terms of some of the safety concerns that these facilities have, uh, emergency response plan is, um, a requirement within the standards. Um, that looks at, uh, not only how the site is accessed, but what, uh, facilities are within the site and what hazards are within the site. So, uh, that emergency response plan, uh, has a lot of standards, um, uh, or the or the draft ordinance has a lot of standards that, uh, guide what that emergency response plan needs to have and what it needs to align with, whether that's a a national standard that, uh, it needs to, uh, align with in terms of the operation of the facility itself um, or uh, in terms of just um, helping our fire and first responders when they arrive at the facility and what um information is going to be

available to them. Some of the other things that I'll close on for considerations is uh noise. Uh you know these facilities might have a different impact from a noise standard compared to data centers which we'll speak to in a little bit but there is reports of um particular noise from these of facilities. So, uh, the draft ordinance does have a consideration of analyzing background noise, um, uh, in in the parcel's current state, then looking at noise once the facility comes online, and then providing annual reports from a noise standpoint just to make sure that those facilities are not um, placing any undue hazards or burden on adjacent properties. And then, of course, uh, the decommissioning plan. So this looks at guiding the development of these facilities but not overlooking the fact that they do have a lifespan and what or how these facil these parcels will be uh utilized or making sure they can be utilized once these facilities reach their lifespan. Um, so with that, mayor, I think I'll turn it back over to council. Um, and we can zero in on any particular questions, uh, rather than, uh, going, uh, on in greater detail, um, with all the provisions that are in the the draft ordinance.

Okay. Thank you. I'll start on the left hand side. Go ahead. Can you um elaborate a little bit on the lifespan? Uh well the lifespan is going to be predicated on uh the the operator of the facility and how long they anticipate that the um the use will be needed. Uh the technology we would imagine is going to come in play as well. So as that technology evolves we're also anticipating that some of these facilities might have an initial lifespan but with technology changes that that may change. And so those things we do want to be mindful of,

right? Um I'm very familiar with these. Um the West Coast has been using them for several years now. We're kind of late to the game. Um it's something that we're all going to need obviously because we're we're running out of power and so um I think California, if I'm not mistaken, they've been getting them also, right? Oh, abs. Yes. A lot. Yes. and and because of the brown outs and blackouts and everything that they've had. I know Washington state I have been um I'm very familiar because I've been working with commissioners there. That's my home state

and for what's going on there. I know it was a big thing when they started coming out because they wanted to put them on farmland in between creeks and rivers and they were worried about the salmon. Um how they built them in the beginning was very different than how they built them now. So you said they started in 15 and 17. That's what that's dates that you had. That's the years that you had. You gave some years. I That's what I'm asking. That might have been the years that there were some uh emergency instances in Pori and Surprise. Okay. Okay. So, when did they start these? Do you remember when they first started these started bringing these to the United States, the battery centers?

I'd have to get that information in terms of when best facilities started to become more prevalent in the US. We can do that.

I would like that. Um because I know in Washington state it's been about the last two to four years. So west coast California might be even more than that. I don't know. Um I know they're trying to keep them away from the rivers and the streams. Um but I do know that there are places that um out in the middle of nowhere that they are putting them because it's obvious you don't want one. Okay, fine. But you're going to have to have another because we need the power. So, I know, like I said, they've come a long way, and I think that um it's something that we have to we have to be really mindful, but we have to be open-minded to because we're going to need it. There's just no way around it, and I think we have to get with the program and start getting it moving. Um, we have projects right now that are coming to us with this.

Thank you. We have had requests. We have had requests. Have we okayed any of this yet? And do we know where? There is one that was permitted in an I2, our heaviest industrial district. And um again, that was a different zoning administrator determination. That's the one that you weren't sure about. Yeah, that um so that one is um is built. It finished construction last year, I believe. Okay. And that's on Caraveville Avenue. Um so that's the first one we have. Is that Pluto? Okay. We've already been to that one. Okay. And so what you're going to do is you're doing special use permits for them now.

Yes, we're proposing that we would do a special use permit. So it's a public process, but we would allow them in um through special use permit in all industrial districts. So the I1 and the I2. Okay. And we do have uh one or two that are in the process of being done now. Nobody has submitted recently except for we do have some large solar facilities that have BES as a component. It's kind of a different thing, but there are some that have come in for pre-application meetings. Okay. Currently, we said, you know, our zoning ordinance doesn't address this. So, they are um interested in this discussion tonight and with the process. I think we have to get with the program so that we're not going to fall behind.

All right. Thank you,

Trey. Thank you, Mayor. Um Katie you mentioned you know as a special use permit. So these right and previously it was mentioned how you know it it provides for a little bit more flexibility uh throughout the process. So each one of these um permits or requests would come to us for an already zoned industrial sector through a special use permit. How do these regulations apply as part of that flexibility if at all? When can it when could it be denied? When could it be approved? When could we have that flexibility? Because there are some things where we are very limited on whether we can approve or deny a permit um based on those things. So, I kind of wanted to know a little bit more of how that process worked and then I have a couple more questions then about the regulations that we want to put in. Thank you, Council Member Terry. Yeah, it is important to distinguish that the special use permit process is different than the use permit process. So, we often guide you when we're doing the use permits. Your hands are a little bit more tied. There's very specific criteria. If they meet it, we typically need to approve it. The special use permit is a separate section of our zoning ordinance and there is more control from council. So it gives you both flexibility and the ability to regulate more. So we put these standards in, but somebody could propose, you know what, I I would like to propose 400 ft from residential. And in exchange, perhaps I'm going to add more landscaping, taller wall, design the site in a way to make sure I'm still meeting the intent. and city council would have the authority to approve or deny that recommended modification from the applicant.

Okay. And that's where I was going to go cuz I'm looking at some other cities like Buck Buckeye Maricopa County. They have 150 ft from residential. Um you know I I think there's one or two cities in the valley that go up to a thousand. I was kind of curious how we ended up at 500 if there is flexibility in there. Is that still being workshopped? Um especially if on the next bullet down they're responsible for screening and landscape,

you know, 500 ft, that's almost two full football fields and you start talking about square footage there, that's going to drive up costs even more, I'm sure. So I I was just curious, excuse me, about the uh the flexibility in there and then are some of these numbers just getting workshopped and how hard set are they or within the special use permit we are allowed um some more flexibility. So it's more of a guideline rather than a hard set rule.

And I'll jump in if that's okay, Katie. Um, one uh one thing that I would mention on that because that's uh zeroing in on something we wanted to kind of uh discuss this evening is uh the 500 ft. You you're correct in that there's a range from down to 100 or 150 ft all the way up to that 1,000 that you mentioned. the 500 feet uh was that middle ground based off of the um existing uh setback considerations that other uses uh have drive-throughs for example from residential. Um and so that was the kind of starting point for that 500. But one of the things that we do have within the draft language is noting that uh there is a section on development standards within this draft ordinance which focuses on setbacks for and screening. So what can also be consideration is how hard do we want to be or how flexible do we want to be. So, uh, the draft language says that we, uh, through the special use permit process, you cannot amend these development standards. And so, through conversation this evening, we might hear from council that no, we actually would want that flexibility um to in order to respond down the line. Now, if that was too much, right, then we would say, "No, we like the fact that we're going to hold true on setbacks, but then maybe some of the other things we're flexible on of what technology or what plans they have to submit and those types of things." So, that I'm glad you brought that up because that was one thing that we wanted to gauge from council about how much do we want to be flexible on this or how much does council want to be more uh you know, definitive. Yeah,

I I would say at least from my perspective, maintaining the flexibility I think is a good thing, especially within the special use permit because you mentioned like a 500 foot setback for a drive-thru. Not every drive-thru in the city has that. I I can think of the waterburger on Lichfield in Indian School is maybe 50 feet. Um but again, the timing of that uh is is so long. Not saying we want to do 50 ft. Um, but that's just like a large um or at least very immediate example that I can think of right now. Um, you know, just from my perspective, I I like the special use permit. I like that we get a lot of control. We get a lot of flexibility in here because, you know, number one, we need to make sure our residents are protected, quality of life is protected. Um but at the same time um as Councilwoman Gillis was saying, you know, the these this energy generation, this power grid is such a critical part of our infrastructure that we also need to make sure that we aren't forcing, you know, egregious costs on that, driving rates up for everybody um every year constantly. There's got to be a little bit of a balance. So, at least from my perspective, I would like to see the flexibility, but you know, that's that's just me and I think that's all I have. Mayor

Molly, you have anything? I do. Thank you. Um, wait, this

I have a couple of couple of concerns. Uh, I want to be sure that there will be public comment on the special use permit and that we do the noticing like we normally do and so that there's no um conflict with the public thinking. We're trying to sneak something through regardless of what it is. They need to be able to tell us. And the second thing is that I am in favor of the 500 ft because like over 200 homes in Pebble Creek, they back up to 303 and they can't even use their backyards because of the noise. Now, I don't know how noisy these bests are. I I really don't know. But you said they're noisy. So, I would assume they're noisy 24 hours a day because they're running. Is that correct?

Thank you. The one I visited was not noisy at all. Okay. But they could be we are putting regulations in there for noise should something happen. I mean any piece of electrical equipment can break down and create noise. So we're just making sure we have regulations in place. So should there be a problem, our code team can go out there and resolve it. But the way they're supposed to be operate, they don't generate.

We would hope that they're they're very quiet, especially 500 ft. It is two football fields. But I mean, maybe that's not far enough for them either, you know. I don't know. Um my next question is do we have any penalties uh or are written in the ordinance that if the uh correct hazardous materials or whatever on site is not fully disclosed disclosed because we're making them put an emergency response plan together and our first responders are going to be responding and they need to know every single thing that that best has and no surprises. And I don't know how you do that, but I just want to be very careful. I mean, I know you've been working with police and fire, but I just want to be sure that that we cover all of our bases and I, you know, do they put a sign up? I mean, how do they know what's in there when they get the call? Do

Thank you. I may need some assistance from our fire chief for the details, but in this in this case, the fire code would come into play. And if there's hazardous materials, we don't know about, that's what we're the building official or fire marshall can shut the building down if we feel it's necessary. Okay. So, Chief, you want to tell us?

Yes, ma'am. Uh, good evening, Tim Wayne, acting fire chief. Um, first, we would have a premise alert installed that would give us all the information of hazardous materials on that site. So, we'll go entering knowing exactly what what we're going to be dealing with. We'll spend lots of time with with staff to make sure that we we understand. We'll send crews through and so we're going to do our due diligence. Okay. I just know that the Peoria fire was really difficult. I remember that uh that was surprised. I mean surprised that was Yeah, that was a tragic incident that occurred very

um early on not really aware of the the hazards that were presented at that that time. So, uh, crews had a difficult time managing that incident. For sure. Okay. Well, thank you. I just want to be sure that we're protected. I don't want someone come in and and think that they don't have to tell us everything because I don't know how often we have inspectors go out. I don't know how that's handled. That's not my wheelhouse. So, I just want to be sure that we've got that. So, high hazard facilities, they'll be inspected annually. Okay. Good. Thank you.

You're welcome, Bonita. Um, yes. Um, I certainly am in favor of when you talk about flexibility that it's we we have some flex flexibility with the special use permit. Um, very much in favor of the 500 ft. Me personally, I could be further, but I that that that's fine. Uh I did attend a seminar where they talked about the the uh surprise fire and I think it's really really important that um our our fire um department and as well as as we do the use permit that we understand what their u emergency response plan the plan is and what they have there and what the plan is and those are probably the the things that I'm most most concerned erned about having heard about surprise although it's my understanding technology has been changed since since that time that won't so that that particular situation wouldn't occur again.

Thank you. Um, council member, I did want to jump in and state that that the they they've completely redesigned the facility since that incident in 2019 and Surprise, they used to keep the batteries in almost like a storage container type unit. Um, and that's what created some of the unsafe conditions so that when the firefighters opened the unit,

it it blasted. Um, and so now they're more out in the open and so um, it is safer. And there there was another fire in Pory in 2025 and we didn't see the same it although it was a challenge for them to put it out it it did burn it didn't pose the same kind of hazard that that other one did. So the technology has certainly changed the industry has learned.

Okay. Um I yeah it it because of those issues I think our it's very important that our residents like like Wally said our residents are very much aware of what what we're doing why we're approving this and um as as Vicki said it's important for the future that we um do move forward but um be very much aware of what the cautions are. That's all I have. Laura,

I appreciated when you opened up the conversation. You did talk about the power needs and uh I thought you got to the butt pretty quickly, but um however the uh it was interesting uh Christine Mackey GPE, what's the thing that keeps her up at night? It's infrastructure and it's the power grid. And we are living in a world and especially as we're the number one semiconductor supply chain area in the US. Phoenix is just growing by leaps and bounds. And fortunately unlike California, our utility companies have been able to meet the power needs even with the incredible heat, even with the demands from all the data centers and things like that. I mean, we're really fortunate. But I've been studying this topic of uh energy and and data centers for about a year. Uh going to different things at ASU and and and pursuing it. In fact, that's one of the reasons why I got on the NLC committee on energy is because I'm really interested to hear about other states and what they're doing um how they're addressing the the power need. So uh we're we're living in this uh situation where we've got these these power needs and so at the lend end of last year I went and toured Palo Verie nuclear plant and they provide about 18% of the power base power um from that we it's solar and um wind power in fact uh California just sells just gives power away or makes us they pay us to take some of their power uh which all does good and well until the the sun goes down and that's where the battery energy storage systems kick in uh 2 4 8 hours depending on the size and then after that is natural gas. So there's this whole multi-modal energy system that helps us to keep the

the lights on and then we're all starting to you think that battery en or yeah better energy storage systems are difficult you know now there's talk about small nuclear reactors and you know that'll be a lot of fun when that starts talking about zoning of that but we as a a people because we're consuming so much power have to find ways to to meet power. So I I think there's definitely an argue that uh power and to we need the power and to trace point the more barriers that we make the harder we make it then that definitely is going to have a a a impact on costs overall for all of our rate users. So, uh, when I was, uh, in my little HR job at Phoenix, um, NFPA was the standard for all things electrical. Uh, we we had electricians, we had arc flash incidents. I mean, we went by the NFPA standard. So, um, as we've been pursuing, it's like, well, what what are their standards? They're the professional, uh, electrical organization. I feel um you know they're not making emotional decisions necessarily and you say that their standard is 100 ft. Okay. So you have picked out some cities, Buckeye, Mesa, Maricopa County, but there's multiple other cities in the valley that are contending with this. And so I would like to see a more comprehensive list of cities because we're not the only city who is tackling this on. And and it's funny as you know there's things we didn't know like when data centers came up uh you know we we learned about data centers because they just show up on your doorstep and you have to make decisions. But I understand a number of them also have battery re battery energy storage systems in them

as well which we did not contemplate at all when we first initially um began talking about this this topic. So, um, yeah, I I I'm always a person that's kind of methodical. It's like, okay, if we set a standard, then what is that based on? And, and I'm it's not clear to me other than drivethrus, that's what we're basing the 500 ft on. Is there any anything you could elaborate on that

from a uh specific distance of the 500? there is no uh there was no technical uh consideration that we arrived at for that. So whether it be from an analysis from fire or uh other uh operational consideration, we didn't uh 500 ft did not come through any type of NFPA recommendation. Um it was largely just looking at how the city of Goodyear's code looks or has distance separations from other uh residential uh uses or to other uh residential conditions and that's how we arrived at 500. I would like consideration of the technical. Uh again, we're not experts. Uh I don't expect any of us to be expert on the topic, but it's something that we have to figure out and learn to live with and come up with rational um a methodology for, you know, why we're we're choosing. And then I understand there's different things that can be done to mitigate any potential hazards such as firming and containment walls and things like that. And I think that's where we definitely would like to see a lot of flexibility. So um talking about changes in um the battery the whole battery industry like since the the time especially of that hor horrific fire. So, uh, not long ago, um, I attended a a session where they it was out at, uh, Scottsdale, um, the fire training center, and they were teaching firefighters how to deal with electric cars, how to deal with the chargers, how to deal with the power walls that are in homes, as well as the battery energy storage systems. And so,

um, learned a a a lot about that. And certainly the industry itself has done a lot to make this successful and safe. And so they have tested it and try to make systems fail and then they engineer things to make it to make it better. So first thing if if there's a little glitch in the system which is monitored also for 24 hours a day they they take out uh it it instantly deenerizes and in fact everything's so self-contained what they tell the firefighters is like don't even touch it just let it be and and chances are it's going to be okay. Um and so there's this whole electrical phenomena is just you know we're seeing more charging stations which are charged by a battery storage system you know uh certainly we hear of the uh electric cars going up. I mean so electrical is going to be a part of our as we grow it's a part of our future. So you know we want to make sure that that we figure it out. But um from what we learned in this particular model were all the the Tesla the products and and it's you know pretty well marked and they they studied the fire science of that pretty intensely. So um all that all this to say is um in fact we're going on a tour this week of some of us are going on a tour and it's with SRP because they're the one who did have the failure. So there's been a lot of questions asked. Um and I don't know what your engagement are with stakeholders. I mean this this whole the whole reason we're doing this is to support you know the utilities APS and and SRP and you know I would hope because they're professional they have a a seat at the table as a stakeholder as well. So, um I guess all that to say is

I I'd like to see a rationale for uh a number and also um I think we need to offer the greatest flexibility possible and um I think these are conversations that just warrant um you know a lot of thoughtful thoughts you know u a mix of feelings but logic as well. So would like to see us uh go back and uh continue the the conversation. I don't think we're there yet. Ryan,

yeah, thank you so much. Um yes, I do have some history with this since I used to work for electric utility company for 18 years. So um I know APS, they started their first uh one of these about 10 years ago. So we've had it for quite a while now, this technology here in Arizona. So, um, so yeah, I am open to or would like to see more flexibility in the zoning. Um, so you said originally the 500 ft was also predicated on noise. Was that part of what you said or just it was nothing technical at all? I'm sorry. The the distance was I thought you said it was noise originally that because of the drive-throughs and things like that.

Oh, no. the the 500 foot separation is a number that is used currently in the zoning code uh for other uses. So one example is drive-thrus consider a 500 ft distance to residential and so that's where that number came from but as others have shared that 500 foot is not predicated on a technical aspect of the best facility. Okay. It didn't sound like it was to your point that wasn't on fire for fire safety other things like that, but it was just on you said like the restaurants consistencies. Yes.

Yeah. So, yeah. So, I like the flexibility uh more so in there. Um obviously I mean I think no less than 150 would probably be sounds like that's probably the minimum is right now. Uh but yeah, I'd like to see whatever the data is around that and they are usually pretty quiet. I used to work around with this type of equipment in the past and they're they're pretty quiet. Um, and so yeah, so I I do appreciate because we're going to get more and more of these for stay uh for for load stabilization and stuff like that within the city and on the grid. Uh, which really helps just even out things especially if there's something going on um just in the environment. So yeah, so I think these are going to be more and more useful especially with the use of solar and things like that as well. So, um, and I appreciate the emergency plan being part of it as well. I obviously our fire needs to be be involved in any of these things. They know how to attack it and how to defend it and how to how to protect protect the uh community as well. So, so yeah, and I always appreciate the life cycle plan, too. I think that's really a good idea. Um, they shouldn't cause too many hazards uh to the environment uh or at least to be able to reuse it again. as long as nothing nothing weird happens. This should be pretty plug-andplay. Kind of like a a little gas fire or a little backup generator or something like that. So, um so yeah. So, I think I'm good. I appreciate everything as well. And with the um it will be interesting if we do for small module reactors one day. I think SMRs will be pretty exciting too, which I think are super safe and those would be great also in the future.

So, um they should be used everywhere. So, but um but yeah, so I think uh yeah, I'm on board looking forward to more conversation around it as well. So, thank you. Thank you.

You know, I don't want to regurgitate what Laura said. I'm kind of with her. You know, um I'm more uh I guess statwise I don't understand the 150 for commercial or the 500 for residential. Does that mean we don't mind the commercial being endangered versus the uh other? I don't see the logic there. You know, I know there's standards out there, but I also have been told uh from people and I've done some research on this as well as far as the technology is getting to the point because they do monitor these things 24 24/7 is that they're getting to the point where they can monitor per cell. And once they can monitor by cell, if when you got a cell that starts to overheat, you shut the cell down, which prevents what's happening. So, the technology is getting better and better as we sit here, as we get through there. So, I would I'd like to see some more on there. Not only that, if we can get a count, I mean, we talk about the fires, but how many of these are actually in Arizona that have been in place in Arizona and how many fires have there been? You know, it's like with a Tesla when you hear about the Carsbury bird, but there's what thousands of Teslas out there and but you always hear when one of them catches on fire, right? So, um I like a little more study on this and I'm I'm also for flexibility. Uh this is real important. Uh if we want to stay ahead of all this, bless you. uh if you want to stay ahead of this, you know, as far as the energy is concerned, and you're right, we got another tour coming, so we'll see how this stuff goes. So, uh hopefully that gave me enough feedback from all of us on here.

Thank you. That was very helpful. Clear feedback. Okay. Thank you. Um you want to continue? Yes. Go ahead. Yes, we have some more topics. Sorry. A lot more.

This is the other big topic, data centers. So, this one I do know when we built our first one, which was in 2011, a very small one. I think it's only about 10,000 square feet under roof. And now we have six active data center campuses and our seventh is currently under construction. So, um, Goodyear's actually been one of the leaders in data center development in the valley. Um, and we've learned a lot. Um and as you know, council member Kano just mentioned um learning about data centers. Um she let staff know of an opportunity ASU just a couple weeks ago on data center and you know there are a lot of misconceptions out there in data centers and being in the desert. I think the first is the water usage. Um and data centers do not use water like people think they do. the one the new ones coming in and we do have tools to control that which you'll find out. Um I I am about to hand it over to Matt to go through um the proposal, but I do just want to reiterate we have had um since we have had numerous data center campuses developed in the city of Goodyear. Um we do consider them a permitted use in our industrial districts, we're not proposing a change to that process. However, we have had a lot of learning as we've implemented these mostly as one-off individual projects. Many of these did come to council at some point for zoning changes. And so now we're um codifying a lot of that learning so that there's clarity and consistency um in the process. And so with that, I will hand it over to Matt to go through this proposed standards.

Great. Thank you, Katie. And similar to the best discussion in your packets, you have a draft ordinance relative to data data center regulations, you also have a table that looks at some other um comparable communities that have developed data center regulations um so that you can use that for comparison purposes. But on the particular slide is some of the key talking points that we wanted to at least note for our conversation this evening. Um uh similar to our previous conversation. Of course, council can take this discussion wherever you would like, but we tried to zero in on on those areas that are most frequently mentioned from uh a regulatory standpoint. So, as Katie mentioned in this draft, you can see that uh um data centers are going to or at least we're proposing that they stay as a permitted use uh within uh the I1 and I2. um they uh there are some considerations for how accessory uses are uh are also addressed but uh overall if it's a principal use they would be still permitted in the I1 and I2 with specific conditions um in terms of setbacks. So here we are looking at uh having a minimum setback of 300 ft from residential uh 100 ft setback from commercial or industrial and and some of that setback consideration. Yes, height comes into play when we're looking at these facilities, but also noise. Um and so uh really from a noise standpoint uh we've had uh reports in other communities which have developed uh regulations based off of those that it's

the uh backup generators and the testing of those um that actually generate uh more of the noise associated with these particularly in other communities that have had uh complaints. Um and so that's where you see the the noise reference of within 500 feet of residential. So if a facility were to be proposed um within a 500 foot um of residential similar to the best we would have a pre-n noiseise consideration of what is the current background noise what is the condition um uh once a CFO is obtained and then an annual report uh from a noise uh standpoint. Uh the other aspect that is robust I would say in this draft is consideration of how that backup power is um managed. So, um, looking at, uh, other communities and and, uh, the experiences they've had and some of the things that they've put in place, we have proposed, uh, that, uh, in this ordinance that the operator provide a schedule of when they're going to test those backup uh, generators and also limit the times and days that that testing can occur. um to ensure that residents don't end up in a situation where they're listening to backup generators being tested all day every day. Um and so we again want uh uh thread that needle and a good balance of we recognize the need for that testing, but we also appreciate residents concerns about having to um you know manage that uh daily. So some considerations for that are in this ordinance. And then as Katie pointed out, yes, water is a topic that comes up a lot with data centers, data centers,

energy as well. Uh um and so um will serve letters are um acknowledged within this. Um Katie mentioned that there are more technology that is minimizing that impact at least on the water side. Um, and so there was a starting point with those will serve letters, but again, we're open and uh interested in council's feedback on any other topics uh beyond just these uh pointed ones. So with that, mayor, I'll turn it back over to you and council. Okay, I'll start on the right side this time. Anything here? Go ahead.

Well, data centers are definitely in the news a lot. Uh there's a lot of feelings about them as well, but yet uh is that uh seminar that Katie mentioned. Um it's the people and the devices that are uh driving the demand. I mean, it's incredible. People talk about we want we'd love to have Whimo out here. Well, we're going to need data centers to support that. And it's just it's just interesting as the the economy is evolving in such a way. um this it it really is essential infrastructure. One of the things they said was that um the industry has not done a great job with branding. Um you know it's people don't really understand what they are but um we have um we have a couple of them on Bullard and uh one thing that just comes right off the bat is even how they look, how they present. Um, we have Vantage that's a very attractive building and they've they did a great job. They're they're right there on the corner and it looks like an office and they've done a great job. I would love to see as more come on that we take that elevated look and and make them look more than just big blocky buildings. For sure. Um, are there ways to mitigate the noise?

I wouldn't be in a position. We've had conversations with operators to understand the facilities. Um, I we would have to look into that more to see what we might be able to do to reduce uh noise beyond just distance

because the industry is really having to work to overcome a lot of resistance to their product. And uh one of the ways that to do that is to engineer out some of the things that are are causing people so uh concern. So I mean it would be interesting to know what they could do. Um again a number of them have battery battery energy storage systems in place. And then uh just to be consistent I mean we we've picked numbers 300 and and and 100. So is what is that based on? I would uh say that it is a similar conversation for best facilities that we looked at the code and uh the existing facilities um and there's existing uh uses within the code that uh utilize that 300 ft separation. So we um acknowledged the 300 foot for the facility but then from a noise standpoint as you can see expanded that to the 500 linking it back to the same number on best but um beyond just consistency with other distances in the code there's not a technical

so that's a phrase that you're using quite a bit you used it for the best as well the consistency with other um conditions or other things in the code and and I think the most we got out of that is drivethrus is what else is there? Uh there's live music is one that's considered um uh storage facilities is another separation from residential. So there are a handful but yes it's not uh extensive. It is also our notice area.

Oh thank you but we're looking to expand our notice area. Does that mean that you would expand? It's a good question, but yeah, that but that is where the 500 feet kind of comes from originally was okay the notice area. Well, yeah, because I I see that that's that's an agenda item. I don't know. I mean, data centers are here to stay. We got to figure out how to how to live with them as well and would like to see again just what's the logical uh approach that or standards that we're using to them as well. Thank you, Ryan.

Yeah, thank you again. Um, I had a qu So, I was looking through the data and everything here. I couldn't see what we already currently have to what we already what we're going to. Is it more conservative or less conservative or how are I trying to find the differences between the two?

Thank you. Great question. So, the data centers are also not explicitly called out in the zoning ordinance. We have treated them as a permitted use similar to other use. You know, we found other uses in the I1 and I2 category that we said it was an alkalist to and that's how we've said it's permitted. I can tell you the data centers we have today meet these standards. There is no data center closer than 300 ft to residential except for the the one Compass data center, the um multifamily that's on Van Beern, but that came in after the data center. So, it's a little different of a situation, but it's it's more than 300 ft from the single family residential. So, that's what I mean. Some of this was the learning through the processes of of where we came from. Okay. So, it's not like we're standardizing what we already have.

Yeah. What what we've done through oneoff zoning cases. Yeah. Okay. I know you said we're like the leader almost the leader in data centers out here.

So, I was just curious what that where we're go where you want us to go, where you're looking at. So yeah, I'm okay with flexibility and I know that these produce noise compared to the other um the Besses. So So yeah, I know I think Liberty, they're like right next to Palm Valley right there. So So I'd be curious what kind of noise mitigations that they use because I know they they have like a smell mitigation and I think noise mitigation. I took a tour there as well. So it' be interesting to see what they're doing. I mean, it's not going to be a constant hum necessarily, but it is they have neighbors there. So, it' be interesting to see what kind of process procedures or processes they have in place. White noise. I'm not sure how they how they do it or they just notify the residents or what that looks like, but I do want them to be good neighbors, but I do want continue having them here in our community as well. So, but I do like the flexibility and I don't mind reviewing them case by case, but just understanding where they're at and how to how to make them good neighbors for our residents because I do think they are they're going to continue to grow here in especially in Arizona because I think that we're a less natural disasterprone location. So, I think data centers are fit perfectly here in um Arizona. So, um so yeah. So, I think that would be a good thing. So, so yeah, thank you for trying to standardize it and thank you for the flexibility as well.

Trey,

thank you. Uh, similar to Councilwoman Kano, I was going to, you know, kind of probe see where we were on the setbacks and obviously the noise reductions. These are a vital um cog in our infrastructure. it, as was mentioned, there is the demand and as council uh vice mayor Hampton said, our lack of natural disasters is one of the reasons why um data centers are really moving here. We don't deal with tornadoes, hurricanes. I feel like I need to knock on wood right now because who knows what's coming next week. Um, but Councilwoman Keno kind of touched on something when it came to uh design guidelines a little bit. I think one of the biggest reasons um modern data centers get a bad, you know, PR is they look like blocks out of Minecraft. Um, and sorry, it's a video game that uh I'm glad you explained that because I don't know what Minecraft is.

No, I sorry. Um and they you know if if there were something we can do to ensure there is that quality um for our residents that it doesn't that it looks like a quality nice neighborhood feel even when you're driving past one because 99.9% of residents will never enter one. But when they see it and they drive by and it's ugly or it just doesn't it's not appealing at all that that leads to their view of the quality of life. Obviously they they don't drain the water like they used to. Modern data centers are quite efficient when it comes to water. Power on the other hand just like so many other things. Power is a driver and that goes back to our last discussion as well. We we need to um ensure our grid is as strong as possible. Making sure that we are not you know and it's not just us. This is going to be SRP. This APS the um utilities there that do power which the city does not um have a strong grid to ensure that they are not just you know offloading these costs onto residents. One of the things we do at the city is to ensure that those utilities have the space and the proper locations to ensure that those costs just aren't piled on to residents. So, I I I like I like this. I'd like to know a little bit more on the setbacks numbers, where it came from, maybe a little bit more data there. Uh, but I am interested in what we could potentially do with design guidelines just again so that not blocky and uh unappealing. Vicki,

um I uh would like a little more information um provided to the residents about the water issues because I know when these first came out they did have they used a lot of water and I think people are still under that, you know, peer review. I I I just think I get a lot of people that say to me data centers take so much water. Well, they really don't today and it's kind of like the best. I mean, as time has gone on the last four or five years, things have increased, you know, have moved along and um things aren't what they were four or five years ago. So, I think the water thing we need to be better educated and let the residents know what's going on so they understand they don't have to because water is such a big thing for us right now. So, I think that's one of the main things. Again, I am for both of these because obviously we need them. I don't think we should be kicking the can down the road and waiting forever. I think we should be moving forward so that we don't get behind the eightball.

You're good. Right. Listen, I appreciate the uh presentation. I think some of the biggest things with with data centers and whatever um I had you know APS did a really nice job of explaining how the rate structure comes into place and data center brings their own power. It's not like a lot of um you know data centers throughout the country where they lump that all together with residential and commercial. It doesn't work that way here. So, I think that's a big misunderstanding out there as far as data centers, how they're driving the residential rates. And what I'm understanding is they don't. They bring their own power and their own set on there is how APS goes about it. So, uh, you know, I appreciate the uh presentation. You got something else? We do just have two more slides, five minutes. Okay, go for it.

So, we're going to hand it over to Christian.

Okay. Thank you, Mayor and Council. So, in your packet, you've been provided with recommend recommended changes to the ordinance related to medical office parking requirements, changes to the codes related to mixed use, affordable, and age restricted parking requirement opportunities, as well as drive-through spacing regulations. You'll also recall that in January, a resident requested for council to consider a city initiated zoning ordinance text amendment to create an arts center, uh, a village center arts district overlay. Due to the need for additional public involvement and input on that matter specifically in that area, if council is in agreement with the approach, the overlay would run separately from the zoning ordinance text amendment rewrite and staff would do some city initiated noticing to that area to receive um to gather resident feedback on that requested overlay. And if favorable feedback is received, staff would move forward with a process to implement the overlay and bring it back to council for consideration. If considerable concerns are brought forward to staff, we would inform council likely through a memorandum of the neighborhood concerns and seek your feedback on whether we should move forward with a proposal or not. And regardless of the zoning ordinance update, we will have a section of the zoning ordinance that will allow for overlays to be implemented if council wishes for us to move forward with that. And if council has any concerns or questions about the recommendations in the packet, we're happy to hear those um now or receive that feedback um through communication. And if any uh citizens listening or development committee have any uh questions or comments on the zoning ordinance update, we have our website goodyearzoning.com. You can click on the more button and then click on contact us. There's also staff email available there. And I just want to reiterate, we did do this a little backwards than we normally do in that the the public is getting this information with you tonight. So, we haven't gotten the robust public feedback this is being released, but we

are um following this meeting, making sure we're getting it to the whole development community, the general public, and everybody for comment. Go ahead.

I have one other thing I wanted to add. Um because I know people are really really concerned about danger and about fires and different things. I have the utmost um respect and and know that our fire department is completely equipped and can handle this and the fire marshals and everything else. They're keeping up with everything that's going on like Tim said. I mean they know what's going on, how it's going on and so that they're ready and and able if anything does come up and happens. And I think that the public that's since they're hearing this at the same time that we're hearing it, needs to understand that we have one of the best fire departments around. And if something happens that, god forbid, they have to get involved in something, they're going to know ahead of time what was happening, what was there, and they're going to be ready to deal with it. So the public doesn't need to worry. They need to have faith in our fire department as we do. you know, the only I'm hoping that overlay district comes back very positive because I've seen what they've done over there on the arts really is it's amazing what they've done to that facility over there. So, um I'm hoping as you send that out there that that does all come back positive. Uh because I think it's a great thing what the arts community has done out there to that particular area.

Go ahead. So, you want to give us a comment right now or just on the those four items? Go for it.

Yeah. So yeah, I'm good with all those things there. I know the art district, I think that's exciting, too. When you're going through that, can you have it also so that they can use their backyards? My mind, I was hoping that that wall could come down and people could just go from our parking our public parking lot that we that we have there and they could maybe go up and down all those all those type of shops, potentially shops in the future, maybe like a downtown Glendel type feel. I remember when we were when I was down there touring that before we destroyed our old city hall, our original city hall um that I was disappointed in that I thought that would have been a great idea. So, I'm glad that someone took the idea and uh and hopefully it'll make it happen here. So, um but yeah, I saw make it flexible enough to where they is more walkable. It can be walkable and those can be future businesses or future shops or future art stores and things like that along that along that area there. So that's that's something. And then yeah, I think the off- streetet parking or the to be able to have the flexibility. I think it's the night the word of the night, flexibility for these topics is just being flexible with that. I don't want to um push out certain users because we're not being flexible. So thank you for for bringing these things. I think it'll be good to get it in there and have that flexibility for going forward as well. So thank you.

Anything else? Go ahead. I just want to comment on the arts district overlay proposal. I'm just really excited about it. It's art can really start to transform area. Think about in Phoenix uh Roosevelt Row just started out with galleries and now it's a completely different uh community. But uh it just really talks it it points to the power of art and this is a a resident initiated uh drive and uh really a commitment to it's like a legacy thing and uh this uh the ones who have initiated have made a significant contribution to the the overall arts and culture impact in Goodyear. And I just love that we've got some of that flexibility to accommodate uh that type of uh cultural innovation and very excited about this. So uh parking, yeah, it's always subject to debate. I mean, you can't win on that one, but art art is awesome. Anything else? All right, then. Uh next meeting will be March 23rd, 2026. No further business. This meeting's over.

Good. Thank you very much.