Town Council - Regular Meeting

at Salita Primary School. Leah, let us pray. Gracious God, we thank you for the town of Saurita, for its people, its history, and the strong sense of community that brings us together. We are grateful for the opportunity to serve and for the trust placed in us by those who call this town home. As we gather tonight, we ask for your guidance. Grant us wisdom in our decisions, clarity in our discussions, and compassion in our actions. Help us to listen with open hearts, speak with honesty and respect, and work together for the good of all. We ask your blessing over our first responders, public safety personnel, and all those who serve this community each day. Please protect them, strengthen them, and return them safely to their families. May our efforts be guided by fairness, unity, and a shared commitment to the well-being of Saworita now and for generations to come. We place this meeting in your care. Amen.

Amen. Thank you, Leah. I forgot to mention she's one of our accounting specialists. I forgot to put that. Thanks for being here. Thank you.

Step right up. And whenever you're ready, we're going to follow you. We pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the flag for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Good job. Everybody that's ever come to that microphone understands how difficult it is. So to have a first grader and a second grader come up and do that, that's pretty awesome. Uh we'll move to roll call. Madam clerk.

Council member Gillespie here. Council member Lisk here. Council member Lidle absent. Council member Morales here. Council member Polo here. Vice Mayor Eggbert here. Mayor Murphy here. Qu present. Thank you. Next is item five which is called to the public. Call to public is open now. Individuals may speak for three minutes. Spokespersons 10. The council cannot discuss matters not on the agenda. However, at the end of this call to the public, council members may respond to criticism, request staff to review the issue or add the topic to a future agenda. And I have one this evening. Uh Rick Curado,

welcome.

Hello, Mayor. Hi. You as well. Well, uh, Honorable Mayor Murphy, town council, and respective town staff, uh, they often say that those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it. So, this evening, I would like to discuss the history, uh, with the mining industry. I want to compare the most recent issues and mitigation a community had to deal with uh, regarding Vulcan materials. Uh, for instance, I remember all the evidence that was presented this council regarding Vulcan materials hot mix asphalt plant. I remember evidence reported to you regarding air travel of poisonous microns sized particulate matter. I remember the presentation given by a former EPA air quality agent before this council explaining how these particles as small as two microns can travel 100 miles. He stated respiratory problems would follow. Research was presented regarding huge amounts of water that is unregulated. The asphalt plant intended to use that would drain our aquifer. I remember the inappropriate and inadequate traffic studies. I remember the flawed environmental impact report. And I acutely remember Vulcan proclaiming not to worry, nothing was wrong. I remember claims the air, the water, the environment, and the people would be safe. Vulcan stated, "Our concerns were exaggerated truths to be ignored." This all sounds very eerily familiar. Do you remember the history? So they say history does not repeat itself but often rhymes. So what will be different this time? Let's see. Use of explosives and heavy machinery creating particulate matter traveling hundreds of miles. No difference. Inadequate, inappropriate explanations given as to how or what will be done with hazardous contaminated soil. No difference. Excessive unmonitored water pumping allowed that would quickly drain the aquafer. No difference. Inadequate compliance to

treat, replenish, or use recycled water. No difference. Unreliable traffic study with no monitoring of truck or driver qualifications. No difference. No compensation offered to the town regarding road damage. No difference. Complete arrogant silence by Vulcan materials. No difference. So what is different this time? There's nothing different. Promises of growth, prosperity, and opportunity are shortsighted with narrow focus and poor conception. What will happen when you are forced to explain what you knew, when you knew it, why certain facts were not disclosed, and that nothing was done about it? Those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it. This community does not want this project to move forward, and neither should you. And I want to leave you with one parting thought this evening. The water, the water, the water. Thank you for your time.

Thank you. Uh that will take care of call to the public. And now we get to item number six. Uh council brief memor summary of current events. Mayor, is your mic on? Oh, not now. Uh now we come to brief council brief summary of current events. Debbie Kim. Yes. Okay. I know one thing you might bring up.

Um the mayor and I know he'll be talking about it. We're in the parade on Saturday which was my first time and also first time to the rodeo. So I appreciate going but I really wish the whole council was there. It's um a really o great opportunity. I think that just being there and um supporting Sarita is really great. Um I also attended the ATB installation and awards. Um, unfortunately our mayor did not win an award this year, but it was still really great to see what people have accomplished in the um, the awards that were given out and Councilwoman Morales was there as well. And I did attend the forum for the Save the Sonoras. Um, you know, great questions from the audience. There's probably over 200 people I would assume were there. And um and then last but not least, this Friday at um the Madera um coffee club at um and in Qual Creek, we're having coffee with council and the sher or this time um council member light will be joining me. So I hope people because it is open to the public so anyone's welcome to

and what time is that? 9 to 10 in the morning. Thanks, Council Member Priolo. Dr. Gillespie, nothing. Vice Mayor. Nope. Nope. But keep supporting the Cerita High School band. Absolutely. Yep. Uh that's still a work in progress. Um also thanks to the Santa Cruz Car Nuts. We had our big annual car show out at Quail Creek. I think about 312 cars and uh Dr. Valenuela had the superintendence award um trophy and I had the mayors. Nice.

So we made 311 people sad and one person happy. So that's always fun. Um, and uh, thanks for the shout out for ATB. Uh, but the mayor overall valley didn't win either, so I was good. That's all I cared about. Uh, parade was awesome as you mentioned. And then also today, uh, the CCIM, which is the organization that has oversight over commercial brokers and such. They had their um, annual update today and I found it very interesting. They touched on industrial, retail, and office. Um, just they're going to be able to get the slides to us. So I'll have staff share those with everybody. Um you wouldn't get the panel discussion from it but you'll see the slides the trends and things. But one of the interesting things was when they were talking about the office and of course co you know had all this open space and they did a survey and it showed where 90% of the employees did not want to come back to work which I thought was kind of interesting. Um but 70% said if they were then they wanted to be hybrid or they wouldn't come back. And the other interesting thing was you know probably my generation you wouldn't go on looking for a job until you um leaving a job until you had another job. Well this generation is um very different. They'll be like yeah I'm going to Atlanta. I don't have a job. That's okay. We'll figure it out. So really having that um that flexibility. um they they they talked about the importance of it from a employer standpoint because folks are just in a new mindset. So it was just very interesting to hear um that along with you know trends and things one on the retail is a lot of these spaces are opening up from a sales tax generation and more as an experience to come back an experiential which probably doesn't have as much um retail transaction

privilege tax um associated with it. But you're seeing a lot of these um venues um going from like Bed Bath and Beyond to other kinds like pickle ball, indoor pickle ball ball courts and things like that. So I just found it very interesting. Uh a reminder, Monday, February 23rd is our next scheduled meeting. And with that, I'll move to item number seven, which is our consent agenda, and entertain a motion at this time. Actually, mayor, I do have a Oh, I'm sorry. And uh but I did I don't think I just real quick. Yes, if you don't mind. No, I never mind. Uh just I I I never mind not never mind. So just to clarify, good recovery.

Uh I I I wanted to read aloud an email that you received today from our clerk, Lisa Cole.

Uh it's in regards to the 2026 primary election. Um the the date changed to July 21st. Uh so I'll read this. uh an emergency legislation enacted on February 6th moved the primary election from August 4th, 2026 to July 21st, 2026. The legislation validates nomination petitions circulated with the August 4th, 2026 date, including equal petitions, um, provided they otherwise comply with statutory requirements and confirms that candidates are not required to file a new or amended statement of interest solely due to the date change. So, keep that in mind. Um, this election, three town town council seats with four-year terms are up for consideration. Candidates who do not receive a majority of votes at the primary election, now July 21st, um, as defined in state statute will advance to the November 3rd, 2026 general election. Candidates or candidate elections are nonpartisan and at large. Qualified electors seeking to run for town council must file all required candidacy documents, including nomination petitions containing uh between 273 to to 545 valid signatures by um 5:00 p.m. on Monday, March 23rd. So that's the latest you can submit um your petitions. Uh filing period starts. So, the earliest you can submit those petitions is Saturday, February 21st. Saturday being a Saturday. Officers are closed, so it'll be the the following Monday. Um, candidate information, handbooks, and forms are available on the town website and through the town clerk's office by appointment if you'd like to speak with

somebody in person. So, I I thought that it would be good to, you know, put that out there for our our public that's listening. um knowing that that change is very recent and it's impacting how we play ball with this upcoming election. Thank you. Thank you. Is there anything else you wanted to touch on? Nope, that's it. Nope. I appreciate it. Uh back to item number seven, consent agenda. I'll entertain a motion at this time. Do I have a second? Motion second. All those in favor signify by I.

I. Any opposed? Motion carries. Uh madame clerk, item number eight. Item number eight, study session regarding the 2025 Saharita general plan. Thank you. And Miss Henderson Oranthia will introduce the item and welcome Robbie Aaron from Michael Baker International who will present the item. Oh, there you are. You just magically appeared on the dis. Thank you.

Good evening, Mayor Murphy and council members. Agenda item 8 is a study session for the general plan update. Tonight's presentation on the general plan will be provided by Matt Kaisico. He is um working with Robbie. Um it's Matt's turn to make the presentation. Um he is also from Michael Baker International. Matt has over 23 years of experience in planning and has worked on a multiple number of general plan updates. Um he is also the project manager for this. So with that, I'll turn it over to Matt. Thank you. Welcome.

Well, thank you, Arlanthia. Thank you, Mayor and Council, for the opportunity to uh speak with you this evening. Um we are, if I can There we go. We are at a very key milestone in this uh general plan update process. Um, and so I'm really excited to uh walk through some highlights of how we got to this point. Um, and and certainly leave time at the end of my discussion for any questions or clarifications that council may have. Um, so really the the four talking points that I'm going to be uh keying in on is of course how did we get here? So give you a recap of the work that's been done up to this point. um clarify the outreach that went into the process because this is ultimately a plan that is going to be uh ratified by the public and so outreach is certainly critical to the overall process. Then I'll spend most of my time sharing uh the contents of the plan and getting into the specifics of uh the draft plan and then outline the next steps. So the key takeaway I think from tonight as Oranthia pointed out is we're having a work session. So no decisions are being made this evening. Um but the hope or focus of this work session is that we will be back in front of council at your next meeting on the 23rd of February. And at that meeting, our hope is that we will be in a position or council will be in a position that could um form a uh a final uh determination on the plan. Um so really tonight's about identifying any questions that you may have um or identifying information that you may want that we can either discuss this

evening or bring back at the next meeting so that we're all comfortable uh moving forward. That's really the goal. So, uh, with that little housekeeping, uh, discussion up front, I'll I'll first jump into where we are in the process. And, um, if you've, uh, joined us for our prior work sessions on this or any of our community workshops, this graphic will look familiar to you. I won't go through the specific nuances of the entire flowchart, but you can see that we started this process way back in January of 2024. And uh this process really had three primary phases. We looked at existing conditions with the benefit of existing conditions. We then of course work to draft the plan. Then uh through a 60-day review process, we're now where the red dot identifies in the achieve phase where we're getting uh to the point seeking council's approval so that ultimately we can then put this plan on the ballot for voter ratification. And so that's why you see engagement intertwined through all those phases. It's a critical component of the overall process because at the end of this we're going to ask the public to support it. And so naturally the key is to get out to residents and hear what they have to say and um update the plan um in alignment with that feedback. So before I jump into some more detail about our outreach and the general plan itself, just a little refresher on what the general plan is. Uh this is a statemandated plan. So every city and town in Arizona is required to have one. Um every community is also required to update their general plan every 10

years. So, uh, beyond just good practice of getting into your general plan and periodically updating it, it's a state requirement that, uh, the town must update the general plan. And that general plan based off the size or population of the community must have specific topics or as state statute calls them elements that go into the plan. And, uh, those required elements are listed on the slide here. Um, but that doesn't uh limit a community from identifying elective topics that the community may feel, okay, the state doesn't necessarily require this, but we think it's still important to the growth um of our community um and uh therefore we want to include those. And so there's a few examples to the town's credit uh that were considered in other in your existing general plan. And so, uh, kudos to the town for having, uh, a plan that thinks, um, uh, beyond just the minimum requirements. Um, but at the end of the day, what I would emphasize at the is the whole point of this general plan and why statute requires it is because it's a visionary document. It's a policy document to ensure that as council or staff or your planning commissions are making short-term decisions that they're in alignment with long-term vision of the community. And so that's really what this plan is about. It's not to uh um corner the the town into specifics. It's creating that road map so that then uh in nearterm time uh the town has the required uh vision to properly vet uh new near near-term um topics of conversation. So with that reminder about what the

goal or the role I should say of the general plan is it's that policy document. Um let's talk a little bit about the outreach that went into this effort. And uh I I won't go through every uh item. The next few slides is really intended to convey how robust outreach was for this effort. So as you can expect, we used all the tools that we had available to us to get out to the public. uh we use traditional in-person events like community workshops uh to um inform residents, but now uh just uh maybe more so than it has been in the past, we have a lot of competing uh interests within a community and residents can't always attend in-person meetings. So we supported uh traditional outreach with a robust website with placing uh project material or community workshop material online and having exercises that residents did uh in the meeting also available online. Um we uh piggybacked your successful um events that the community has. Uh those are ways that we can um interact with residents that may not typically uh come to uh public meetings. And so um those frequent flyers that come to a lot of meetings are great. We want to hear from them. But those that may not always come to meetings, your your successful community events were a great opportunity to uh inform residents about the planning process and to guide them as to where they can get more information. So uh this outlines uh some of the workshops and the dates and the participation the surveys and the number of responses that we collected in those surveys. Um and it also touches on the

study sessions we had with council and commission. Um, we also extended out a conversation with your uh teen advisory council. That was a great conversation and uh they had some fantastic p um observations and suggestions about uh thoughts of what the town um would need in order to uh assure that younger generations want to uh remain in in the town and um start families and raise their children uh here in Sarita. Um so uh beyond just our our uh workshops and surveys um is that we um throughout this process as you can maybe see in this uh community survey we had consistent participation across the surveys that we conducted. And often what we see in a general plan is our first survey will get a high level of participation and then from there it starts to kind of trickle off. And so the fact that we um had consistent participation, you can see the second survey here on number nine, we had 224 responses. Um and then we conducted a third survey and had 340 responses. Um so it's just a confirmation for us that we were keeping residents engaged, they were staying informed in the process, and then ultimately we had our 60-day uh statemandated period. um that I'll touch on in uh the next slide. So, in that 60-day review period, uh that's really a twomonth time frame that state statute says you must put the plan down. As I always say, let it marinate um in the community. You share it with

adjacent uh municipalities, you share it with state agencies, uh whether that be um even regional agencies. Um, and then of course we share it with the public. And there's two months where we collect all of that feedback. And so the 60-day review process for this effort um, uh, consisted went from October 1st to November 30th. Uh, you can see that, um, at the bottom of the screen there. Overall, we received 37 responses from residents about comments on the draft plan and eight responses from uh our public agencies that were required per state statute. And so again, that's uh encouraging for us to see that we had good participation throughout the public outreach, but when we got to the 60-day review, uh there was uh not a windfall of comments. And so that tells us that we're tracking in the right direction, but uh we're always uh open to suggestions. And so we wanted to explore that feedback that we collected from th those 37 responses uh from residents as well as eight from public agencies. So this by no means is an exhaustive summary of those comments. We pulled out the key themes uh for our conversations this evening. Um and and so uh some of the key things themes that came out of that uh 60-day review period is balancing growth while maintaining that small town feel. It's a challenging balancing act, threading that needle of staying uh with that uh small community feel but bringing in some of the amenities that residents expressed they wanted and you'll kind of see that in the next slide. So we went in and tried to beef up those policies. So we looked at really uh buffering in those

situations and and having policies that acknowledge uh giving uh key um emphasis on the transitions from when we're uh looking at possibly transitioning from one land use to the next. Um so that that helps uh create um better relationships as as growth happens. um and hopefully allowing that small town feel to exist but uh recognizing that growth can still occur within that uh overarching uh desire. Um so that's uh one of the examples of item two that while they residents express that small town feel uh they're looking for more dining options, local shopping and employment opportunities. And mayor, you had that interesting oversight um in terms of the Bed Bath and Beyond transitioning into pickle ball. Um and so that's I think along the lines of what residents are recognizing of how can we get some um some new type of economic development within the community. And so you can see that we worked um your uh economic development team um has gone through efforts to update your strategies in that and so uh they uh helped us update the policies within this plan to really be in lock step with that strategy uh document. And so, um, I think it's a really good timing that the general plan is coming and being able to be in alignment with with that recent, um, update of that document as well. Um, water availability and con conservation and reuse. Um, that was something that residents referenced uh, uh, frequently. Um, however, we also recognize that the town is not a water provider. Um and so uh that was an

opportunity to uh educate residents and make them aware about um uh that nuance. Um uh there's there's kind of conditions within the community about some of the names of the water companies and and residents assuming that that must mean that they're uh part of the town and that's not the case. And so here we really wanted to recognize though that residents still see that as an important component of the community. And thus because uh water companies are ultimately administered by the state uh and so there's a balance there that uh the town does not have direct influence in all situations about how they um uh provide their services. There still uh was some room there. We thought that the town could um uh be a leader in terms of bringing those utilities together and making sure they're communicating with each other and holistically looking at the town because they're all doing their uh focus needs for their utility that the town could be that um bonding agent if you will. And so here we even proposed um and I'm uh stealing my thunder on number four, but we proposed as an implementation action that the town could look to develop a water resources plan that actually identifies how that effort would occur. Um most communities, if they're a water provider, they'll have a water resources plan, but they'll speak to water in detail. In this aspect, we're suggesting that maybe the town could just have kind of a water resources plan about how it's going to be uh the leader in uh getting coordination and not necessarily about facilitation. And so the last item uh speaks to that

implementation um action. Um, one of the things that we were encouraged about the 60-day review comments is a lot of residents shared, "I don't have any issue with the policies. It all works for me, but how are we going to do it? What's next?" They're already jumping to, "Okay, I'm good with the plan. Now, let's get to work." And so, we thought, well, that's an opportunity for us to include an implementation matrix. And so statute right now does not require a plan to have an implementation section. It requires to have policies and goals on those topics or elements, but it does not require the plan to ex to detail how that might be achieved. And so we identified an implementation table that I'll touch on in a few slides to help uh outline some some baseline steps that uh the community can uh facilitate in order to champion some of those policies uh and goals that community members shared uh um uh shared their approval of um and wanting more. So, those are really the key takeaways of those uh 37 um resident comments and eight agency comments. Uh now, I wanted to take a little bit of time to just walk council through the document itself. Um uh with the general plan, um we emphasize that like any other business plan that you might be part of in your line of work, um having a unified vision statement is a way that the plan can ensure that it's all rolling up to a common focus. And so the existing general plan has a vision statement in it. and we went through uh a visioning process with residents um

through our community workshops to refine or to recalibrate this vision statement. So, we didn't uh holistically rewrite it or move away. We went back in and selectively refined the vision statement uh based off the feedback uh that uh residents shared. So that vision statement uh allowed us to also recognize one other aspect that was somewhat a simple change but I think it helps to um really elevate the plan in that the current general plan based off state statute uh is organized around uh the statemandated elements or topics and each one of those is a chapter of the plan. So land use, growth, circulation, those become chapters of the plan. But what happens when you open the general plan is that yes, that meets state statute, but does it really give someone that might be new uh to the town an understanding of what the town is all about? And so what we like to think about is what is the elevator speech for this general plan? if we give it to someone and say here's, you know, a minute to look at this plan and tell me what this community is about. Um, we structured the plan around these three primary themes or chapters. So, these uh primary headings, sustainable growth and connectivity, conserve today to thrive tomorrow, and economic vitality and fiscal stability. tried to uh pull together all of that feedback on a much more succinct uh way of conveying what's important to residents of this community and then nested the required topics or elements under those chapters. So, it's really just a a subtle change in how the

documents organized, but it helps to again convey a more uh unified um vision of how this plan is coming together, but still meet state statute in terms of addressing the topics or elements that we must consider. Another aspect uh that is most synonymous with the plan is a general plan is consist uh made up of goals and policies. And so naturally an update goes through and makes sure that uh we re-calibrate or refine those goals and policies based off of what has occurred over the last 10 years. So uh we went into the uh existing plan and with the public's assistance and through a lot of our work sessions uh we identified goals that either um may have shifted could be combined with other goals or have been accomplished. Um and that same uh philosophy applied to the policies that go along with those. So you can see that the current plan um is a little bit more succinct. Um we have a little uh more uh a lighter level of goals um and number of policies um but they're all uh there to uh serve a specific purpose and we tried to ensure that we didn't have an excessive amount of overlap so that this document can be as succinct as uh it can be um but still be uh in alignment with residents expectations. So you can see some of the key spotlight areas of that notion of balancing growth for all. That's not, you know, even when we look at housing, it's not focused on one type of housing. It's focused on the spectrum of housing. Um, in terms of uh retail and commercial development, it's not, you know, specifically uh sitdown

restaurants. um but it's also looking at um uh non-chain type of retail in other aspects. So when we say for all it's intended to be that the we don't want a policy document like the general plan to uh uh specifically define a direction. Um the the point of the general plan is to uh provide uh guidance but leave flexibility so that those near-term decisions have room right to navigate uh real world issues um that may not all be contemplated you know at this point uh in the timeline uh that you know uh addresses the next 10 to 20 years. So, with uh some of those focused items that are bulleted there, uh I'll take us into some of the maps that go along with the general plan. Um and and uh certainly the land use plan that you see here is the one that is most synonymous with the general plan. The takeaway here is we did not change the existing land use categories. We went in and clarified some language uh within the descriptions of some of those uh based off of staff input of as we administer this it would be helpful to clarify what um we mean by this phrase or refining something but uh extensively we did not change the land use categories and we also did not do a drastic change of land uses overall uh we just went in and I'd like to say re-calibrated uh areas to be in alignment with general plan amendments that may have been approved over the last 10 years. Um to uh clarify any areas that needed cleanup that uh that we can be more specific on

the parcel boundaries that the line should follow that the previous general plan maybe was a little more fuzzy on. So we we strengthened um the uh the kind of management of the land use plan but did not drastically change that. You can also see in this that I would emphasize uh to remind everybody that the dashed uh kind of solid color uh is the municipal limits of the town. But a general plan also must take into account the town's larger planning area or the area that the town may annex to. And so for the town, that area is largely cap captured in the CCAP uh area. And so that for the public that may be listening, that's the lighter area or faded back area that you see on the the plan. Um and so um that area was largely uh planned during the last uh general plan update and we did not make significant changes to that. And one of the aspects that I'll note about that is that the growth areas plan and so statute requires that we look at growth. Um, and so one of the things we like to emphasize for residents when they see growth in the general plan, they get a little, you know, uh, why are we advocating for that? And what we want to emphasize is we're not advocating for that. We're one meeting state, but then two, growth can also be about recognizing where growth pressures exist and reacting to those as opposed to suggesting that we're advocating for growth. Um, and so this growth map, uh, while it's there to align with state statute, it's also here to, uh, I would emphasize that there's still large pockets of the municipal limits of the town that you can see are undeveloped.

And so what we would share is that largely the planning area or the CCAP area there isn't a strong expectation that in the next 10 years that that area would be um needed for uh additional growth that there are um areas uh within the town that's that have infrastructure um and that uh have entitlements that we would expect to develop um in the near term um more so than the CCAP area. Um so that's one takeaway on the growth. Um when we look at transportation, uh another area that we were able to really just calibrate this plan, make sure that it's consistent not only with the classifications that the town may have for roadways, and when I say classification, that means identifying what roads are arterials, collectors, or local streets. So this was our chance to make sure that um if any classifications have changed on a a particular roadway um that uh we can document that. But this also allowed us to align with regional efforts. And so I would uh point out that this plan does uh now include the I11 uh uh preferred alignment um that uh breaks off to the west from I19. Um you can see it uh just on the El Toro Road alignment there, the little hatched area. And then to the east at that same location is also identifying the Sonorin corridor. Um the uh the thing I would want to emphasize uh on the sonorin corridor is again that this like maybe I1 these are either federal or state initiatives that the

town is not leading but because this is a document to inform decision-m we want to make sure we have this information within the general plan so that it can be part of the discussion when uh it is needed. And so this plan isn't necessarily looking to advocate for these facilities. It's looking to recognize that planning is occurring for them and that the town should make sure that that uh planning uh that the town continues to keep a seat at the table during those conversations. Um and so the last point I would make is on this legend you might even look for example that it says the sonoran corridor preferred alternative that is uh language utilized by either the federal or state process. um they look at multiple alignments uh when they're uh developing a facility and then as they evaluate all those they ultimately uh arrive at a preferred corridor and that's the language that is there. It's not to suggest that this general plan is saying that's the preferred corridor. It's reflecting that's what uh was identified in the formal process at the state or federal level.

Well, thank you. Thank you for pointing that out. um because you probably are aware that there's some uh change of attitude um for the council as it exists now um not to have that um El Toro uh alignment on there. So that was really good clarification um as as the council and time moves forward, right? Um because obviously there's no funding for the construction of the Sonoran corridor and it's in three phases from the east to the west. So, I appreciate you bringing that up.

Yeah. And that's really uh ultimately part of the conversation this evening that if council does have direction of stronger language or or very focused language that would solidify that um perception, then uh we would want to identify that so that when we come back before you uh uh council's more comfortable with uh the language as provided. So, excellent point, Mayor, in terms of of uh clarification there. Um,

mayor, I I have a comment on the same along those same lines. I I I wonder if there's an opportunity here in the legend itself to I mean, it's hard on the Snoring Corridor because there, you know, there's it started in what 2015? Yeah. About a, you know, a tier one analysis and now they're in the tier 2. Um, what's denoted on the map there is really a 2,000 ft 4 400 foot I believe. Well, on the map right now that I see it, that's the 2,000 ft corridor. It's going to end with a 400t. Thank you. Yes.

Right. And and and the and nobody would really appreciate that by seeing the map or really understand that it's still in the it's still in the middle of a process, right? Um it it also might be helpful on the legend to denote that the the corridor is actually a state or an AOT project and on the I1 is a federal project um to to help the reader understand that these are external forces that that are being represented on on this map because it's a planning document and it's appropriate to have that that called out on the map. I was I was going to mention the same thing only because you know if it's our general plan and it says Sonor and Corridor preferred alternative that feels like it's our preferred alternative um as opposed to another AY's preferred alternative and and actually that's even a little too strong because they told us you know they could still come back on any of the three phases as a no build. So you don't even know that to be a fact until they present back to us ADOT on what is there actually prefer an alternative

knowing that this is this is a a project a work that has to get done it would be a little disingenuous for us not to have something on there correct and this is what the state is giving us but the more we can include in the legend or in footnotes to that legend kind of at this date and time kind of thing. This is this is where that project sits. I think the better for for all of us. Thanks.

That's great. I This is the dialogue that makes me excited because uh uh to clarify when we're back in front of you, mayor and council, and seeking uh ultimate hopefully approval. Um it's difficult right to uh we need clarity as to what it is we're approving in terms of the general plan because that is the exact plan that must be taken to the public and so it's not a well we want it generally to say this we have to have the language down. So this will give us an opportunity to craft something and then when we're back in front of you then we're at least reacting to something as opposed to trying to write it live in a a council meeting. So this uh guidance and I just shared that of if there's other observations like this that's exactly what this evening is helpful for uh because then we can um be more efficient I guess in terms of our next meeting and hopefully focus more on word smithing than crafting. Thanks.

So, uh we are benefited from a parks and open space standpoint that the town has gone through some more recent updates of its uh park uh master planning. And so this uh similar to the economic uh development process um this uh aligns um and gives the town an opportunity that many of your guiding documents um will be in in u will be uh in alignment um when this ultimately is ratified. And so uh kudos to the town for u continuously staying on top of that. Um and and really this graphic is just to convey that we're u making sure that those um efforts are memorialized in this plan as well and and that will make um all of the documents uh in better alignment. Um and so I'll close on this last slide. Uh this isn't meant to be an eye chart. It's really to convey uh that implementation uh matrix that I mentioned. And so statute doesn't require this, but a based off the feedback um at the 60-day review, this is a an a reaction to that. So when we're asked, well, how did you respond to 60-day review comments? Well, this is one of the biggest examples I could share is we went in and said, oh, well, wow, they really want the the um uh future steps. So, we developed this table, and you can see it has short, mid, and long-term efforts. Uh so we try to recognize that not everything is maybe an immediate effort or maybe some efforts are a continuous um uh task as opposed to a point in time. Um but these are just broad um items. It's not a uh it's not a blueprint in terms of you

must do this in order for this to happen. It's just a way that you can see we organize it by the primary chapters. And um for chapter 1, two, and three, here's some things that could help uh achieve those goals. And this is something that can be point uh uh residents can be guided to to uh to gain additional information. So with that I'm going to uh try and quickly jump through some of the uh discussion that we had with the planning and zoning commission. So u for this process uh we are required to have two public hearings with the planning and zoning commission. They form a recommendation um to council um and then of course council makes a final determination and then that determination is what gets placed on the ballot. And so um the just last week we had two hearings with the planning and zoning commission and had a public discussion and so we wanted to share with you what that discussion was and and kind of the responses to that so that again you're uh have clear line of sight in terms of uh what uh conversations have uh occurred I should say at the planning and zoning hearings just last week. So um in terms of public comments, we did have one asking about how are we addressing water resources and environmental impacts of the copper world project in the plan. Um uh this was kind of a a team uh response in terms of staff as well as um uh my colleague did uh respond to this uh comment and I'll uh close on a policy that was crafted to somewhat touch on this. But the key takeaway here is to

recognize that um this plan is focused on the town. And so uh we don't want to overly uh it's not to say the plan can't have recognition of regional uh projects or initiatives but we also don't want to have a false sense of um uh uh guidance that this plan can uh um determine projects that are outside the boundaries of the town or its planning area. And so that was one of the the broader discussions we had at the meeting is just to reiterate that uh from a topic standpoint, water resources and the environment is important in the plan and we have a lot of policies that address that. But as far as the specific projects, um uh we don't want to give a a false sense of security to residents that this plan uh has uh governance over something outside the community. So wanted to convey there that uh we uh recognize the request and the concerns but also how to temper what we can do within that context

and can that be strengthened at all because when I have conversations about it like air and water um those are state agencies that issue those permits so anything that can be solidified that if there's questions or issues with it really the appropriate agency to address those is the the state agencies that actually issue those permits. I mean, I think that goes strongly, but if there's even another step to, you know, to say that, it's not that it's not a concern. It's just that we don't have oversight over it. It's the state does through a lot of different

Well said, mayor. And I think um the general organization of the plan uh each chapter we try to organize uh um in alignment so that there's kind of this uh muscle memory as people go through the the plan. And so each chapter we have a an existing conditions if you will discussion to kind of talk about uh that chapter. And I think mayor that those are the areas where we could get in and provide some of that refined language. Um whereas the goals and policies um can still serve their purpose, but in that upfront kind of tutorial, if you will, we can provide some of that background information uh that uh when needed could help inform residents if they uh read uh the plan, you know, now or 5 years from now.

Great. Thank you.

Um so uh back to our discussion about the Sonoran corridor. There were comments related to the development of the Sonor and corridor and its impacts on the town. Um the uh this was um brought up in both um commission hearings, the first meeting um uh that we had uh on Monday as well as the the second meeting on uh Wednesday. Um uh and the takeaway is that uh the comment was they believed or desired the plan to take a stronger stance on opposition to the corridor. Um and so that kind of those words are shared because uh as mayor you you pointed out if there are stronger language that the council would like us to uh incorporate then we're uh uh all ears. Um, in this instance, um, we wanted to convey that, uh, the plan does not take a a specific policy standpoint, um, in terms of advocating for the corridor, but the plan does have language that acknowledges if the corridor were to occur, it could present some economic opportunity. Now, if we need to, you know, qualify that with the the other maybe perceived negative aspects or things that council would want us to incorporate again, we would happy to include that so that uh we're all comfortable with what is ultimately

Yeah, if we could just pause there for a second because um based on how we were the conversation we had with AOT saying that the we acknowledge the Sonoron corridor, we I mean I would say I would acknowledge the fact that um a bypass of sorts, you know, is needed over time, but does not take a position on the project, which is being led by the state, that feels a little weak to me um from at least that third leg of it. But that's up to my colleagues to weigh in, but that doesn't feel like what I heard at our ADOT presentation. Dr. Gillespie,

uh Mr. Mayor, I' I'd feel comfortable having stronger language against it and also with kind of mentioned earlier with the key and identifying this is an AOT project. This is a federal project, right? So more stronger than Great. And is that alignment with the rest of my council? Good, Mr. Mayor. Yes. If if there's no other after everybody has a chance to comment.

Council member Pel. Um, so I've got concerns that unless the language gets a little stronger that there's this residue of of um potential for misperception of what is our jurisdictional authority and what isn't. I I know that um sometimes the the general public thinks we can do whatever we want and that we have full power and authority over absolutely everything in the town and nothing could be further than the truth. So I'm concerned about some aspects of what you have up there. And several slides back there was one slide that had to do with water and there was another slide that had to do with energy. And I presume the energy might have to do with power companies. Correct. Do you mean correct? We don't own utilities either.

Right. So we don't own utilities and I know there's concern about electricity and data centers. We're all aware and we don't own any of the water companies and we certainly know there's concerns about our aqua 4. And so I'm concerned about giving the leaving that impression that we have more jurisdictional authority than we actually do. And I think it needs to be clarified what we can have a say in and what is outside of her limit. You know, we have limitations, right? But we're not shy. If it's within our boundaries, we're not shy. Shane,

um, my recollection of the most recent conversation that we had with AOT representing corridor project was as a community, we we recognize the the need for um circulation of traffic, responsible planning, circulation of traffic. We just recognize that um the steps that were taken 13 years ago or whatever it was um you know landed a landed an alignment where there was there were no homes planned. You know there was nothing on the map, nothing to indicate that there would be a problem. And it's just the it's it's a product of how long this project has taken to get something on the map. um the sooner alignment a sooner the sooner a a line is designated the better off all agencies involved are going to be able to plan and protect that that corridor. So we what I recall mayor and and and council members correct me if I'm wrong. It it wasn't a statement against the corridor. It was a statement of it's taking too long and where it's at right now has too drastic of an impact on our community because it's taken so long. So, let's let's get something on the map different than what it is today. Um, and let's move this project forward at least to a point where we get a line designated on the map so that we can then act responsibly as as planners, uh, whether it's the county or the the town or the reservation or whatever. We need to be able to plan and protect, but we can't do that until a line is down. So, we want to be players. We want to be partners. We want to be helpful. It's not a not in my backyard kind of message at all. It's a let's be responsible

in how we get this done. And where it sits right now, at least the western leg of that through our community is is not okay right now. So does that Yeah. Yeah. That's what I would say. Okay. All right. Um on the mayor, can I Yes.

Can I can I make a suggestion as a planning document? The general plan is is fundamentally a land use planning document, right? That takes into account things like parks and recreation, available utilities, available water, and and the fact that it's recognizing the the ADOT preferred route, you know, sort of advocating against for the particular route. as a planning document. It really should focus on um planning around the pro if if the proposed route becomes or the preferred route becomes the the the final route,

right? Then the the document should focus on the the pl use planning that would be around that route and how it impacts future and and or existing or current and future development to the extent that you know if the route is within that preferred if the road is in that preferred route then there are areas that are undeveloped that would probably be more from a planning perspective commercial industrial as you appropriate adjacent to a a freeway or a four-lane highway, but also um acknowledge that it it that would affect current or existing residential development um both what it removes

and and the and what it doesn't remove that but that remains adjacent. So that that that use that's currently in place, particularly on the far western edge of that route is is really not appropriate land use, you know, for that route. So in other words, you're you're sort of advocating against it by acknowledging that if this route goes where it's going to go, where it's where the preferred route shows, that what's currently there and what's currently planned really isn't the right kind of use. you you follow. So, so that would be my recommendation is to is to talk about it from a planning perspective. uh um or you know that that the proposed route does I think it says has benefits in terms of maybe some economic development but also it has detriment in in the sense that what's currently planned for much of the route is residential right

which which may may need to be rethought as a function of that pref that AOT preferred route right does that track for you

it does track uh I think it's a very astute way of of um recognizing both aspects. Not only making sure we convey what uh how the town feels, but also recognizing if the facility exists um how that will impact the town. Um and I think uh um our town attorney uh has uh identified a very um uh beneficial way of introducing that conversation. So,

mayor and council, thank you. I I really like this idea because going forward in all of our collective interactions with the decision makers, we can refer to a recently adopted, cross my fingers, recently adopted, you know, general plan for the community that that recognizes the economic value of that kind of corridor in our general area, but also from a as a you know, as as a planning document. says that's why this this particular location doesn't work, right? So, I think there's a lot of value there that way. Yeah. No, it's a great point. Thank Thank you, John. That's great. Thank you.

We'll keep him around for another couple of weeks. So, well, thank you for is a a new day to earn your your your stripes.

Well, I'm glad we uh kind of uh dwelled on that one a little bit because I think there was room uh for improvement there. uh and the guidance that we received I think we can come back with something that if not on the mark is pretty close. Um a few other comments. Uh we did at um our mon our first public hearing um the Coalition for Sonor and Desert Protection uh did acknowledge that uh they um apologize for missing the 60-day review process, but uh did submit a letter uh um discussing um the application of the Puma County Conservation Land System on the unincorporated properties. um uh at the time of annexation. So um that's really generally the CCAP area. Uh and um and so the requested policy language that was asked to be included is that first item that says apply Puma County Conservation Land System map and associated guidelines to future annexations. And so um just uh uh not a long explanation but uh because uh the CCAP area um is in the county, it's governed by the county and thus uh the county has uh this unique conservation land system to um uh address environmental considerations for uh key corridors. um whether that be wash corridors and and those types of environmental aspects. Um and so uh the request is I think in terms of our discussion with staff uh there's obviously a recognition from residents through my talking points that

the environment is important. Um however jumping from the county and the county's language and processes um is not a kind of onetoone aspect in terms of the town. And so what I mean by that is that uh the conservation land system is a tool that is applied at the zoning level first of all and the county zoning and zoning tools are not exactly consistent with the towns. There's different terminology. There's definitely different steps. And so, um, to simply add a statement that says, "Apply Puma County Conservation Land System map when, uh, land is annexed into the town would be a little bit of jumping a little too far ahead because we can't physically do it, uh, as uh, specified there. Um and uh for our benefit, the town has recently evaluated that conservation land system and some of uh the town's um ordinance updates and and um uh maintenance efforts on uh guiding documents. And so I think there are aspects of that that are already being infused into town policies and the town isn't uh in opposition to continuing to explore how those might be but needs that flexibility to incorporate those elements um in a manner that is in alignment with the processes of the town. And so we uh crafted alternative language that you see there suggested policy um which would be in the environmental chapter uh um uh policy 1.8 in post annexation entitlement reviews consider puma county conservation land system map and guidelines to balance new development within natural resource protection um

with I development with natural resource protection. So here you can see it's just a little twist on we understand the the benefits of it. We'll be mindful of it, but we're going to apply it in the way that uh is best suited for the tools that we uh use to guide growth in the town. So that was uh um presented um to uh to the commission for consideration. Um and also uh the commission through our conversations also had uh comments about wanting to provide a stronger policy that recognizes the need for economic growth but balances out uh not at the expense of water conservation andor air quality. And so I think it's that notion we were just talking about in the Sonoron corridor um is that uh within the general plan we have a lot of policies that might not necessarily complement each other. Um and that's common. Um uh what uh what commission wanted is recognizing those those conflicts uh clarifying statement that make sure that we're not sacrificing one over the other. And so um in the meeting um there was policy language that was suggested to add uh LU policy 3.5 promote development that respects our local water resources and air quality by encouraging growth that is balanced with resource conservation and air quality management. So it's just a little nuance of we kind of say both of those uh separately but now putting them together that yes we put value on economic growth but not uh to sacrifice the environment. Um and so that was a a discussion that was had with the commissioners and then ultimately their recommendation. So what

will be before you on February 23rd will be a recommendation of approval of the general plan subject to adding these two policies. Um and and I won't reread them uh that uh the commission felt that um as proposed that they added to the plan and thus their motion included these. Um so that would be what is um up for consideration by council. Um what we would do is uh bring forward some of the revisions we discussed this evening at our next meeting and uh based on what council uh agrees with those revisions um you would also consider these in making your final motion.

Um thank you for that and know I'm certainly much more comfortable with the recommended new policy EV envu 1.8 than the other one because that I don't know enough about that plan that I'd want to wholesale, you know, bring it in. Um, and not knowing what will, you know, develop to the east, right? If it's, um, I think someone mentioned it, if it's industrial, if it's retail, if it's residential, that's going to be a whole different conversation, right? On how that would look. So considering it not knowing the future and I know we want to keep a general plan at more 50,000 ft you know than implementation cuz we don't know over the next 10 years what that will look like. I'm certainly much com more comfortable with that one as well as the second one cuz we do respect it. Um but it you know c council member po mentioned it especially as it comes to air and water. um we don't control those types of things, but we do have

um a conversation of how we weigh in, you know, on those. So, creating that balance. So, me personally, I'm comfortable with with both of those because it does give us the flexibility not knowing how these things will develop and what will change. I we get these updates on the floodway and the flood man um uh flood plane maps all the time, right? So, a lot of that's out of our control as well and how it how it could develop today. based on geological maps will could be different 5 10 years from now. Mayor, mayor and council,

I just wanted to acknowledge uh the the last two slides where we're bringing forward feedback and and and information or recommendations from the P&Z commission in those public hearings. It's really hot off the press. Um those hearings occurred last week and so this information wasn't able to be included in your council packet. So, if we have to spend a little more time on these last two slides to make sure you're comfortable with that, I just wanted to put a pause and and make sure we we do that. Absolutely. Diane, yeah, I'm not comfortable. Micro,

sorry, I feel uneasy with this because I still think it needs to be developed more. Um, particularly because we don't own the water companies and we don't own the utility companies. Our role in my vision, my my view as a town council member is to work with the agencies that issue the licenses and the permits. If there's a problem with their standards, then it's not then it's up to the uh governing bodies and how those policies and rules and regulations are changed or mandated. Mayor.

Yeah. And yeah, the Arizona Corporation Commission. C

can I maybe help a little bit here? And that is again going back to this as a guideline for you when you're making land use decisions either in the current town limits or as you as we expand eastward. and that is that if you're going to be making, you know, land use type decisions, reszonings, use permits, those kinds of things in particular, this document is intended to help guide you with those decisions. So, in other words, if you wait, you don't have to have control of the water company, utilities, or regulate air quality, air quality, right? But if if let's say you put a lot of emphasis and weight on air quality and and somebody comes in and earlier today Vulcan was mentioned somebody comes in and they want to propose a use that may have an impact on air quality. This document is intended to help guide you to say we, you know, even though it's going to bring X jobs or XTP or whatever other benefits there are, this document is going to help you make those decisions regardless of whether you you're the regulatory agency or whether you own the water company or the utilities. Um, this document is supposed to help guide you in those decisions. So you don't if you don't if you don't like the fact that this proposed development is bringing in a bunch of traffic which is affect affects air quality. You you you're you use this document as basically a support to say no we don't really like this or listen we like this but you're going to have to cut back on the amount of car traffic it generates so you're gonna have to bus in employees or those kinds of things. So don't you know so I guess what I'm trying to say is don't look at this as a regulatory document and and it

doesn't matter that we don't control the air quality regulations the water quality water amounts water companies whether we have whether we regulate utilities or not if you have concerns that um we you know if one of the impacts is let's say and I'm going a little far field let's say it's green energy becomes a real important an issue for a council on this general plan or future general plans. You you know the fact that the the town has zero control over electric utilities and how they generate you electricity is not is not what this plan is intended to do. It's plan it's intended to help you make a decision. We really don't want this proposed project because and then you point to the general plan elements to say it's going to have negative impacts on environment, water, water quality, water amount, traffic, air quality. it's going to impact, you know, so, you know, the things that we may not regulate, but that's that's exactly why you would say we don't really want this project because we don't like the fact that it's going to bring um some it's going to impact air quality issues and we have zero control over the ability to regulate it. You you know, you follow.

Yeah. I follow, but I'm still a little confused because like in Vulcan, which they voluntarily pulled out, um if we're talking about air quality and they're meeting meeting the air quality standards of the of the state permit and we come in and say, "Well, I don't really like that project and you need to cut twice as much as you're required to do." I just

it's really it really goes to it really goes to approvals. So, and the in Vulcan, the problem with Vulcan is it's a use permit versus more of like a reasonzoning type decision. And so, you know, you you look at the general plan, particularly when it comes to resoning, and say, is this resoning consistent with the general plan? And you can go, well, the the land use map says it is, but you have four other elements that say it really is not. And that's where the the consultant says, you know, it does there's a lot of parts of the general plan that sort of don't that contradict each other. So you could have you could have a a proposed land use a proposed reasonzoning that's consistent with the land use map,

but it's not consistent with let's say the focus or emphasis on air quality, water quality, traffic impacts. So just because it's consistent with the land use element of the general plan doesn't mean you're required to approve a resoning because it could have because there are other elements that it that don't support the reasonzoning request. When it gets below resonings it's it's a little bit more of a challenge for like use permits and things like that because they're they're sort of very finite terms of decision-m process. Reszoning is where you have all that discretion.

Right. Right. I think that's a So, that's what I'm trying to get at is is it, you know, if you focus if if one of the emphases or some of the emphases you want to focus on are water quality, water use, uh, traffic, air quality, you you can do that in the general plan. Even though we don't we aren't the regulatory body of any of that, but it because it's intended to help you make decisions that that precisely because we don't regulate air quality, we can reject a a development, a reasonzoning, let's say, that's going to have an impact on air quality. Even though they say, well, we're going to comply with all the minimum air quality requirements. If you can the general plan helps you make that decision, say that so what? We still don't like the project because we don't like the impact it's going to have, you know, on on air quality even though you're going to meet the minimum requirements. That's what the general plan is allows you to do. So I I I don't I I'm trying to say don't get hung up on the fact that we don't control water, electricity, air quality. You know, we aren't the regulatory body. This is intended to help you make decisions precisely because we don't have regulatory authority over those things.

Right. Well, I think the clarity for me was when you talked about a reasonzoning um because I don't know if this is a good example, but when we did the for the apartments, right, we went to three stories and um you know, we could have said, "Oh, that hard corner, you know, is not good or good or there is traffic, so we would require maybe a light or something along those lines." Is that a better comparison? because of well I guess I guess the let's say actually that wasn't even we don't really have it in our general plan but some places have protection of the view corridor

you know um as as as a environmental element or I guess that'd be probably environmental element and so you would you would look at a a proposed re and again it's primarily when you're looking at zoning yeah yeah you know when you get below that it gets a little bit more, like you said, more more complex when you're looking at zoning questions simply because, you know, the the the the applicant's going to come in and say, "Our proposal is consistent with the general plan because the land use map says this is a this is a permitted use,

but you have 13 elements, 10 elements that you could look at as well to say, well, it's inconsistent with four others or five others." And so that's where I think if you're if you want to find or focus on things like air quality, water quality, uh water usage, uh power usage, impacts on park and recreation, which we do have probably more control over than some of the other elements. you you get you get to look at the general plan and say because it doesn't it's not consistent with or conflicts with these elements and we're going to weight these elements over let's say TPT generation sorry AC or or job creation or something or it or you get to you get to sort of

put them on that scale you know the old fashioned you know scales of justice and go it weighs heavy on job creation and tax generation but but we're going to kind weight the other pieces of it and so we get to say no and again primarily focusing on reszoning requests is where that's where I'm more comfortable because you know when we use some of those other examples you know like Vulcan right it was a cup and there's personal property rights and there's all kinds of things but I guess I was always taught a reasonzoning is the proper place to balance all of those other factors

that's where the council has I don't want to say unfettered discretion, but discretion, pretty much the widest discretion you have. And as you go down the decision-making matrix, you have less and less discretion. And use permits are again a permitted use subject to conditions, which is more limited clearly than a reszoning, right? That is purely legislative in nature. And this document is intended intended to guide that legislative decision, right, Diane?

Okay. So, is it possible then to incorporate in that document that it's that it's most applicable to resoning situations? And I don't expect the general public to know the difference between a CUP3 and a resoning, but we certainly do because with the CUP3 substantially mitigate is just like tattooed in my brain of what our standard was when we looked at this. So uh and I certainly remember during Vulcan so many people with the call to the public used this document to say you're in violation. So while we are forming a new one, why would we not want to incorporate something that helps differentiate that? It's more applicable for reasonzoning situations rather than CUP3 kinds of things.

Does that make sense, Matt? um as far as well I mean because because is the general plan in itself a nexus to you know resoning or we supposed to know that or is the average public supposed to know that? How do you

And thank you, mayor. You just touched on uh this is wonderful dialogue and I appreciate everyone being so thoughtful because that is, as I like to use the phrase, the that's why we're hired, right, is to thread that needle for you. And that's where I think our homework is. Um because everything that was said is accurate in that we don't want to give false promises. However, the public reads this document and is not always informed to the extent that uh they uh um can be on a particular topic and so they may want to see this language even though we can't necessarily completely control it. So there's value in having the language but word smithing it so we don't give a false sense of expectation. Um and so I think uh um uh the comments about um waiting uh policies because again policies can conflict within the general plan and the purpose is to allow the flexibility at any point in time to um have the conversation to understand what's going to take on more need in the community at that given time. But if we stand here today and say no, we know for a fact that we want to convey to the public that we're not going to place economic development above how we look at the environment, then there is value, I think, in having a policy like that as long as we refine it to make sure we're not suggesting that we uh can do something we can't. Well, and also to that point, you know, when you're promoting development with respecting all these other things because this is also a document, all seven of us could change, right? So, you don't want to lock in a council that says you either we always respect economic development amongst everything else or we don't, you know, either way, you don't want to lock necessarily, I don't think in a general planning document, lock anybody in because we could all change over time. Right.

Right. So, I I think we'll uh we we understand the assignment. We'll do our best to bring back some language and uh we might even have options or something to see if if one lands better than the other. Great. Thank you. Is everybody okay with that so far with the whole conversation? Waiting to see we bring what you bring back. Yeah, that's uh me too.

Think of Sears good, better, best something along those. Well, um uh so I'll just close uh just um already went through um the planning and zoning commission hearings. So naturally, uh we're here on the 9th with our work session, but be back before council on February 23rd. Um uh what I would emphasize is uh the note that was shared by um uh our town manager in terms of the uh primary um uh election being moved to July instead of August. And so there is a state mandate in terms of the general plan. I I'm not sure given this emergency clause how it aligns up, but uh statutoily we must have this plan adopted by council 120 days before the August uh date. Now that it's moved up a little, the good thing is we're still 120 days out um uh uh with that February 23rd date. We would love to hold that date. there's a small little window that if we can't come to some conclusion on the 23rd that

that means we all have to come back. So just keep that in mind. So we really want to be motivated on February 23rd to fix that. Well said, Mayor. So with that, I'll uh end my presentation and uh seek any final comments. Thank you. Um yes, go ahead. I was curious the number of responses that we got through all the endeavors over these long months. Uh are they a statistically significant that that's a an appropriate number of responses when a town does a general plan? Were they was it was there enough meat on the bone?

That's a great great way of putting it. they were statistically significant but not a uh scientifically uh administered survey. So when uh if we wanted to uh administer a robust survey then you may recognize in some of your own line of work that you would look at certain uh areas of the community, certain demographics of the community and make sure you're pulling from all of those. this process just opened it to the public and those who would participate participated. So the responses we always would love to have them hire um but in terms of the level of responses that we received um it was higher than communities that we work in that are three times the size of the town. Um again everyone will look at that and go wow that's not a lot. Um uh but it's just there's a lot of competing, you know, uh initiatives in um not only just from a town perspective, but anyone's life and what their interests are. And so to get someone to comment, uh and and review the plan is sometimes challenging, but um uh we had some great touch points at your public events. So, those are our opportunities that even if we didn't get a survey, we at least were able to have those conversations with residents and they could remember hopefully when they see this on a ballot of, oh, I was at Stars and Stripes and I remember talking to them about it and so, okay, wow, it looks like they went through a process and hopefully that will um encourage them to be supported.

Yeah. And I always think that, you know, we're a big community of transplant, you know, folks from other states. And I never heard about a general plan. Um, even if you go back 10 years ago, you know, um um just the importance of it, what it means, what it doesn't mean. So, I like the fact that we did go to our community events. I know it's not scientifically, you know, accurate sampling, but it is the biggest turnout. you know, Stars and Stripes and right um uh Fiesta Salerita, you know, those kinds of things. You do get lots of bodies there. So, but it's good to know that, you know, we did get a number, you know, more than uh communities, three times as large as

Yeah. Especially that last survey, as I emphasize, usually we're in the double digits and we're still triple digits at that point. So, that made us a little more comfortable. um when we have low, you know, it's a little uneasy because you don't feel like you um uh understand the the the pulse, but um your residents stayed engaged. We had a few residents that really uh helped us along the way, too. And so, um we're uh we're happy with where the plan is, but think with the dialogue this evening, we can get even stronger. Um and hopefully that's something that the community will support in July.

Yep. Well, thanks for all your work with us and to staff and all of the work cuz when you're doing these events, right, you know, it's park and wreck and you know, others that have um the work the heavy load that goes with it. I would love mayor to reiterate or uh to support that that while we are asked to help with this general plan uh especially your uh planning team has to shepherd a lot of effort on their end in addition to their kind of daily responsibility. So I commend staff for shephering this um and uh it's been a enjoyable process. Well, it was an ongoing dialogue. Anybody else have any comments? I think we covered most of the things as we went along which I always enjoy doing. So thank you. Thank you.

Having no more further business for our council. We're journal.