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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - City Council - Meeting Date: 12/11/2017City of Glendale 5850 West Glendale Avenue Glendale, AZ 85301 Meeting Minutes Monday, December 11, 2017 10:00 A.M. Special Workshop Meeting Civic Center Annex City Council Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Ian Hugh Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner CALL TO ORDER Mayor Weiers called the meeting to order at 10:02 a.m. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Jerry Weiers Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner Absent: Vice Mayor Ian Hugh (Excused) Also Present: Kevin Phelps, City Manager; Tom Duensing, Assistant City Manager; Michael Bailey,. City Attorney; Julie K. Bower, City Clerk; Jack Friedline, Assistant City Manager WORKSHOP SESSION 1. COUNCIL POLICY GUIDANCE — SESSION 4 Presented By: Sam McAllen, Development Services Director Ms. Bower read the item by title. Mr. McAllen said the current annexation policy was last amended in 2014. The goal was to review and revise the policy. Questions to ask were: • Why the City annexed properties • Where it could annex • Anticipated results of annexation • Short term budget impacts • Long term budget impacts Mr. McAllen said other questions included: • Did the City want to expand geographically • Did it want to increase population and add components of diversity • Did annexation need to pay for itself • Would the City supplement short term costs to achieve long term goals • Did the annexation need to have a positive financial impact • What was the goal of the policy Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the residential fees covered the City's costs for Zanjero Pass. Mr. McAllen said there were three existing pre -annexation development agreements (PADA) in the western area: • Loop 303 Phase 1 Utility Group • Maricopa County Municipal Water Conservation District Number One • Loop 303 Peoria LLC Mr. McAllen said there were no residential development impact fees for Zanjero Pass but the developer had agreed to pay in-kind per residential unit. It was part of one of the larger PADAs, the Loop 303 Phase 1 Utility Group. City Council Workshop Minutes - December 11, 2017 Page 2 of 7 Councilmember Clark asked if the two annexation agreements had been executed. Mr. McAllen said the agreements had been approved. Councilmember Clark asked if staff prepared a budgetary analysis for each annexation. Mr. McAllen was not aware of any analysis. Councilmember Clark said that was a major factor for consideration and financial implications were extremely important. Councilmember Turner said Zanjero Pass was surrounded by vacant land. He asked if there would be access once other areas came online. Craig Johnson, Water Services Director, said there would be arrangements made to get sewer and water services when it was developed. There were no current services. Councilmember Turner verified that the City was required to approve the annexation. Mr. McAllen said that was correct. Councilmember Turner said one thing not explained to Council at the time was if it was the best for them and for the City Councilmember Tolmachoff did not want to have these open-ended PADAs because a lot could change over such a long period of time. Timing should be part of the discussion. An economic impact study from 2005 was of no use to Council. Mr. Phelps said when considering the economics -of annexation, return on investment (ROI) should be considered. Did annexation need to pay for itself. The type of annexation — commercial or residential — was another consideration. What were the goals for annexation and what was the phasing of annexation. Councilmember Clark was not prepared to address the type of annexation until she had more information. She asked what a residential unit cost the City. She didn't know the financial implications. Mr. Phelps said the challenge in answering her question was that was it one house at the western edge or 1,000 houses built in the middle of the City. Was it a starter home costing $200,000 or a home costing $400,000. There were one-time costs and ongoing costs. There were many variables. Councilmember Clark understood and that was why when talking about annexation, it had to be done on a case-by-case basis with an analysis for each. Mr. Phelps said the policy didn't have to be site specific. Commercial could require an ROI within six years and residential would pay for essential services at year two. Councilmember Malnar wanted to address each one of the questions and have a discussion. He suggested focusing on one at a time. He believed growth should pay for itself and agreed it should be on a case-by-case basis. Councilmember Turner agreed with Councilmember Malnar. Given that annexation would occur in the western area, it was important to consider the voter -approved general plan. City Council Workshop Minutes - December 11, 2017 Page 3 of 7 Mr. Phelps said the applicant would have to demonstrate a reasonable balance of cost and revenue. That might force the applicant to look at a commercial component with residential development. Councilmember Tolmachoff said it•seemed more like a strategy instead of a policy. Growth should pay for itself and generally residential didn't pay for itself and had to have a commercial component. Mr. Phelps said it depended upon how ROI was defined. The policy could require an economic study to show the benefits. The goal was not to have a restrictive policy. Mayor Weiers didn't have a problem annexing if the City got a ROI, even if it took some time. Councilmember Clark was not sure Council could come up with a policy as much as a philosophy with regard to annexation. Guidelines were more appropriate and it took analysis. Mayor Weiers said housing by itself wouldn't return the investment but with sales tax, that made a difference and should be taken into account. Councilmember Turner said paychecks and money going to restaurants, stores, etc., had to be factored in so it might not be necessary that the annexation pay for itself. He requested a map of the area so Council would know what was already operating with a PADA. It had to be looked at globally, not every development would provide an ROI. Councilmember Malnar said another question was, did Council want an increase in population or did it not want to grow significantly from the current population. Mr. Phelps said the City should be hesitant to change from commercial to residential. It may want residential to meet different thresholds compared to commercial. He said there were fewer amenities until a development was closer to build -out so phasing should be discussed. Councilmember Malnar said the general plan should be used to determine where to develop. Councilmember Aldama said a question was how many residents was Council thinking about and what was the timeframe goal. Mr. McAllen said the general plan took the City to 2040 and it was a voter -approved intent for the western parcels: Councilmember Aldama said the general plan should be the guiding document. He suggested there be a minimum for retail per a certain number of rooftops. Mayor Weiers said commercial development was going to occur but would it occur in the City. Mr. Phelps said it depended on where the City's leverage existed. There were limited tools to go forward with right now. The development impact fees (DIF) were not collected if the property developed before it was annexed into the City. He suggested working with the county to make it part of the discussion on policy. Councilmember Turner wanted a general plan map. The general plan only applied to annexed property. It might not be worthwhile for some properties to be annexed by the City. The City should be incentivizing the properties it wanted. Councilmember Clark asked what was the general philosophy for the western area. Was it to be a job center or to increase population. It was a signal the City could send to developers. Council City Council Workshop Minutes - December 11, 2017 Page 4 of 7 should articulate its vision for the area. It should fall on the side of primarily commercial and Council should consider an over -arching statement. Mayor Weiers said Council had to look at everything because there were always pros and cons. Mr. Phelps said the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) was projecting that Glendale would be the recipient of new jobs over the coming years and that was an important part of policy. The City should proactively look for commercial, job-related annexations and development and define and measure the benefit. It should control the type, quality and quantity of residential. The City was positioned to be the biggest force in the West Valley. Mayor Weiers said the Luke Air Force Base noise contours limited residential in certain areas. Councilmember Clark would like a copy of the noise contour map and what was allowable in each corridor. Mr. McAllen said the PADA articulated land uses, infrastructure improvements, municipal services and fee information. It provided assurances to both parties. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if there was any legal reason for not doing open-ended agreements and for setting timeframes. Mr. McAllen said the City could place a term in the agreements. Mr. Phelps said the City was under no obligation to annex but the property had to apply for annexation. It gave the City more leverage. Councilmember Turner said there could be some protections in the PADA. Staff was responsible for updating Council. He felt like Council was not being provided with enough information and was not being kept informed. Mr. Johnson said the objectives were to review and confirm current water policy. The current policy said that viable private companies would provide water and sewer services to the annexed areas located beyond the City's service area. Service providers were governed by the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) and annexation incentives were not available. Capital and infrastructure costs were the responsibility of the providers. There was an estimated $20 — $30 million in operations and maintenance (O&M) annually if the City was responsible. Staff was recommending that the City continue with the current policy. Mr. Johnson said there had been concerns expressed with private providers. The ACC set private rates and quality requirements for water, wastewater and stormwater. It had procedures in case of a discontinuance, abandonment or bankruptcy. All providers had to meet the same standards for water quality. The City provided assistance whenever called upon. He said there were two municipalities that provided service inside the city limits — Surprise and Peoria. Councilmember Aldama asked how the City charged for water if it didn't provide sewer. He asked who provided the infrastructure. Mr. Johnson would provide Council with details regarding pricing and who was responsible for infrastructure. Mr. Johnson said there had to be an assured water supply. It was the state program that insured a proper 100 -year supply of water. On the private side, the developer was responsible for getting a certificate of assured water supply. City Council Workshop Minutes - December 11, 2017 Page 5 of 7 Mr. Johnson said subsidence occurred when water was pulled out of the ground and there had been 18 feet of subsidence from 1957 to 1991 in the area because of uncontrolled pumping prior to 1980. The Groundwater Management Act put a stop to that and now there was a requirement for recharging to replace what was taken out. Councilmember Turner asked what had occurred since 1991. Mr. Johnson said east of 115th, there was no sign of subsidence. West of 115th, there was less than two inches of subsidence since 2000. It was monitored annually. Mr. Johnson said staff would come back with a presentation on stormwater which was regulated by federal and state agencies to alleviate the contamination of U.S. waters. Once annexed, the jurisdiction would be the City's. He said a discussion about O&M, master planning, and funding would be necessary. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if failures were handled by the ACC. Mr. Johnson said the ACC had responsibility to ensure citizens and businesses kept service. If there was a failure, the ACC would assign a manager and involve adjacent service providers to minimize impacts to customers. Councilmember Turner asked if there was a fund for that. Mr. Johnson did not have that information but would find out. Councilmember Turner asked if the ACC could assign the City to take over service. Mr. Johnson said the City would be involved in the decision if it got to that point but it was not financially obligated. The private providers were financially sound. Councilmember Turner said stormwater would be part of the costs for that area for the City Mr. Phelps said stormwater would be part of the next presentation. The cost was rolled up into the water service charges. The question would be, did the City want to bill for stormwater services for those who didn't receive a water bill from the City. Mayor Weiers said there was consensus on continuing the current water policy. Mr. McAllen said staff would continue following up on items of interest identified by Council for continued education and discussion. Councilmember Malnar would like the maps to indicate all of the areas in unincorporated areas that had residential development. Councilmember Tolmachoff wanted a map of the general plan land uses in the next presentation. Councilmember Malnar wanted to know what kind of requests or inquiries the City was receiving for the properties. Councilmember Clark -wanted to know what tools were available for the Economic Development Department and what strategies would the department like Council to consider. Mr. Phelps said staff would gather additional information. He said the state -shared revenue per household was $323 annually. Economic development would be part of the next discussion and staff would create some potential guidelines for the next discussion. City Council Workshop Minutes - December 11, 2017 Page 6 of 7 ADJOURNMENT A motion was made by Councilmember Jamie Aldama, seconded by Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff to adjourn the meeting. AYE: Mayor Jerry Weiers Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner Other: Vice Mayor Ian Hugh (Excused) (ABSENT) Passed Mayor Weiers adjourned the meeting at 11:55 a.m. I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the meeting of the Glendale City Council of Glendale, Arizona, held on the 11th day of December, 2017. 1 further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this 21st day of December, 2017. K. Bower, MMC, City Clerk City Council Workshop Minutes - December 11, 2017 Page 7 of 7