TOWN OF GILBERT REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION

REGULAR MEETING OF AUGUST 19, 2004, 6:30 PM.

132 W. BRUCE AVENUE
GILBERT, ARIZONA

COMMISSION PRESENT: Chairman Fresquez, Vice Chairman King, Commissioner Thomson, and Commissioner Valentine

COMMISSION ABSENT: Commissioner Iacobazzi

STAFF PRESENT: Economic Development Director Greg Tilque, Town Manager George Pettit, Planning Manager Linda Edwards, Senior Planner Mario Mangiamele, Deputy Town Manager Tami Ryall and Administrative Assistant Elizabeth Stupski

OTHERS PRESENT: Sam Bromert (Liberty Market), David van den Berg (Arizona Republic), Brian Powell (AZ Tribune), Kelly Mixer (Gilbert Independent), Kathy Langdon (Chamber of Commerce), Chad Lares (The Museum of Military History)

ROLL CALL
Roll was called and a quorum was declared.

COMMUNICATION FROM CITIZENS
Chairman Fresquez opened the floor to the public for any comments or communications on items not on the agenda. Mr. Chad Lares, President of the Museum of Military History expressed an interest in the possibility of building a military museum in Gilbert. He requested the item be placed on a future agenda to present the idea in more detail. Economic Development Director Tilque instructed Mr. Lares to contact him to coordinate getting on the next agenda.

Mary Ellen Fresquez spoke as a citizen with regards to the barricades put up by the town for the Gilbert Days parade last year as being unfriendly. She said she has never seen such monitoring and crowd control at a parade. She will go to Town Council with the matter.

3.        Minutes - Approve the Regular meeting of June 17, 2004
Chairman Fresquez and Commissioner Valentine indicated they would abstain from the vote to approve the regular meeting minutes of June 17, 2004. A quorum was not present and approval of the minutes was tabled until the next regular meeting.

PUBLIC HEARING
DR99 - 100 Ole Mexican Cantina
Planning Manager Edwards presented the request to amend the sign package for the La Comida Ranchera/Ole Mexican Cantina located at 459 N. Gilbert Road which includes a quarter barrel awning with lettering and open channel letters for the lower wall.

Planning Manager Edwards stated that in the Heritage District Redevelopment Plan and Chapter 10 of the General Plan it addresses specific signage allowed and the vinyl material is not allowed. She continued to state the signage should reflect the characteristics of the area and be compatible with the architecture of the building. She was not sure whether the La Comida sign above the entrance doors on the patio would remain. Staff will check with the applicant.

Proposed signage:
Quarter barrel awning attached to the patio cover facing Gilbert Road would be constructed of aluminum tubing covered in a yellow vinyl fabric.   Vinyl letters would be attached to the fabric.
Ole sign on the low wall facing Gilbert Road are open channel letters with 5″ deep returns. The channel letters are painted red with clear acrylic faces with double tube clear red neon illumination.

The Design Review Board recommended approval of the low wall signage but did not support the quarter barrel vinyl awning with lettering for the reasons that they felt the awning acts as a billboard, use of vinyl material and the sign does not compliment with the architecture.

The Commission was given an opportunity to comment on the proposed sign package. Commission Thomson asked if the applicant was made aware of the sign code and restrictions. Planning Manager Edwards responded yes. Commissioners Valentine and Thomson both agreed there was no problem with the low wall signage but did not like the barrel awning as it was out of scale, inappropriate color and incompatible with the architecture of the building.    Chairman Fresquez did not have a problem with the quarter barrel awning if in a different color such as green or black and in a material other than vinyl. They made a suggestion that the applicant look at other types of signage such as a blade sign or something else that is permitted in the Heritage District.

(Commissioner King joined the meeting.) Chairman Fresquez recapped the discussion for the benefit of Commissioner King.

A MOTION was made by Commissioner Valentine, seconded by Commission Thomson, to approve DR99 - 100, an amendment to the signage for La Comida Ranchera/Ole Mexican Cantina, subject to the following conditions:
1.        Construction of the project shall conform with the exhibits presented and conditions stipulated by the Redevelopment Commission at the August 19, 2004 public hearing.
2.        The quarter barrel awning with vinyl fabric and vinyl letters shall be deleted from the exhibits and is not permitted to be constructed.

Voice vote carried 4 - 0.

Planning Manager Edwards will notify applicant of decision as well as advise them of their options. It is possible for the applicant to come back to the Commission next month for reconsideration. Commissioner Thomson would like the applicant to delay moving forward with the low wall signage on building until alternative signage is looked at.

ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS
5.        Heritage District Pedestrian Improvement Project
Deputy Town Manager Ryall announced the Town of Gilbert is close to receiving an $80,000 grant through the Pedestrian Assistance Design Program and the Maricopa Associations of Government. The grant will be used to do an assessment of all of the sidewalks in the redevelopment area starting with the linkage model of looking to connect the senior center and all the destination points, see if the Town is in compliance with ADA regulations at existing facilities and where there are no facilities and match up other destinations points. She explained the overall process and how the Redevelopment Commission would play in the process. Phase 1 would include an inventory and preparing a master plan.

Deputy Town Manager Ryall indicated the Town had to compete with the City of Phoenix project of connecting the light rail route.

She said as soon as the Town receives the final approval and has a consultant on - board, open houses, public meetings, hearings, etc. will be scheduled.

6.        Park - N - Ride Lot
Deputy Town Manager Ryall gave an update on the status of the Park - N - Ride Lot and distributed sketches of the architectural design, layout and landscaping as well as a detailed schedule for construction.

Highlights of the project:
Located at Oak Street and Page Avenue
Federally funded project
Provides 250 parking spaces
Extremely heavily landscaped
Design theme is of a replica train depot
Project has been in the works for a number of years
Construction has started on project
Reconstruction of Vaughan Avenue, Ash Street, Oak Street and Page Avenue. Oak Street will have white concrete paving.
Completion date January 17, 2005

7.        Z01 - 9 Proposed Town of Gilbert Draft Land Development Code, Article 2.7: Heritage Village Center Zoning District and Article 6.1: Use Definition
Senior Planner Mangiamele gave a brief background of the Land Development Code.
Contract awarded on October 5, 2000 after a national search for a comprehensive update of the Unified Land Development Code. Contract not renewed and Town chose to prepare it in - house.
Staff has been drafting comprehensive revisions to the existing ULDC to streamline zoning and subdivision regulations and incorporate new use regulations and standards under the new name Land Development Code (LDC)
Major objective was to provide a regulatory document easier to use and understand as well as clarifying and simplifying the procedures the Town uses to carry out the LDC’s requirements.
LDC to eliminate internal inconsistencies and unnecessary information.
Update is being coordinated with other Town plans and projects including revisions to the administrative review process and adoption of the Commercial Design Guidelines.
LCD to include six divisions for the zoning regulations:
Division 1:        General Provisions
Establishes the overall organization of the LDC, general rules, rules for measurement, and rules for interpretation of the zoning text and Zoning Map
Division 2:        Land Use Designations
Includes use - based zoning districts (i.e., single - family, multi - family, commercial and village center districts)
Division 3:        Overlay District Regulations
Includes “overlay” district regulations, additional rules that apply only in critical areas identified in the General Plan (i.e., Santan Freeway corridor and Gateway Character Area)
Division 4:        General Regulations
Includes specific rules to regulate certain uses regardless of where they occur (i.e., site development regulations and requirements for off - street parking, landscaping and signage)
Division 5:        Administration
How do we do things (roles of the Commissions), Town procedures
Division 6:        General Terms
Glossary of the use definitions and general terms.
Proposed revisions to the ULDC have prompted the development of a new zoning classification system to effectively implement the vision of General Plan 2001.

He stated that the main intent of this presentation is to keep the Commission up to speed, receive feedback as to whether the Town is on the right track or off base and any comments, concerns or suggestions.

Senior Planner Mangiamele mentioned the primary difference from the existing Unified Land Development Code (ULDC) is that the Town does not currently have a base zoning district to implement the goals of the Heritage District Redevelopment Plan or General Plan for the area along Gilbert Road. The Heritage Village Center zoning district was drafted to promote small - scale, pedestrian - oriented mixed use development, consistent with the Heritage District Redevelopment Plan and General Plan.

Heritage Village Center Zoning District includes:
Provisions of regulations to support pedestrian - oriented uses, while prohibiting auto - oriented uses (e.g., ground floor retail and restaurant uses?with scale and storefront width limits)
Provision of regulations for second story uses, particularly for residential uses, office uses, artisan and loft units in an effort to support a higher living and working population in the Heritage Village Center.

Limitations on building bulk and scale (e.g., maximum storefront widths), including user size limitations to promote pedestrian scale uses.
Maximum floor area ratios to maximize the amount of building to land area in an effort to achieve more compact and walk - able development
Minimum building heights of 2 stories to encourage mixed - use buildings and more compact development. Relief valve - Building height request for single story buildings may be approved by the Redevelopment Commission.
Restrictions on building height to 30 feet or 2 stories as recommended by Heritage District Redevelopment Plan.
Uniform “build to” lines (aka maximum building setbacks). Staff does anticipate some concerns re: the second story “building - to” lines as recommended by the Redevelopment Plan (entire upper floor building facades cannot be set back more than 10′.
Limitation on visible blank walls and standards for transparency (requiring windows, doors along Gilbert Road).
Requirements for pedestrian access for ground floor uses.
Restrictions on off - street parking areas by requiring a 50 foot setback from arterial streets resulting parking being located to the side or rear of buildings. Article 4.2: Parking Regulations does support off - site parking in the Heritage District.
Restrictions on driveway locations to require vehicular access off non - arterial streets or alleys
Provisions of use regulations that will also permit: Personal Services (barber and beauty shops, massage therapy, nail salons and seamstresses) as well as specialized instructional services (arts, crafts, dance or music studios, diet centers) and small - scale public and semi - public uses including small scale schools and small scale religious assembly.

The Planning & Zoning Commission reviewed the draft in July and expressed a concern regarding some of the uses included under personal services (tattoo parlors and piercing studios). The concern was hours of operations. Staff has revised the Personal Services Use Definition by separating these 2 uses out into a new definition. The Redevelopment Commission would like to have a look at:
Concerns and notes from the Planning & Zoning Commission
Section 4.5 Additional Regulations for a Tattoo Parlor
The Commission did not feel it would be appropriate to have additional restrictions for this type of alternative lifestyle.

Concerns, comments of the Commission:
Second Story uses?does not want to be restricted and that retail should be an opportunity. Senior Planner Mangiamele indicated that Table 2.402 Land Use Regulations described the uses and 6.1 Glossary of terms.
Outdoor Retail Sales & Merchandise Display as all outdoor retail sales and merchandise displays shall be approved by the Redevelopment Commission. Said it is a common occurrence. Senior Planner Mangiamele responded that it might be appropriate just to permit that in maximum area (apply limitations)
Presumes 2.403 requirements A, B, C? are subject to variances. In particular, D Storefronts and Access?A minimum 75 percent of ground floor building lengths or width along the front of the building shall consist of windows, window displays, doors, or a combination thereof. Does not have any dimensions as to what size windows have to be (night club?would not want a lot of windows). Senior Planner Mangiamele responded from a planner’s standpoint is it really supporting the pedestrian - oriented goals and objectives of the Redevelopment Plan. He understands the comment and sympathizes with it. With a variance process, a zoning variance could be applicable to any type of regulation that is measurable and provided that it adheres to the findings required by state statutes. Very tough test.

In closing, Senior Planner Mangiamele is in the process of establishing open houses, public meetings and hearings in the fall for the draft LDC in its entirety. If the Commission has any additional comments, please contact him directly.

8.        Chamber of Commerce Relocation
Commissioner Valentine declared a Conflict of Interest and excused himself from participating in discussion and action. A conflict form is on file in the Economic Development Department.

A letter of support of the Redevelopment Commission for the relocation of the Gilbert Chamber of Commerce to the Heritage Annex Building was read by Chairman Fresquez. The Commission encourages the Town management and Council to diligently pursue executing lease arrangements with the Chamber to keep this vital operation within the Heritage District.

Commissioner Thomson said he would have appreciated receiving a copy of the letter prior to the meeting to give him time to read the contents. He had no objection to the Chamber moving to the Heritage Annex Building.

A MOTION was made by Chairman Fresquez, seconded by Commissioner Thomson, to forward the letter of support for the Relocation of the Gilbert Chamber of Commerce to the Heritage Annex facility to the Gilbert Town Council. Voice vote carried 3 - 0 - 1.

9.        Update on Projects in the Heritage District
Economic Development Director Tilque highlighted some of the current projects in the Heritage District:
Planning on taking the Development Agreement for Oregano’s Pizza Bistro to Town Council on September 7th for approval.
Traffic Engineering Department is still waiting to hear from the company regarding installing a larger speed traffic control device for a test period. Department has not heard back from company and will look at other vendors. Chairman Fresquez inquired whether timing for the signal at Page Avenue and Gilbert Road has been changed. Economic Development Director Tilque will check to see if it has been done.
Water Tower Coalition has a meeting scheduled next week. The Coalition’s intent is to have some preliminary plans for the Redevelopment Commission next month. A question was asked about the timeline or timeframe and is it nearing. Economic Development Director Tilque did not know and will research it.
Euro Café opened for business in the old Café Au Pwah location in Heritage Court.
K & K Papery had their grand opening ribbon cutting ceremony with the Chamber of Commerce August 19th. K & K Papery handles wedding invitations, etc.
On the QT Quilt Shop opened a few months ago in the Heritage Court building.
The RFP for the Old Boys & Girls Club site was issued July 26th. Deadline to submit is September 24th. No responses have been received to date.

Chairman Fresquez had a question about the Stamped Asphalt and options of closing or not closing Gilbert Road for construction. She would like to know if the merchants were contacted for their opinion or feeling. Economic Development Director Tilque did not know and will get in touch with Street Superintendent Flores.

COMMUNICATIONS
10.        Report from Chairman on current and future events
No report.

11.        Report from Economic Development Director on current and future events
No report.

12.        Report from Commissioners on current and future events.
None.

ADJOURNMENT
A MOTION was made by Commissioner Thomson, seconded by Commissioner Valentine, to adjourn the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m.

ATTEST:

Mary Ellen Fresquez, Chairman

Elizabeth A. Stupski, Recorder

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