CAVE CREEK – Associate Planner Luke Kautzman introduced the Windmill Village case to the planning commission as being continued from last month for the purpose of addressing two issues: traffic impact and an opinion from the town attorney.
Commissioner Peter Omundson recused himself and left the dais.
Planning Director Ian Cordwell said Town Attorney Bill Sims’ letter addressed concerns raised during the previous meeting by Eileen Wright and Katya Kincel that the zoning application, because it was requesting a change from Desert Rural (DR) zoning to a land use designation with greater density, required a major general plan amendment.
The town passed a resolution on Feb. 3, 2014 to amend the general plan, whereas a change in land use from DR to any other high density use would require a major general plan amendment.
During the August planning commission meeting, Cordwell said the higher density use was already designated in the Town Core Plan.
According to Sims, had the Town Core Plan not been adopted prior to the Feb. 3, 2014 amendment, their concern about triggering the process for a major general plan amendment would have been valid.
However, Sims said the Town Core Plan was adopted prior to the Feb. 3, 2014 amendment and, therefore, the zoning application is consistent with the high density residential land use designation set forth in the Town Core Plan for the property that is the subject of the zoning application without implicating the major general plan amendment process.
Cordwell stated the application, per Sims, is in compliance with the general plan.
Chairman David Smith said the other item of concern was the traffic study.
Kautzman stated the town engineer reviewed the traffic study and agreed with applicant’s engineer’s conclusions.
Applicant Ken Madden thanked all the commissioners for volunteering their time and asked them to keep the agenda item focused on the issues at hand.
Madden said, “We recognize there is an existing problem” and stated his Traffic Engineer Dawn Cartier of Civ Tech, Inc. was present to answer any questions.
Madden stated he held a second neighborhood meeting to listen to neighbors’ concerns.
Vice Chairman Bob Voris asked Madden to summarize those concerns.
Madden said, from his observations, there is a need for traffic calming and people are just driving too fast.
Before the median was altered, Madden said residents wanting to turn left from Galloway Drive on to Cave Creek Road had a refuge, whereas they could go across two lanes and wait at the median until it was safe to complete their turn.
Smith noted the report was based on a conceptual plan with 48 units but now they were talking about 30 units.
Madden emphasized how residents say there is a problem today with them getting on to Cave Creek Road and this was not a future problem.
Cartier provided an overview of the traffic study and said it was conducted in accordance with the town’s requirements.
She stated they have known issues with site distance due to landscaping, which was later clarified by Cordwell as not being on town property for the town to address.
Cartier said, according to traffic guidelines, the traffic looks great.
She said the median used to be 20 feet wide, which gave residents a way of dealing with the problem.
Cartier said she would not recommend an all-way stop sign at that location based on traffic conditions.
She said the town could build in a left-turn refuge at the median, but that would entail reducing lane width, recently reduced to 11-feet, by one foot. However she said she wouldn’t recommend that.
According to Cartier, all locations studied were below the threshold for a stop sign.
She said the current average wait time to turn on to Cave Creek Road in either direction is 11 seconds.
Commissioner Dick Frye asked Cartier about accidents at the intersection.
Cartier said she hadn’t been asked to do an accident inventory and stated residents’ concerns didn’t suggest there had been accidents, only near misses.
Commissioner Bruce McNeil asked if anyone knew what the difference in population was between summer and winter, noting the study was performed in the summer.
No one seemed to know the answer but Cartier said they added 68 percent more traffic than what was reflected by the August study.
Commissioner Susan Demmitt asked about the letter from the attorney resolved those concerns.
Frye said it clarified the land use the applicant is requesting is allowed.
During public comment, Tom Brooks said Galloway is their only ingress and egress and the consensus at the end of that second meeting with the developer was this is a town problem, not Madden’s.
He said the realignment of the road and narrowing/eliminating the median made things worse.
Brooks stated, “It’s time for the town to address this problem solve it now,” before approving additional development.
Claiming this should have been addressed 10 years ago, Brooks pleaded, “Please help us be safe.”
His wife Debbie Brooks stated, “It would be lovely if our wait was 11 seconds,” adding, “During Bike Week we can’t get out at all.”
Kerry Smith passed out information to the commission that he put together based on the National Traffic Institutes Trip Generator module.
He said each proposed apartment unit would generate 6.65 additional trips per day, while single family residences generate over nine trips per day.
He ran off number for various types of businesses and said the number of trips would depend on what type of businesses end up filling in the rest of Stagecoach Village, which is currently only 50 percent occupied.
Smith said they should consider “bounding” to come up with the worst case scenario.
Kincel said, “I challenge every one of you and council to drive there and try to make a turn. Also, if a person recuses himself, is he supposed to stay in the room? I don’t know the answer to that.”
Kincel went on to claim Madden doesn’t own all of the parcels in the application and said she added them all up and it doesn’t come out to 3.72 acres.
She stated a traffic study was done in 2006 for David Lewis for a hotel at that location and urged the commission to look at that study.
Kincel balked at the notion that what Madden was proposing would be affordable housing.
She said a woman currently rents a house on the property for $700 month while Madden wants $850 for a one-bedroom apartment and the woman would lose her house.
Voris stated the primary problem is turning east on Cave Creek Road and asked if the easiest fix wouldn’t be a stop sign.
Cartier stated the conditions do not warrant one.
Voris asked if they’d be prohibited from installing one.
Cartier said installing one at that location when traffic doesn’t warrant it could cause rear-end accidents and open the town up to liability since the stop sign shouldn’t have been there.
She did note the shopping center is only 50 percent full and if it fills up it could meet the warrant for a stop sign.
Cartier said they tried to find things to meet that warrant now but were unable.
Frye moved to approve the application with 11 conditions that addressed the maximum number of units, architecture, building materials, numerous other items associated with a site plan review, a certificate for a 100-year water supply, left and right turn lanes and a number of other conditions.
Voris seconded the motion so he could “tear it apart.”
Demmitt said she was uncomfortable with the conditions that were only just presented to them in Frye’s motion since the commission, staff and the town attorney hadn’t had a chance to review them.
Chairman Smith said, “All this is is a zoning application.”
Debbie Brooks asked, “Why did we waste our time? It was all about traffic.”
Smith reiterated, “This is about zoning.”
Demmitt said she couldn’t support the motion.
Commissioner Ted Bryda said he couldn’t support the motion either.
Demmitt asked Frye if he would consider amending his motion to continue the case to the Oct. 20 meeting to give them a chance to review his proposed conditions.
Frye agreed with Voris agreeing to second the amended motion, which passed unanimously.
