Oct 13, 2025 City Council Study Session 10/13/2025

[00:00:03]

[ Call to Order]

PLEASE TAKE THE ROLE.

MAYOR HARTKE.

HERE, VICE MAYOR ELLIS.

HERE.

COUNCIL MEMBER ENCINAS.

HERE.

COUNCIL MEMBER POSTON IS ABSENT.

EXCUSED.

COUNCIL MEMBER ORLANDO.

HERE.

COUNCIL MEMBER HARRIS.

HERE.

MEMBER HAWKIN.

HERE.

WE HAVE A FORUM.

ALRIGHT, THANK YOU.

[ Consent Agenda Items listed on the Consent Agenda may be enacted by one motion and one vote. If a discussion is required by members of the governing body, the item will be removed from the Consent Agenda for discussion and determination will be made if the item will be considered separately.]

[11. Resolution No. 5938, PLH24-0030 Downtown Region Area Plan, Generally Bounded by Ray Road, McQueen Road, Santan 202 Freeway and Alma School Road (Continued from the Council Meeting of September 18, 2025) Move City Council pass and adopt Resolution No. 5938, PLH24-0030 Downtown Region Area Plan establishing future land uses, conceptual design guidelines and other goals and policies replacing the Downtown-South Arizona Avenue Corridor Area Plan. Council Focus Area(s):]

UH, I'D LIKE TO HAVE A, A BRIEF BRIEFING BY ELISA.

ELISA PETTERSON, COME ON DOWN AND COUNSEL, THERE IS A, A MEMO AT YOUR, AT, AT YOUR, IN FRONT OF YOU DESCRIBING THIS ACTION OR THE, OR THE REQUEST DIFFERENT FROM THIS EL ALICIA.

GOOD EVENING MAYOR AND COUNSEL.

UM, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.

UM, I THINK THE QUESTION THAT YOU WERE WONDERING ABOUT WAS RELATED TO THE CHANGE THAT WE, UM, JUST COMPLETED, AND THAT'S IN THE ADDENDUM MEMO THAT YOU HAVE BEFORE YOU.

UM, THIS APPLIES TO, UM, A LAND USE DESIGNATION THAT WE'VE JUST CREATED AS PART OF THIS DOWNTOWN REGION AREA PLAN UPDATE.

UM, THIS IS THE HIGH DENSITY RESIDENTIAL WITH INTEGRATED USES.

UM, THIS, UH, LAND DESIGNATION CAME ABOUT BECAUSE WE REALLY WANTED TO CREATE GREATER FLEXIBILITY FOR THOSE DEVELOPMENTS WITHIN, WITHIN THE DOWNTOWN REGION.

UM, HOWEVER, WITH, UH, THE QUESTIONS THAT WE RECEIVED FROM BOTH COUNCIL AND MAYOR AS WELL, UM, WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO BACK AND TAKE A LOOK AT IT.

WE HAVE UPDATED THAT LANGUAGE SO THAT, UM, THIS IS APPLYING STRICTLY TO REDEVELOPMENT PROPERTIES ONLY WITHIN THE DOWNTOWN REGION.

UM, ANY PROPERTIES THAT HAVE, UM, NEVER BEEN DEVELOPED WOULD BE EXCLUDED FROM THAT.

THE LANGUAGE CHANGE THAT WE CREATED, UM, IS TO IDENTIFY KEY GATEWAY LOCATIONS.

UM, PLANNING, UH, AFTER A CAREFUL CONSIDERATION, UM, REALLY IDENTIFIED, UM, THE INTERSECTIONS OF ARIZONA AVENUE AT RAY CHANDLER BOULEVARD IN PECOS ROADS AS CRITICAL LOCATIONS.

UM, WHERE WE REALLY ARE LOOKING TO SEE, UM, INTERESTING, UNIQUE, DYNAMIC MIXED USE DEVELOPMENTS.

UM, SO WE HAVE ADDED THE LANGUAGE THAT SAYS, UM, THE GENERAL VISION FOR KEY GATEWAY LOCATIONS ALONG ARIZONA AVENUE AND RAILROAD CHANDLER BOULEVARD IN PECOS ROAD INTERSECTIONS IS FOR MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT TO CREATE THAT VIBRANT AND DYNAMIC DOWNTOWN ENVIRONMENT.

UM, THEREFORE PROPOSED REDEVELOPMENT, AGAIN, QUALIFYING THAT AS REDEVELOPMENT PROPERTIES ONLY, UM, WOULD BE REQUIRED, UM, TO PROVIDE, UH, AT LEAST, UH, REDEVELOPMENT PROPERTIES ON THOSE INTERSECTIONS.

THAT FRONT UNDER TWO ARTERIALS, UM, WOULD BE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE USE DEVELOPMENTS THAT INCLUDE A MINIMUM OF TWO DESIGNATED USES.

UM, WE DID QUALIFY THAT EVEN FURTHER TO SAY SITES EXCEEDING 10 ACRES WOULD BE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE A 20, A MINIMUM OF 20% OF, UM, COMMERCIAL OR OFFICE USES.

UM, BUT THE, THE IMPORTANT CHANGE THAT WE MADE JUST MOMENTS BEFORE WE CAME TO, UH, COUNCIL TONIGHT, UM, WAS THAT WE DID IDENTIFY AND, AND QUALIFY THIS, UM, LAND USE DESIGNATION AS APPLYING ONLY TO REDEVELOPMENT SITES WITHIN THE DOWNTOWN REGION.

WELL, VERY GOOD.

AND I, I KNOW THAT I'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH LEAH AND KEVIN ABOUT THE PERCENTAGES AND, AND THE GOAL OF THIS, THIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN TO GET MORE MIDDLE HOUSING, UH, ON, UH, REALLY ON, ON PROPERTY THAT'S UNDERPERFORMING OR THAT'S HAS FLAGGING RETAIL.

AND I THINK THIS WILL BE A, UH, A GOOD DEVELOPMENT.

BUT SINCE I DID REQUEST A, UH, A LAST MINUTE CHANGE, I DID WANNA BRING IT TO COUNCIL.

COUNCIL.

ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? COUNCIL MEMBER ORLANDO.

SO, ALICIA, APPRECIATE AND MAY APPRECIATE THE COMMENTS HERE.

SO, UM, 10 ACRES OR MORE, UH, AND YOU'RE LOOKING AT JUST THE CORNER PROPERTIES.

WE'VE IDENTIFIED THOSE KEY GATEWAY LOCATIONS AS YES, BEING THOSE THREE INTERSECTIONS AT ARIZONA AVENUE, RAY ROAD, CHANDLER BOULEVARD, AND PECOS ROADS.

UM, WE'VE, UH, IDENTIFIED THOSE AS BEING REALLY IMPORTANT, UM, LOCATIONS WHERE WE DO ANTICIPATE SEEING, UM, THAT VIBRANCY THAT COMES WITH, UM, MIXED USE DEVELOPMENTS.

SO HOW MANY OF THESE PROPERTIES YOU THINK WILL FIT THE 10 ACRES ? UM, SO, UM, WE HAVE DONE A LITTLE BIT OF EXERCISE LOOKING AT THAT.

UM, THE 10 ACRE QUALIFICATION IS JUST FOR THOSE PROPERTIES THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED TO BE MIXED USE PROPERTIES THAT ARE LESS THAN 10

[00:05:01]

SO THOSE, THOSE CORE LARGE SITE, UH, SITES THAT ARE 10 ACRES OR MORE, THEY'RE REALLY, THEY'RE REALLY GONNA BE AT THOSE PRIMARY INTERSECTIONS.

UM, ONE CHANDLER FOR EXAMPLE, THAT'S, THAT'S NOT EVEN A THREE ACRE SITE.

SO, UM, THE 10 ACRE SITES, WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT, UM, THOSE LARGE DEVELOPMENTS.

UM, POTENTIALLY, UH, AT PECOS ROAD, IT COULD BE, IT WOULD BE THE WALMART SITE, THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF PECOS AND CHANDLER BOULEVARD.

WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF THOSE.

SO WE REALLY ARE IDENTIFYING THOSE LARGE REDEVELOPMENT SITES AS NEED AS NEEDING TO MEET THAT ADDITIONAL CRITERIA.

SO POTENTIALLY ONE, ONE OF THE SCENARIO, I COULD HAVE A FIVE ACRE PARCEL AND I COULD PUT ANOTHER FI UH, FIVE OR 10 ACRE PARCEL WITH THAT.

WOULD THAT QUALIFYING OR JUST BE THE CORNER PROPERTY? SO THE REQUIREMENT IS THAT ANY PROPERTY THAT WOULD BE CONSIDERABLE OF THIS DESIGNATION AT THOSE KEY LOCATIONS WOULD HAVE TO FRONT ONTO TWO MAJOR ARTERIALS.

SO ARIZONA AVENUE AND EITHER RAY, UH, CHANDLER BOULEVARD OR PECOS.

UM, SO I MEAN, I GUESS YOU COULD DO SOME ASSEMBLY OF PROPERTIES.

UM, BUT IT, IT HAS TO MEET THOSE, THOSE SELECTION OF CRITERIA AND FURTHER AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, IT IS REALLY ONLY APPLYING TO, UM, REDEVELOPMENT SITES.

SO, UM, SOMETHING, UH, THAT HAS BEEN BUILT UPON PREVIOUSLY HAS BEEN DEVELOPED ONCE ALREADY.

WE WOULD CONSIDER THAT A REDEVELOPMENT SITE.

OKAY.

WELL I LIKE THE CONCEPT OF MIXED USE.

SO WE'RE, WE'RE, THAT'S GOOD.

THERE ARE 10, 12, 15 ACRES WE COULD GET, GET DOWN THE ROAD ON THAT, BUT IT'S A GOOD STARTING POINT, WHAT I'M HEARING YOU SAY.

APPRECIATE THAT.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU MAYOR.

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? ALRIGHT, THANK YOU.

THANKS SO MUCH, COUNSEL.

THAT'S ALL THAT HAS BEEN CALLED IN FOR TONIGHT ON THURSDAY.

WE WILL ALSO HAVE, UM, A SESSION BEFORE AS WELL AS, UH, THE ABILITY TO VOTE ON OUR STUDY SESSION ITEMS. LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ALL.

THAT CONCLUDES OUR MEETING.