Finance Director Stacey Lemos said the annual audit for Fiscal Year ending 2011 had been completed. She noted that no audit deficiencies were found.
Corey Arvizu, CPA, Heinfeld, Meech and Co., gave an overview of the audit. No deficiencies were found and all financial statements were accurate and complete. Town staff did a very thorough and complete job reviewing what was prepared. He said no difficulties were encountered during the audit and an additional report would be forthcoming on the review and audit of the Town’s federal programs.
Jim Rebenar, CPA of Heinfeld, Meech and Co., said cash and investment reconciliations and cash receipts were tested. Payroll and disbursement transactions, as well as procurements were sampled for compliance. Detailed tests of capital assets and long term debt were also completed. He said the Finance staff had done a great job.
Mr. Arvizu said there would be a future requirement for every employer participating in the Arizona State pension fund to record pro rata unfunded liability on financial statements.
MOTION: A motion was made by and seconded by to
MOTION carried, 6-0.
Ms. Bower said the matter was continued from the January 4, 2012 Council meeting for staff to provide examples of action minutes and three examples had been provided. She said if both Council and all boards and commissions changed to an action minutes format, 1,190 staff hours would be saved per year. The 300 hours saved by the Clerk’s office could be redirected into projects and duties such as overhauling the Town Clerk’s records management system. The approximately 900 hours saved by other recording secretaries could be redirected to duties such as records maintenance, updating departmental SOPs, updating website information, staff training, developing training manuals and accomplishing existing tasks and duties in a more timely manner.
Councilmember Hornat, referring to Example B of the action minutes provided, requested that the description of staff presentations contain a little more information.
Councilmember Garner was concerned regarding the Town Code and state requirements for the retention of audio/video records. He wanted to make sure the recordings were retained for a sufficient amount of time.
Ms. Bower said staff was working on a new agreement with Granicus that would provide unlimited storage for the Town’s online recordings.
Councilmember Garner asked if there was a change with Granicus, would the Town be able to store the recordings.
Ms. Bower said the recordings belonged to the Town so Granicus would be required to provide them and the recordings would most likely be stored on Town servers.
Mayor Hiremath opened the public hearing.
John Musolf, Oro Valley resident, was opposed to action minutes because the disclosure of government operations would be reduced. He was also concerned about what would happen if the recording equipment failed.
Don Bristow, Oro Valley resident, said Example B of the action minutes should serve the purpose. He said there was a need to establish dual video retention storage. Mr. Bristow was concerned with the use of "may" and "shall" in Council’s Parliamentary Rules and Procedures.
Hector Conde, Oro Valley resident, was opposed to action minutes because of reduced transparency for the public. He did not want to have to watch the whole recording just to find out about one specific item.
Gil Alexander, Oro Valley resident, said action minutes were a good idea but he had a slight concern over the video/audio retention and wanted a time period specified.
Mayor Hiremath closed the public hearing.
Councilmember Solomon asked what would happen if the recording equipment failed and if viewers had to watch the entire recording or could skip to particular subjects.
Ms. Bower said in the event of equipment failure, staff would revert to synopsis minutes. Viewers were able to skip to specific subjects within the recording.
Councilmember Gillaspie asked that each speaker be tagged in the recording so that viewers could jump quickly to different speakers. He said the change was an opportunity to gain efficiency and provide more transparency to the public.
Councilmember Garner wanted the recordings to be retained for the same amount of time as the state required.
MOTION: A motion was made by and seconded by to
MOTION carried, 6-0.
Senior Planner Matt Michels gave an overview of the item. He said the proposed rezoning was from R1-144 (Single-family Residential - 144,000 square foot minimum lot area) to R1-7 (Single-family Residential - 7,000 square foot minimum lot area). On December 7, 2011, Council had approved a General Plan amendment from Neighborhood Commerical/Office (NC/O) to Medium Density Residential (MDR).
Mr. Michels said the request was for a 50-lot subdivision on a 19-acre parcel with a density of 2.6 dwelling units/acre and 36% of the site conserved as open space. The proposal utilized the Environmentally Sensitive Lands (ESL) Conservation Design Lot Reduction Incentive of 5,500 square foot lots.
Mr. Michels said the proposal did conform to the General Plan. The property was better suited for residential and environmentally sensitive resources would be conserved. The proposed zoning provided a logical transition in land use intensity and there were extensive buffers provided on the south and east sides of the property. It would add some traffic to an existing congested area and there would be some loss of protected plants.
Mr. Michels said the Planning and Zoning Commission voted to recommend approval of the proposed rezoning subject to the following conditions:
Planning Conditions Note: All of the following conditions shall be shown and/or labeled on the Tentative Development Plan 1. A bicycle/pedestrian pathway connecting to Wilson K-8 School, subject to school district approval, shall be provided along the southwestern corner of the property as shown on Exhibit II.B (sheet 1). The Amphi School District shall be requested to provide input on the design and connection point of the path. 2. A primitive trail shall be provided from the recreation areas to the adjacent washes.
3. A school bus stop shall be provided adjacent to the eastern recreation area adjacent to a cul-de-sac turnaround. The exact placement and design of the bus stop shall be determined by the Amphi School District. The bus stop shall be labeled on Exhibit II.B. (Sheet 1).
4. The home architecture shall include traditional Southwestern styles, including Pueblo or Territorial, to be architecturally consistent with existing homes in the area. Exhibit II.B (sheet 2) shall include examples of these styles.
5. The minimum lot size shall be 5,500 s.f. using the conservation design lot reduction incentive provided in Table 27.10-6 (Section 27.10.F.2.d) of the Zoning Code.
6. Add dimensions of the buffer yards around the property on the TDP and the Buffer yards exhibit (Exhibit II.H.1).
7. Building height shall be limited to one (1) story along the west and southwest portions of the property (Lots 31-43 on the Tentative Development Plan).
Engineering Conditions
8. A full Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) prepared by an Arizona registrant shall be required as part of any future conceptual design review submittal. This development shall be responsible to design and pay for any improvements to La Cholla Boulevard as determined to be required by the TIA.
9. A full Drainage Report shall be required as part of any future final design review submittal. All post development flow shall be mitigated and released in the same manner and quantity as the existing condition.
10. A northbound left turn lane along La Cholla Boulevard into the subdivision shall be required. This development shall be responsible for all design and construction costs associated with the addition of the left-turn lane.
11. The ingress/egress access drive for the site shall line-up with the Rancho Del Cobre (Khan Property) access drive on the opposite side of La Cholla Boulevard.
12. This project shall dedicate 45 feet along the east project boundary to the Town of Oro Valley for the purpose of additional public right-of-way for La Cholla Boulevard.
13. This project shall provide a public-use path along the project’s La Cholla Boulevard frontage. The project shall meet the construction requirements as determined by the Town engineer (e.g. asphalt, stabilized granite, width, etc) and shall meander to fit field conditions so as to minimize the impact to the existing riparian area. The applicant may choose to provide an alternative in-lieu fee for the required path, the amount of which is to be approved by the Town engineer.
14. Exhibit I.G.H.J: Identify that La Cholla Boulevard has a shared use path south of Glover Road. Furthermore, delete the exhibit section that incorrectly identifies Tangerine Road as having a shared use path west of La Cholla Boulevard.
15. Page 41, Section J.3: A section of text describing the elements of the subdivision’s typical street section was manually struck out. Re-instate the text but delete the section describing a bike path within the typical section.
Oro Valley Water Utility Conditions
16. The developer shall extend the 12 inch water main in the Glover Road right-of-way west across La Cholla and north to supply domestic water to this subdivision. The water main shall be placed outside of pavement in the western La Cholla right of way.
17. The water main extension shall be designed so that connections at Glover and the entry road have modified drain valve assemblies west and north, respectively.
18. Easements shall be granted to the Oro Valley Water Utility at the northern end of the east and west cul-de-sacs to the northern property line. The water mains in these two streets shall be constructed with modified drain valve assemblies and be sized for future extensions to the north.
Mr. Michels said staff was proposing a modification to Condition 7 - Building height on southern tier of lots (Lots 1, 24, 27, 28, 31-35) shall be limited to one (1) story. Staff recommended the removal of western lots (Lots 36-43) from the one story restriction.
Mayor Hiremath opened the public hearing.
Tom Cramer, Oro Valley resident, wanted the lot sizes changed to R-10 because it would be consistent with the area.
Mayor Hiremath closed the public hearing.
Councilmember Gillaspie said this was one of the first subdivisions to utilize the ESL ordinance. Because they were required to provide more open space, the Town would allow smaller lot sizes.
Councilmember Solomon said in an effort to preserve vast amounts of open space, it required a trade-off of higher density, smaller lots. There was a large buffer zone on the southern edge of the property.
MOTION: A motion was made by Councilmember Gillaspie and seconded by Councilmember Solomon to Approve Ordinance No. (O)12-02, rezoning of a 19-acre parcel located 1/4 mile south of Tangerine Road on the west side of La Cholla Boulevard from R1-144 Single-Family Residential to R1-7 Single-Family Residential, subject to conditions in Exhibit B, amending Condition No. 7 to read - Building height on southern tier of lots (Lots 1, 24, 27, 28, 31-25) shall be limited to one (1) story and the east property boundary and that the southern buffer be augmented to the greatest extent possible.
MOTION carried, 6-0.
Interim DIS Director Paul Keesler explained currently all impact fees, except for Water, were collected prior to the issuance of any permits for construction. Impact fees were used to offset the affects of development on the Town. The timing of the collection had been identified as a financial hardship on the development community because the fees were being paid far in advance of receiving reimbursement from the end user or buyer.
Mr. Keesler said because there was no true fiscal impact on the Town, staff was recommending that payment of fees be moved to the end of construction. A certificate of occupancy for commercial construction or permit final sign-off for residential construction projects would not be issued until all fees were paid.
Councilmember Gillaspie asked what would happen, for example, if the Town enjoined part of its Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) with the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) for the improvement of a light at Glover and La Cholla and only 30 homes were built. Would the cash flow problem be transferred to the Town because if the Town did not have the funds for the RTA project, the project would have to wait.
Mr. Keesler said that scenario was possible because the Town funded its portion of CIP projects with impact fees in anticipation of future development. If the town paid its portion to RTA and then the developer went bankrupt, the Town would not be able to replenish those funds.
Councilmember Solomon said regardless of the number of homes that were ultimately built, the Town would receive the same amount in impact fees and only the time of collection was being changed.
Mayor Hiremath opened the public hearing.
Oro Valley resident Donald Bristow, was opposed to the change. He said it was counterproductive in filling the existing commercial space in Oro Valley.
David Godlewski, Oro Valley resident and representing the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association, favored the ordinance. It would not result in a reduction of impact fees but simply changed the timing of the collection of the fees.
Mayor Hiremath closed the public hearing.
MOTION: A motion was made by Councilmember Solomon and seconded by Councilmember Hornat to Approve Ordinance No. (O)12-03, amending the Town Code, Section 13-2-4 Collection of Fees, regarding impact fee collection timing.
MOTION carried, 5-1 with Councilmember Gillaspie opposed.