~COGS Corner

Thank you to the Scottsdale Activist for providing space on their website for this extremely important alert to its readers.

The City of Scottsdale Council meeting scheduled for this Tuesday, 9 June, at 5 pm has only three agenda items. But if approved, one or all of these could impact your neighborhood in some way.

We encourage you to

(a) open the link below to the City Council agenda

http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/Assets/documents/council/Council+Documents/All+Current+Agendas/06-09-09+Amended+Special+Agenda.pdf

(b) click on a specific agenda item to pull up the entire proposal

(c) evaluate and send an opinion or your recommendation to the Council by clicking on the "submit a comment".

---Do it now so they will have time to read it prior to Tuesday night. Thank you.

Here are the COGS brief summary of each agenda item plus business owner and citizen concerns expressed to this date:

Agenda Item #1. The Downtown Character Area Plan 3 GP 2008

The proposed text updates community goals and policies specific to the Downtown area and how it would function in the future as a part of the city’s General Plan—so this becomes a General Plan Amendment request. Downtown is roughly bordered by Chaparral Road on the north, Earll Drive on the south, 68^th Street on the west and Miller Road on the east.

The final draft recommendations include

(1) Expand the boundaries of the Downtown area

(2) Expand the Civic Center

(3) Designate the Galleria area as "Drinkwater"

(4) then it has pages and pages of guidelines for Land Use, Character and Design, Mobility, Arts and Culture, Economic Vitality, and Public Services and Facilities.

Local business owners’ concerns are focused on the Mobility section policy statements M1.1 and M1.11. "Develop a well connected downtown circulation grid comprised of narrower streets…." and "Enhance Downtown pedestrian oriented environment through reduced vehicular lanes widths…." There is strong opposition to narrowing Scottsdale Road which is suggested in the city staff drawings of a potential future in the area of wider sidewalks as well as plaza-like pedestrian standing areas at some intersections. If this was to be a preferred future, why was new construction in Downtown approved with walls immediately on the sidewalk—no setback for landscaping or future sidewalk widening? Traffic congestion exists now on Scottsdale Road through the Downtown with two lanes northbound + two lanes southbound + left turn lanes at major intersections. What do you think?

Agenda Item #2 Creates a new mixed-use zoning district called the Planned Unit Development (PUD)

The purpose of the PUD is to create opportunities for mixed-use (business with residential above is an example) development that is not available in the current zoning on a parcel. Its focus is for infill parcels from one-half acre to 15 acres anywhere in the city. However, City Council could approve the use of PUD on parcels up to 25 acres. Two options related to allowable height will be presented to the City Council—Option A from the city staff for 72 ft tall buildings allowed with City Council approval or Option B as unanimously recommended by the Planning Commissioners with NO height above 48 feet plus 10 feet roof top mechanical.

Citizen concern: It is highly probable that the PUD parcels will abut or be adjacent to existing residential neighborhoods of one story homes. The many one-story patio home and low-level townhouses are not included in the text so would not be "protected" for setbacks from the roadway (or alley) nor with stepbacks (wedding cake feature). Although the proposed PUD zoning can be used city-wide, the staff presentations have focused on use in the southern section of town—McKellips Rd, McDowell Rd, Thomas Rd, Scottsdale Rd, Earll Drive, and "smaller arterials". Some Town of Paradise Valley and Scottsdale residents who live near the Indian Bend Rd and Scottsdale Rd intersection are concerned that the Palmeraie hotel project will return to the city with a request for PUD zoning and be allowed a height above the current R4-Resort height of 35 ft. They originally requested a 60ft hotel and have withdrawn for now

Agenda Item #3 Phase II of R1-7 (single family residents on 7,000 sq ft lot or larger)

Phase I has already been approved and it addressed fence locations and fence heights. Phase II proposes ordinance changes for carports, accessory buildings, and additions to a home or garage to the side property lot line (zero lot line) plus guidelines for allowed front patios and front yard walls.

Citizen Concerns: Written permission from the adjacent landowner would be required to build your carport or home addition to the side property lot line. The agreeable neighbor must forever maintain a five foot "public safety" easement on their side of the line—no storage sheds and no obstacles. Would this devalue the property or full use of it? Additionally, there are no compatible design requirements on a residential home addition in an existing neighborhood. The new rules for backyard carport and garage locations that enter from the alley raised neighbor concerns about their backyard privacy and visual aesthetics. Accessory buildings would be permitted closer to the main house as well as to the property boundary. Please read the case proposals on the city website 6 TA 2007, 7 TA 2007 and 8 TA 2007. What is your opinion?

LINK TO THE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA for 9 June 2009:

http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/Assets/documents/council/Council+Documents/All+Current+Agendas/06-09-09+Amended+Special+Agenda.pdf

The Coalition of Greater Scottsdale (a citizen advocacy group)

www.cogsaz.org  e-mail: cogsAZ@cox.net

Chairperson, Sonnie Kirtley

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 ~Is our City Coming Apart at the Seams?

We're six months into a new administration at Scottsdale City Hall and everyday it becomes clearer and clearer how much has been left "undone" or cleverly covered up over the last 10 -12 years. It requires a serious look at how our government is structured in order to make sure our policies and procedures are working in the best interest of the taxpayers, not the developers or the whims and personal desires of the city staff.

Lord knows the tools are available and have been for decades to control these situations, so why aren't they being used and why aren't city policies and ordinances being followed as required by the City Charter? Could it be because of the abject failure of our wishy-washy, incompetent City Attorney and city legal department?

The recent and warranted upheaval over employee buy-outs, retirements and benefits touches on the issue of inter-governmental communications and legal department failures. It goes deeper, to effective communications from the City Attorney’s office to the City Manager, and through all departments, managers and especially to the Mayor and Council.

Decisions on development pertaining to the Downtown and the South Scottsdale Community Planning Area are running at loggerheads because citizens are asking for one thing while staff ignores the citizen requests and goes another direction as dictated by the developers (and apparently fully supported by David Richert, the new Planning Director) whose plans the citizens abhor.

This is Scottsdale, not Phoenix Mr. Richert so please take note of that fact and start acting accordingly. All you need to do is LISTEN to the citizens, we're not stupid!! If we wanted to be Phoenix, we'd move there!!

Many vacant, new multifamily, luxury residential buildings are standing empty with property poorly maintained, not maintained at all, or in foreclosure and fenced off from public entry and ugly by city order. This has caused a substantial reduction in property values for citizens who have been crying foul about the council and staffs decisions for a number of years.

Sidewalks, gutters, and curbs are not being repaired because there is ONE (1) crew of two (2) people city-wide to do those repairs, yet we see expensive to build and expensive to maintain speed tables, speed humps, entry islands, roundabouts and street furniture still being built in very trying economic times. Why haven't all of those discretionary dollars been diverted to repair streets, sidewalks, curbs and gutters?? Isn't it the job of the City Manager to make the change in financing request to the City Council?

Serious lack of infrastructure planning impacts water, sewers, streets, and electrical distribution especially in the original neighborhoods. Some areas have serious issues now, and all areas will in the near future if we do not get serious now about infrastructure repairs and upgrades immediately.

How many times have there been problems with water quality testing in our city water plants that neither the public or even the city council were made aware of during the last year or so? If not, why not?? Where were the checks and balances? Are they guaranteed to be in place today?

It is summer, and we are running out of ice, and unfortunately the neglect of the Manross/Dolan administration is still around to haunt us; just look around you to see the inequities, failed policies, tax money foolishly spend on Rube Goldberg projects or unnecessary legal fees, and high rise developments in foreclosure.

Why does it take over 2 years to issue a Notice of Violation by Code Enforcement on a well known and decades old set of NAOS & ESLO violations?

Why does the city have storage units scattered around the city when they are a direct violation of city ordinances?

Where did the Pima Road improvement issue come from and why? How many lanes wide will Pima be? From where to where? Who's paying for it, and why? Who is the big money behind the project? Are Scottsdale taxpayers footing the bill for the water and sewer service for this Ball Park project and the new casino?

Sadly, we can't clean up all these messes in six months but we at least could have had a much better start couldn't we if there had been good (or any) communications within city government?

A LOT more details on all of this and more including a new "Living in the Land of OZ" will be posted in next weekends Special Edition of The Scottsdale Activist…………….. Be sitting down for that one!!

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~ And the Nonsense Continues

Attention City Council:

No ONE except the "would be owner/developer" wants Orchid Tree included in the Downtown Plan, but as always the perception is that (and rightfully so) "the fix is in" for the approval.

There is absolutely no benefit to the community by changing the rules (downtown boundary) to accommodate development at the expense of our mature and upscale neighborhood.

Further, ALL the exceptional zonings to accommodate higher density housing are struggling at best and failing for the most part.

The bet on bars is not working and the image and reputation Scottsdale had for understated class and delivering more that it promised is slipping away under your collective watch.

The revolving door between developers and staff is now jammed up with staffers who made you look like fools.

Are you going to change things? Or are you going to continue to let the Chamber and the city staff run the show?

Ladies & Gentlemen of the City Council:  Do you have the guts to make the necessary decisions the Citizens (Taxpayers) are asking you to provide?

Thomas W. Giller
Scottsdale

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~A Question about Good Communications??

The following story pokes a bit of fun at the City Council in Bristol, England.  I suspect that it is not true.  However, if it referred to Scottsdale I would not be so sure.  All I can say is thank God we don’t have a zoo in Scottsdale…….. Or do we and is it located in the One Stop Shop or City Hall??

 A Well-Planned Retirement

Outside the Bristol Zoo, in England, there is a parking lot for 150 cars and 8 coaches, or buses.

It was manned by a very pleasant attendant with a ticket machine charging cars 1 pound (about $1.40) and coaches 5 pounds (about $7).   

This parking attendant worked there for all of 25 years.  Then, one day, he just didn't turn up for work.

"Oh well", said Bristol Zoo Management - "we'd better phone up the City Council and get them to send a new parking attendant."

"Er ... no", said the Council, "that parking lot is your responsibility."

"Er ... no", said Bristol Zoo Management, "the attendant was employed by the City Council, wasn't he?"

"Er ... NO!" insisted the Council.

Sitting in his villa somewhere on the coast of Spain, is a bloke who had been taking the parking lot fees, estimated at 400 (about $560) per day at Bristol Zoo for the last 25 years.  Assuming 7 days a week, this amounts to just over 3.6 million ($7 million).

And no one even knows his name!

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