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GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY.[1. CALL TO ORDER/PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE/MOMENT OF SILENCE]
I'D LIKE TO CALL THE SEDONA CITY COUNCIL MEETING TO ORDER ON MON ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27TH, 2026.PLEASE JOIN ME IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE.
MADAM CLERK, CAN YOU CALL THE ROLE PLEASE? MAYOR PLU.
[3.a. Discussion/consideration and possible action regarding the employment, assignment, and appointment of Planning and Zoning Commission applicants including interview of the following applicants. I. Jonathon Kerchner, 11:00 a.m. II. Mary Quin, 11:45 a.m. III. Rebecca Seidenkranz, 1:00 p.m. IV. Lynda Ring-Erickson 1:45 p.m.]
TODAY WE HAVE SPECIAL BUSINESS, WE DISCUSSION, CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING THE EMPLOYMENT ASSIGNMENT AND APPOINTMENT OF PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION APPLICANTS INCLUDING INTERVIEW OF THE FOLLOWING APPLICANTS.AND THE FIRST INTERVIEW E IS JONATHAN KIRSCHNER, WHO IS HERE.
SO WE'RE GOING TO INTERVIEW FOUR PEOPLE TODAY, AND THEN AT THE END OF THOSE INTERVIEWS, WE WILL MAKE A DECISION, WHICH SHOULD BE ABOUT TWO ISH.
SO YOU'RE WELCOME TO COME BACK OR WE'LL LET YOU KNOW.
SO THE DECISIONS WILL BE MADE TODAY.
AND, UH, WE ARE GOING TO ASK YOU QUESTIONS.
WE'RE JUST GONNA GO AROUND, WE HAVE PREDETERMINED QUESTIONS AND EACH ONE WILL ASK A DIFFERENT QUESTION.
CHARLOTTE, LET'S START WITH YOU.
SOME OF THESE MAY HAVE BEEN THINGS YOU TOUCHED ON IN YOUR APPLICATION, BUT YOU CAN EXPOUND ON 'EM.
UM, WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO SERVE ON THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION AND WHAT INFLUENCED YOUR INTEREST? CAN YOU DISCUSS A RECENT PLANNING AND ZONING CASE THAT WAS A PARTICULAR INTEREST TO YOU? WHAT ABOUT THE CASE CAUGHT YOUR ATTENTION AND WHY? YEAH.
UM, AND I HAVE SOME NOTES ON MY PHONE TO THAT.
UM, CAN YOU SPEAK INTO THE MIC? I KNOW THEY'RE SHORT, SO, YEAH, SORRY.
UM, I AM EXCITED TO BE A PART OF THIS.
UM, I, YOU KNOW, REALLY WANTED TO GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY.
I'VE BEEN HERE FOR 22 YEARS, UM, WORKING.
AND, UM, I'VE GOT TWO KIDS THAT GO TO SCHOOL, WELL, ONE THAT GOES TO SCHOOL, ONE THAT'S TWO AND A HALF YEARS OLD.
UM, I'VE OWNED SEVERAL BUSINESSES IN TOWN.
UM, I'M A LICENSED GENERAL CONTRACTOR.
UM, AND I'VE WORKED WITH THE CITY AND DEALT WITH THINGS A LOT, UM, FIRSTHAND.
SO I THINK I CAN GIVE A USEFUL AND PRACTICAL VIEW ON THINGS BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE AND, AND WORKING THROUGH THE SYSTEM MYSELF.
UM, AND REALLY, I LOVE SEDONA SO MUCH AND THIS IS A CHANCE TO KIND OF GIVE BACK.
UM, I'M LUCKY TO HAVE, UH, THE FREE TIME TO BE ABLE TO GIVE TO THIS.
UM, AND THEN, UM, I ALSO JUST WANT TO COME TO THIS WITH A CURIOUS NATURE.
I DON'T COME HERE THINKING THAT I KNOW EVERYTHING.
UM, I THINK IT'S A WAY TO LEARN AND THEN ALSO JUST GIVE, UH, WHAT I HAVE, UM, MY EXPERIENCE THAT I HAVE TO OFFER CAN, CAN HELP WITH THINGS.
UM, SOME OF THE RECENT, UM, THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED THAT, YOU KNOW, I DID DO A LITTLE BIT OF RESEARCH AND, UH, A COUPLE OF THE THINGS WERE ALREADY ON MY RADAR.
THERE'S ONE WITH A PICKLEBALL COURT, I'M, I REALLY LOVE PICKLEBALL.
AND SO IT WAS INTERESTING TO ME THAT THE COURTS WERE OUTLAWED TO, FOR PEOPLE'S HOMES, UM, HERE.
AND, UM, SO IT'S INTERESTING TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS WITH THAT.
UM, ON OAK CREEK BOULEVARD, THERE IS, UH, THERE WAS ONE THAT WAS AN ART STUDIO THAT IS BEING, UM, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW ALL THE THINGS WITH IT, BUT THEY DON'T WANT TO BE ABLE, THEY WANNA BE ABLE TO CONTINUE USING THE PROPERTY THAT THEY WERE USING IT FOR.
AND SO, AS A PROPERTY OWNER IN SEDONA, THAT INTERESTS ME.
UM, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK THAT WE NEED TO HAVE A WAY TO PRESERVE THE BEAUTY AND THE QUAINTNESS AND THE, THE THINGS THAT WE LOVE ABOUT SEDONA.
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PROTECT LANDOWNERS RIGHTS.UM, AND THEN ALSO PROTECT THESE PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN DOING THINGS, UH, FOR A REALLY LONG TIME.
'CAUSE THAT'S SOMETHING THAT GIVES SEDONA A LOT OF CHARM, I THINK.
UM, AND SO THOSE WERE SOME INTERESTING CASES THAT THAT I THINK CAME UP.
ALRIGHT, JONATHAN, UH, WHAT DO YOU SEE AS IMPORTANT PLANNING ISSUES FACING THE CITY NOW AND OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS? AND WHY ARE THEY IMPORTANT TO YOU? UM, WELL, I THINK THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS LIKE REWRITING THE, UM, DEVELOPMENT CODE.
AND THAT'S LIKE A REALLY EXCITING THING TO GET IN AND BE A PART OF.
UM, 'CAUSE IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
UM, THE COMMUNITY PLAN CREATES THE VISION.
THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE IS THE GUIDE AND THE RULES THAT GUIDE US TOWARDS THAT VISION.
AND SO, UM, IT'S, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
UH, I MEAN, THE HOT TOPICS OF SEDONA TOURISM, AFFORDABLE HOUSING, TRAFFIC, UM, ALL OF THOSE THINGS PLAY A FACTOR.
BUT THERE'S ALSO A LOT OF THINGS TO DO WITH, UM, LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE THAT I HAVE A UNIQUE ABILITY TO LOOK AT THROUGH THE LENS OF SOMEONE WHO'S WORKED WITH THESE THINGS LIKE THE LANDSCAPING, UM, LIGHTING, UM, DRAINAGE AND HOW WATER AFFECTS THINGS.
UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, THERE NEEDS TO BE, UM, JUST A BALANCED AND, UM, PRACTICAL LOOK AT HOW THESE THINGS REALLY AFFECT PEOPLE.
AND YOU MENTIONED TRAFFIC, TOURISM AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
DO YOU HAVE SOME PRESET VIEWS ON THOSE TOPICS? YEAH, I MEAN, TRAFFIC IS SUPER HARD.
I MEAN, WE'RE LOCKED INTO THIS GEOGRAPHICAL AREA WHERE THERE'S, YOU CAN'T JUST LIKE CREATE NEW ROADS OVER TOP OF SOME OF THESE BEAUTIFUL, UM, UH, MOUNTAINS.
I WAS HERE BEFORE, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, BEFORE ROUNDABOUTS WERE EVEN HERE.
UM, AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, TOURISM REALLY HELPS THE COMMUNITY, UM, AND THEY, IT BRINGS A TON OF TRAFFIC.
SO I THINK THERE NEEDS TO HAVE SOMETHING, SOMETHING BETTER NEEDS TO HAPPEN AT T LOCKIE P WE NEED TO GET SOMETHING THERE BECAUSE WE'VE GOT, UH, YOU KNOW, EMPLOYEES THAT STAND THERE AND, AND DIRECT TRAFFIC.
UM, THIS WEEKEND IS, WAS A BIG WEEKEND.
I WAS TRYING TO GET OUT FROM ER ROAD, EVERYONE BOTTLENECKS THERE.
UM, AND SO SURE, I'VE GOT SOME THOUGHTS ON IT.
UH, I ACTUALLY, I'M FOR TOURISM.
I THINK IT SUSTAINS OUR LOCAL ECONOMY, BUT THERE ALSO NEEDS TO BE PRACTICAL, UH, WAYS THAT WE DEAL WITH ALL THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE, OF THE TOURISM.
SO HOW DO YOU RELATE THOSE CONCERNS THAT YOU JUST RAISED TO THE WORK OF THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION? UM, YOU KNOW, I HAVEN'T BEEN INVOLVED IN THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION, SO I MAY NOT BE THE BEST AT ANSWERING THAT QUESTION AS SOMEONE THAT'S NEW COMING IN.
BUT, UM, UH, SOMETIMES THERE'S GONNA BE POSSIBLY REZONING LAND TO BE ABLE TO USE IT FOR DIFFERENT WAYS TO CREATE A PARKING GARAGE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, OR CHANGE THINGS THAT ARE GONNA, AND THAT'S PART OF THE PLANNING AND ZONING.
AM I, I THINK I'M CORRECT AT SAYING THAT.
AND SO, UM, IT'S ALL PART OF THE SAME MACHINE.
THAT WAS A GOOD SEGUE TO THE NEXT QUESTION, WHICH I HAVE.
UM, MUCH OF THE COMMISSION'S WORK STATUTE CHANGED.
SO MUCH OF THE COMMISSION'S WORK NOW CENTERS ON APPLYING AND REDEFINING ADOPTED PLANS AND ORDINANCES RATHER THAN REVIEWING INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.
WHAT RELEVANT EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE, OR PERSPECTIVE WOULD YOU BRING TO HELP ENSURE THOSE POLICIES ARE APPLIED CONSISTENTLY AND IN ALIGNMENT WITH SEDONAS COMMUNITY VALUES? YEAH, THAT'S A BIG QUESTION.
UM, LET ME SEE IF I CAN GATHER ALL OF THAT.
UM, WELL, UH, SO I, I HAVE A BACKGROUND IN CONSTRUCTION AND IN, I, I OWNED, ACTUALLY BEFORE I GOT MY GENERAL CONTRACTING LICENSE, I OWNED, UM, A LARGE LANDSCAPE DESIGN BUILD AND MAINTENANCE COMPANY IN TOWN.
AND I'VE, I WENT TO SCHOOL AT PURDUE UNIVERSITY.
I HAVE A DEGREE IN LANDSCAPE DESIGN, ALSO A DEGREE IN, UM, AGRONOMY.
AND, UM, I, I KNOW HOW TO, UH, LOOK AT PLANS.
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LOOK AT LANDSCAPING, WHICH IS A PART OF THE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT, UM, CODE AND ENFORCEMENT.UM, I HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCE WITH THAT.
I KNOW HOW TO WORK IN TEAMS AND GROUPS, UM, TO ACCOMPLISH THINGS.
UM, AND I FEEL LIKE I HAVE, UH, A BALANCED PERSPECTIVE AND I, I WOULD TRY TO WORK THROUGH THINGS, UM, EQUALLY AND FAIRLY TO, TO, TO MOVE THE COMMUNITY IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION WHILE TRYING TO PROTECT SEDONAS, UH, INTEGRITY OF WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT IT.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT
ANYBODY HAVE ANY FOLLOW UP TO THAT QUESTION? OKAY.
WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO APPROVE A PROPOSAL THAT COMPLIES WITH THE CITY'S ADOPTED DESIGN STANDARDS AND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS, EVEN IF THE DESIGN DOES NOT ALIGN WITH YOUR PERSONAL PREFERENCES? AND HOW WOULD YOU APPROACH THAT DECISION? YEAH.
YOU KNOW, LIKE YOU CAN'T TAKE THIS JOB ON THINKING THAT YOU'RE GONNA JUST PUSH YOUR OWN AGENDA.
THAT'S NOT THE WAY THINGS WORK.
SO I WOULD NEVER GO INTO SOMETHING THINKING I WOULD WANT TO JUST DO SOMETHING THAT BENEFITED MYSELF SOLELY.
UM, I CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, IF I HAVE AN OPINION ON SOMETHING, I WOULD DEFINITELY ASK QUESTIONS.
I WOULD RAISE CONCERNS AND I WOULD PRESENT MY, UH, IDEAS.
BUT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A TEAM EFFORT AND IT'S THE, IT'S FOR THE GREATER GOOD OF SEDONA AS A WHOLE.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHAT IT SHOULD ALWAYS BE.
HOW DO YOU BALANCE PERSONAL PROPERTY RIGHTS VERSUS BROADER COMMUNITY INTERESTS WHEN CONSIDERING A PROPOSAL? UM, I MEAN, PROPERTY RIGHTS ARE SOME OF THE STRONGEST LAWS IN THE COUNTRY, AND I, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE TO BE UPHELD.
UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE WORKING THROUGH ALL THIS, THERE'S STILL LIKE THE LAW AND THERE'S, THERE'S BUILDING CODE THAT'S GOTTA BE FOLLOWED.
UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, IT HAD TO BE TAKEN AS A CASE BY CASE BASIS.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S A HARD QUESTION TO ANSWER WITHOUT A SPECIFIC, UH, EXAMPLE, BUT, UM, YOU JUST HAVE TO WEIGH OUT ALL THE FACTORS AND, AND LOOK AT IT FROM A OBJECTIVE POINT OF VIEW.
DO YOU HAVE A FOLLOW UP, A LITTLE BIT OF A FOLLOW UP? UM, JUST TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BACKGROUND ON THE PICKLEBALL WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT YEAH.
I WAS ON P AND Z AS WERE PETE, AS WAS KATHY
UM, AND, UH, SARAH'S THE CHAIR OF IT.
SO WHEN THAT, UM, REQUIREMENT OF COMING BEFORE P AND Z, WHEN WE LOOKED AT IT AND DECIDED ON IT, IT WAS BECAUSE WE WERE WEIGHING THE COMMUNITY BENEFIT, PARTICULARLY THE SURROUNDING NEIGHBORS AND THE NOISE ISSUE SURE.
ASSOCIATED WITH PICKLEBALL AND THE PROPERTY RIGHTS OF THE HOMEOWNER.
THE HOMEOWNER, UH, WOULDN'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO GET A BUILDING PERMIT BECAUSE OF THE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE NATURE OF THE PROJECT THICKNESS, OF THE CONCRETE NATURE OF THE PROJECT.
UNLESS WE REQUIRED A, UM, A REVIEW, THERE WAS NO WAY THE NEIGHBORHOOD WOULD NECESSARILY KNOW BEFORE IT WAS DONE, A DONE DEAL MM-HMM
THAT IT WAS HAPPENING AND BE ABLE TO GET INPUT FROM THEM.
AND, AND WE WANTED TO BE ABLE TO ALLOW THE NEIGHBORS TO HAVE INPUT INTO IT.
SO WE WERE, WE WERE TRYING TO BALANCE THOSE TWO THINGS.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'D LIKE TO COMMENT ON THAT OR NOT.
I I CAN'T THINK THAT SOMETHING IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THAT WOULD NEED TO BE PERMITTED.
I'M SURE THEY HAD FENCING AROUND IT, OR SOME, AT LEAST ONE PART OF IT WOULD PROBABLY NEED TO HAVE SOME SORT OF A PERMITTING PROCESS DONE TO DO IT.
UM, BUT YEAH, I MEAN, I WAS INTERESTED IN IT BECAUSE I BUILT, I WAS, UH, HIRED TO, TO MANAGE THE CONSTRUCTION OF A PICKLEBALL COURT.
AND IT WAS NOT IN CITY, UH, SEDONA LIMITS.
IT WAS IN THE COUNTY AND, UM, WAY OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE.
SO NO ONE, YOU KNOW, IT DOESN'T AFFECT ANYONE, BUT I DO KNOW THAT THE NOISE OF PICKLEBALL IS A MAJOR CONCERN.
I MEAN, TENNIS PLAYERS HATE IT,
UM, BUT THEY DO HAVE LIKE QUIET PADDLES THAT YOU CAN USE THAT ARE MADE OF FELT, AND THEY ACTUALLY, YOU CAN STILL PLAY WELL WITH THEM.
BUT I GET THAT, UM, YEAH, IT'S A TOUGH THING BECAUSE I'M SURE THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT REALLY HAPPY ABOUT THAT.
AND THERE'S OTHER PEOPLE THAT MAYBE WOULD WANT
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TO HAVE THAT PICKLEBALL, UH, PICKLEBALL COURT PUT IN, IN THEIR, AT THEIR HOUSE.UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, UM, I'M JUST GIVING IT AS AN EXAMPLE OF TRYING TO THREAD THE NEEDLE YEAH.
OF WHAT P AND Z SOMETIMES MIGHT BE CALLED UPON TO DO.
I MEAN, IT'S AN INTERESTING THING AND, UM, IT'S SOMETHING I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE BE INVOLVED IN TO HELP LIKE GUIDE THOSE DECISIONS.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN BEING HERE THIS MORNING.
I'LL JUST ADD THAT, UH, THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION OFTEN INTERPRETS AND APPLIES THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE.
HOW FAMILIAR ARE YOU WITH IT AND WHAT'S YOUR COMFORT LEVEL WITH READING, APPLYING AND SOMETIMES QUESTIONING CODE LANGUAGE? AND HOW WOULD YOU APPROACH SITUATIONS WHERE THE CODE MAY NOT ALIGN WITH CURRENT COMMUNITY VALUES? UM, SO I AM FAMILIAR WITH THE CODE OF WHAT IT IS, AND I'M, I'VE READ THROUGH IT LIKE LIGHTLY, YOU KNOW, I HAVEN'T READ THE WHOLE, THE WHOLE THING.
UM, YOU KNOW, IF I GET ON THIS BOARD, I DO PLAN ON GOING THROUGH A LOT HEAVIER AND, AND GETTING FAMILIARIZED WITH A LOT OF IT.
I THINK A LOT OF TIMES THE LANGUAGE IS REALLY CONFUSING AS SOMEONE WHO'S HAD TO WORK THROUGH PERMITTING.
UM, UM, I ALMOST, AS I WAS GOING THROUGH MY PREPARATION FOR THIS INTERVIEW, I WAS THINKING, YOU KNOW, IT'D BE REALLY COOL TO HAVE LIKE A LIAISON THAT WORKED IN THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, UH, BUILDING THAT HELPED PEOPLE COME UP WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, AN UNDERSTANDING OF THIS, OF THIS CODE.
FOR EXAMPLE, I JUST BUILT A PROJECT ON, UM, OFF OF DRY CREEK ROAD, AND WE HAD TO PUT IN THESE WALLS THAT WERE SCREENS FOR WATER TANKS, AND WE HAD TO DO CLEANING AND ZONING.
WE HAD TO DO A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF, UH, SCREENING.
AND I WAS WORKING WITH MAX LECHER WITH DESIGN GROUP, UM, ON THE DESIGN.
AND, UH, YEAH, THERE WAS A LOT OF IT THAT WAS LIKE REALLY AMBIGUOUS.
WE DIDN'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT WE NEEDED TO DO.
THERE WERE SOME THINGS THAT WE WORKED ON REALLY HARD, AND THEN IT WAS EXPLAINED BETTER TO US AND WE WERE LIKE, OH, SHOOT, WE CAN DO THIS THING.
IT WASN'T CLEAR TO US THAT WE COULD EVEN DO THAT.
ALSO AS A LANDSCAPER, I CAN TELL YOU THIS, AND I'VE SEEN THIS LOTS OF TIMES.
YOU'LL GET A LIST OF APPROVED PLANTS AND LIKE THREE QUARTERS OF LIST IS JUST PLANTS YOU CAN'T PURCHASE.
THEY'RE NATIVE PLANTS THAT NO ONE GROWS.
UM, I USED TO HAVE A COMPANY, UM, WHEN I, I USED TO JUST DO LANDSCAPE DESIGN AND WE STARTED DOING, UM, WE WOULD GET AHOLD OF DEVELOPERS AND OUR CLIENTS BEFORE THEY WOULD BREAK GROUND ON LAND.
AND WE WOULD GO IN AND WE WOULD CONTAINERIZE NATIVE PLANTS, UM, AND THEN WE WOULD SELL THEM BACK TO THE PEOPLE.
SO I WOULD, WE WOULD USE OUR OWN MONEY TO TAKE ALL THESE PLANTS, PUT 'EM IN CONTAINERS, HOLD 'EM IN A NURSERY, SELL THEM BACK SO THAT WE COULD RE-VEGETATE IN LIKE FULL NATIVE, LIKE, AND MY PHILOSOPHY WAS RECREATING NATIVE NATURAL SEDONA WARM YARD AT A TIME.
AND I HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCE WITH NATIVE PLANTS, BUT THEY'LL PUT IN THERE, YOU NEED TO HAVE A 10 ON THIS SPECIFIC SPECIFIC PLAN.
WE NEEDED TO HAVE LIKE THREE 10 FOOT TALL TREES.
AND, UH, DESERT WILLOW IS ONE OF THE EXAMPLES.
YOU CANNOT BUY A 10 FOOT TALL DESERT WILLOW.
THEY'RE JUST, IT'S A SMALL TREE.
THEY, THEY HISTORICALLY COME IN.
I CAN TELL YOU MY CUSTOMERS, EVERY TIME THEY BUY ONE, I BRING IT TO THEIR HOUSE AND THEY'RE LIKE, WHAT THE HECK DID YOU JUST BRING OVER HERE? AND SO A LOT OF THESE THINGS JUST DON'T MAKE SENSE FROM A, LIKE, FROM A LANDSCAPE CAPERS OR A CON CONTRACTOR'S POINT OF VIEW.
UM, AND THE INTENT AND THE DESIRE TO KEEP NATIVE SEDONA IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
AND LIKE THE, THE INTENT IS REALLY GOOD, BUT THE PRACTICALITY IS SOMETIMES NOT THERE.
YEAH, I HAVE A FOLLOW UP TO THAT.
UM, I, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU FOR THE FEEDBACK AND THE IDEAS.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE A PERSPECTIVE ON THIS THAT'S VERY INTERESTING.
UM, BUT MY QUESTION IS, IF THERE IS A LIST TO SAY OF 10 PLANTS AND YOU AS THE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT OR YOUR CLIENT DON'T LIKE THE 10 PLANTS, BUT THOSE ARE THE 10 THAT ARE ALLOWED, HOW ON THE P AND Z, HOW DO YOU RECONCILE THAT? WELL, WE USE THE PLANTS.
YOU KNOW, LIKE I WAS ABLE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE IT WORK AND WE WANTED SOME DESERT WILLOWS AND THEY DIDN'T SUFFICE FOR THE HEIGHT I WENT TO, UM, LIKE CARRIE AND HER TEAM AND TRIED TO, I TALKED ABOUT THAT, I CAN'T REMEMBER.
I THINK WE ACTUALLY ADDED SOME ADDITIONAL LIKE PINON, PINE AND JUNIPER.
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FIND SOME THAT HIT THE HEIGHT SIZE.SO WE DID WHAT WAS NECESSARY, UM, WHICH IS GREAT.
I MEAN, TO BE QUITE HONEST, I WISH ALL THOSE PLANTS WERE AVAILABLE.
I WISH SOMEONE WAS GROWING 'EM.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO WORK WITHIN THE CONFINES.
BUT I, YOU KNOW, I'D LOVE TO GET MY HANDS ON THAT LIST AND MAYBE ADD SOME THINGS OR PUT SOME SUGGESTIONS OUT AND SAY, HEY, LIKE, THIS ONE'S IMPOSSIBLE TO GIVE, BUT WHAT IF WE LOOKED AT THIS? BECAUSE MAYBE THERE'S SOME NON-NATIVE, NON-NATIVE ADAPTIVES OR, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, LIKE I SAID, I'M A NATURALIST AT HEART AND I MOVED HERE BECAUSE SEDONAS BEAUTIFUL.
AND I'M NOT TRYING TO CHANGE IT INTO INDIANA WHERE I CAME FROM.
UM, AND I
UH, I ACTUALLY DO MORE, LIKE, I ACTUALLY HAVE A DEGREE IN TURF MANAGEMENT AND I TAKE MORE GRASS OUT OF LANDSCAPES THAN I PUT IN.
UM, AND SO, UH, BUT I SEE THAT A LOT WITH PEOPLE THAT COME TO TOWN FROM THE MIDWEST OR CALIFORNIA.
THEY WANT YOU TO PUT IN THINGS THAT THEY HAD THERE.
AND I TRY TO STEER PEOPLE TOWARDS, YOU KNOW, WE CAN, HERE'S THE FEEL OF WHAT YOU WANT, AND WE CAN RECREATE THAT WITH PLANTS THAT ARE MORE FITTING FOR THIS ENVIRONMENT.
HI, THANKS FOR SHOWING UP AND GOING THROUGH THIS GRUELING PROCESS.
UM, SO MY QUESTION IS, UM, IN YOUR VIEW, DOES SEDONAS ADOPTED COMMUNITY PLAN CONTINUE TO REFLECT THE COMMUNITY'S CURRENT VISION AND VALUES? PLEASE SHARE EXAMPLES OF YOUR PERSPECTIVE AND EXPLAIN HOW YOU WOULD RELY ON THE PLAN TO GUIDE YOUR DECISIONS, PARTICULARLY WHEN A PROPOSAL GENERATES STRONG PUBLIC OPPOSITION.
SO I HAVEN'T READ THE ENTIRE PLAN.
UM, SO
AND THIS WAS REALLY WIDELY CONSIDERED A RETIREMENT COMMUNITY.
BUT, UM, IT'S BETTER NOW THAN IT'S EVER BEEN.
AND I THINK THAT, THAT THE COMMUNITY PLAN NEEDS TO GROW FOR THAT.
AND WHAT I'M SEEING HAPPEN IS REALLY BEAUTIFUL WITH THESE URBAN TRAILS, WITH THE, UH, POSSE, GROUND PARK, ALL THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN GOING ON, THAT IS LIKE SUCH A MAJOR WIN FOR EVERYTHING THAT IS HAPPENING WITH THIS TOWN.
UM, AND WHAT WAS THE LAST PART OF YOUR QUESTION? HOW WOULD YOU, UM, HOW WOULD YOU HANDLE A PROPOSAL THAT GENERATES STRONG PUBLIC OPPOSITION? SO IT'S IN THE PLAN, IT FOLLOWS THE PLAN, BUT THE PUBLIC OPPOSES IT.
YEAH, I MEAN, IT DE IT DEPENDS ON HOW MUCH OF THE PUBLIC OPPOSES IT BECAUSE WHAT IS THIS PLAN SUPPOSED TO BE WORKING FOR? IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE WORKING FOR THE PEOPLE.
AND SO I WOULD PROBABLY LOOK AT WAYS TO AMEND THINGS OR CREATE, UH, LIKE OPEN DISCUSSION AMONGST THE GROUP TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO RECONCILE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HOW THE PLAN IS, IS MOVING US TOWARDS WHAT THE COMMUNITY ACTUALLY WANTS.
SO CAN I DO A, A FOLLOW UP ON THAT? YEAH.
SO SOMETIMES THE OPPOSITION TO A PLAN, IT'S A SMALL GROUP OF PEOPLE IN TOWN, VERY VOCAL, AND MANY PEOPLE ARE JUST SILENT AND THEY HAVEN'T TOLD YOU ANYTHING.
HOW ARE YOU GOING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE, WHAT PORTION OF THE POPULATION IS ACTUALLY OPPOSED? YEAH.
WELL, AND THAT'S JUST TOUGH BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE JUST DON'T SHOW UP.
AND I THINK THE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT WEBSITE IS A GREAT START.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, I'VE GONE THROUGH THAT A BIT AND YOU LOOK AT SOME OF THE COMMENTS.
I MEAN, THERE'S ONLY LIKE A COUPLE COMMENTS THAT COME IN ON THINGS.
SO THAT JUST SHOWS YOU IT'S, UM, THE SQUEAKY WHEEL IS THE ONE THAT'S TALKING THE MOST, AND USUALLY IT'S ABOUT A PROBLEM.
AND, UM, UH, THAT'S A TOUGH ONE BECAUSE THERE'S BEEN A LOT, I MEAN, I CAN THINK OF A LOT OF TIMES, UM, WHERE THERE'S BEEN A REALLY SMALL SUPER VOCAL GROUP THAT HAS GOTTEN THEIR WAY IN TOWN, AND IT'S BEEN FRUSTRATING TO ME.
UM, AND, UH, AGAIN, IT JUST NEEDS TO BE LIKE A NON-BIASED VIEW OF WHAT THE, WHAT IS BEST FOR THE COMMUNITY OF SEDONA AS A WHOLE.
AND THEN THERE JUST NEEDS TO BE PUBLIC OUTREACH TO TRY TO GET MORE PEOPLE TO ENGAGE IN.
AND THAT'S WHY I'M HERE BECAUSE I'M WANTING TO GET ENGAGED AND BE A PART OF THIS AND HELP STEER THINGS TOWARDS,
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UM, WHAT'S BEST FOR THE COMMUNITY.AND ALSO I THINK THAT I ADD, UH, A DEMOGRAPHIC THAT, UH, NEEDS TO BE SHOWING UP AND, UM, HELP REPRESENT IN THESE MEETINGS.
HOW FAMILIAR ARE YOU WITH ARIZONA'S OPEN MEETING LAW, INCLUDING THE APPROPRIATE USE OF EXECUTIVE SESSIONS? AND HOW WOULD YOU ENSURE COMPLIANCE AS A PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSIONER? UH, TO BE QUITE HONEST, I DON'T HAVE A LOT OF UNDERSTANDING OF THAT.
IMAGINE YOU WERE AT A PUBLIC PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MEETING LATE IN THE EVENING.
A CONTROVERSIAL PROPOSAL MADE TO THE TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS OF THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE.
PUBLIC TESTIMONIES OVERWHELMINGLY OPPOSED DUE TO CONCERNS ABOUT NEIGHBORHOOD CHARACTER TRAFFIC, WATER USE, DARK SKIES AND SCENIC IMPACTS, EMOTIONS ARE HIGH, THE ROOM IS TENSE, AND YOU KNOW, YOUR DECISION WILL LIKELY BE IZED REGARDLESS OF THE OUTCOME.
HOW WOULD YOU APPROACH YOUR DECISION MAKING IN THAT MOMENT, AND HOW WOULD YOU EXPLAIN YOUR VOTE TO THE PUBLIC? UM, YEAH, IT'S TOUGH.
I, I, I PERSONALLY FEEL THAT, UH, SOMETIMES PEOPLE, SOMETIMES PEOPLE ARE CONCERNED WITH ABOUT THINGS AND THEY DON'T REALLY HAVE ALL OF THE FACTS.
SO THEY, THEY'RE CONCERNED ABOUT SOMETHING THAT'S NOT REAL.
SOMETIMES THEY'RE REALLY EDUCATED AND THEY KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON.
AND I WOULD HOPE THAT US AS, UH, YOU KNOW, A VOTING BODY WOULD BE ABLE TO HAVE THE INFORMATION WHERE WE KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON AND ALL THE FACTS THAT HELPS GUIDE US IN THE RIGHT DECISION.
AND I THINK SOMETIMES THERE'S PROBABLY GONNA BE SOME TOUGH DECISIONS WHERE IT GOES AGAINST WHAT THE PEOPLE STANDING HERE IN A MEETING OR WANTING.
UM, BUT IT WOULD BE AT A CASE BY CASE BASIS, YOU KNOW, LIKE, UM, YOU KNOW, I WOULD JUST TRY TO LOOK AT IT THROUGH THE LENS OF, OF A LOVING AND KIND WAY OF, OF HELPING THE CITY ACHIEVE ITS, ITS PLAN THAT WE'VE SET FORTH.
SO LIKE, YOU SET THESE COMMUNITY PLANS AND, UH, AND THEN AS LONG AS YOU'RE FOLLOWING CODE AND EVERYTHING, YOU WANT TO TRY TO, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE CERTAINLY NOT GONNA PLEASE EVERYBODY IN THE MOMENT.
UM, AND SO I WOULD RELY ON, UH, THE REST OF THE TEAM AND WORK THROUGH THINGS IN A, IN A, UH, PRACTICAL AND EDUCATED WAY.
UM, THERE'S A FOLLOW UP QUESTION.
HOW IMPORTANT IS PUBLIC INPUT IN THE PLANNING PROCESS? AND HOW SHOULD IT BE WEIGHED AGAINST TECHNICAL RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE STAFF? UM, YEAH, I MEAN, THE, THE PUBLIC INPUT IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
IT DEPENDS ON WHO'S SHOWING UP TOO.
UM, BECAUSE IS THIS, ARE THESE PEOPLE THAT ARE SHOWING UP, ARE THEY REPRESENTING THE SEDONA CITY COMMUNITY, THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE? OR ARE THEY, UM, JUST A FEW VOCAL PEOPLE? DO THEY HAVE THE FACTS? DO THEY KNOW WHAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT? UM, YOU KNOW, UM, IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S A CASE BY CASE BASIS.
CAN I HAVE A FOLLOW UP TO THAT? SURE.
SOMETIMES THINGS HAPPEN, YOU KNOW, THERE'S AN APPLICATION IN A PARTICULAR NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, BUT SOMETIMES THERE MIGHT BE PEOPLE WHO LIVE ON THE OTHER END OF TOWN THAT HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT THE PROJECT IN YOUR, IT DEPENDS ON WHO SHOWS UP, COMMENT.
HOW DO YOU WEIGH THAT? UM, SAY THAT AGAIN, IF, OKAY.
SO LET'S SAY SOMETHING'S HAPPENING ONLY IN THE CHAPEL NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND SOMEBODY LIVES OFF OF DRY CREEK ROAD.
DOES THE DRY CREEK ROAD PERSON, IN YOUR OPINION, DO THEIR COMMENTS WEIGH AS MUCH AS THE NEIGHBOR IN CHAPEL REGARDING AN APPLICATION? WE'RE ALL IN SEDONA, SO I'M JUST WONDERING HOW YOU WEIGH THAT.
YEAH, I MEAN, THE THING IS, IT SHOULD WEIGH, BECAUSE IF YOU'RE SETTING A PRECEDENCE IN ONE AREA, IT COULD HAPPEN IN OTHER AREAS OF SEDONA.
SO, I MEAN, WE ALL ARE PART OF THE COMMUNITY.
THEY'RE ALL, UH, I LIVE OFF OF DRAG CREEK ROAD.
I GO MOUNTAIN BIKING OVER BY A CHAPEL, UH, AND I HAVE TO DRIVE RIDE THROUGH THE NEIGHBORHOOD SOMETIMES WHEN I'M CONNECTING LIKE A MYSTIC TRAIL OVER TO LAMA TRAIL.
UM, AND SO THAT IS, UM, I MEAN, IT AFFECTS US ALL.
I THINK YOU HAVE WEIGH WHAT THE ARGUMENTS ARE.
[00:30:01]
DOES THIS, IS THIS PERSON JUST ARGUING FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUING? OR IS THIS A, ARE THEY ARGUING BECAUSE OF SOME STORY THAT THEY'VE GOT? AND IT'S NOT REALLY THE FACTS OF WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN? UM, THAT'S A TOUGH ONE.I MEAN, I, BUT YEAH, I THINK EACH PERSON HAS A VOICE AND IT'S ALL IMPORTANT.
I THINK WE'RE ALL PART OF THE COMMUNITY.
I, I'LL ASK THE LAST QUESTION, WHICH IS, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD ABOUT YOUR INTEREST IN SERVING ON THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION? UM, I'M JUST, I'M EXCITED TO BE HERE.
I THINK IT'S COOL TO, UM, THAT THIS CHANCE CAME MY WAY.
UM, AND I THINK, UH, THIS IS A GREAT WAY FOR ME TO START SERVING THE COMMUNITY.
UM, I'VE GOT THE TIME, I'VE GOT THE EAGERNESS TO DO IT.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, I, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT WITH HAVING TWO KIDS THAT LIVE HERE TO HELP GUIDE THE COMMUNITY, UM, IN, IN THE WAY THAT I'D LIKE TO SEE IT.
AND, AND REALLY HELP, UM, YOU KNOW, DO SOMETHING FOR THE CITY THAT IS, UH, SOMETHING THAT COULD TURN OUT TO BE BEAUTIFUL AND, AND LAST FOR A REALLY LONG TIME.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS BY THE COUNCIL? WELL, THANK YOU FOR COMING.
SARAH, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? NO.
I WAS A LOT MORE NERVOUS THAN
SO YOU CAN COME BACK AT THREE O'CLOCK AND IF YOU WANT TO SEE WHAT THE RESULTS ARE, MY, WE OUR LAST INTERVIEWS AT 1 45 AND WE'RE ALLOWING 45 MINUTES FOR THE INTERVIEW, AND THEN WE'RE GONNA GO AND DISCUSS ALL THE APPLICANTS AND DECIDE.
SO ROUGHLY AROUND THREE O'CLOCK MIGHT BE A FEW MINUTES BEFORE OR AFTER.
UM, ARE WE BROADCAST? I'M EXCITED AND, UH, I DO WANT TO DO IT.
VERY MUCH SO ARE WE BROADCASTING THIS SESSION? MM-HMM
IF YOU DIDN'T WANT TO GET BACK TO COUNCIL CHAMBERS, IT'LL BE, IT'S LIKE A FIVE MINUTE BREAK.
I'M GONNA GO SEE IF MARY QUINN'S OUT THERE.
ANYBODY NEED A BREAK? FEEL FREE TO DO WHAT YOU NEED TO DO.
I DID YOU BLAME IT ON THEM? HMM? BLAME IT ON THEM? NO, I JUST, I'M JUST EXPLAINING.
[00:35:03]
OKAY.YOU NEVER SEEN, DIDN'T KNOW THAT THAT WAS TRUE.
THIS IS EXACTLY, WHAT IS IT EXACTLY, TURTLE? THERE'S CHERRY IN THERE.
CRANBERRY, CRANBERRY, CHOCOLATE.
I MAKING A BIG THING TOMORROW.
WE'RE JUST WAITING TWO OF THE COUNSELORS TO COME BACK.
READY? EVERYONE READY? NOT BAD.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN PLANNING AND ZONING.
IT'S SO NICE TO SEE YOU GIVING YOU THE OPPORTUNITY.
WE, OUR MICS ARE SHORT, BUT WE'RE RECORDING THIS, SO IF YOU CAN SPEAK INTO THE MIC, I'LL DO MY BEST.
SO WE'RE INTERVIEWING FOUR PEOPLE TODAY.
AND OUR LAST INTERVIEW IS AT 1 45.
SO PLUS OR MINUS AROUND THREE O'CLOCK, WE SHOULD HAVE A DECISION, AND YOU'RE WELCOME TO RETURN TO HEAR IT OR WE'LL CONTACT YOU OR YOU CAN WATCH IT LIVE, ANY AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS.
AND SO WE'RE GOING TO EACH ASK YOU A QUESTION AND WE'RE ROTATING.
SO WE'LL START WITH PETE THIS TIME.
AS, AS THE MAYOR SAID, UH, WE'LL START WITH WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO SERVE ON THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION.
I RECOGNIZE THAT SOME OF THESE WILL BE REPEATS OF THE INFORMATION THAT YOU HAVE SENT BEFORE, BUT, OH, OKAY.
MY BEST MOTIVATES YOU TO SERVE ON THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION AND WHAT INFLUENCED YOUR INTEREST.
CAN YOU DISCUSS A RECENT PLANNING AND ZONING CASE THAT WAS OF PARTICULAR INTEREST TO YOU? AND WHAT ABOUT THAT CASE CAUGHT YOUR ATTENTION AND WHY? UM, WELL, WHAT MOTIVATES ME IS, UM, I HAVE TIME NOW THAT I'M RETIRED SO I CAN VOLUNTEER.
CAN YOU SPEAK TO THE, I'M SORRY.
I HAVE TIME NOW THAT I CAN VOLUNTEER MY TIME.
UM, MY BACKGROUND, I AM AN ATTORNEY, UH, AND I HAVE A GRADUATE DEGREE IN, UH, PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION FOCUSED ON CONSTITUTIONAL LAW AND STATUTORY INTERPRETATION.
SO EVEN THOUGH I DON'T HAVE AN URBAN PLANNING DEGREE, I THOUGHT THAT THERE WOULD BE SOME SKILLSET THAT WOULD BE APPLICABLE, UH, FOR THIS TYPE OF POSITION.
UM, I, I LIKE THE COMPLEXITY OF IT.
UM, I'M VERY USED TO READING LARGE VOLUMES OF THINGS AND SYNTHESIZING
[00:40:01]
INFORMATION AND, AND SO THAT PART OF IT IS INTERESTING TO ME.AND ALSO I HAVE A, UH, HAVE ALWAYS IN MY, UH, LEGAL, UH, PRACTICE HAD A BIG FOCUS ON DUE PROCESS OPPORTUNITIES BE HEARD, UH, THE RIGHT TO PRIVATE CITIZENS, UM, HAVING A VOICE IN THE COUNCIL.
AND SO THAT IS A, ALSO AN INTEREST THAT I WOULD FOCUS ON A RECENT CASE.
UM, I KNOW THERE WAS A CONDITIONAL USE, UH, NOT A CONDITIONAL USE, EXCUSE ME.
THERE IS A CASE, UH, THAT RECENTLY, UH, WITH THE, UH, I, IT'S A, IT'S A HOTEL, I BELIEVE, OR A, A COMPLEX ACROSS THE ROAD FROM, UH, WHOLE FOODS MM-HMM
SO THAT, THAT IS ONE THAT I'VE BEEN KIND OF WATCHING, BUT NOTHING REALLY FOCUS ON FOR YOU.
WHAT DO YOU SEE? SORRY, CAN I ASK A FOLLOW UP? APOLOGIES.
UM, MARY, THANKS FOR BEING HERE.
UM, WHAT ABOUT THAT THOUGH, THE PROJECT YOU WERE REFERRING TO IS SADDLE ROCK VILLAGE? UH, I THINK IT'S GONNA HAVE A DIFFERENT NAME NOW.
THE, UH, THE DARLING DARLING THE DARLING HOTEL.
UM, WHAT ABOUT THAT WAS INTERESTING TO YOU? WELL, I, I, I WAS, I WAS NOT REALLY DRAWN TO HAVING THAT HOTEL IN THAT PARTICULAR AREA.
THE CONCERN WAS TRAFFIC ISSUES AND, UH, THINGS OF THAT SORT.
SO THAT'S WHAT KIND OF DRAW DREW ME TO HAVING A KIND OF A, A SMALL INTEREST IN JUST WONDERING WHAT WAS GOING ON.
HOW DID YOU FEEL, UH, UH, NOT KNOWING EXACTLY TO WHAT EXTENT YOU FOLLOWED IT.
UH, HOW, WHAT WOULD YOU, UH, HOW WOULD YOU RATE THE, UH, OUTREACH AND EFFORT THAT WAS MADE TO, TO HEAR FROM THE COMMUNITY ON THAT PROJECT? I, I THINK IT WAS FAIRLY GOOD.
I, I, I THINK THAT WHEN YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO CONSIDER THAT OBVIOUSLY THERE IS A NEED IN SEDONA TO HAVE, UH, ADDITIONAL BUILDING, BUT I THINK YOU NEED TO BE VERY, UM, CONSIDERATE OF WHAT THE COMMUNITY THINKS, UH, AND TAKE THAT INPUT IN.
UH, BUT I THINK THIS STUFF IS OFTENTIMES DATA DRIVEN AND FACT BASED DRIVEN, AND SO IF IT MEETS THE CRITERIA OF THE, THE COMMUNITY PLAN THAT SEDONA HAS, THEN, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN LISTEN TO WHAT THE PUBLIC MIGHT THINK OR SAY, OR THEY MIGHT COMPLAIN.
BUT, YOU KNOW, I THINK YOU HAVE TO DO WHAT THE FACTS TELL YOU, AND YOU NEED TO BE CONSISTENT ABOUT DECISIONS, SO.
MARY, IF I MAY, DID YOU ENGAGE YOURSELF IN THE PROCESS? DID YOU COME TO MEETINGS OR WRITE LETTERS OR DO ANYTHING? NO.
SO THANKS AGAIN FOR BEING HERE.
UM, WHAT DO YOU SEE AS IMPORTANT PLANNING ISSUES FACING THE CITY NOW AND OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS, AND WHY ARE THOSE THE IMPORTANT ONES? WELL, I THINK THERE'S NOT A LOT OF RAW LAND THAT IS AVAILABLE TO BUILD IN SEDONA MM-HMM
SO IT'S KIND OF THE FILL IN, OR, YOU KNOW, I, SINCE I DON'T HAVE THE TECHNICAL BACKGROUND URBAN PLANNER, I HAVE TO JUST KIND OF USE THE LAYPERSON'S TERMS. BUT YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH WHAT YOU ARE WORKING WITH.
AND SO WHEN YOU'RE MAKING THOSE DECISIONS ABOUT WHAT'S GOING TO GO IN THIS PARTICULAR PIECE OF, OF, OF PROPERTY OR RAW LAND, YOU NEED TO BE CONSCIOUS OF HOW IT'S GONNA AFFECT THE NEIGHBORHOOD, THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT, THINGS OF THAT SORT.
AND IT NEEDS TO BE CONSISTENT SO THAT WE MAINTAIN THE BEAUTY OF SEDONA, BUT UNDERSTANDING THAT THERE'S GONNA BE PROGRESS, THINGS ARE GOING TO CHANGE.
MUCH OF THE COMMISSION'S WORK NOW CENTERS ON APPLYING AND REFINING ADOPTED PLANS AND ORDINANCES RATHER THAN REVIEWING INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS THAT CHANGED LAST YEAR BECAUSE OF THE LEGISLATURE.
WHAT RELEVANT EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE, OR PERSPECTIVE WOULD YOU BRING TO HELP ENSURE THOSE POLICIES ARE APPLIED CONSISTENTLY AND IN ALIGNMENT WITH SEDONAS COMMUNITY VALUES? UM, I THINK THAT IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WHEN YOU ARE MAKING DECISIONS ON PRIVATE PROPERTY LAND USE, THAT, THAT THEY'RE RATIONAL, THEY'RE REASONABLE, THAT YOU, THEY'RE EV EVIDENCE-BASED DRIVEN, AND THAT YOU MAINTAIN CONSISTENCY AS BEST YOU CAN WITH PRIOR DECISIONS.
UM, I THINK ONE OF THE DIFFICULTIES, KIND OF A GRAY AREA IS NOT
[00:45:01]
EVERY PROJECT, OR PROBABLY MOST PROJECTS ARE NOT THE SAME.SO THEY'RE ALWAYS KIND OF A CASE BY CASE BASIS, BUT YOU USE THE DATA AND YOU USE THE PROFESSIONALS THAT, YOU KNOW, THE STAFF THAT GIVE YOU THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS, AND YOU TRY TO BE EVEN HANDED IN YOUR APPLICATION.
SO THAT'S WHAT I WOULD ALWAYS TRY TO DO AS FAR AS IF I WERE A COMMISSIONER, MAKING A RECOMMENDATION TO THE COUNCIL AS TO WHAT DECISION, YOU KNOW, THEY SHOULD MAKE.
WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO APPROVE A PROPOSAL THAT COMPLIES WITH THE CITY'S ADOPTED DESIGN STANDARDS AND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS, EVEN IF THE DESIGN DOES NOT ALIGN WITH YOUR PERSONAL PREFERENCES? AND HOW WOULD YOU APPROACH THAT DECISION? WELL, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
UH, OF COURSE I WOULD, I MEAN, I, I JUST THINK BIAS, PERSONAL BIAS HAS TO BE LEFT OUT OF DECISIONS LIKE THAT.
IT'S VERY FACT DRIVEN, AND YOU HAVE THE DATA, AND IF THE, THE PROJECT MEETS THE CRITERIA, THEN IT, IT WOULD BE IMPROPER NOT TO GO FORWARD.
UM, OBVIOUSLY WE ALL HAVE BIASES, SO IT'S JUST SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO SET ASIDE.
THERE'S A SECOND PART TO THIS, WHICH IS, HOW DO YOU BALANCE PERSONAL PROPERTY RIGHTS VERSUS BROADER COMMUNITY INTERESTS WHEN CONSIDERING A PROPOSAL IN FRONT OF PNZ? WELL, PERSONAL PROPERTY RIGHTS, ALTHOUGH THEY'RE, I MEAN, THEY'RE A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT.
I'VE ALWAYS CONSIDERED THEM A FUNDAMENTAL, RIGHT.
I THINK THAT YOU HAVE TO WEIGH VERY MUCH THE OWNER OR THE PERSON THAT WANTS TO MAKE A CHANGE OR DO SOMETHING.
BUT IT HAS TO BE, UH, THE BALANCE IS TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT WHATEVER THAT REQUESTED CHANGE, IF IT'S, IF IT'S APPROVED, THAT IT DOES NOT TAKE AWAY THE RIGHTS FROM OTHER PEOPLE, OTHER PROPERTY OWNERS.
IT DOES NOT HARM THE NATURAL RESOURCES OF SEDONA, YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, LIGHTING AND THINGS LIKE THAT, SINCE WE'RE A DARK SKY.
SO IT'S A, IT'S A BALANCE AND IT'S, AND, AND IT'S A, IT'S NOT AN EASY ONE.
THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION OFTEN INTERPRETS AND APPLIES THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE OR THE LDC.
ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH IT? HOW COMFORTABLE ARE YOU WITH READING, APPLYING, AND SOMETIMES QUESTIONING CODE LANGUAGE? AND HOW WOULD YOU APPROACH SITUATIONS WHERE THE CODE MAY NOT ALIGN WITH CURRENT COMMUNITY VALUES? UM, I'M, I'M VERY COMFORTABLE WITH READING CODE.
UM, UH, I, I AM FAMILIAR WITH THE, UH, LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, AND SO I, I THINK THAT, UM, HOW YOU APPLY THAT IF, IF IT DOESN'T ALIGN WITH, UH, I THINK YOUR QUESTION WAS A, A COMMUNITY, UH, COMMUNITY VALUES, VALUES, UM, IF IT, IF THE REQUEST MEETS THE STANDARD, IF IT MEETS ALL OF THE, UM, ALL OF THE CRITERIA THAT IT SHOULD BE APPROVED, I THINK THAT WHEN YOU'RE BRINGING IN THE COMMUNITY, PROBABLY FOR THE MEETINGS AND STAKEHOLDERS, AND YOU'RE GETTING, UH, THE INPUT FROM THE COMMUNITY, IT'S IMPORTANT TO HEAR PEOPLE, BUT SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE GONNA MAKE DECISIONS THAT THEY DON'T LIKE.
AND SO IT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT HAS TO BE DONE.
AND I, BUT I THINK IF YOU LISTEN TO PEOPLE AND GIVE THEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO VOICE THEIR OBJECTIONS, OFTENTIMES, I THINK THAT'S HELPFUL FOR, NOT, FOR SOME PEOPLE IT'S NOT.
BUT I THINK THAT THE, THE, THE ABILITY TO ALLOW PEOPLE TO VOICE THEIR OPINION IS IMPORTANT.
SO A FOLLOW UP ON THAT, YOU MENTIONED FAMILIARITY WITH THE LDC, BEYOND PREPARATION FOR THE APPLICATION AND, AND OUR MEETING TODAY, HAVE YOU HAD ANY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH THE CITY OF SEDONA AND ITS LDC? NO.
UM, YOU SAID THE QUESTION IS, DOES IT MEET THE STANDARDS? MM-HMM.
WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DON'T AGREE WITH THE STANDARDS? PERSONALLY, LIKE I PERSONALLY, RIGHT.
UM, I, I THINK I SHOULD CHECK THAT AT THE DOOR.
I THINK THE STANDARD IS THE STANDARD.
IF, IF ALL THE EVIDENCE AND THE DATA AND THE PROFESSIONALS HAVE RECOMMENDED IT, THAT'S, THANK YOU.
YOU KNOW, THINGS ARE NOT ALWAYS BLACK AND WHITE.
WE LIVE IN THE WORLD OF GRAY, GRAY, AND SO SOME OF THESE PROJECTS DON'T MEET ALL THE CRITERIA.
[00:50:01]
MEET MOST OF THE CRITERIA, BUT NOT ALL OF THE CRITERIA.SO THERE'S SOME WIGGLE ROOM IN THERE.
I I THINK YOU SHOULD LOOK AT PAST DECISIONS, TRYING TO MAINTAIN CONSISTENCY, BECAUSE I THINK MOST OF YOUR DECISIONS, AT LEAST FROM MY OBSERVATIONS, THEY'RE ALL VERY GRAY.
AND SO THAT'S THE, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S SOMEBODY REQUESTING A PERMIT AND THEY MEET THE CRITERIA, THEN, YOU KNOW, THAT'S PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD.
BUT YEAH, THE GRAY, THAT'S WHY IT'S HARD.
THE GRAY AREA IS DIFFICULT, OTHERWISE WE WOULDN'T REALLY NEED A COMMISSION.
IN YOUR VIEW, DOES SEDONAS ADOPTED COMMUNITY PLAN CONTINUE TO REFLECT THE COMMUNITY'S CURRENT VISION AND VALUES? PLEASE SHARE EXAMPLES ON YOUR PERSPECTIVE AND EXPLAIN HOW YOU WOULD RELY ON THE PLAN TO GUIDE YOUR DECISIONS, PARTICULARLY WHEN A PROPOSAL GENERATES STRONG PUBLIC OPPOSITION.
UM, WELL, I AM FAMILIAR WITH THE PLAN.
I KNOW THAT, UM, YOU, YOU TAKE IN ALL OF THE EVIDENCE AND ALL THE FACTS, AND YOU LOOK AT THAT.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, THE, THE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE COMMUNITY TO BE HEARD THROUGH PROCESS VERY IMPORTANT.
AND SO I THINK THE NOTICE AND, AND PEOPLE BEING ABLE TO VOICE THEIR OBJECTIONS ARE IMPORTANT.
BUT, UM, I THINK SEDONA IS SUCH A RARE PLACE IN THAT WE HAVE NATURAL RESOURCES THAT HAVE TO BE PROTECTED.
AND SO YOU JUST HAVE TO WEIGH THAT BALANCE IN TRYING TO ALLOW GROWTH TO OCCUR IN SEDONA, BUT PROTECT, UH, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR WONDERFUL RESOURCES, OUR VIEWS, OUR ROCKS, OUR HIKING, AND YET, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH, OF COURSE, THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF QUADS AND THINGS THAT LIKE TO GO OUT ON THESE TRAILS.
AND, AND I, YOU KNOW, WE UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT THERE IS A REASON WHY THERE ARE RESTRICTIONS, AND THERE'S A REASON WHY YOU HAVE, UM, A VERY EXTENSIVE KIND OF, UM, PLAN IN YOUR, YOUR COMMUNITY PLAN IN THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S KIND OF A CONTEXT, BUT IT'S A WRITTEN PLAN.
IT'S KIND OF A HOPE FOR SEDONA.
BUT, UM, I, I, I MEAN, I THINK YOU GUYS WORK VERY HARD AT TRYING TO KEEP SEDONA BEAUTIFUL, AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT MOST PEOPLE WANT.
BUT WE DO UNDERSTAND THE REALITY IS, IS THAT WE HAVE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE THAT VISIT HERE, AND WE HAVE GROWTH, AND IT'S JUST THE FACT OF LIFE.
I HOPE I ANSWERED YOUR QUESTION BACK AROUND, OVER THIS SIDE.
HOW FAMILIAR ARE YOU WITH ARIZONA'S OPEN MEETING LAW, INCLUDING THE APPROPRIATE USE OF EXECUTIVE SESSIONS AND HOW ENSURE COMPLIANCE IS A PLANNING ZONING COMMISSIONER? I'M VERY COM I'M VERY FAMILIAR WITH OPEN MEETING LAWS, AND I'M VERY FAMILIAR WITH AGENDA SETTING AND WITH THE, UH, SUNLAND SPRINGS REQUIREMENT.
NOW, MINE, UM, IMAGINE THAT YOU WERE AT A PUBLIC PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MEETING LATE IN THE EVENING.
A CONTROVERSIAL PROPOSAL MEETS THE TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS OF THE LDC, BUT PUBLIC TESTIMONY IS OVERWHELMINGLY OPPOSED DUE TO CONCERNS ABOUT NEIGHBORHOOD CHARACTER TRAFFIC, WATER USE, DARK SKIES, AND SCENIC IMPACTS.
EMOTIONS ARE HIGH, THE ROOM IS TENSES, AND YOU KNOW, YOUR DECISION WILL LIKELY BE CRITICIZED REGARDLESS OF THE OUTCOME.
HOW WOULD YOU APPROACH YOUR DECISION MAKING IN THAT MOMENT, AND HOW WOULD YOU EXPLAIN YOUR VOTE TO THE PUBLIC? AND YOU'RE SAYING THAT IT MET ALL THE CRITERIA AS FAR AS THE, THE PROPOSAL IT MEETS THE TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS? UM, WELL, I, OBVIOUSLY WE WOULD LISTEN TO, UM, PEOPLE'S OBJECTION.
UM, IT WOULD NOT CHANGE MY OPINION WHEN THERE, I WOULD, IF IT MET THE TECHNICAL CRITERIA, I RECOMMEND THAT IT BE APPROVED.
A LITTLE, HERE'S A LITTLE FOLLOW UP.
HOW IMPORTANT IS PUBLIC INPUT IN THE PLANNING PROCESS, AND HOW SHOULD IT BE WEIGHED AGAINST TECHNICAL RECOMMENDATIONS FROM STAFF? I THINK AT THE VERY BEGINNING, AND ALTHOUGH, AND THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS, PUBLIC OPINION IS VERY IMPORTANT.
BRINGING IN RESIDENTS, STAKEHOLDERS, I THINK THAT GETTING THAT INPUT IS REALLY HELPFUL, NOT ONLY FOR THE PROCESS, BUT AT THE END WHEN THE DECISION IS EITHER SOMETHING THEY LIKE OR SOMETHING THEY DON'T LIKE.
IF THEY'VE PARTICIPATED IN THE PROCESS AND THEY FEEL LIKE THEY'VE BEEN HEARD.
IF YOU'RE A REGULAR RATIONAL PERSON, YOU'RE GONNA UNDERSTAND THAT PROCESS, AND YOU'RE GOING TO KNOW SOMETIMES YOU WIN 'EM AND SOMETIMES YOU DON'T.
[00:55:01]
KNOW, THAT'S HOW IT, HOW IT GOES.BUT I THINK BRINGING IN STAKEHOLDERS AND RESIDENTS GETTING INPUT, I MEAN, I THINK THAT'S JUST PART OF THE INITIAL PROCESS OF WHEN YOU'RE TRYING TO DECIDE IF YOU'RE GOING TO APPROVE SOMETHING OR NOT.
BUT I DON'T THINK THAT IT HAS THE FACTUAL, IT'S NOT DRIVEN FACTUALLY BY THE EVIDENCE AND THE DEATH.
I THINK IT'S JUST A SEPARATE, IT'S A SEPARATE PRONG OF THAT.
UH, SO IT, THERE WAS A CASE A COUPLE YEARS AGO WHERE THE PROJECT MET THE TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS, BUT PART OF THE, BUT THAT'S JUST ONE PIECE OF THE PROJECT.
PART OF THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE DEVELOPERS ALSO TO MEET WITH THE COMMUNITY AND EXPLAIN THE PROJECT TO THE COMMUNITY, LISTEN TO THEIR CONCERNS, AND ACTUALLY TRY TO, TO RESOLVE THEM, TRY TO MEET THEM HALFWAY.
AND THEY HADN'T FOLLOWED THAT.
SO HERE YOU HAVE A SITUATION WHERE TECHNICALLY, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN CHECK THE BOX, BUT THEN THERE'S OTHER BOXES THAT CAN'T BE CHECKED.
SO IT'S, SO THIS, THIS QUESTION TALKED ABOUT TECHNICAL, SO I JUST WANTED YOU TO KNOW THERE'S MORE THAN JUST TECHNICAL.
I THINK THAT'S WHY IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT AT THE VERY BEGINNING AND THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE PROCESS THAT YOU INCLUDE THE COMMUNITY AND OTHER, YOU KNOW, OTHERS THAT MAY BE INVESTED IN WHATEVER'S GOING.
AND WHAT HAPPENED IS THAT IT WAS SENT BACK TO DO MORE COMMUNITY OUTREACH, AND A LOT OF THE COMMUNITY'S CONCERNS WERE THEN ALLEVIATED MM-HMM
SO THE COMMUNITY AND THE DEVELOPERS SORT OF MET IN THE MIDDLE.
I THINK THAT'S SO IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO FEEL LIKE THEY CAN EXPRESS WHAT THEY'RE THINKING, WHAT THEY'RE FEELING, AND BE HEARD, BE LISTENED TO.
BECAUSE IF YOU, IF YOU BYPASS THAT STEP AND YOU DON'T HAVE COMMUNITY SUPPORT, THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT OF OBJECTION ALL THE TIME.
AND NOBODY WANTS TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH THAT IF THEY CAN HELP IT.
SO WE HAVE, YOU SAID YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.
THERE ARE CERTAIN PARAMETERS WITHIN, WITHIN THIS RADIUS, SOMEBODY NEEDS TO BE NOTIFIED OF POTENTIAL PROJECT.
SO LET'S SAY THERE'S A PROJECT THAT'S HAPPENING IN UPTOWN, AND THE IMMEDIATE NEIGHBORS ARE NOTIFIED, BUT SOMEBODY WHO LIVES IN CHAPEL OR OVER HERE ON DRY CREEK WAS NOT NOTIFIED AND THEY GET INFORMATION LATE ONLY WHEN THEY SEE IT ON THE AGENDA AND THEY COME AND VOICE SOME CONCERNS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN PREVIOUSLY VETTED.
HOW DOES THAT FACTOR INTO THE PROCESS AND INTO YOUR CONSIDERATION? UM, WELL, I KNOW THAT THERE'S A REQUIREMENT OF A CERTAIN PARAMETER TO BE NOTIFIED.
AND IF THEY'RE OUTSIDE OF THAT, I MEAN, I THINK IT'S FINE FOR THEM TO HAVE A VOICE AND TO EXPRESS WHAT THEY'RE THINKING, BUT I DON'T THINK THAT THEY WERE NOT GIVEN ADEQUATE NOTICE.
I THINK ADEQUATE NOTICE IS IMPORTANT, AND THEN USUALLY IF IT'S A BIG PROJECT, THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY IS GIVING IT.
AND SO I, YOU KNOW, NOTICE IS AN IMPORTANT THING.
AND SO THE, THE ABILITY TO LET PEOPLE KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON AND LET THEM VOICE WHAT THEY THINK IS REALLY QUITE FUNDAMENTAL TO NOT HAVING A LOT OF ISSUES WHEN A PROJECT IS GETTING APPROVED OR NOT APPROVED.
BUT I DON'T THINK, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, IF THEY COME IN AND THEY'RE UPSET, I MEAN, YOU WOULD LISTEN TO WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY, BUT I DON'T THINK THAT THAT WOULD CHANGE ANYTHING THAT I WAS THINKING, UNLESS IT WAS THERE WAS SOMETHING RELEVANT STATED THAT WE DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT.
YOU WANNA END, OR ME, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD ABOUT YOUR INTEREST IN SERVING ON THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION THAT WE HAVEN'T TALKED ABOUT? UM, GOSH, THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS, BUT, UM, I, JUST SO THAT YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, I HAVE A LOT OF TIME, I KNOW THAT THIS PARTICULAR VOLUNTEER POSITION REQUIRES A LOT OF TIME, AND SO I HAVE THAT ABILITY.
UH, I'M MORE THAN WILLING TO DO IT.
IT WOULD BE AN ENJOYABLE THING FOR ME.
UM, SO, UM, I DO HAVE THE TIME.
I, UH, ALTHOUGH I DON'T HAVE AN URBAN PLANNING DEGREE, I DO HAVE SOME BACKGROUND THAT I THINK IS APPLICABLE AND I WOULD ENJOY IT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM COUNSELORS? YEAH, I, I WOULD SURE I, I'D LIKE TO HEAR A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE KIND OF LAW YOU DID PRACTICE.
YOU MENTIONED SOME CONSTITUTIONAL LAW BRIEFLY AS YOU CAN, BUT YEAH, MY BACKGROUND WAS IN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW.
HOWEVER, I PRACTICED BECAUSE I WENT TO SCHOOL LATE
[01:00:01]
IN LIFE.I HAD THREE CAREERS IN MY LIFE.
AND SO MY LAST CAREER WAS AN ATTORNEY.
AND SO I WENT TO COLLEGE AND GOT MY DEGREES AND THEN WENT ON TO LAW SCHOOL AND GOT MY DIRECT DOCTORATE.
AND SO MY FOCUS WAS ON CITY GOVERNMENT AND CONSTITUTIONAL LAW.
THAT WAS WHERE I STUDIED AT SOUTHWESTERN LAW.
BUT, UM, THE REALITY WAS I WAS 48 YEARS OLD, AND WHEN I WENT INTO PRIVATE PRACTICE, I HAD PRACTICED FAMILY LAW OF WAR.
SO THAT WAS WHERE MY FOCUS WAS.
UM, I NOTICED IN YOUR, UM, SUBMISSION THAT YOU'RE ON YOUR HOA AND I'M JUST WONDERING HOW LONG YOU'VE BEEN ON YOUR HOA AND WHAT KIND OF LAND USE ISSUES HAVE YOU DEALT WITH AS AN HOA REPRESENTATIVE? WELL, WE HAVE AN ARCHITECTURAL COMMITTEE THAT DOES THE LITTLE DISPUTES WITH THE LAND, BUT I'VE BEEN A BOARD MEMBER FOR TWO YEARS MM-HMM
AND, UH, MY TIME IS COMING UP IN FEBRUARY AND I'M NOT RENEWING.
UM, MY BIG PASSION, AND THE REASON I WENT ON THE BOARD WAS TO TRY TO PROMOTE A COMMUNITY GARDEN.
AND SO THAT'S WHERE, AND WE WERE SUCCESSFUL IN GETTING OUR LITTLE COMMUNITY GARDEN.
AND, UH, I WILL REMAIN ON THE, AS A CHAIR ON THE COMMUNITY GARDEN AND THE SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE.
THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF WHERE MY FOCUS IS.
AND SO, UM, I PUT IN MY TIME ON THE BOARD AND, UH,
I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME VERY MUCH.
I GUESS WE WILL RECESS UNTIL 1:00 PM AS OUR NEXT PERSON'S COMING AT ONE.
SO WE'RE RECESSING? NO, NOT AT ALL.
WE'RE BACK IN OPEN SESSION AND WE HAVE, UH, REBECCA SEDEN KRANZ.
I DON'T USUALLY USE A MICROPHONE, SO I DON'T KNOW HOW CLOSE I
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US TODAY.
THANK YOU FOR INTEREST IN THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION.
WE'RE GOING TO BE ASKING YOU QUESTIONS.
EACH COUNCIL MEMBER AND OUR LAST, UH, INTERVIEW, WE HAVE FOUR PEOPLE WE'RE INTERVIEWING TODAY FOR ONE POSITION, AND OUR LAST INTERVIEW IS AT 1 45.
SO ABOUT PLUS OR MINUS THREE O'CLOCK, WE SHOULD HAVE A DECISION, AND YOU'RE WELCOME TO COME BACK OR YOU CAN WATCH IT ON TV OR MARCY WILL REACH OUT TO YOU AND LET YOU KNOW WHAT WE'VE DECIDED.
SO WE'RE GONNA START WITH KATHY.
THANKS FOR YOUR INTEREST IN THIS POSITION.
THIS FIRST QUESTION IS PROBABLY A LITTLE BIT REDUNDANT TO WHAT YOU'VE GIVEN US ON YOUR APPLICATION, BUT, UM, WE JUST WANNA HEAR IT IN YOUR OWN WORDS OUTTA YOUR MOUTH.
WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO SERVE ON THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION AND WHAT INFLUENCED YOUR INTEREST? AND CAN YOU DISCUSS A RECENT PLANNING AND ZONING CASE THAT WAS A PARTICULAR INTEREST TO YOU? AND WHAT ABOUT THAT CASE? WAS IT THAT CAUGHT YOUR ATTENTION? OOH, THAT'S A LOT OF QUESTIONS.
I CAN'T HEAR ANY DIFFERENT, MY AUDIENCE.
UM, WELL, I HAVE, UH, AN INTEREST IN CONSTRUCTION BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN WORKING, THAT'S WHAT I WORKED IN FOR MY WHOLE CAREER, ABOUT 45 YEARS.
SO, UH, THAT'S MY MAIN REASON FOR APPLYING.
UM, I WOULD READ ABOUT PROJECTS IN THE PAPER AND THAT SORT OF THING, AND THAT'S KIND OF WHAT STARTED PEAKING MY INTEREST.
AND I'M INTERESTED IN THE HOUSING ISSUE FOR WORKER HOUSING.
UM, AND I DON'T KNOW THAT THERE WAS ANY CERTAIN THING THAT, EXCEPT FOR JUST SEEING IN THE PAPER AND READING THROUGH THE DESCRIPTION AND THINKING, I MIGHT WANNA DO THAT.
YOU KNOW, THAT SOUNDS REALLY INTERESTING.
SO THAT GOT ME, YOU KNOW, DOING A LITTLE MORE INVESTIGATION ABOUT THE POSITION AND THE PLANNING AND ZONING AND TALKED TO A FEW PEOPLE AND WENT TO THE, UH, WELL, I'M GOING TO THE CITIZENS ACADEMY, SO I'VE ACTUALLY MET ALL YOU GUYS BEFORE
[01:05:01]
BUT, UH, UH, UM, AND THEN WENT TO, UM, THE LAND, UH, DEVELOPMENT CODE MEETING THAT WAS HELD A COUPLE WEEKS AGO, JUST TO MEET THE PEOPLE THAT LIVED THAT, UH, WORKED IN THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.
AND THERE WAS A COUPLE OF THE COMMISSIONERS THERE.
AND THE MORE I FOUND OUT, THE MORE INTERESTED I WAS IN OR AM IN THE PLANNING AND OWNING POSITION, I THINK I AM QUALIFIED FOR IT, I THINK, AND I REALLY HAVE AN INTEREST IN IT, JUST NOT TO GET SOMETHING, CERTAIN THING DONE, BUT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE WAY THE CITY RUNS.
AND, AND I THINK SO FAR, I'M PRETTY IMPRESSED AFTER GOING AND HEARING THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS TALK ABOUT WHAT THEY DO AT THE CITIZENS ACADEMY.
UM, MUCH MORE ORGANIZED THAN I THOUGHT IT WAS
SO, SO IT JUST, IT TURNED OUT REALLY GREAT THAT, THAT THE CITIZENS ACADEMY WAS GOING ON AT THE SAME TIME THAT I SAW THE OTHER, UH, THE POSITION IN THE PAPER.
JUST TO FOLLOW UP ON THAT, REBECCA, YOU MENTIONED, UH, WORKER HOUSING AS A TOPIC OF INTEREST.
CAN YOU EXPAND UPON THAT? UH, WHAT INTERESTS YOU ABOUT IT? WHAT DO YOU SEE AS CHALLENGES? OPPORTUNITIES? UH, WHAT INTERESTS ME IS I THINK THAT IN ANY TOWN PRETTY MUCH SHOULD BE, THERE SHOULD BE HOUSING AVAILABLE FOR EVERYONE WHO WANTS TO LIVE THERE.
AND I SAY WORKER HOUSING BECAUSE I'VE TALKED TO SOME PEOPLE AND THEY'RE LIKE, ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT SECTION EIGHT HOUSING? AND, YOU KNOW, SO, BUT, BUT REALLY, I WOULDN'T HAVE ORIGINALLY CALLED IT WORKER HOUSING.
I WOULD JUST CALL IT AFFORDABLE HOUSING, BECAUSE I DON'T THINK HOUSING IS AFFORDABLE HERE,
SO, UM, AND, AND IT KIND OF TIES IN WITH, UM, I, I JUST THINK THAT EVERYBODY SHOULD HAVE A PLACE TO LIVE.
UH, I STARTED OUT BEING MORE INTERESTED IN THE HOMELESS ISSUE, AND THAT WAS A COUPLE YEARS AGO.
SO TALKED TO A LOT OF PEOPLE ABOUT THAT AND FOUND OUT THAT IT MAY BE, WASN'T HERE IN SEDONA, THE WAY I COME FROM, YOU KNOW, BIG CITY AND SEE A LOT OF HOMELESS PEOPLE AND, AND TALK TO SOME PEOPLE WHO ARE ACTUALLY HOMELESS.
AND THEY, THEY GAVE ME SOME GOOD INFORMATION.
AND THAT INFORMATION MADE ME THINK MORE ABOUT, UM, JUST BEING ABLE TO AFFORD AN APARTMENT OR A TOWNHOUSE MAYBE, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT A HOUSE, BECAUSE IF YOU'RE IN THE SERVICE INDUSTRY, AFFORDING A HOUSE IN SEDONA IS, IT'S A PRETTY BIG REACH SOMETIMES.
I DON'T KNOW THE, THE COST OF ALL OF THE HOUSING, BUT I BOUGHT MINE AND I KNOW IT WASN'T CHEAP.
SO, SO, UH, THEN I STARTED TO REALIZE THAT, WELL, IF YOU'RE GONNA TRY AND DO SOMETHING, THEN, YOU KNOW, LET'S START LOOKING FOR THINGS TO DO.
SO I FOUND, I GOT SOME INFORMATION ABOUT HOPE HOUSE, WHICH I'M SURE YOU'RE ALL FAMILIAR WITH, AND THAT WAS LIKE MY FIRST BIG STEP OF, OH, HERE'S SOMETHING I CAN REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE BY.
UM, YOU KNOW, GIVING MONEY TO THAT, THAT ORGANIZATION.
AND THAT'S WHAT GOT ME THINKING MORE ABOUT WORKER HOUSING AND YEAH, WHY SHOULD, I'VE HAD HEARD PEOPLE COMMENT LIKE, WELL, YOU KNOW, LOOK, PEOPLE THAT WORK IN THE SERVICE INDUSTRY HERE CAN LIVE IN COTTONWOOD.
THAT, NO, YOU KNOW, THAT DOESN'T SEEM RIGHT TO ME.
THAT'S LIKE TELLING YOU YOU CAN LIVE, I'LL DECIDE WHERE YOU CAN LIVE, AND, UH, AND THAT'S WHERE YOU SHOULD LIVE.
SO I REALIZED THAT NOT EVERYBODY FELT THE SAME WAY I DID ABOUT IT.
THAT'S NOT TO SAY I'M GOING TO BE CRUSADING FOR WORKER HOUSING A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE TIME, BECAUSE NOW I FOUND OUT THERE'S JUST NOT THAT MUCH LAND AVAILABLE FOR HOUSING NOW.
SO THAT'S KIND OF A LONG-WINDED ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION.
UH, REBECCA, YOU RECOGNIZING THAT YOU'VE ONLY BEEN AROUND A COUPLE YEARS, YOU SAID YOU TRACKED SOME OF THE ISSUES.
DID YOU EVER ENGAGE WITH P AND Z? UH, GO TO A MEETING, SPEAK OUT, WRITE US A LETTER ON ANY OF THE TOPICS THAT HAVE COME UP OVER
[01:10:01]
TWO YEARS? NOPE.I, I'D LIKE TO FIND OUT THINGS BEFORE I FORGE AHEAD.
SO I'M VERY GLAD THAT I HAVE THAT AS A GUIDE.
WHAT DO YOU SEE AS IMPORTANT PLANNING ISSUES FACING THE CITY NOW AND OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS? WHY ARE, AND WHY ARE THEY IMPORTANT?
AND OF COURSE, UM, NOW THAT I'VE SEEN ALL THAT'S BEEN DONE, I, I DON'T FEEL LIKE I'M THE PERSON TO BE MAKING PRONOUNCEMENTS ABOUT WHAT SHOULD BE DONE AT THIS POINT.
AND ACTUALLY, THAT WAS A REASON WHY I APPLIED FOR THE POSITION IS TO GET INTO A LITTLE MORE DETAIL AND FIND OUT A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT, WHERE THINGS WERE AT, UH, WITH PLANNING AND ZONING.
BUT I HAVE NEVER, UH, HAD ANY ISSUE THAT I WANTED TO RESOLVE BY GETTING, TAKING THIS POSITION.
SO JUST AS A RESIDENT OF THIS COMMUNITY, WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE IMPORTANT ISSUES THAT ARE GONNA COME BEFORE THE COMMUNITY IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS? WELL, IT SEEMS LIKE TRAFFIC IS PROBABLY ALWAYS GONNA BE AN ISSUE.
UM, I, BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN HERE ONLY TWO YEARS, UH, I FIND VIRTUALLY NOTHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT LIVING HERE.
SO I DON'T, UH, I GUESS THAT WOULD BE MY ANSWER IS THOSE TWO ITEMS, TWO ITEMS THAT I'M INTERESTED IN.
AND BECAUSE OF MY BACKGROUND IN CONSTRUCTION, ANYTHING THAT GETS BUILT, I'M ALWAYS, I WANNA SEE IT.
I WANT TO, YOU KNOW, KNOW ABOUT IT.
AND, AND, AND IT SEEMED LIKE AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET TO KNOW A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT.
AND I, I, I DID TALK TO SEVERAL PEOPLE TRYING TO KIND OF GET AN IDEA OF A, WHAT WOULD COME UP IN THIS COMMITTEE? CAN YOU, CAN YOU TELL ME A, AN ISSUE? 'CAUSE IT'S HARD FOR ME TO COMMENT ON AN ISSUE IF I DON'T KNOW HOW IT'S HANDLED IN THAT COMMITTEE, IF THERE'S A PROTOCOL THAT IS FOLLOWED WHEN WE MAKE THOSE DECISIONS.
AND SO JUST FINDING OUT THAT, UM, I FEEL LIKE I COULD ANSWER MORE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ONCE I KNOW A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT.
MUCH OF THE COMMISSIONER COMMISSIONS WORK NOW CENTERS ON APPLYING AND REFINING ADOPTED PLANS AND ORDINANCES RATHER THAN REVIEWING INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.
WHAT RELEVANT EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE, OR PERSPECTIVE WOULD YOU BRING TO HELP ENSURE THOSE POLICIES ARE APPLIED CONSISTENTLY AND IN ALIGNMENT WITH SEDONAS COMMUNITY VALUES? WELL, UH, BECAUSE I WENT TO THAT MEETING, I'M AWARE THAT THEY'RE TRYING TO STREAMLINE THE PROCESS OF BUILDING, GETTING THINGS BUILT.
UM, I AM VERY, AS I SAID IN MY APPLICATION, I WORKED PRI A LOT WITH PUBLIC AGENCIES.
SO I KNOW THAT THINGS ARE INCREMENTAL WHEN IT COMES TO FIND TO FOLLOWING THINGS.
AND AS FAR AS CHANGING THINGS, YOU SAID SOMETHING ABOUT, UH, COULD YOU RE JUST REPHRASE THAT? SURE.
THE QUESTION, PART OF IT IS, WHAT RELEVANT EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE, OR PERSPECTIVE WOULD YOU BRING TO HELP ENSURE THOSE POLICIES ARE APPLIED CONSISTENTLY AND IN ALIGNMENT WITH SEDONAS COMMUNITY VALUES? OKAY.
WELL, I'M VERY MUCH USED TO WORKING WITH CODES AND WORKING WITHIN CODES.
AND SO THAT PART OF IT, I UNDERSTAND, I KNOW WHERE TO
[01:15:01]
FIND CODES, I KNOW HOW TO INTERPRET CODES.SO I THINK THE WAY I WOULD APPROACH THIS POSITION AND NOT, AGAIN, NOT KNOWING DETAILS ABOUT HOW, WHAT, YOU KNOW, EXACTLY I WOULD BE LOOKING AT MM-HMM
WOULD BE TO LOOK AT THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND SEE WHAT'S INCLUDED IN THAT.
LOOK INTO THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODES AND FIND THE, THE ISSUE THAT WE'RE DISCUSSING.
SO, FIRST OF ALL, TO, TO FIGURE OUT IS, ARE THESE THINGS THAT YOU'RE ASKING IF IT'S AN AMENDMENT, OR I KNOW YOU GUYS DON'T, WE DON'T GET INVOLVED.
I CALLED IT A VARIANCE IN MY, IN MY APPLICATION, BUT I THINK THAT'S CALLED A, A DIFFERENT NAME, UH, THAT YOU GUYS CALL IT, IS TO MAKE, TO SEE WHAT THE ISSUE, HOW DOES IT FIT INTO THE CODE AND THE PLAN.
YOU KNOW, I'VE READ THE PLAN, I CAN INTERPRET THE CODE.
SO FIRST OF ALL, DOES IT MEET CODE OR NOT? IF NOT, THEN WHY ARE WE ASKING TO CHANGE SOMETHING AND WHAT, WHAT REASONS ARE THERE? AND I'M VERY MUCH USED TO, UH, HAVING TO CHANGE THINGS, HAVING WORKED IN THE CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS.
UH, PROJECTS NEVER GO EXACTLY THE WAY THEY'RE SHOWN, DRAWN, SPECIFIED, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
SO YOU HAVE TO MEET, HAVE MEETINGS WITH PEOPLE, YOU HAVE TO KNOW HOW TO COMPROMISE WITH PEOPLE AND STILL STAY WITH THE SPIRIT OF THE CODE OR THE PLAN.
AND, UH, SO I USUALLY APPROACH IT WITH LOGIC, GET A CODE, YOU'VE GOT A PLAN.
WHAT ARE ALL THE THINGS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO FIT THIS ISSUE INTO? AND THEN ONCE I KNOW THAT, I WOULD, UH, START THINKING A LITTLE MORE CREATIVELY.
CAN YOU SHARE, UM, YOU'VE, YOU'VE MENTIONED YOUR CONSTRUCTION BACKGROUND.
WHERE, WHERE HAVE YOU PRACTICED? UH, OKAY.
IN THE WORLD OF CONSTRUCTION, I'M CURRENTLY FROM THE MINNEAPOLIS AREA IN MINNESOTA.
SO I STARTED OUT WORKING FOR A CONTRACTOR AS A PROJECT MANAGER AND ESTIMATOR.
AND THEN, UM, UH, GOT A JOB WORKING AT A CONSULTING ENGINEERING COMPANY WHO, THEY WERE CONSULTING CIVIL ENGINEERS CALLED CONSULTING FOR GEOTECHNICAL MATERIAL TESTING.
THEY DID ENVIRONMENTAL, AND THEN WENT ON TO BE A CONSULTANT AT A SMALLER FIRM, A MORE SPECIALIZED FIRM WHERE I WOULD, UM, DO DESIGN, WRITE SPECIFICATIONS, UH, PUT THE PROJECTS OUT, BID.
HANDLE PROJECT, MANAGE THE PROJECT, BE I'VE SPENT QUITE A LOT OF TIME IN THE FIELD.
REBECCA, IF I CAN JUST INTERJECT SURE.
MY QUESTION'S MORE ABOUT WHERE HAVE YOU PRACTICED? IS IT ALL IN MINNESOTA? YES.
HAVE YOU PRACTICED IN ARIZONA AS WELL, OR? YES.
THAT WAS A BIG LONG-WINDED ANSWER FOR A CIVIL QUESTION.
UM, WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO APPROVE A PROPOSAL THAT COMPLIES WITH THE CITY'S ADOPTED DESIGN STANDARDS AND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS, EVEN IF THE DESIGN DOES NOT ALIGN WITH YOUR PERSONAL PREFERENCES? AND HOW WOULD YOU APPROACH THAT DECISION? WELL, IF IT IS WITHIN THE CODE AND THE PLAN, YEAH, I, I, MY PERSONAL FEELINGS ABOUT SOMETHING REALLY DON'T ENTER INTO THAT.
THAT'S WHY I SAY I USE THE LOGIC OF IF IT MEETS CODE AND IT MEETS OUR PLAN, I, I DON'T FEEL LIKE I, I'M NOT CRUSADING TO CHANGE ANYTHING WITHIN THAT.
SO, AS A FOLLOW UP QUESTION ON THAT, HOW DO YOU BALANCE PERSONAL PROPERTY RIGHTS VERSUS THE BROADER COMMUNITY INTERESTS WHEN YOU CONSIDER A PROPOSAL? THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
I, I GUESS HAVING WORKED IN WITHIN AN INDUSTRY THAT, UM, I, I'M TRYING TO ENVISION, UH, I GUESS I DO A LITTLE BETTER WITH A, UH, AN EXAMPLE.
SO ARE, ARE, DO OUR CODES INFRINGE UPON PERSONAL PROPERTY ISSUES? I
[01:20:01]
I THINK IT'S MORE ALONG THE LINES.LIKE, THERE'S THIS BROAD COMMUNITY DESIRE TO SOMETHING AND I OWN SOME PROPERTY, AND I WANNA DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT WITH THAT, THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY ALIGN WITH THESE BROADER COMMUNITY VALUES.
SO HOW WOULD YOU WEIGH WHETHER OR NOT TO ALLOW THAT PROPERTY TO BE USED IN THE MANNER THAT THE OWNER OF THE PROPERTY WOULD LIKE FOR YOU TO MAKE THE CHANGE? WHETHER THERE'S A ZONING CHANGE OR WHATEVER, COMPARED TO WHAT CURRENTLY IS ZONED WITH THE, THE VALUES THAT ARE HELD WITHIN THE, I DON'T WANNA GET INTO A SPECIFIC EXAMPLE, SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S HELPFUL.
I'VE ASKED THAT QUESTION, UH, SEVERAL PEOPLE THAT QUESTION, AND I DON'T GET ANY SPECIFIC, I, I DON'T KNOW A LOT ABOUT WHAT'S GONE ON IN DISTANT PAST OR EVEN THE RECENT PAST RELATED TO THAT KIND OF THING, THING.
BUT I, I THINK IT WOULD DEPEND ON WHAT'S, WHAT THE ISSUE IS.
IS IT JUST IT'S MY PROPERTY AND I DON'T WANT IT USED FOR SOMETHING ELSE, OR IS THERE A REASON? UH, I'M OPEN TO, UM, COMPROMISE AND REASON.
AND ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH ARIZONA'S PROPOSITION 2 0 7? NO, I'M NOT, WHICH IS PROPERTY RIGHTS.
SO, UM, THAT'S WHAT, THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE IS PROPERTY RIGHTS.
THERE'S A PROPOSITION, IT'S CONSTITUTIONAL THAT SAYS THAT IF IT'S YOUR YOUR LAND, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO DO WHAT YOU WANT ON YOUR LAND.
BUT IF WE DECIDE AS COUNSEL THAT WE'RE GOING TO MAKE A CHANGE, UM, TO SAY THE AREA IN WHICH THAT LAND RESIDES, THEN IT COULD BE A CONFLICT BETWEEN WHAT WE BELIEVE THE BROADER COMMUNITY NEEDS OR WANTS VERSUS WHAT THE PROPERTY RIGHTS OWNER BELIEVES HE SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT, THAT'S WHAT THIS CONVERSATION IS ABOUT.
BUT IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH PROP 2 0 7, THAT MIGHT BE, I MIGHT GIVE A, BRING IT DOWN TO A MORE SPECIFIC EXAMPLE.
SO, UH, EARLIER WE TALKED ABOUT PICKLEBALL COURTS AS A, IN ANOTHER CONVERSATION WE WERE HAVING.
SO LET'S SAY A, UM, AN AN OWNER WANTED TO PUT IN A PICKLEBALL COURT, AND THE IMMEDIATE, YOU KNOW, NEIGHBORHOOD NEIGHBORS ARE OBJECTING TO THE PICKLEBALL COURT FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS.
UM, DOES THE INDIVIDUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS OVERRIDE THE RIGHTS OF THE ADJACENT PROPERTIES AS WELL BE, YOU KNOW, IF, UH, REGARDING THAT USE? I THINK THAT'S SORT OF THE QUESTION THAT WE WANNA GET TO, IS HOW DO YOU WEIGH AN INDIVIDUAL PROPERTIES RIGHTS TO A USE VERSUS SOMETHING THAT MAY IMPACT A GREATER COMMUNITY? OKAY.
THAT MAKES A LITTLE MORE SENSE TO ME THAN, OKAY, THANK YOU.
WELL, OKAY, BUT I LOVE PICKLEBALL, BUT I ALSO KNOW IT'S KIND OF LOUD.
IF YOU'RE OUT THERE AT 6:00 AM TOING YOUR BALL BACK AND FORTH, SO IT'S AFFECTING PEOPLE AROUND THE, UH, THE PERSON THAT WANTS TO BUILD A PICKLEBALL COURT.
SO IN THAT CASE, THEN I DON'T THINK THAT JUST THAT PROPERTY RIGHT, IS THE ONE AND ONLY THING THAT MATTERS.
UM, AND IN THAT CASE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THERE'S A COMPROMISE.
MAYBE THEY CAN ONLY USE THAT COURT IN CIR CERTAIN HOURS BECAUSE OF THE NOISE PART OF IT, OR WHATEVER ELSE.
THE NEIGHBORS, MAYBE THEY INVITE, YOU KNOW, 75 PEOPLE OVER TO PARTY AND PLAY PICKLEBALL ALL THE TIME, THEN THAT'S DISTURBING OTHER PEOPLE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
SO I WOULDN'T SAY I WOULD, I WOULD JUST LIKE, IT'S EITHER MEET THE CODE OR DON'T MEET THE CODE.
AND I'M USED TO THOSE KINDS OF COMPROMISES IN WORKING IN CONSTRUCTION, YOU CAN'T HAVE YOUR WAY ALL THE TIME BECAUSE THERE ARE OTHER THINGS THAT HAVE TO BE CONSIDERED.
SO IN THAT CASE, UM, IF THE NEIGHBORS HAD GOOD, UH, GOOD REASON TO WORRY ABOUT WHATEVER THEIR PROBLEM WOULD BE, LIKE NOISE, ET CETERA, THEN WHAT COULD BE DONE TO MITIGATE THAT, THAT ISSUE BEFORE WE JUST SAY NO TO THE HOMEOWNER? OR WHAT KIND OF LIMITATIONS COULD WE PUT ON THAT? THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION OFTEN INTERPRETS AND IMPLIES THAT THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH IT? HOW COMFORTABLE ARE YOU WITH READING, APPLYING, AND SOMETIMES QUESTIONING CODE LANGUAGE? AND HOW WOULD YOU APPROACH SITUATIONS WHERE THE CODE MAY NOT ALIGN WITH CURRENT COMMUNITY VALUES? I'M VERY, I'M FAMILIAR WITH THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE.
I HAVE READ EVERY PAGE OF IT, BUT I HAVE REVIEWED IT, AND I DO KNOW HOW TO FIND
[01:25:01]
CODES AND PRETTY MUCH INTERPRET THEM.I GUESS IT WOULD BE MY INTERPRETATION OF THEM.
BUT IF SOMETHING CAME UP WHERE IT, THE INTERPRETATION, THERE WAS AN ARGUMENT ABOUT THAT.
UM, I, I AM, I GUESS BECAUSE I HAVEN'T READ THE WHOLE THING, I HAVE READ THE COMMUNITY PLAN, IT WOULD SEEM TO ME LIKE MOST OF THE COMMUNITY PLAN WOULD HAVE ALREADY BEEN CHECKED OUT WITH THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODES.
I MEAN, YOU WOULD BE NOTHING IN THAT PLAN THAT WOULD BE AGAINST CODE, WOULD THERE? WELL, THEORETICALLY,
IN YOUR VIEW, DOES SEDONAS ADOPTED COMMUNITY PLAN CONTINUE TO REFLECT THE COMMUNITY'S CURRENT VISION AND VALUES? PLEASE SHARE EXAMPLES ON YOUR PERSPECTIVE AND EXPLAIN HOW YOU WOULD RELY ON THE PLAN TO GUIDE YOUR DECISIONS, PARTICULARLY, PARTICULARLY WHEN A PROPOSAL GENERATES STRONG PUBLIC OPPOSITION.
WELL, I DO THINK THAT THE PLAN, AS FAR AS I KNOW, I DON'T KNOW EVERYTHING THAT'S BEEN GOING ON HERE.
AND THAT'S, AGAIN, I'M LEARNING MORE EVERY DAY.
I THINK IT SEEMS LIKE A, A FROM MY POINT OF VIEW AND MY, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE I'VE TALKED TO, FRIENDS, YOU KNOW, NEIGHBORS, THAT SORT OF THING.
IT SEEMS TO ME TO BE IN, IN GOOD ALIGNMENT WITH WHAT THE COMMUNITY WANTS.
UH, I'M SURE THINGS HAVE COME UP THAT ARE IN THE PLAN THAT PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY DON'T WANT.
BUT WASN'T THAT THE REASON TO COME UP WITH THE PLAN IS TO, AND TO, TO ASK A LOT OF PEOPLE TO GET THE PUBLIC INPUT.
I MEAN, THERE'S NO ONE PERSON THAT'S GOING TO GET EVERYTHING THEY WANT IN, IN THAT PLAN.
SO I THINK IT'S A VERY GOOD PLAN.
I'M PRETTY IMPRESSED BY IT, LIKE I SAID.
UM, AND YOU SAID SOMETHING ABOUT SOMETHING COMING UP AND NOT JUST, HOW WOULD YOU RELY ON THE PLAN TO GUIDE YOUR DECISIONS WHEN A PROPOSAL GENERATES STRONG PUBLIC OPPOSITION? I WOULD LOOK AT THE, WHATEVER IT IS THAT'S DRIVING THIS STRONG OPPOSITION AND KIND OF QUESTION WHY THAT IS A NEW THING.
I KNOW MAYBE THIS PLAN IS, IT'S A 10 YEAR PLAN, SO LET'S SAY NINE YEARS FROM NOW, IT'S DIFFERENT PEOPLE.
UM, I'M ASSUMING THAT WE HAD A REASON WHY WE DID ALL OF THE THINGS IN THAT PLAN, OR CAME UP WITH THAT PLAN.
UM, PERSONALLY, IT WOULDN'T AFFECT ME IF A LOT OF PEOPLE DIDN'T AGREE WITH SOMETHING THAT WAS PART OF THE PLAN AND THE CODE.
BECAUSE I'VE HAD THAT HAPPEN BEFORE IN MY JOB.
UH, I DON'T KNOW WHAT I COULD DO ABOUT THAT, BECAUSE IT SOUNDS TO ME LIKE MY JOB ON THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION WOULD BE TO, UH, GO PRIMARILY BY THE COMMUNITY PLAN AND THE CODES.
AND I DON'T SEE IT AS A PLACE TO TAKE A STAND AGAINST ANYTHING THAT'S IN THOSE CODES.
AND UNLESS, AS I SAID, I, I KNOW THAT THERE'S STREAMLINING AND, AND CHANGING AND TAKING CRITIQUES ON THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE.
IF YOU DON'T LIKE THOSE CODES OR IF YOU DIDN'T LIKE THE PLAN, THEN I THINK THERE'S PROPER CHANNELS TO GO THROUGH TO CHANGE THOSE.
SO THAT'S WOULD BE MY THINKING.
SO IF I HAD TO DECIDE SOMETHING THAT MET THE CODE AND MET THE PLAN AND WAS JUST SOMETHING THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE DIDN'T LIKE, I DON'T THINK THAT WOULD AFFECT ME WHETHER OR NOT THEY LIKED IT.
YOU SAID THAT YOU'VE BEEN A RESIDENT FOR TWO YEARS FULL TIME? YES.
HAVE YOU, DO YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH SEDONA PRIOR TO BEING HERE FOR TWO YEARS? YES.
I'VE OWNED MY HOUSE FOR FIVE YEARS.
AND, UH, WAS RETIRING FROM OUR BUSINESS.
SO KIND OF WENT BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN, UH, MINNESOTA AND SEDONA FOR THREE YEARS PRIOR.
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THANK YOU.CHARLOTTE, HOW FAMILIAR ARE YOU WITH ARIZONA'S OPEN MEETING LAW, INCLUDING THE APPROPRIATE USE OF EXECUTIVE SESSIONS? AND HOW WOULD YOU ENSURE COMPLIANCE AS A PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSIONER? I AM NOT FAMILIAR WITH THAT, SO I WOULD HAVE TO FAMILIARIZE MYSELF WITH THAT BEFORE.
AGAIN, I HAVEN'T EVER WORKED IN, I'VE WORKED WITH GOVERNMENT AGENCIES A LOT, BUT I HAVEN'T WORKED WITHIN ANY GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.
SO THAT SORT OF THING WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT I WOULD HAVE TO FAMILIARIZE MYSELF WITH.
AND I'M ASSUMING THAT THE POSITION WOULD HAVE SOME SORT OF, UM, E YOU KNOW, EASE ME INTO WHAT'S GOING ON HERE.
COULD I JUMP IN AND MAKE A DECISION IMMEDIATELY WITHOUT ANY HELP? NO.
SO I WOULD NEED TO FIND OUT WHATEVER I NEED TO FIND OUT IN ORDER TO COMPLY WITH, UM, LAWS AND OTHER THINGS GOING ON IN ARIZONA THAT WE NEED TO KNOW TO MAKE THOSE DECISIONS.
I THINK I'M CAPABLE OF, OF DOING THAT.
UH, REBECCA, THE NEXT QUESTION IS OUR LONG QUESTION, BUT I THINK SHE'S ACTUALLY ADDRESSED QUITE ALL OF IT IN PRIOR RESPONSES.
IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN GOING BACK THROUGH IT, I'M HAPPY TO DO THAT.
UM, I, I'D LIKE TO EXPLORE THIS.
SO IMAGINE YOU ARE AT A PUBLIC PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MEETING LATE, LATE IN THE EVENING.
THE CONTROVERSIAL PROPOSAL MEETS THE TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS OF LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, BUT PUBLIC TESTIMONY IS OVERWHELMINGLY OPPOSED DUE TO CONCERNS ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD CHARACTER, TRAFFIC, WATER USE, DARK SKIES, SCENIC IMPACTS, EMOTIONS ARE HIGH, THE ROOM IS TENSE, AND YOU KNOW, YOUR DECISION WILL BE LIKELY CRITICIZED REGARDLESS OF THE OUTCOME.
HOW WOULD YOU APPROACH YOUR DECISION MAKING IN THAT MOMENT? HOW WOULD YOU EXPLAIN YOUR VOTE TO THE PUBLIC? AND THIS IS NOT, THIS REALLY HAPPENS
WELL, HOPEFULLY CALMLY, BECAUSE IF THERE'S A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, AGITATION GOING ON, UM, AND THAT KIND OF DOES GO BACK TO THE, THE QUESTION THAT YOU ASKED PREVIOUSLY.
I MIGHT AGREE WITH THE PEOPLE WHO ARE WORRIED ABOUT THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD, THEIR DARK SKIES, ALL THAT KIND OF THING.
SO IT'S NOT AUTOMATIC THAT IF IT MEETS THE CODE, THEN THAT'S THE END OF IT.
I MEAN, IT WOULD BE PRETTY EASY FOR ALL OF YOU IF ALL OF YOU HAD TO DO IS LIKE, WELL, IT SAYS HERE THIS, SO SEE YOU LATER.
SO I WOULD HAVE A GOOD, ONE THING THAT I LEARNED IN MY JOB WAS NEVER TO IMMEDIATELY TO REACT EMOTIONALLY AND IMMEDIATELY.
BECAUSE IF SOMEBODY HAS, I WOULD INVITE PEOPLE TO, TO TELL ME, WHICH, YOU KNOW, YES, IT'S LATE AT NIGHT, I'M SURE THEY'VE ALREADY TOLD ME.
BUT I WOULD TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION OF WHICH WOULD BE THE BETTER, THE GREATER GOOD.
BECAUSE AS I'M FINDING OUT THIS LAND DEVELOPMENT CODES DO CHANGE AND THEY CHANGE BECAUSE I'M ASSUMING PEOPLE DON'T LIKE THEM, AND THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN THE, IN THEIR, AND THEY HAVE A GOOD REASON TO CHANGE.
SO, UH, I'M NOT SAYING THAT I WOULD JUST, YOU KNOW, CUT AND DRIED.
IF IT MEETS THIS CODE, IT GOES, BUT I THINK I COULD HANDLE AFTER, YOU KNOW, 45 YEARS IN CONSTRUCTION MEETINGS.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE I COULD DO BEYOND THAT TO CALM THE SITUATION DOWN.
SO NOW THAT WE'VE, CAN I, CAN I ASK THE FOLLOW UP? OH, SURE.
WHICH WAS, WHICH IS HOW IMPORTANT IS PUBLIC INPUT IN THE PLANNING PROCESS, AND HOW SHOULD IT BE WEIGHED AGAINST TECHNICAL RECOMMENDATIONS FROM STAFF? I THINK PUBLIC INPUT IS PRETTY IMPORTANT BECAUSE THAT'S, OTHER THAN SAFETY CODE SAFETY AND, AND I KNOW THAT A LOT OF THE CODES DO INVOLVE SAFETY, UM, THOSE, A LOT OF THOSE THINGS ARE DECIDED BY PEOPLE, PEOPLE'S INPUT.
SO THAT DEFINITELY WOULD BE A LARGE
[01:35:01]
PART OF TAKE, TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION.I DON'T KNOW HOW FAR YOU CAN GO WITH NOT MEETING CODE.
I'M USED TO BEING REQUIRED TO MEET CODE, YOU KNOW, NO QUESTION.
PRETTY MUCH IN THE PROJECTS THAT I'VE WORKED ON.
SO IF I KNEW, I SAID EARLIER, I DON'T KNOW SOME OF THE PARAMETERS OF HOW MUCH GIVE CAN WE DO WE HAVE HERE FOR CHANGING THINGS.
AND, AND I DON'T KNOW OF THESE COMMISSION MEETINGS HOW THAT IS.
I DID TALK TO CARRIE MEYER A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW, HOW DO THESE THINGS COME TO US? IS IT ONE PERSON IS TRYING TO DO SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T MEET CODE? SO WE HAVE TO DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT THEY CAN DO IT OR NOT? OR IS IT GROUP OF PEOPLE WANT THIS CODE CHANGED AND THEY WANT TO GIVE THEIR, YOU KNOW, COLLECTIVE REASONS WHY THEY WANT TO CHANGE? SO SOME OF THESE QUESTIONS ARE A LITTLE HARD FOR ME TO ANSWER JUST BECAUSE THEY'RE THE, THEY'RE THEORETICAL, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE JUDGMENT COMES INTO PLAY.
AND WE'RE TRYING TO ASSESS YOUR THOUGHT PROCESS AND YOUR REASONING.
IF STAFF SAYS TO YOU, CHECK, CHECK, CHECK, CHECK, CHECK, DO YOU AUTOMATICALLY SAY, YEAH, STAFF SAYS IT SO I'M SAYING IT? OR DO YOU LOOK FURTHER OR BEHIND THE COVERS, OR SOME THINGS ARE NOT, UH, BLACK AND WHITE? NO, NO.
UM, AND THOUGH THEY'RE, THEY'RE SAYING THESE THINGS CHECK OUT FROM OUR POINT OF VIEW, BUT I'M ASSUMING THAT'S KIND OF THE REASON WHY THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION EXISTS.
IT'S VOLUNTEERS FROM THE COMMUNITY.
SO OF COURSE WE ARE TRYING TO REPRESENT THAT EVEN THOUGH WE MAY NOT HAVE, WE MAY NOT LIKE THAT DONE THIS WAY, OR WE MIGHT NOT CARE IF IT'S DONE THAT WAY, OR IT MIGHT NOT BE AN ISSUE FOR US IF IT'S DONE THAT WAY.
SO, NO, I AM NOT SOMEONE WHO JUST, I, I DON'T FEEL LIKE I'D BE DOING ANYTHING IF I JUST SAID, WELL, STAFF SAID IT WAS FINE.
SO NO, IF THAT WAS THE END OF IT, THEN I WOULDN'T EXIST AS A PERSON ON THE COMMISSION.
BUT IF IT'S, WHATEVER THE ISSUE IS, PROBLEM SOLVING ON THE, ON THAT AND TRYING TO COME TO A CONSENSUS, I THINK THAT IT WOULDN'T BE EITHER A YES OR NO RIGHT OFF THE BAT.
'CAUSE I'M ASSUMING ANYTHING COMING TO THE COMMISSION, THERE'S A QUESTION ABOUT IT.
I HAVEN'T BEEN ON IT, BUT, WELL, WOULD YOU HAVE, LET ME, LET ME GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE.
SO, UM, LET'S SAY THERE'S A, A, A ZONING, OR NOT A ZONING, BUT A, A IN THE LAND USE, IT SAYS YOU CANNOT HAVE A GARDEN SHED WITHIN 10 FEET OF THE PROPER LINE.
LET'S SAY I CAN BE WITHIN NINE FEET, BUT NOT 10.
IS THAT GOOD ENOUGH? OR WHY DID WE HAVE THAT 10 FOOT SPACE? WELL, IF WE HAD IT BE, AND IT, AND, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE REALLY, THERE'S A REASON WHY WE REALLY NEEDED 10 FEET, UM, THAT WOULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE, OTHER THAN IT WAS, WELL, WE JUST DON'T WANT 'EM ON THE PROPERTY LINES.
AND THEN YOU GET INTO ARGUMENTS ABOUT, SO THEN, YEAH, I MIGHT SAY, WELL, I, YOU KNOW, ALL, ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, I THINK NINE FEET WOULD BE ADEQUATE FOR THE REASONING FOR HAVING IT FROM THE PROPERTY LINE AND, AND GIVE THEM THE GO AHEAD TO DO THAT.
NOT KNOWING HOW ANY OF THIS WORKS.
I DON'T THINK, YOU KNOW WHAT, IS THERE NINE PEOPLE ON THE COMMISSION? NO, FIVE PEOPLE.
UM, SO IS THAT WHAT, SEVEN? YEAH.
I WAS LOOKING AT, YOU GUYS DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING.
SO IN THAT CASE, IT WOULD BE, I THINK, PRETTY UNREASONABLE TO SAY, ABSOLUTELY NOT.
YOU CAN'T HAVE A GARDEN SHED 'CAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE 10 FEET, PERIOD.
BUT IF IT'S SOME REASON WHY, LET'S SAY THERE'S AN ELECTRICAL BOX CLOSE TO IT AND YOU CAN'T HAVE WATER AROUND IT, WHATEVER, THEN MAYBE NOT.
UH, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE US TO KNOW ABOUT YOU OR YOUR INTEREST IN SERVING ON THE COMMISSION?
[01:40:02]
I ALWAYS JUST SAY I'M VERY, I'M JUST VERY INTERESTED IN THE CONSTRUCTION END OF SEDONA.NOT IN A WAY THAT I, THERE'S SOMETHING I WANT TO PUT FORWARD TO GET, BUT IT'S UNIQUE BECAUSE THERE ISN'T A LOT OF LAND BEING BUILT OR, OR LEFT.
AND I THINK THAT I JUMP ON BOARD PRETTY QUICKLY FIGURING OUT HOW TO BE ON, ON THE PLANNING MISSION, JUST BECAUSE OF MY BACKGROUND.
I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT FOR THE MOST PART.
AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST.
YOU CAN, IF YOU WANT, COME BACK LATER AS THE MAYOR SAID BEFORE, OR WE CAN REACH OUT TO YOU WHICHEVER WAY, BUT WE'LL HAVE A DECISION TODAY.
SO OUR DISCUSSION IS GONNA BE AN OPEN SESSION.
DEEP COMPLIC, DEEP CONFRONTATION.
MEDITATION IS A DIFFERENT FORM.
ALL I KNOW THOUGH I HAVE, YES.
[01:45:06]
RIGHT? JUST, YEAH, I GET IT.THANK YOU FOR COMING TODAY AND FOR YOUR INTEREST IN THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION.
WE'RE, YOU'RE THE LAST PERSON WE'RE INTERVIEWING, AND WHEN YOU LEAVE, WE ARE GONNA GO DISCUSS THE, UH, CANDIDATES AND WE'LL BE MAKING A DECISION.
WE HAVE ONE OPENING AND WE HAVE ONE OPENING.
I THOUGHT THERE WERE TWO AND FOUR CANDIDATES.
UH, AND THEN WE'LL ANNOUNCE THAT DECISION.
UH, WE'RE GONNA ASK YOU A SERIES OF QUESTIONS.
WE'VE ASKED ALL THE CANDIDATES THE SAME QUESTIONS, AND WE ROTATE THEM AMONGST COUNCIL MEMBERS.
WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO SERVE ON THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION AND WHAT INFLUENCED YOUR INTEREST? AND THEN THE SECOND PART OF THE QUESTION IS, CAN YOU DISCUSS A RECENT PLANNING AND ZONING CASE THAT WAS OF PARTICULAR INTEREST TO YOU? AND WHAT ABOUT THE CASE CAUGHT YOUR ATTENTION AND WHY? YEAH.
I'VE BEEN PART OF GOVERNMENT MOST OF MY LIFE.
AND, UM, I'M A GREAT BELIEVER IN, UM, GOVERNMENT CAN BE YOUR ENEMY UNTIL YOU NEED A FRIEND.
AND, UM, SO WHEN PEOPLE TALK TO ME ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT HERE IN SEDONA, I KEEP THAT IN MIND.
WE STILL HAVE OUR HOUSE IN WASHINGTON, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO, UM, SELL IT, UH, FOR FIVE YEARS AND IN ARIZONA FOR ABOUT 13.
AND I REALLY LIKE THIS COMMUNITY, AND I HAVE SEEN SOME POLICY SUGGESTIONS COME AND GO THAT I TAKE THE TIME AND GO READ AND, AND HAVE ENDED UP FEELING DIFFERENTLY THAN MAYBE THE DECISION THAT THE COMMUNITY MADE.
AND I GUESS I WOULD DRAW THE ATTENTION MAYBE TO, UM, THE, UH, HOMELESS, UH, CAMP AT THE CULTURAL PARK.
I'VE DEALT WITH SEVERAL SIMILAR PROJECTS IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE COUNTRY, AND THAT WAS BY FAR THE BEST ONE I'D EVER SEEN.
AND I, I, I HEARD WHAT PEOPLE SAID, AND IT KIND OF SHOCKED ME BECAUSE IT WASN'T AT ALL BASED IN FACT.
AND SO I, I REALLY WANTED TO GET MORE INVOLVED IN THE CITY.
AND, UH, IF I CAN MAKE SOME SMALL CONTRIBUTION, UM, I'M GOOD ABOUT READING THINGS, I'M GOOD ABOUT STUDYING THE ISSUES.
UM, AND SO THAT'S THE KIND OF THING THAT, THAT I WOULD HOPE TO CONTRIBUTE.
UM, I'LL ATTEND THE MEETINGS, I'LL READ THE MATERIALS.
UH, I MAY GO ONLINE AND RESEARCH AND SEE WHAT SOME OTHER GROUPS ARE DOING, UH, TO SEE IF THERE ARE ADDITIONAL SUGGESTIONS FOR US.
BUT BY AND LARGE, I'VE BEEN IMPRESSED WITH, UM, THE CITY AND THE, UH, QUALITY AND QUANTITY OF SERVICES THAT ARE AVAILABLE HERE.
SO WHAT HAS, WELL, I'VE ALREADY MENTIONED, UH, THE, THE CULTURAL PART.
UM, I HAVE ONE FOR YOU, WHICH I HEARD ABOUT YESTERDAY, WHICH I HAVEN'T INVESTIGATED YET.
BUT I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE WAS A SEWER SPELL.
UH, AND I WORKED FOR, UH, THE CITY OF OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON ON WHAT WE CALLED THE FOGS ORDINANCES, WHICH WAS A FAT OIL AND GREASES ORDINANCE
AND I THOUGHT, WELL, I, I NEED TO GO FIND OUT IF THERE'S ONE ON THE BOOKS, AND IF SO, DOES IT NEED TO BE UPDATED? AND KIND OF WHAT HAPPENED WITH THIS PARTICULAR THING.
IT'S NOT MY OWN PARTICULAR, IT'S NOT LIKE IT'S IN MY BACKYARD, BUT I THINK IT'S A, A, A BROADER COMMUNITY CONCERN THAT THAT, THAT BE LOOKED AT.
UM, JUST SINCE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT YOUR MOTIVATION AND WHAT INFLUENCED YOU IN YOUR APPLICATION, I NOTICED THAT YOU'D BEEN ON A PLANNING COMMISSION FOR SIX YEARS, OH, NO.
THREE YEARS AS CHAIR AND SIX YEARS ON IT.
SO DO YOU SEE ANY KIND OF SIMILARITIES BETWEEN, HAVE YOU FOLLOWED THE PLANNING ZONING COMMISSION HERE AND DO YOU THINK THAT THEY OPERATE THE SAME? OR WHAT, WHAT DO YOU, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON COMPARING THESE? WELL, AND, AND, AND MAYBE I'LL EXPAND THAT A LITTLE BIT.
UM, I WAS IN, IN KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON.
IT'S DIFFERENT THAN ANY PLACE ELSE IN THE NATION.
[01:50:01]
WITHOUT INCORPORATING.SO IN OTHER AREAS, CITIES INCORPORATED AND KIND OF SET THEIR, THEIR FOOTPRINT.
IN KING COUNTY, WE WERE THE LARGEST UNINCORPORATED, UH, URBAN POPULATION IN THE NATION.
AND SO THERE WERE A LOT OF OLDER PLACES THAT PEOPLE THOUGHT WERE CITIES LIKE BUR AND, AND WOODENVILLE AND, UM, SAMMAMISH AMISH, UM, SHORELINE FEDERAL.
UH, THERE WERE, UH, ACTUALLY 12 INCORPORATIONS, AND I LIVED IN BURIEN WHEN IT INCORPORATED, BUT I WAS ALSO WORKING FOR KING COUNTY, UM, IN THE TRANSITION OF, UM, ASSETS AND SERVICES OVER TO THE CITIES.
AND SO I WAS ASKED TO BE, UH, THE CHAIR OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION.
AND IN WASHINGTON STATE, AGAIN, A LITTLE DIFFERENT HAS, YOU HAD TO HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, UM, WHICH IS NOT EXACTLY THE SAME, BUT, BUT CERTAINLY A COMPANION KIND OF SIMILAR PIECE TO, UM, UH, THE COMMUNITY PLAN HERE.
AND SO I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO, TO WORK WITH THE COMMUNITY.
UM, AND, UH, WE KIND OF, THERE WERE, WE DID, DID A LOT OF FOCUS GROUPS, UM, FOUND OUT THAT THERE WERE SOME THINGS THAT THE CITY LIKED ABOUT ITSELF AND SOME THINGS THAT THE CITY DIDN'T LIKE ABOUT ITSELF.
AND SO CAME UP WITH, IT'S A VERY, IT WAS A VERY BRIEF STATEMENT OF COMMUNITY.
AND THEN THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
UM, I ALSO, OF COURSE, WAS AT THE OTHER END OF IT, LIKE I SAID, NEGOTIATING FOR THE COUNTY.
AND THEN LATER ON, I BECAME THE LOBBYIST FOR ALL THE CITIES IN KING COUNTY EXCEPT FOR SEATTLE.
SO I WAS 38 CITIES, AND WE WERE WORKING THROUGH THE GROWTH MANAGEMENT PLAN.
SO A LOT OF THAT WAS PRETTY STANDARD TEXTBOOK PLANNING KINDS OF THINGS LIKE IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL ANNEXATION AREAS AND, AND DEALING WITH URBANIZATION AND SOME THINGS THAT HAD TO BE STANDARD AND SOME THINGS THAT SHOULD NOT BE STANDARD BECAUSE THEY REFLECTED THE COMMUNITY.
UM, I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT PARTICULARLY, UH, REFLECTS WHAT'S GOING ON HERE IN SEDONA.
ALTHOUGH SEDONA, AS A NEWER CITY IS FACING SOME OF THE SAME KINDS OF DISCUSSIONS.
UH, YOU DON'T HAVE A GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE FOR 150 YEARS, UM, MADE THE DEC DECISIONS.
ONE OF THE THINGS YOU SAW IN, IN, UM, IN THE OLDER CITIES THAT WERE ACTUALLY HAD BEEN CITIES FOR A LONG TIME IS THAT THERE WAS A, A CULTURE ABOUT HOW TO GET THINGS DONE.
AND IT, SOMEBODY WOULD RUN FOR OFFICE OR, OR BET ON A PLANNING COMMISSION, UM, AND DECIDE TO TAKE IT ON AND MAKE IT CHANGE.
AND THEN YOU'D FIND THAT AFTER A FEW MONTHS, EITHER THEY CHANGED THEIR MIND AND DECIDED IT WAS PROBABLY PRETTY GOOD TO BEGIN WITH, OR THEY LEFT.
AND, AND I SEE SOME OF THAT SORT OF, THAT STRUGGLE IN THOSE CONVERSATIONS HAPPENING HERE, PARTICULARLY SINCE WE HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT LONG-TERM RESIDENTS, THEY'VE BEEN HERE UNDER FIVE YEARS, AND SO THEY'RE GONNA COME AND THEY'RE GONNA SHOW US HOW THEY DID IT.
IT COULD BE CALIFORNIA, IT COULD BE MICHIGAN, IT COULD BE WASHINGTON.
AND, AND IT JUST TAKES A WHILE.
AND I THINK A DEGREE OF ACCEPTANCE TO, TO BECOME PART OF THE COMMUNITY AND SORT OF UNDERSTAND ITS VALUES AND NORMS. SO THANK YOU.
THANK YOU, LINDA, FOR BEING HERE TODAY.
MY QUESTION FOR YOU IS, WHAT DO YOU SEE AS IMPORTANT PLANNING ISSUES FACING THE CITY NOW AND OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS? WHY ARE THEY IMPORTANT? I THINK YOU KIND OF SEGUED TO THIS RATHER WELL.
SO WHAT DO YOU SEE AS IMPORTANT PLANNING ISSUES FACING THE CITY NOW AND OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS? WHY ARE THEY IMPORTANT? YOU KNOW, THAT'S A, THAT'S I GUESS A A I WOULD SAY A TWO PART QUESTION IN THAT THERE'S WHAT'S IN THE NEWS, WHAT PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S HOMELESSNESS, WHETHER IT'S AFFORDABILITY, WHETHER IT'S TRANSPORTATION.
I MEAN, THOSE ARE SORT OF THE BIG FLASHY THINGS THAT, THAT, UM, THERE'S GONNA BE SOME REAL HEATED, UM, COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS ABOUT.
AND THEN THERE ARE SOME OTHER THINGS.
UM, CERTAINLY I THINK, UH, LIVING WHERE I LIVE, UM, SOME DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE, UH, UH, SEWER SYSTEM, KIND OF WHAT THE INFRASTRUCTURE IS, THE UNINTERESTING PART OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHERE ARE WE GONNA GO WITH GRINDR SYSTEMS? UM, OTHER COMMUNITIES HAVE MADE DIFFERENT DECISIONS ABOUT GRINDR SYSTEMS THAN WE HAVE.
AND, UM, IS THAT A PROBLEM? MAYBE IT ISN'T, BUT I THINK IT'S A LONG TERM DISCUSSION BECAUSE WE'RE GONNA BE A CITY A LOT LONGER THAN WE HAVE BEEN A CITY AT THIS POINT.
SO THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT GOT INHERITED THAT, UM, MAYBE AREN'T THE FIRST THINGS THAT ARE THE MOST NEWSWORTHY OR THE MOST FUN TO DISCUSS, BUT THEY'RE GONNA COME ALONG.
UM, CERTAINLY I LOVE THE PART OF THE COMMUNITY
[01:55:01]
PLAN THAT, UH, ADDRESSES, UH, HOW PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE GET AROUND HERE.UM, YOU KNOW, THE WALKING TRAIL, THE, THE TRANSIT, UH, AND HOW WE CONNECT.
UH, THAT'S GONNA BE A BIG PART OF WHETHER WE BECOME THESE LITTLE ISOLATED, UM, COMMUNITIES OR WHETHER WE IN FACT BECOME A CITY THAT THAT REALLY KNOWS ABOUT, UM, ITSELF AND NOT JUST ITS OWN LITTLE, UM, HOA.
SO THOSE ARE THE THINGS I THINK COMING UP, OBVIOUSLY, I WANT TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE FAT SOILS AND GREASES ORDINANCE, BECAUSE THAT'S IMPORTANT.
I'M SORRY, OAK CREEK IS VERY IMPORTANT, AND WHETHER SOMEBODY THINKS THAT'S A, A WASTE OF TIME AND ENERGY, I PERSONALLY THINK THAT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT PART OF WHAT WE NEED TO BE TALKING ABOUT.
AND THEN WHAT ARE WE DOING IS, IS THERE IN FACT, POLLUTION COMING OFF OUR ROADS? UH, ARE THERE THINGS THAT WE WANT TO ADDRESS ABOUT VEGETATION AND VEGETATION REMOVAL? UM, BECAUSE CERTAINLY THIS COMMUNITY VALUES THE LOOK OF A, UM, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY, A LOVELY MOUNTAIN COMMUNITY, AND YOU DON'T WANT SOMEBODY TO COME IN AND JUST PULL THOSE ALL DOWN.
LINDA, LET ME STEER YOU A LITTLE BIT BACK TO WHAT I WOULD SAY, OR WHAT I BELIEVE IS, UM, WHAT MIGHT BE COMING IN FRONT OF PLANNING AND ZONING.
I THINK SOME OF THE ISSUES YOU JUST TALKED ABOUT ARE HIGHLY RELEVANT, BUT NOT SURE THAT THEY'LL GET IN FRONT OF P AND Z PER SE.
WELL, UM, IN PLANNING AND ZONING, UM, I GUESS IS, IS GONNA BE PART OF THAT.
UH, YOU'RE, I'VE NOTICED, I WENT OVER THE ORDINANCES FOR THE LAST COUPLE YEARS, AND I SEE A LOT OF THE, UM, THE WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE HAS TO DO WITH, UM, ZONING SOME RESIDENTIAL AREAS FOR MORE DENSITY THAT'S GOING TO, UH, THAT'S A REAL RELEVANT CONVERSATION TO TRANSPORTATION, UH, TO VEGETATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHERE DOES THE BUS STOP? WHERE, WHERE ARE THE WALKING TRAILS GOING TO GO? IS HOW, HOW ARE WE GONNA SUPPORT THOSE MORE DENSE COMMUNITIES? UM, IS THAT WHAT WE WANT? UH, YOU HEAR SOME OF YOUR BUSINESS OWNERS AND, UH, THE CORRIDOR COMING OUT, 89, A KIND OF FEELING LIKE, UM, THE AREA LOOKS A LITTLE BIT LIKE A STRIP MALL.
AND, UH, THERE WILL BE SOME PLANNING, I'M SURE, UM, ZONING KINDS OF ISSUES THAT WILL COME BEFORE THE, THE COMMISSION AND THEN BE REFERRED ON TO THE COUNCIL.
IT HAVE TO DO WITH WHAT IS THE LOOK AND FEEL AND THE AMBIANCE OF THAT AREA.
UM, SO I THINK ACTUALLY PERSONALLY, MOST OF, I WOULD BELIEVE THAT MOST OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION DECISIONS NEED TO REFLECT THOSE, THOSE OTHER BROADER CONCERNS.
MUCH OF THE COMMISSION'S WORK NOW CENTERS ON APPLYING AND REFINING ADOPTED PLANS AND ORDINANCES RATHER THAN REVIEWING INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.
THOSE A CHANGE IN THE STATE LAW.
UH, WHAT RELEVANT EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE, OR PERSPECTIVE WOULD YOU BRING TO HELP ENSURE THOSE POLICIES ARE APPLIED CONSISTENTLY AND IN ALIGNMENT WITH SEDDON'S COMMUN SEDONAS COMMUNITY VALUES? UM, I THINK PROBABLY EVERYBODY ON THE PLANNING COMMISSION'S GOING TO WORRY ABOUT THAT.
UH, WE DON'T EVER WANT TO GET SIDEWAYS WITH, UM, FOR EXAMPLE, THE COMMUNITY PLAN OR SOMETHING BY, UM, RECOMMENDING A, AN ORDINANCE, UH, THAT THAT'S GOING TO UNDERMINE, UH, THE WORK THE COMMUNITY HAS ALREADY DONE ABOUT ITS VALUES.
UH, I SUSPECT THAT EVERY SINGLE TIME SOMETHING COMES TO THE COMMISSION, UH, THAT'S PROBABLY ONE OF THE FIRST PRIORITIES AFTER READING AND UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE, WHAT THE ISSUE IS, IS TO LOOK AND SEE HOW IT REFLECTS THE COMMUNITY.
AM AM I, IS THAT KIND OF WHAT YOU'RE ASKING, OR AM I KIND OF OFF BASE WITH THAT? I I THINK THAT'S, IT'S ON, IT'S ON POINT, BUT IT'S WHAT WOULD YOU SPECIFICALLY BE BRINGING TO HELP ENSURE THAT THESE THINGS HAPPEN? WELL, I HAVE MANY YEARS EXPERIENCE AS A GOVERNMENT POLICY ANALYST, HAVE WORKED FOR THE KING COUNTY COUNCIL, UM, AS DOING THINGS LIKE, UM, WORKING ON INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS AND AGAIN, THE GROWTH MANAGEMENT ACT, WATER POLICY.
UH, SO I, I DO HAVE, UM, SOME EXPERIENCE AND WOULD HOPE TO WORK WITH STAFF, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, THE MATERIALS WE SAW ACCURATELY REFLECTED, UH, WHAT THE A, WHAT THE PROBLEM IS, AND B, WHAT THE HISTORY IS AND C WHAT THE, THE
[02:00:01]
CURRENT, UM, DECISION TO BE MADE WAS.AND THEN LOOKING AT MORE THAN ONE RECOMMENDATION, UH, NOT JUST SAYING THIS IS THE RIGHT ANSWER, BUT LOOKING AT MORE RECOMMENDATION AND ALSO LISTENING TO PEOPLE.
I'M SURE THAT, UM, I'M SURE THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE TELL THE PEOPLE ON THE PLANNING COMMISSION A LOT OF THINGS THEY THINK, AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO LISTEN TO DIVERSE OPINIONS BECAUSE, UM, JUST BECAUSE I THINK SOMETHING LOOKS GOOD DOESN'T MEAN I'M RIGHT.
UH, AND I CERTAINLY HAVE CHANGED MY MIND ABOUT WHEN I WAS RIGHT AND IMPROVED TIMES IN MY LIFE.
SO I THINK I WOULD BRING, UM, A FAIR AMOUNT OF EXPERIENCE IN KNOWING HOW TO RESEARCH AND, UH, HOW TO, HOW TO QUESTION, UH, WHAT THE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE IN A WAY THAT WAS NOT ANGRY OR MEAN, BUT, BUT JUST INCREASED THE CONVERSATION, EXPANDED IT.
WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO APPROVE A PROPOSAL THAT COMPLIES WITH THE CITY'S ADOPTED DESIGN STANDARDS AND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS, EVEN IF THE DESIGN DOES NOT ALIGN WITH YOUR PERSONAL PREFERENCES? AND HOW WOULD YOU APPROACH THAT DECISION? UM, NOT THAT IT'S RELEVANT HERE, BUT, UM, I'VE HAD PLENTY OF LIFE EXPERIENCE LOSING A VOTE, AND, UM, IF I BRING A STRENGTH TO IT, I'M, THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS I'M REALLY GOOD AT.
UM, I HAD A REPUTATION AS A COUNTY COMMISSIONER.
THERE WERE ONLY THREE OF US, AND I LOST PLENTY OF VOTES, AND I ALWAYS VOTED MY, MY BEST CONSCIENCE, BUT I LOST A LOT OF VOTES, AND I CAME BACK AND I, UM, ENTHUSIASTICALLY AND IN A VERY POSITIVE WAY, UH, ENFORCED THE WILL OF THE, THE COMMISSION.
UM, I LOST A LOT OF, UM, POLICY DISCUSSIONS DURING MY TIME, UM, UH, WORKING FOR BOTH THE CITY OF OLYMPIA AND FOR THE KING COUNTY COUNCIL.
AND I THINK WHAT I, UM, BRING IS JUST A REALLY GOOD ATTITUDE TOWARDS UNDERSTANDING THAT WHEN THE COUNCIL HAS SPOKEN OR THE GROUP HAS SPOKEN, YOU JUST MOVE ON AND YOU DO THE BEST YOU CAN.
I'D LIKE TO ASK FOLLOW UP TO THAT.
SO STAFF COMES, YOU GET A PACKET, RIGHT? AND IT'S GOT A CHECKLIST IN IT, AND ALL THE THINGS ARE, 90% OF THE THINGS ARE CHECKED OFF, RIGHT? BUT THERE'S STILL SOMETHING BASED ON YOUR EXPERIENCE AND WHAT YOU FEEL AND KNOW YOU DON'T LIKE THE PROJECT.
HOW DO YOU RECONCILE THOSE THINGS? I RECONCILE THOSE THINGS.
UM, I WOULD PROBABLY TALK TO MY COLLEAGUES AND SEE IF I COULD UNDERSTAND, IF I UNDERSTAND YOUR QUESTION, IT'S NOT ABOUT THE INFORMATION THAT'S AVAILABLE, IT'S ABOUT HOW, HOW IT GETS APPROVED.
IT'S, IT'S ABOUT, IT CHECKS OFF THE MAJORITY OF THE THINGS THAT ARE REQUIRED, BUT THERE'S SOMETHING THAT YOU DON'T LIKE THE PROJECT BECAUSE OF, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, OR I'M JUST WANNA, I, I WOULD PROBABLY, UM, TRY TO TALK TO MY COLLEAGUES ABOUT THAT AND UNDERSTAND WHY IT IS THAT I'M IN A DIFFERENT POSITION THAN THEY ARE.
UM, AND LOTS OF TIMES, LIKE I SAY, I HAVE CHANGED MY MIND, BUT THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT IS I'M OKAY WITH SAYING IT'S OKAY THAT WE AGREE THAT WE DISAGREE, UH, AND MOVE ON.
I'M NOT GOING TO BE AN OBSTRUCTIONIST.
UM, IF EVERYBODY ELSE THINKS IT'S GREAT AND I HAVE SOME CONCERNS, I'LL VOICE MY CONCERNS, UH, HONESTLY, BUT I WON'T, I WOULDN'T.
YOU COULD, COULD YOU VOTE FOR A PROJECT THAT YOU HAD A PERSONAL OBJECTION TO? PROBABLY NOT.
THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION OFTEN INTERPRETS AND APPLIES THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE.
I'M SORRY, I'M HAVING A LITTLE TROUBLE HEARING YOU.
IS THAT BETTER? THAT'S BETTER.
THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION OFTEN INTERPRETS AND APPLIES THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE.
ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH IT? HOW COMFORTABLE ARE YOU WITH READING, APPLYING, AND SOMETIMES QUESTIONING CODE LANGUAGE? AND HOW WOULD YOU APPROACH SITUATIONS WHERE THE CODE MAY NOT ALIGN WITH CURRENT COMMUNITY VALUES? I DON'T KNOW.
THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION OFTEN INTERPRETS AND APPLIES THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE.
ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH IT? HOW COMFORTABLE ARE YOU WITH READING, APPLYING, AND SOMETIMES QUESTIONING CODE LANGUAGE? AND HOW WOULD YOU APPROACH SITUATIONS WHERE THE CODE MAY NOT ALIGN WITH CURRENT COMMUNITY VALUES? WELL, I, YOU NEED CONSISTENCY BETWEEN WHAT THE COMMUNITY VALUES ARE AND, AND WHAT THE CODES READ.
AND IF THE CODE NEEDS UPDATING, THEN I THINK THAT'S ONE THING.
UM, I, AGAIN, I'M VERY COMFORTABLE, UH, WITH HONEST CONVERSATIONS, AND I'M VERY COMFORTABLE WITH SAYING, UM, I, I WON'T, WOULDN'T NECESSARILY
[02:05:01]
SAY I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHEN I DID UNDERSTAND, BUT I WOULD UNDER TRY TO ARTICULATE WHY I WAS IN A DIFFERENT PLACE.AND IS THAT SOMETHING THAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE SAYING, YOU KNOW, MAYBE I MISSED SOMETHING.
BUT IF THERE'S SOMETHING THAT I THINK NEEDS TO BE BROUGHT FORWARD FOR DISCUSSION, I'LL DO THAT.
NEXT, UH, IN YOUR VIEW, THE SEDONAS ADOPTED COMMUNITY PLAN CONTINUE TO REFLECT THE COMMUNITY'S CURRENT VISION AND VALUES.
PLEASE SHARE EXAMPLES OF, ON YOUR PERSPECTIVE, EXPLAIN HOW YOU WOULD RELY ON THE PLAN TO GUIDE YOUR DECISIONS, PARTICULARLY WHEN A PROPOSAL GENERATES STRONG PUBLIC OPPOSITION.
I'M GONNA ASK YOU TO REPEAT THAT ONE AGAIN TOO.
YEAH, THEY'RE ALL LONG
WE'RE TRYING TO BE THOUGHTFUL HERE, SO, WELL, VERY THOUGHTFUL, BUT YEAH, SOMETIMES I GET LOST IN THE THOUGHT.
EXPLAIN HOW YOU WOULD RELY ON THE PLAN TO GUIDE YOUR DECISIONS, PARTICULARLY WHEN A PROPOSAL GENERATES STRONG PUBLIC OPPOSITION.
UM, I SPENT SOME TIME, UH, THE LAST BACK TO THE MIC.
I SPENT SOME TIME ACTUALLY, UM, LOOKING AT THE COMMUNITY PLAN RECENTLY.
I'D LOOKED AT IT BEFORE, BUT WITH SPECIFIC THINGS IN MIND THIS TIME, I, I TRIED TO TAKE A BROADER LOOK AND, UM, I, I WAS VERY PLEASED WITH IT.
UM, IT IS DIFFERENT THAN A STRATEGIC PLAN, AND I, ONE OF THE THINGS ABOUT THE COMMUNITY PLAN THAT I GUESS I WOULD WOULD SAY IS, IS IT READS VERY WELL, AND IT'S VERY NICE, BUT IT DOESN'T TELL ME HOW YOU'RE GONNA DO IT AND WHEN YOU'RE GOING TO DO IT, WHICH A STRATEGIC PLAN WOULD DO.
AND, UM, I WOULD PROBABLY JUST PERSONAL PREFERENCE BE A LITTLE BIT MORE STRATEGIC, UM, IN THE, THE SUGGESTION THAT ONE OF THE WAYS TO CREATE CONFIDENCE FROM THE COMMUNITY IS TO SAY, AND WE'RE GOING TO DO THIS WITHIN TWO YEARS, AND IT'S GOING TO, AND WE'RE GONNA LET YOU KNOW THAT WE DID IT SO THAT PEOPLE WHO SAY, WELL, THE CITY HASN'T DONE ANYTHING, CAN GO BACK AND YOU CAN SAY, WELL, GEE, YOU KNOW, WE SAID WE WERE GONNA PUT IN THESE WALKING PATHS, AND WE SAID WE WOULD DO THAT IN FIVE YEARS, AND WE'RE 87% COMPLETE, AND IT'S ONLY BEEN THREE YEARS.
UM, THAT WOULD BE THE ONLY THING, THE SPECIFICITY OF TIME AND THE OBSERVABLE, MEASURABLE, UH, RESULTS WOULD BE THE ONLY THING I WOULD SAY.
UM, AS SOMEBODY FAIRLY NEW TO THE CITY WHO LIVES KIND OF JUST A FEW BLOCKS FROM HERE, UM, I THINK THAT THERE ARE, UM, I, YOU KNOW, I, I LIKE THE PARKS, UM, BUT THEY'RE KIND OF FAR AWAY FROM WHERE I LIVE.
AND THE PARKS RIGHT AROUND WHERE I LIVE ARE, ARE PRETTY SMALL AND UNUSUAL FOR PARKS.
UM, I'M NOT GONNA GO SIT IN GRAY BACK PARK AND HAVE A PICNIC.
UM, THAT'S NOTHING AGAINST GRAY BACK PARK, BUT I'VE ACTUALLY NEVER SEEN ANYBODY USE IT.
SO I, I, I MEAN, I THINK THAT, THAT, IF YOU LOOK AT WHAT PORTLAND OREGON DID, WHICH WAS TERRIFIC, UM, THEY ACTUALLY SECTIONED OUT JUST ONE BLOCK SIZE AREAS WHERE THEY COULD BE COMMUNITY GATHERING, PLACES WHERE A SMALLER COMMUNITY COULD HAVE ITS OWN LITTLE ART SHOW, OR ITS OWN LITTLE PICNIC AREA, OR ITS OWN LITTLE SPLASH PAD.
UM, A LOT OF THEM DID REALLY NICE LITTLE SUMMER CONCERTS.
UM, AGAIN, THAT GETS BACK TO A MORE SPECIFIC KIND OF THING, BUT IT'S ALSO A WAY FOR THE COMMUNITY TO GET TO KNOW ITSELF.
UM, I, LIKE I SAY, BY AND LARGE, I THOUGHT IT WAS A REALLY GOOD PLAN.
UM, YOU KNOW, I, I DON'T HAVE ANY BIG CRITICISMS OF IT.
I'M GONNA DIRECT YOU BACK TO THE LAST PART OF IT.
UM, HOW WOULD THE PLAN HELP YOU WHEN A PROPOSAL GENERATES STRONG PUBLIC OPPOSITION TO IT? UM, TO A PARTICULAR PROJECT I HAVE, MAYBE I HAVE THE SCARS TO PROVE IT.
UM, I HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCE HEARING REALLY ANGRY PEOPLE DISCUSS WHAT THEY THINK A SPECIFIC GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE DOING.
AND, UM, I TRY TO LISTEN, I TRY TO LISTEN HONESTLY.
UM, I'M, I STARTED MY, MY CAREER OUT AS A POLICE OFFICER.
UM, I'M PRETTY GOOD AT DEALING WITH HIGHLY
[02:10:01]
CONFLICTED SITUATIONS.UM, IT DOESN'T MEAN I ALWAYS HAD THE ANSWER, DOESN'T MEAN I ALWAYS HANDLE IT REALLY WELL.
UH, I KNOW THAT THERE ARE REAL STRONG FEELINGS, UH, IN THIS COMMUNITY.
A LOT OF PEOPLE COME WITH PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE THAT, UM, MAY BE DIFFERENCE FROM WHERE WE'RE GOING TO GO HERE.
UM, BUT YOU GOTTA LISTEN AND YOU GOTTA BE NICE.
AND, UM, I WOULD ASK THAT PEOPLE STOP AT THE POINT OF MAKING THREATS.
I DON'T THREATS, AND I JUST WALK AWAY.
UM, SO I, I'M PRETTY GOOD AT LISTENING TO THE PEOPLE THAT ARE ANGRY.
I'M SURE YOU GUYS HEAR ONCE IN A WHILE.
HOW FAMILIAR ARE YOU WITH ARIZONA'S OPEN MEETING LAW, INCLUDING THE APPROPRIATE USE OF EXECUTIVE SESSIONS? AND HOW WOULD YOU ENSURE COMPLIANCE AS A PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSIONER? WELL, FIRST I WANT TO, I WANT TO TELL YOU THAT I WOULD ABSOLUTELY GO LEAD ARIZONA'S LAW.
UH, I HAVE LOOKED AT IT AND I'M VERY FAMILIAR WITH SOME SUNSHINE LAWS.
UM, I WANT, WOULD ALWAYS WANT TO ERR ON THIS SIDE OF BEING MORE OPEN, UM, THAN, UM, LESS OPEN.
UH, I THINK THAT IT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT, AND AGAIN, WE'RE A SMALL COMMUNITY.
UM, WE HAVE THE NEED TO LIVE TOGETHER AND WORK ON PROJECTS TOWARDS SORT OF A, I GUESS, A MUTUAL FUTURE OR A MUTUAL VISION.
UM, BUT I WOULD, I WOULDN'T START OUT, I DIDN'T REVIEW THAT PARTICULAR LAW, UM, IN TERMS OF APPLYING FOR THE PLANNING COMMISSION, BUT I WOULD, WOULD DO THAT.
AND I WOULD ALSO, AT ANY POINT I HAD A QUESTION CHECK WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY.
THIS NEXT QUESTION IS A LITTLE REDUNDANT TO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN, YOU KNOW, ASKING YOU TO COMMENT ON, BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT'S A REAL LIFE SITUATION THAT I'M GOING TO DESCRIBE HERE.
SO IMAGINE YOU'RE AT A PUBLIC PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MEETING LATE IN THE EVENING.
A CONTROVERSIAL PROPOSAL MEETS THE TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS OF THE LDC, BUT PUBLIC TESTIMONY IS OVERWHELMINGLY OPPOSED DUE TO CONCERNS ABOUT NEIGHBORHOOD CHARACTER, TRAFFIC, WATER USE, DARK SKIES AND SCENIC IMPACTS.
EMOTIONS ARE HIGH, THE ROOM IS TENSE, AND YOU KNOW, YOUR DECISION WILL LIKELY BE CRITICIZED REGARDLESS OF THE OUTCOME.
HOW WOULD YOU APPROACH YOUR DECISION MAKING IN THAT MOMENT, AND HOW WOULD YOU EXPLAIN YOUR VOTE TO THE PUBLIC? WELL, MAYBE IT'S BECAUSE I'M OLD.
I'M OKAY WITH NOT EVERYBODY AGREEING WITH ME.
UM, I WOULD HONESTLY EXPLAIN, UH, I WOULD TALK ABOUT HOW I REACHED MY DECISION AND WHY, AND I WOULD ACKNOWLEDGE THAT SOME PEOPLE PROBABLY DON'T AGREE WITH ME.
IN FACT, MAYBE MOST PEOPLE DON'T AGREE WITH ME, BUT I'M STILL GOING TO MAKE THE BEST DECISION I CAN BASED ON WHAT I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO KNOW AND FIND OUT, AND WHAT I BELIEVE IS THE FUTURE OF THE, OF THE TOWN.
UM, I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT COMPLETELY ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION, BUT WELL, IT, I GOT A FOLLOW UP HERE IS HOW IMPORTANT IS PUBLIC INPUT IN THE PLANNING PROCESS, AND HOW SHOULD IT BE WEIGHED AGAINST TECHNICAL RECOMMENDATIONS THAT COME FROM STAFF? AND I THINK THAT DEPENDS ENTIRELY ON WHAT YOU'RE DEALING WITH.
SOMETIMES, UM, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT A, A, A STORM WATER MANAGEMENT ISSUE OR SOMETHING THAT MAY BE VERY, VERY TECHNICAL, IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE PLACEMENT OF A PARK OR A PICKLEBALL COURT OR SOMETHING THAT MAYBE DOESN'T HAVE THE SAME LEVEL OF, UM, TECHNICAL, UH, NEED THAT IT, IT MAY BE MORE OF A, A, A COMMUNITY VALUES THING.
WELL, I THINK PICKLEBALL IS A GOOD EXAMPLE, A GOOD EXAMPLE, BECAUSE ARIZONA IS VALUES PROPERTY RIGHTS ABOVE ALMOST EVERYTHING.
AND AN INDIVIDUAL OWNER OF A PROPERTY WANTS TO PUT UP PICKLEBALL COURTS, AND ALL THE NEIGHBORS AROUND THEM ARE ADAMANTLY OPPOSED TO IT.
AND THEY COME TO THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION AND, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE SITTING IN THE BACK AND THEY'RE CHEERING OR BOOING, AND THEN THEY COME UP TO THE PODIUM TO, TO TESTIFY.
AND YOU HAVE TO, YOU MAY FEEL LIKE PICKLEBALL IS TOO LOUD YOURSELF, AND YOU WOULDN'T WANNA LIVE
[02:15:01]
NEXT DOOR TO SOMEBODY WHO PLAYS PICKLEBALL, YOU KNOW, HAS A PICKLEBALL COURT.BUT HOW DO YOU WEIGH THOSE THINGS? WELL, AND AGAIN, I, IT DEPENDS ON THE SPECIFICS, AND I THINK WHEN YOU READ THE COMMUNITY PLAN, IT'S STRONGLY SUGGESTS THAT HERE IN SEDONA, THE COMMUNITY VALUES THE, THE VALUE OF, OF A QUALITY LIFE, UM, IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
THERE MAY BE OTHER PARTS OF THE STATE WHERE THAT ISN'T QUITE THE SAME WAY THE MIX COMES TOGETHER, BUT, UH, I'VE BEEN HERE LONG ENOUGH AND BEEN IN ENOUGH CONVERSATIONS THAT, UM, ONE OF THE, THE CENTRAL CORE VALUES OF THIS COMMUNITY IS THE QUALITY OF LIFE.
AND IF YOU'VE GOT 200 PEOPLE THAT ARE FEELING LIKE THEIR IMPACT IS, UH, NEGATIVE, UM, WHILE YOU, I, I WOULD LOOK FOR A COMPROMISE, OF COURSE, BUT I, I REALLY THINK THAT I HAVE TO ADMIT THAT I'M PROBABLY GONNA COME DOWN ON THE SIDE OF QUALITY OF LIFE UNLESS THERE IS ACTUALLY LAW TO THE CONTRARY.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD ABOUT YOUR INTEREST ON SERVING ON THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION FOR OUR BENEFIT? UM, I REALLY LIKE BEING PART OF THIS COMMUNITY, AND I WOULD LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE SOMETHING.
I OBVIOUSLY HAVE COME HERE LATER IN LIFE.
UH, I CAME HERE FOR DIFFERENT REASONS THAN MOST PEOPLE.
MOST PEOPLE CAME FROM, FOR THE VIEW, I CAME BECAUSE MY DAUGHTER WORKS HERE,
UM, AND, UH, SO AS I'VE, I'VE KIND OF GOTTEN INTO THE COMMUNITY, I THINK I CAME INTO IT A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT WAY.
I CAME IN THROUGH, THROUGH THE LIBRARY BOARD AND NOT THROUGH HIKING AND, YOU KNOW, SOME THINGS THAT ARE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT ABOUT ME AND I, EVERY PLACE I HAVE EVER LIVED, I'VE TRIED TO CON CONTRIBUTE.
I'VE TRIED TO, TO, UM, UH, WORK TO MAKE THE PLACE BETTER AND TO HELP PEOPLE COORDINATE AND COMMUNICATE BETTER.
UM, I, I, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK ONE OF MY STRENGTHS IS REALLY DOING MY HOMEWORK AND TRYING TO UNDERSTAND.
UM, I DON'T ALWAYS GET TO THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE FIRST TIME, BUT I, I'M WILLING TO KEEP TRYING AND I'M NOT SOMEBODY WHO WALKS AWAY JUST BECAUSE SOMETHING'S DIFFICULT.
ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANYTHING? OKAY.
[4. EXECUTIVE SESSION]
MAYOR, CAN I ENTERTAIN A MOTION? YEAH.I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSIONS TO DISCUSS THE, UM, APPLICATIONS.
WE'RE BACK IN OPEN SESSION, AND I'M GONNA EXPLAIN TO EVERYBODY, MARC, OR I WANNA WAIT FOR MARCY TO COME BACK IN THE ROOM.
I'M GONNA EXPLAIN TO EVERYBODY HOW THIS IS GONNA WORK.
WE HAD A DISCUSSION ABOUT THE CANDIDATES.
WE'RE GONNA TAKE A VOTE NOW, SO WE DON'T HAVE A WINNER YET.
AND THERE IS, THERE ARE TWO POSITIONS.
UH, ONE OF THEM AN INCUMBENT IS GOING TO FILL, AND THE SECOND ONE WILL BE, UH, ONE OF THE FOUR CANDIDATES WE'VE INTERVIEWED TODAY.
WELL, CAN WE TAKE CARE OF THAT RIGHT OUTTA THE GATE? YES.
I'D LIKE, I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO REAPPOINT JOE MARTIN, UM, TO A SEAT ON THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION FOR TERMS THAT WILL BEGIN ON NOVEMBER 1ST, 2026, AND END OCTOBER 31ST, 2029, OR UNTIL A SUCCESSOR IS APPOINTED, WHICHEVER IS LATER.
SO NOW WE HAVE A SCORE BOARD, AND WE'RE GONNA VOTE WE ALL, EACH OF US HAS ONE VOTE, AND WE'RE GONNA VOTE FOR OUR TOP CANDIDATE.
HOUSE IS ACTING UP AS SOON AS THE, THERE WE GO.
[02:20:01]
WHOEVER GETS THE MOST VOTES WILL BE THE WINNER.WELL, WE'VE ALL VOTED FOR OUR TOP LINDA RING ERICKSON.
OKAY, SO CONGRATULATIONS, JONATHAN.
THE MATH ISN'T WORKING ON THE SPREADSHEET.
SO BASED ON THE, UM, MATRIX HERE, I WOULD MOVE TO APPOINT, UM, JONATHAN KIRCHNER TO A SEED ON THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION FOR TERMS A TERM THAT WILL RE BEGIN ON NOVEMBER 1ST, 2026, AND END ON OCTOBER 31ST, 2029, OR UNTIL THE SUCCESSOR IS APPOINTED, WHICHEVER IS LATER.
WAS THERE A SECOND? P OH, THANK YOU.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? WE COMMENT ON THE MOTION? SURE.
BECAUSE I, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT I WAS VERY IMPRESSED AT THE APPLICATIONS THAT I SAW IN FRONT OF US, AND THERE WERE MANY VARIED STRENGTHS BROUGHT TO US.
AND I WAS REALLY ENCOURAGED, ACTUALLY, AS COUNCILS MEMBER TO SEE THE INTEREST IN PLANNING AND ZONING AND THE DIVERSITY OF OPINIONS OR BACKGROUNDS THAT ARE BROUGHT.
AND I WANT TO ENCOURAGE MARY AND REBECCA AND LINDA TO, TO STAY ENGAGED AND TO FIND OTHER WAYS TO, TO VOLUNTEER HERE YET AND BURNISH YOUR SORT OF PRESENCE IN OUR COMMUNITY A LITTLE BIT MORE.
I REALLY WANT TO ENCOURAGE ALL THESE PEOPLE TO, TO STAY ENGAGED, AND I WANT TO THANK EVERYBODY FOR APPLYING.
UM, I WAS VERY IMPRESSED WITH THE CANDIDATES.
I MEAN, THIS IS, I THINK, ONE OF THE MOST ROBUST, UM, CROPS, FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD, THAT WE'VE HAD IN TERMS OF CANDIDATES FOR PNZ.
BUT I ALSO SAW IN THESE CANDIDATES THAT THERE ARE OTHER AREAS OF SEDONA CITY GOVERNMENT IN WHICH THEY MAY ALSO, UH, BE VERY HIGHLY, UM, APPROPRIATE FOR.
SO I DO ENCOURAGE THEM ALL TO STAY INVOLVED.
UM, AND I WAS VERY, FELT VERY RESTRICTED BY BEING LIMITED TO ONLY ONE VOTE, BECAUSE AGAIN, I THINK THE CANDIDATES WERE VERY GOOD.
SO THANK YOU ALL FOR APPLYING.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS? JUST HERE, HERE TO WHAT, UH, COUNSELORS, FURMAN AND KINSELLA SAID, I MEAN, WE STRUGGLED TO GET CANDIDATES TO FILL POSITIONS, AND SO IT WAS A LUXURY TO HAVE NINE CANDIDATES APPLY THIS TIME AROUND.
IT'S NEVER BEEN THIS COMPETITIVE THAT I'VE SEEN.
SO READY FOR THE VOTE? MM-HMM
NOW AGAIN, CONGRATULATIONS JONATHAN, AND WE DO HAVE THE OATH OF OFFICE READY FOR YOU.
WE'RE GONNA SWEAR YOU IN AND WE'RE GLAD YOU BROUGHT YOUR OWN WITNESS WITH YOU TOO.
I, JONATHAN KIRSCHNER DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR OR AFFIRM THAT I WILL SUPPORT THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA? WAIT, THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF ARIZONA.
THAT I WILL BEAR TRUE FAITH IN ALLEGIANCE TO THE SAME AND DEFEND THEM AGAINST ALL ENEMIES, FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC.
AND THAT I WILL FAITHFULLY AND IMPARTIALLY DISCHARGE THE DUTIES OF THE OFFICE OF COMMISSIONER OF THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION ACCORDING TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY.
SO HELP ME GOD OR SO I DO AFFIRM.
CONGRATULATIONS AND THANK YOU.
I ALMOST DIDN'T, I WAS LIKE TRYING TO GET OVER HERE AND
[02:25:01]
I WAS GETTING HIM READY.I THOUGHT I WAS GONNA BE LATE AND I WAS LIKE, OH, MAYBE I'LL JUST WATCH IT AND I'M GLAD I CAN,
[5. ADJOURNMENT]
ADJOURNED UNTIL FOUR 30.