Carefree Truth
Issue #707, December 10, 2018
Following the staff report, Brennan Ray, the lawyer representing the applicant, Empire, made his presentation. "Carefree Corridor" is a mixed use development. He called it a win for the Town because it would bring additional commercial services to Carefree residents, allowing them to spend their money in Carefree, it would allow Carefree to "poach" some money from the adjacent jurisdictions, and it would provide jobs. Mr. Ray pointed out that it is consistent with the General Plan (GP) Special Planning Area (SPA) designation. He believed it is a "viable and sustainable solution to the site", constituting the "highest and best use for this land", and is "appropriate" for the land. The crossroads are a significant regional road and a local arterial road, where planning standards call for the most intense development.
He thanked the Town staff and the neighbors, saying that it took a long time to get the project to the point where it was ready to present to the Council. He was especially appreciative of Mr. Marcolini, the attorney representing the Provence HOA, HOA president Michael Johnson, and the HOA Board. Numerous changes were made in the site plan while working with the neighbors, and conditions were imposed. The applicant was OK with some of the conditions, but wanted to discuss some others.
Empire had been working with the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) for 15 months about moving the 404 wash. No decision had been made yet, but Empire believed ACE would give their approval. This would allow the site to develop in a more sustainable way, and would provide an appropriate buffer between the commercial center and the residents to the north of approximately 154'. The wash would be maintained as a riparian corridor. A multi-use trail to the south of the wash, running through the center, would be available to the public. Use of the materials and styles shown in the staff presentation are a condition of approval.
At the neighborhood meeting on August 29th, one major concern was noise mitigation from traffic on Cave Creek Road, but the primary focus was on the area to the north of the realigned wash. A 25' offset, which is Carefree's minimum requirement, was proposed by the developer. The proposed medical center at the tip showed parking behind the building, adjacent to the neighborhood, which Empire felt would provide extra buffering, but that was not well received. The building was reduced by 8,000 square feet. The parking was reduced accordingly and moved to an area in front of the building. Empire doubled the open space setback to 50' in the triangle, unencumbered by a parking lot. A wall would be constructed comprised of 6' of masonry on top of a 2' dirt berm. There is a grade differential of 8'-9' between the center and the residences. A double row of trees, some salvaged from the site, would provide further buffering. All of these changes are included in the stipulations with the exception of the 8' high wall, which was approved on the conditional site plan, but Empire would be willing to have that included in the stipulations.
The two top issues where a compromise was not reached were the 24/7 ambulatory emergency care medical center and a car wash. These deal with uses. The neighbors don't want either use allowed on the site. The lower two access points and the finished floor elevations, which deal with design and development, were also unresolved concerns. Their goal is to keep the buildings as low as possible, following good engineering practices. The accurate grade differential between the center and the residences will be determined by the final engineering study. Empire understands that there are noise and after hours activity concerns about the medical center and the car wash. The first is a prohibited use and the other is allowed via the Special Use Permit (SUP) process. Empire asked that both be allowed via SUPs in order to give Empire flexibility to develop the site and attract tenants. Mr. Ray stated that, without knowing who the end users would be, with no tenants signed up, they wanted to maintain flexibility and felt it was a reasonable compromise in light of everything Empire had done. He noted that SUPs require a neighborhood meeting, a hearing by the Planning & Zoning Commission, and approval by the Council, so the ultimate power rests with the neighbors and the Town.
Carefree Highway is currently a 2 lane road east of Cave Creek Road, and it is controlled by the City of Scottsdale. Empire will be required to expand the northern half to 2 lanes with a center turn lane. They would add right turn lanes at the eastern edge of the site and at the center access point. Concern was expressed about the full movement access point closest to the intersection. A 600' minimum separation is the typical accepted practice for full movement access. If Scottsdale determines full movement is not necessary, Empire will restrict that access point to right in, right out. Many improvements would be made to Carefree Highway to alleviate at least some of the traffic concerns that were expressed. Empire's traffic engineer is supportive of a full movement access at the intersection.
In summary, Mr. Ray repeated what he said at the beginning of his presentation about this being an appropriate land use, and again noted that many concessions were made by Empire. He requested approval of the project as recommended by P&Z, subject to what he called the "minor modifications" of allowing a prohibited 24 hour medical center to be allowed via SUP, and allowing a car wash via SUP, both of which P&Z recommended be permanently disallowed on the site. He believed a 24/7 ambulatory emergency medical center, as shown on the site plan in the upper triangle, approved via the SUP process, was appropriate, giving Empire the flexibility of allowing a user to convince the neighbors and the Town that it wouldn't materially detrimentally affect the neighbors. Empire would agree to prohibiting a car wash north of the wash. He thanked the Council for allowing him to present.
https://vimeo.com/302503322
Lyn Hitchon
Prepared by Carefree Truth
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