Attachment C - VPC Summaries - Z-45-23-1.pdf

City of Phoenix — Formal (2024-03-06)

Extracted text (via pymupdf) 9389 characters

City of Phoenix • Planning & Development Department
200 West Washington Street, 3rd Floor • Phoenix, Arizona 85003-1611 • (602) 262-6882
Village Planning Committee Meeting Summary
Z-45-23-1
Date of VPC Meeting
January 16, 2024
Request From
C-2 M-R PCD
Request To
PUD PCD
Proposal
PUD to allow shopping center (existing) with
temporary/promotional events
Location
Northwest corner of Norterra Parkway and Happy Valley
Road
VPC Recommendation
Approval, per the staff recommendation, with a
modification
VPC Vote
9-0
No member of the public registered to speak on this item.
VPC DISCUSSION:
STAFF PRESENTATION
Matteo Moric, staff, provided an overview of the PUD request. Mr. Moric noted the
proposal was to allow a shopping center with temporary and promotional events and
added as part of the request was to have off-premise advertising signage (billboards).
Mr. Moric identified the surrounding zoning, land uses and the general plan land use
designations. Mr. Moric then explained the staff findings and staff recommendation.
Mr. Moric walked through the recommended stipulations and identified the next steps.
APPLICANT PRESENTATION
Jason Morris, applicant representative, said this is an improvement on an older
development which was developed around 2006 during a transitional time for retail
development. Mr. Morris commented retail is much more experiential today and the
idea is to create more excitement. Mr. Morris said every time an operator wants to do
a special event they have to apply for a new permit for events such as Christmas tree
lighting or car shows. Mr. Morris stated this PUD would provide flexibility with the
number of the events, frequency, hours of operation and would allow some upgrade of
the signage. Mr. Morris said the code permits the temporary promotional events with
administrative temporary use permits. Mr. Morris added the operator is only allowed
so many special events per year. Mr. Morris then identified the two proposed event
areas. Mr. Morris said they were careful to not take up the tenant parking spaces and
to conduct events at a time which would not negatively impact the tenants.

Deer Valley Village Planning Committee
Meeting Summary
Z-45-23-1
January 16, 2024
Page 2

City of Phoenix • Planning & Development Department
200 West Washington Street, 3rd Floor • Phoenix, Arizona 85003-1611 • (602) 262-6882

Mr. Morris noted this PUD would simplify the process and showed what is permitted
under existing regulations and what they are proposing. Mr. Morris stated they wanted
to allow events by right and not interfere with traffic flow of existing tenants and allow
the maximum number of events per year. Mr. Morris added there are PUD
enhancements such as the addition of electric vehicle charging, bicycle parking, and
landscaping for future development.

Mr. Morris said the second part of his presentation was about the requested onsite
and offsite signage because of the PUD. Mr. Morris stated the existing small tenant
pylon will be updated with new tenants and colors to match the shopping center itself.
Mr. Morris added there is a new on and off-site sign proposed in the middle and an
existing large tenant pylon. Mr. Morris said all three pylon signs would be designed to
match each other and directed more towards the freeway.

QUESTIONS FROM COMMITTEE & APPLICANT RESPONSE
Keith Greenberg asked about standards of temporary events.

Jason Morris said today the operator can conduct events by right, but they were
asking for variations in the event standards.

Gregory Freeman asked about restaurants if they could extend outside. Mr. Morris
said for alcohol they would still be required to go to the Arizona Department of Liquor
License and Control.

Braden Lopez-Biggs questioned if the tenants would be allowed to bring liquor out in
Event Area 1. Mr. Morris said the PUD would allow the user to extend the premise for
special events but they would still need to go through the Department of Liquor
License.

Mr. Morris said he hopes this would breathe new life in the shopping center and
make things a little easier.

Ricardo Romero asked if the event areas would be modified. Mr. Morris said that the
parking lot itself and the landscaping would not change.

James Sutphen asked what else may need to be done such as an event at the Texas
Roadhouse. Mr. Morris said that if there is a proposed event outside of what the PUD
requests, this would not prevent an operator to apply for an administrative temporary
use permit outside the parameters of the request.

Braden Lopez-Biggs asked if there was a reason staff did not want it to be a digital
billboard. Mr. Morris responded that the City of Phoenix Code requires every board
go through another process to be digital.

Mr. Morris said that digital billboards should not be everywhere as the angle and

Deer Valley Village Planning Committee
Meeting Summary
Z-45-23-1
January 16, 2024
Page 3

City of Phoenix • Planning & Development Department
200 West Washington Street, 3rd Floor • Phoenix, Arizona 85003-1611 • (602) 262-6882
design should be away from residential properties. Mr. Morris said he did not see a
problem with getting the billboard approved through the use permit process. Mr.
Morris added that in this instance he felt the location of the billboard was fine and they
did a more extensive outreach as part of the PUD.

Mr. Moric said the use permit process is similar to going through a variance process,
however, the criteria to be approved is different and it must not cause a negative
impact to the surrounding properties.

Chair DiLeo asked if the billboard currently exists. Mr. Morris said it currently does
not exist.

Mr. Freeman asked if the intent of the billboard is to advertise to the freeway rather
than the frontage road.

Ms. DiLeo asked if the billboard will be a marketing mechanism for some of the
events.

Mr. Moric said his superiors indicated that it would need to go through a separate
process for the use permit and through the process they can provide stipulations for
billboards such as the amount of animation. Mr. Morris said the City has now put that
into their sign permits so all digital sign permits have the same reviews.

Ms. DiLeo asked if the Committee could advise their thoughts on the digital portion of
the billboard.

Mr. Lopez-Biggs said just to remove the stipulation that would not allow digital on the
billboards and added this would show they are fine with having a digital billboard as
they would still be required to get a sign permit through the City.

Sandra Hoffman commented that the PUD goes through a legislative process while
the use permit would go through a judicial review process with a hearing officer and if
appealed go to the Board of Adjustment and potentially go to court. Ms. Hoffman
stated there would be two different paths.

Mr. Morris said if the VPC was comfortable with it and did not change the staff
language that he could at least use the meeting minutes when going through the use
permit process noting the VPC is comfortable with the digital portion of the request.

Mr. Morris added that it is within the City policy to require digital portion of the
billboard to go through the separate use permit process.

Keith Greenberg asked if the PUD always overrides the Zoning Ordinance. Mr.
Morris said where there is a conflict the Ordinance will govern unless they specifically
asked for the request in the PUD.

Deer Valley Village Planning Committee
Meeting Summary
Z-45-23-1
January 16, 2024
Page 4

City of Phoenix • Planning & Development Department
200 West Washington Street, 3rd Floor • Phoenix, Arizona 85003-1611 • (602) 262-6882
PUBLIC COMMENTS
None.

MOTION
Vice Chair Gregory Freeman made a motion to recommend approval of the request
per staff recommendation, with a modification to remove Stipulation No. 1.b. regarding
deleting the word “digital.” Committee Member Braden Lopez-Biggs seconded the
motion.

VOTE
9-0, motion to recommend approval of the request per staff recommendation, with a
modification passes with Committee Members Davenport, Greenberg, Herber,
Hoffman, Lopez-Biggs, Romero, Sutphen, Freeman, and DiLeo in favor.

Chair DiLeo commented she wanted the meeting minutes to clearly reflect that the
VPC is fine with the request of it being a digital billboard.

STAFF COMMENTS REGARDING VPC RECOMMENDATION:

Staff does not recommend the removal of Stipulation 1.b. The approval of digital off-
premise signs is subject to the requirements of Section 705.2 of the City of Phoenix
Zoning Ordinance, which requires a use permit. The provisions of the PUD cannot
circumvent the Zoning Ordinance requirements as stated in Section 671.B.5.