Minutes of the Special Meeting held on April 29, 2025
Extracted text (via pymupdf)
8801 characters
Meeting Minutes
City Council Special Meeting
April 29, 2025 | 9:30 a.m.
Chandler Museum, Saguaro Room
300 S. Chandler Village Dr., Chandler, AZ
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order by Mayor Kevin Hartke at 10:00 a.m.
Roll Call
Council Attendance
Appointee Attendance
Mayor Kevin Hartke
Joshua Wright, City Manager
Vice Mayor Christine Ellis
Kelly Schwab, City Attorney
Councilmember Angel Encinas
Dana DeLong, City Clerk
Councilmember Jane Poston
Councilmember Matt Orlando
Councilmember OD Harris
Councilmember Jennifer Hawkins
Staff in Attendance
Tadd Wille, Assistant City Manager
Dawn Lang, Deputy City Manager / Chief Financial Officer
Andy Bass, Deputy City Manager
Matt Burdick, Communications & Public Affairs Director
Brittany Barba, Digital Content Creator
Kevin Snyder, Development Services Director
Micah Miranda, Economic Development Director
Judy Tincher, Lancaster Leadership
Welcome
JUDY TINCHER, Lancaster Leadership, provided introductions and presented the following
presentation.
• Agenda
• Rules of the Day / Polarities
Page 2 of 6
• Judy Tincher
Discussion
1.
Strategic Framework Common Themes from Interviews
MS. TINCHER continued the presentation.
• Strategic Framework
• What Sticks Out?
• What I know about ground rules
• Establish Ground Rules
• Common Themes from Interviews
2.
Staff Presentations
Economic Development - Micah Miranda
MICAH MIRANDA, Economic Development Director, presented the following presentation.
• Economic Update: History of Target Industry Projects
• Targeted Industries
• History of Key Industry Projects
• History of Key Industry Projects
• History of Key Industry Projects
• History of Key Industry Projects
• Target Industry Employment
• Employment Base
• Jobs to Households
• Prosperous Community
• Summary
• Things to Think About
COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS suggested that Chandler should look at healthcare services and policies
to help Chandler move forward and asked if policies would be continually updated to give more
flexibility for developments coming in.
MR. MIRANDA responded that he had discussed doing code updates more frequently which
makes it easier for staff and meets the market proactively.
COUNCILMEMBER POSTON commented that Chandler is looking for things to move forward.
Making investments and developing sites to be shovel ready can assist in economic development.
COUNCILMEMBER ORLANDO asked when it becomes more economical to repurpose or infill an
area versus starting new, what is the economic model.
Page 3 of 6
MR. MIRANDA said there is not a simple explanation as each site is unique. The breakeven point
has to do with verticality. If developers change use, it may affect the capacity of water and
wastewater systems. Use is driven by the infrastructure.
COUNCILMEMBER POSTON thanked staff for the presentation and emphasized creative
messaging for improvements made to business areas.
MAYOR HARTKE said underground utilities are difficult to upgrade in North Chandler.
VICE MAYOR ELLIS emphasized that creativity in infill and development projects are essential to
pursue.
MR. MIRANDA said some more tangible ideas will be coming in the visioning project.
Development Services - Kevin Snyder
KEVIN SNYDER, Development Services Director, presented the following presentation.
• State of Development & A Little Bit of Housing…
• Chandler Development Process
• Current Performance of Development Services
• Plan Review Performance Measures
• Rezoning Applications Performance Measures
• Housing Update
• Residential Units Approved Not Built
• Remaining Land
• Recent State Legislative Changes Affecting Housing
• Recent State Legislative Changes Affecting Housing (cont.)
• Proposed Legislative Changes Still Under Consideration
• Proposed Legislative Changes That Did Not Pass
• Next Steps/ Projects in Process
• Thank you! Questions?
COUNCILMEMBER POSTON asked if developers are waiting for the implementation of HB 2721
allowing for middle housing which is allowed on all lots zoned for single-family residential use.
MR. SNYDER said there has been a lot of conversation around middle housing. HB 2721 allows for
middle housing by right. The market might wait for that to be in place before moving forward with
developments. Middle housing projects are more complex.
COUNCILMEMBER POSTON said middle housing is allowed for by right, but it would still need to
follow Chandler housing standards.
MR. SNYDER said that is correct.
Page 4 of 6
COUNCILMEMBER ORLANDO said that infill and redevelopment has been a focus of the
community.
MR. SNYDER said Chandler is looking at things differently, where new developers looking for infill
and redevelopment requires more problem solving and more resources. Staff investigates current
and future needs for development.
COUNCILMEMBER ORLANDO asked about the timeframe.
MR. SNYDER said it depends on some projects already in the works. One is the housing
assessment study, which aims to define Chandler’s housing priorities in the market.
VICE MAYOR ELLIS asked about what Development Services is working on for Chandler’s
infrastructure.
MR. SNYDER said there has been some reorganization within the department for efficiency. The
department has also been engaged in continuous process improvement to refresh procedures.
MAYOR HARTKE commented that they need to engage with the legislative session differently, to
anticipate what will come back to cities and towns.
MR. SNYDER said Chandler is in a unique position to take a leadership opportunity in answering
questions from the legislature early on.
COUNCILMEMBER ENCINAS commented that the infill and redevelopment projects may be a key
piece in the future of Chandler. He asked how staff engages with developers who may need more
time and resources from Chandler.
MR. SNYDER said there is room for improving processes and empowering people to be decision
makers and problem solvers. The department has been also working to implement succession
planning to ensure processes are consistent.
COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS asked about creativity in problem solving.
MR. SNYDER said engaging and finding solutions early contributes to the problem-solving process
for creative infill and redevelopment. Looking at corridors as a solution for housing and business
development may be a step to creativity in the marketplace, as not many other municipalities are
looking into this.
COUNCILEMEMBER HARRIS asked if he meant creativity in the types of projects, or creativity used
to get those projects on the ground.
Page 5 of 6
MR. SNYDER answered that staff has to get creative with the development community to be
comfortable with the risk of new types of development: designs, styles, and products.
COUNCILMEMBER POSTON asked if there are staff with experience with redevelopment.
MR. SNYDER answered that he and Mr. Miranda have professional experience with
redevelopment, but their staff does not always have the same experience with redevelopment.
COUNCILMEMBER POSTON commented that encouraging growth in this area is a key point for
new members joining the team or for education and training for existing employees.
3.
Four-Step Work Session on Strategic Framework
MS. TINCHER continued the presentation and led the discussion and activity.
• 7 Responsibilities of This Council
• Work Session
• Individual Reflection: 1-2 sub-priorities
• Stations: 10 minutes each
• Gallery Walk
• Roundtable
4.
Council Topics and Closing Exercise
Council discussed the following priorities
• Economic Vitality
• Neighborhoods
• Quality of Life
• Sustainability & Technology
• Connectivity
• Community Safety
MS. TINCHER thanked Council for their participation during the session, and asked Council to
provide any other topics they came up with.
Public Comment
None.
Adjourn
The meeting was adjourned at 3:20 pm.
ATTEST: _______________________
______________________________
City Clerk Mayor
Page 6 of 6
Approval Date of Minutes: June 12, 2025
Certification
I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Special
Meeting of the City Council of Chandler, Arizona, held on the 29th day of April 2025. I further
certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present.
DATED this _______ day of June, 2025.
__________________________
City Clerk