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Village Planning Committee Meeting Summary Z-23-20-8 Date of VPC Meeting August 11, 2020 Request From S-1 Request To CP/GCP Proposed Use Warehousing with general office and assembly/manufacturing Location Approximately 600 feet north of the northwest corner of 38th Street and Southern Avenue VPC Recommendation Approve per staff recommendation VPC Vote 8-4-0 Motion passes; with members Brownell, Busching, Coleman, Daniels, Holmerud, Monge Kotake, Shepard and Trites in favor; Members Alvarez, Larios, Said and Tunning in dissent; none in abstention. VPC DISCUSSION & RECOMMENDED STIPULATIONS: Mr. Bojorquez, staff, provided a presentation on the proposed rezoning case. Staff recommends approval, as presented in the staff report. He then invited the applicant to provide their presentation with the committee. Mr. Adam Baugh, with Withey Morris PLC, introduced himself and provided background information about IMS, the future property owner and operator, who provides various metal-related services. He then described the need of this business to move into a larger site and the desire to stay in the South Phoenix area as the business is presently located near 48th Street and Roeser Road. He showed a site aerial map for the new proposed site and discussed the conformance to the general plan by this rezoning case. An overview of the conceptual site plan and building rendering was provided, in addition to a discussion of the general plan goals and community benefits. He concluded the presentation by discussing the letters in support received on this case and the businesses or individuals who sent these letters. Mr. Aguilar asked what the percentage of employees at the existing facility is who live in the South Mountain Village. Mr. Baugh responded that he does not have those figures at this time. Ms. Busching and Mr. Brownell stated that they support this project Attachment C Mr. Coleman stated that he is familiar with this business and is happy to see this business stay in South Phoenix. He added that this business has a diverse workforce. Mr. Larios stated that he is concerned with the loss of agricultural land and asked if this had been considered. Mr. Baugh responded that this property is presently used to grow pasture for horses and the site was selected based on the guidance from the General Plan. Ms. Shepard stated that she supports this project. Vice Chair Tunning asked on the level of public outreach conducted and if the applicant was willing to conduct an environmental justice assessment before moving forward with the project. Mr. Baugh responded that he has conducted extensive outreach and contacted several community groups, some of which conduct work relating to employment. He added that he wishes to move forward with a recommendation from the committee. Chairwoman Trites stated that she supports the project due to the employment benefits, including new job opportunities and the retention of a local employer. Chairwoman Trites opened and the public portion of the meeting. Mr. Trent Marchuk, resident of the area, introduced himself and stated that he is happy with the job retention by this employer in the area, but is concerned with the potential for traffic this project might have in combination with another active rezoning case Z-35-20-8. He stated that a request for a further traffic study was submitted to staff in addition to a request for a concurrent review of the traffic report for this case and Z-35-20-8. Since he and other community members are awaiting for a response from staff, he requests that a continuance be granted on this case in order to allow for the review of the traffic reports to occur. Chairwoman Trites closed the public portion of the meeting and asked the applicant to provide a response to the concerns expressed. Mr. Baugh responded by referencing a traffic impact report that was conducted as part of this case and that the proposed use would not create a high volume of traffic. MOTION Mr. Brownell made a motion to approve the item per the staff recommendation in the staff report. Ms. Busching seconded the motion. VOTE: 8-4 Motion passes; Members Alvarez, Larios, Said and Tunning voted against. Mr. Aguilar left the meeting momentarily due to a network connection issue and was unable to vote on this item. He rejoined the meeting shortly after the vote on this item. Mr. Larios left the meeting at 8:35pm bringing the quorum to 12 members. STAFF COMMENTS REGARDING VPC RECOMMENDATION & STIPULATIONS: None.