Eloy City Council Meeting - January 22, 2024
Eloy City Council Meeting - January 22, 2024
The Eloy City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, January 22, 2024, at 5:30 PM in the Eloy City Council Chambers. The meeting included public comments, reports, presentations, and several key actions including approval of a conditional use permit for a solar project, a general plan amendment, a rezoning for a tiny home development, and a consent agenda. The meeting concluded with a unanimous vote to enter executive session for one hour.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the minutes from the January 8, 2024 regular meeting.
- Authorized an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with Pinal County for election services for the City's 2024 primary and general elections.
- Authorized an agreement with Sunland Asphalt for $49,951.71 for road improvements at Eloy Memorial Park.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Betty Peterson (resident of 5440 West Crossy Drive, Robeson Ranch) spoke about the need for affordable housing, noting an increase in people seeking assistance at Heart of Eloy Thrift Store since COVID-19. She expressed support for the tiny home project and praised Ralph Varela's work in the community.
- The Eloy Chamber of Commerce (Andrew Rodriguez, Executive Director) presented the Quarter 2 Report, reporting 10 new members, 162 total members, a 90% retention rate, and over $95 million in federal funding for the I-10 project. They also highlighted the success of the GLOW event with 6,800 attendees and 30 vendors.
- An unscheduled public appearance involved a group from Support Our Troops auction, where an anonymous bidder donated a painting called "Old Glory" by an artist from Robeson Ranch, intended for display at City Hall.
Discussion Items
- Kitt 1 Solar Project (CUP2022-038): The council considered a Conditional Use Permit for a 100-megawatt solar photovoltaic power generating and 100-megawatt battery energy storage system on approximately 646 acres southwest of Milligan Road and Eleven Mile Corner Road. The project, developed by Avantus LLC, will interconnect with the APS Milligan substation, with projected completion by May 2026. It is expected to generate approximately $6 million in tax revenues during construction and up to $28 million over its operational life. The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval unanimously. Councilmember Garcia voted no; the motion passed 5-1.
- Water and Wastewater Master Plan Update (Presentation): Wilson Engineers presented updates to the water and wastewater master plans for the first time since 2005. Key findings include a projected need for 58 new wells at 750 GPM each to meet future demand of 38,115 housing units, and that expansion of the wastewater treatment plant will be needed within 5-10 years.
- Stuart & 4th General Plan Amendment (GPA2023-039): The council adopted Resolution No. 24-1567, amending the General Plan Land Use Map designation for two parcels (0.87 acres total) at the northwest corner of 4th Street and Stuart Boulevard from Community Commercial to High Density Residential to accommodate a 20-unit tiny home project. The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval unanimously. The motion passed unanimously.
- Stuart & 4th Rezoning (RZ2023-040): The council adopted Ordinance No. 24-954, rezoning the same parcels from Neighborhood Commercial (C-1) with a Downtown Core Overlay (DCO) to Multiple Family Residential (R-3) (10-24 dwelling units per acre) with a Downtown Core Overlay (DCO) for the tiny home project. The motion passed unanimously.
Key Outcomes
- Conditional Use Permit Approved (CUP2022-038): Approved for the Kitt 1 Solar Project on a 5-1 vote (Councilmember Garcia dissenting).
- General Plan Amendment Adopted (GPA2023-039): Approved unanimously via Resolution No. 24-1567.
- Rezoning Approved (RZ2023-040): Approved unanimously via Ordinance No. 24-954.
- Consent Agenda Approved: Unanimously passed.
- Executive Session: The council voted unanimously to enter executive session for one hour with City Manager David, Assistant City Manager McKenzie Letcher, City Clerk Mary Myers, and City Attorney Steve Cooper to discuss negotiations and legal matters per A.R.S. § 38-431.03(A)(3), (4), and (7).
Meeting Transcript
Good evening. Wow. Welcome everybody. It's not uh every day I see uh almost a full house here. So welcome to our Eloy City Council meeting. It is Monday, January 22nd, 2024, and I'd like to call this meeting to order. Miss Mary, can we get a roll call, please? Councilmember Seton. Here. Vice Mayor Curtis. Here. Councilmember Wanawapa Rodriguez. Here. Mayor Powell. Here. Councilmember Snyder. Here. Councilmember Garcia? Present. Councilmember Triangle called in Mayor. Thank you. Next, we're gonna stand for the invocation by Pastor Brown. If we can remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance, too. Well God, we come before you with gratitude. We thank you for being a God of love who's with us now and in this very room. You never leave us or forsake us. Your grace has brought us safe thus far. Your grace will lead us home. We thank you for making each of us in this room, every person we meet, every citizen of this city, for being in made in your image, and we give dignity and infinite worth to everyone. We thank you for calling for the calling you have given every one of us to be good stewards of your creation. I thank you tonight, God, for these are your servants, our mayor, our city manager, our city staff, and our city council members. I give thanks for the way of service they have chosen to take up on your behalf for all of us here. We all come to this room tonight as complex human beings carrying burdens, carrying joy and hope, trusting that you alone can hold us together. Oh God, in your love and peace, help us, Lord, and trust you more, more than our fears and our wounds and even our accomplishments. May we lean on your everlasting arms tonight. God, in your word, you make it clear of our your expectations for us who sit in places of authority. In Psalm 72, we hear the prayer for the kings. Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness. May He judge your people in righteousness, your afflicted ones with justice. May He crushed the oppressor, for the King will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. Through the Prophet Jeremiah in chapter 22, you remind us that your blessing came on the kings who defend the rights of the poor and the needy because isn't it the way that it means to know you declares the Lord. And we also pray that you would glorify tonight the decisions of the city council. We pray that you would have the eyes open to see how our lives and our connected and how we are common and and good and it's being upheld. Therefore, please remember the most vulnerable among us. We pray that your kingdom will come here in Eloy as it is in heaven through the power of working in each other and through your servants. Defend the cause of God through his governing body tonight. We thank you again for this council, our mayor, our city staff, our first responders, and all those who work to make this place we call home such a wonderful city. We pray this in your name. Amen. Amen.
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