We're ready when you are.

Okay, good evening, everyone.

Uh thanks for coming out on this uh rather hot afternoon, evening, but it's nice and cool in here, so congratulations and th kudos to the staff over there for keeping it cool.

All right, I would like to call this meeting of the uh City of Life Planning and Zoning Commission to order.

Today is Wednesday, July fifteenth, and the time is six oh one PM.

May you have a roll call, please.

Here.

Commissioner Lopez.

Here.

Commissioner Whitman.

Here.

Vice Chair.

Tolson.

And Chairman Paulson.

Present.

And do we have anybody online?

Alan Crawford school in Colorado.

Thank you.

This is me, Bakht.

Okay, thank you.

Anyone else?

Okay.

Okay, thank you.

It looks like we have a quorum.

Um item number three.

Uh I request everyone to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

Yes.

Who's there?

Johnny Gunn.

Thank you.

Okay, thank you.

I number four.

This is the time for public appearances.

Is there anyone here who has a public appearance request that is not related to any of the items on the agenda?

Doesn't look like it.

Okay, thank you.

Item number five, motion to approve the May twentieth, twenty twenty-six meeting minutes of the planning and zoning commission.

Do I have a motion to approve?

I'll make a motion to I will I have one correction before we uh I make the motion.

And that is on page three.

There's a typo.

At least it looks to me like it's a typos.

The financing, I don't know what that means.

So uh I guess I'll I will make a motion to approve with that typo corrected.

Okay, I have a motion to approve with a typo corrected courtesy AI.

Anyone have a second?

Second.

Okay, I have a motion to approve with a typo correction, and I have a second.

May I have a roll call, please.

Commissioner Wolf.

Yeah, I don't know what's wrong with these mics.

Goodness.

Commissioner Whitman.

Yes.

Commissioner Bakna.

Aye.

Commissioner Gunn.

Aye.

Commissioner Crawford.

Aye.

Vice Chair Tolson.

Yes.

And Chairman Paulson.

Aye.

The motion can be unanimously.

Thank you.

Okay, moving on to item number six, the consent agenda.

I'll just review what a consent agenda is.

All items listed on the consent agenda may be enacted by one motion and one roll call vote of the planning and zoning commission.

Unless a commission member or member of the public requests a separate discussion be held on any item.

That item will then be removed from the consent agenda and considered in its normal sequence on the agenda.

The commission shall conduct a public hearing and possibly take action on the following.

Number one, case number MSCP 2026-001.

That's Maverick, a master sign program and comprehensive sign package to be used on an approximately 4.25 acre site, zoned general commercial C2, Planned Area Development Overlay located at 1120 South Sunshine Boulevard.

Okay, I'd like to open the public hearing.

Okay.

We have no input from the public.

Any input from my colleagues?

Any input from the staff.

Okay.

No input.

Thank you very much.

All right.

So I'd like a roll call vote on the consent agenda, please.

Uh chair, you need to have a motion and a second.

I'll move I knew that.

I'm sorry, I'm just getting a little a little anxious here.

Okay, so I'm gonna close the public hearing.

Yeah, thank you for correcting me.

Um so we're gonna close the public hearing now.

Do I have a motion to proceed?

Reject whatever on this consent agenda move to uh proceed.

Okay, so you move yeah, you you move to approve.

Do I have a second?

Okay, so I have a motion to approve and I have a second now.

The roll call.

Commissioner Lopez.

Aye.

Commissioner Whitman.

Yes, Commissioner Crawford.

Aye.

Commissioner Bacca.

Aye.

Commissioner Gunn.

Aye.

Vice Chair Tolson.

Aye.

And Chairman Paulson.

Aye.

Thank you very much.

The motion carries unanimously.

Okay, item number six, seven.

New business.

Possibly and or action on the following.

A information session to discuss code amendments to chapter 12, Article 3, and Chapter 21-3-1.31 for the purposes of removing barriers to mobile food vending in Eloy.

Okay.

Open the public.

We're not really having a public hearing on this, are we?

We're just information, correct?

Chair, members of the commission, yes.

This is a uh it's a discussion item with a presentation from staff.

And I'd like to introduce our new staff person, Sam Leonard of the City.

Came from the city of Casa Gran, and he's been with us for a couple months now.

But I'll hand it back to you, Chair.

Okay, thank you.

Welcome, Sam.

Thank you.

All right.

So tell us about food trucks.

All right, good evening.

Quick introduction.

Um Samuel Leonard, I am the new senior planner here.

Happy to be with the City of Eloy.

Uh our main purpose for tonight's presentation is to discuss uh the possible revision options to the current food truck code.

Um in broad strokes, what we want to do is to build a vibrant and thriving food truck uh community here in Eloy.

Um our current code kind of does not make that possible, um at least not possible to evolve organically.

Um so we would need to take some responsible steps to make it an achievable for our vendors to do business here.

Um our purposes are to encourage commercial use in Eloy, reduce barriers for our businesses, increase options for our community, lay groundwork for nightlife opportunities, and by nightlife, I mean just kind of a general coming together of the community to kind of gather and have a good time.

Doesn't necessarily have to be at night.

And uh I want to go over our public outreach plan.

So encourage commercial use in Eloy.

So one of the things I like about food trucks, uh food trucks generally require less startup funding than a traditional brick and mortar, uh, makes them more accessible, I believe.

Food trucks require a commissary, uh commissary being the either a restaurant or a place where the majority of the food prep is done, where the food trucks are cleaned, sanitized, repaired, uh those types of things, they tend to be local to where the food truck is operating.

So more food trucks may bring those commissary businesses here as well.

Uh food trucks are mobile, they can go where the people are.

Um at least ideally that's the case.

So when we have special functions here at the air park, uh our food trucks are capable of getting there and uh being available to our community.

Umgregations of food trucks.

So when you get many food trucks together, um it's really nice to have that variety without the added travel.

Um anybody who's done food trucks know that, hey, you go there with your family, I can get Indian food, my wife can get tacos, so on and so forth, and we don't have to drive all over town.

So I think that's uh added benefit.

Uh food trucks are more likely to keep their money here in our community than say fast food restaurants or chain restaurants.

So while they do offer uh employment opportunities, that money tends to go to the corporate office, where with our food trucks they tend to be more local, small business operations, that money stays here.

Um we like to see that.

Um then all of the businesses that support food trucks, so that's gonna be the commissaries, the grocery stores, um, any type of repair, those types of services are gonna benefit from having those food trucks here locally.

Uh reducing barriers for businesses, specifically food trucks.

Um the big barriers is that we currently require a conditional use permit.

Um so this says per year, that is incorrect, but per location.

So any time a food truck wants to vent at say lucid or at um the bear plant, anything like that, they require a conditional use permit.

Um on top of the other requirements.

So they're required to have state licensing, uh, insurance, a fire inspection, uh planning entitlements, that's the conditional use permit.

And I'll kind of go through what that would look like on average, or not even on average, under ideal circumstances, if they begin their uh entitlement process on the first of January, um, under the best of circumstances.

April, mid-April is when they can expect to have their approval.

Um so that's you know, three and a half months under the best circumstances.

Um it can easily be double that.

Um that's not conducive to the kind of small business um opportunities that food trucks provide.

Um then they also require in a city of Eloy business license.

Um we remove that conditional use requirement, or at least limit that conditional use requirement to um say if they're going to put a food truck on an unoccupied, undeveloped lot, then we would still require that kind of conditional use to make sure that everything meets all of our standards.

But where they're gonna be on a site that's already developed and they're a secondary use, uh, then we would um look to remove that requirement for the conditional use permit.

And then that would allow ideally if we get there once they have their state license, their inserts, fire inspection, and owner authorization forms for whatever location they're going to be at.

Then essentially they could only need to get the City of Eloy business license and a temporary use permit.

So if it is the will of the public and the will of the boards and the commission, you know, we can make that uh an afternoon process, which would allow these food trucks to get in, get in, get their stuff signed up and ready to vend on you know a day, um not three and a half, four months.

So we still have a long way to go before we get there, but these are kind of the thoughts that we're going through.

The other big barrier for our food trucks, as I as I see it, um, is that they're currently allowed in commercial industrial and mixed use zoning districts, so they're already kind of limited to those areas, but more importantly, they cannot be within 250 feet of a residential zone boundary.

Um, with the exception of if they're an ice cream truck who only sells ice cream, or if they have a special permission from a landowner, then they can serve up to six hours in a 24 hour period.

Um so there is a possibility there, it's just kind of restrictive.

Um they can also vend on city property as long as they have uh special permission.

Um we do our events, and then they can also be in one legal parking space, and even that comes with certain exceptions.

It's got to be marked.

Um these are kind of where they operate.

Um the big thing is that 250 feet uh residential zone buffer.

Uh so here we have the city of Eloy uh in green, outlined in blue is our downtown overlay district.

So when we add that 250 foot buffer, the areas in green are where they can vend.

Um that long strip in the middle there, that is all or mostly undeveloped industrial zone.

So as you can see, um just at this high level, it's it's it's pretty restrictive.

Uh we can zoom in.

This is the same information just at a closer look.

This is the downtown overlay district.

Uh highlighted in blue there now with the the black being the uh excluded areas.

So again, not the best or most conducive to uh businesses getting started up here.

And then I want to zoom in one more time.

Here we are at City Hall.

Okay, I don't know what happened to that picture.

Nonetheless, here we are at City Hall, and uh there's the park, there's City Hall, there's the police station, put that exclusion zone on, and there's a handful of parking spaces that they could occupy under our current code.

Not ideal in my opinion.

So that's one of the things that we're gonna need to address.

Uh increased options for our community.

Um right now, uh, this is not a comprehensive list, but it's fairly uh accurate.

We got about 19 restaurants total here within the city limits.

Um if we remove our fast food restaurants for those of us who you know maybe fast food's not on our agenda tonight.

Um we're limited even more.

And then if I don't want to do chain restaurants, if I want to keep my money in the community, we lose a couple more.

That leaves me eight sit-down style restaurants in all of Eloy.

So I think we can do better than that.

And I think with the uh lessened cost to get into food trucks with their mobility, I think that is an excellent opportunity to bring those businesses and bring those uh options into Eloy.

And then laying the ground for that night life opportunity.

Um right now, you know, like I said again, it doesn't have to be night life.

I'm talking Sunday afternoons, Friday night.

If anybody's been able to do the Friday night food trucks or cost of collective, those types of functions, they're a lot of fun.

The community comes together, get to do some socializing.

Uh I think that's better.

I think that's good for everybody.

Um so we want to create spaces that encourage food vendors and community interactions.

One of those places, this is what Darrowtown could look like.

Uh, we see the food trucks there.

Um, so you know, the great big park.

Um give people to come down here an opportunity to come down, dine, eat, maybe listen to some music, whatever we've got going on.

Um, so then I want to talk about our public outreach.

So we're looking at planning and zoning information session number one.

Here we are tonight.

I appreciate everybody's time and consideration.

Uh August 5th, we have scheduled a stakeholder meeting.

Going to bring our food vendors in.

Um, I have a lot of ideas, a lot of thoughts, but until I hear from our actual vendors, um, I want to take everything kind of with a grain of salt until we get them in and hear what they have to say.

Again, this is going to be for them and for our community.

We should definitely have them in the forefront.

Um, same thing with our community.

Um, this is nothing without our community members.

So definitely want to get them in, hear what they have to say, and uh see what we can do about uh bringing them into the fold.

After that, I would like to talk to the city council.

Um kind of tell them the information that we've gathered, see what direction they want to give, uh, begin those conversations.

Um, and then after having talked with you, talk with our community, talk with our council, go back to the community and say, hey, here's where we are, this is what we're gonna suggest.

How do we feel about that?

October, hopefully, we can do another work session, the last little bit of tightening everything up, and then we can make our final submittal and uh get that to city council with uh the commission's recommendations.

So, summary encourage commercial use in Eloy.

Let's get those businesses here, let's get them started.

Let's grow.

Reduce barriers for business.

We've got some stuff that makes that difficult.

I think that we can address that.

I think we can make that a much smaller challenge to our small businesses.

Uh increase options for our community.

We all like to eat.

Let's give us some more choices.

Um later groundwork for some nightlife.

Let's all get together, let's have a reason to uh commune together and to kind of grow that that sense of place, that sense of community.

Um public outreach.

Uh, like I said, we don't do this in a vacuum.

So let's hear from our vendors from our community and from our planning and zoning commission, our city council.

Uh, I'd like to be happy to answer any questions at this time.

Remembering that we're still early, early days, and um here to get your information.

So thank you.

Okay, well, thank you, sir.

We do appreciate the work that you've put into this, and again, welcome to Eloy.

Thank you.

Okay, do we have any questions from the gentleman?

Please roll the board.

All right.

Uh just a question on that 250 foot uh buffer zone.

Yes.

What would you I can imagine people are most people are not gonna want to have a food truck parked right out of the current house?

So what are you gonna do about the buffer?

So there have been uh a couple of discussions that we've had as far as how do we address that.

Um there is options around creating um districts where that buffer is removed, but we still keep a requirement that maybe says, hey, you can't be 50 feet from a residential use.

So if that lot has a house on it, you can't park out in front of it essentially because you're right.

Uh there's some noise concerns, there's some uh you know, a lot of them use diesel generators.

Um, and you know, I don't want a line of people standing out front of my house trying to get burritos.

Um I want to get the burrito, then I want everybody to go.

So um I fully understand that.

So there's that idea of do we do an overlay?

Uh can we reduce that 250 feet to 150 feet or 50 feet?

What does that look like?

Um, so there's been a couple of discussions.

We don't know what that answer is right now.

Um, and again, like I said, early days, reaching out to our vendors, reaching out to our communities, to our commissioners, um and our council members to find what that what the responsible answer to that is okay.

Ex officio, go for it.

First of all, welcome to Eloy.

Thank you.

And thank you for taking on this long overdue issue.

I I was I was thrilled to do this.

It's my heart is with the food trucks, and this is good such a joy for me to be here and to represent everybody.

So thank you.

Because food trucks here, since I've been here in Eloy, they've caused a lot of drama online, and it's been a lot of needless drama that's gone back and forth.

And it was just totally needless, a lot of it.

And the approach that I think we should all take on this is just common sense.

It's common sense.

There's there's no smoke and mirrors here, it's just a common sense approach, and I think it will satisfy everybody here in the end.

The process for the food trucks for the vendors themselves, it needs to be inclusive.

It needs to be clear.

It needs to be easy.

And it needs to be fast.

That's three and a half months.

I know it is what it is at this point.

But the fact that we're going to now address this and fix this means the world.

It really does.

It means the world to them.

And it means the world to the citizens who will now be able to partake in and have that's that's amenity for lack of a better term.

Absolutely.

And just one quick note.

Well, that's fine and dandy for a food truck, but a guy with a trailer, that turns into a big because not a tree.

You got a vehicle with a trailer, you're talking 20, 30 foot.

And that's sticking out.

So maybe we might be able to massage.

That's the that one the you know, one of the reasons I see that one parking space allowance as as a barrier.

Yeah, it's there is a type of vendor where that is excellent for, and I think that's great.

Because Calvin is not fitting in one spot.

But you know, you know, there are so many of our food trucks that I just absolutely adore who who that one spot's just not gonna be enough.

And any of the people with those barbecue trailers, and we know you want them there.

Um see this is a common sense approach that we're looking for.

I I hope so.

And like I said, I'm here to represent my community.

Um so to And there's no need to overcomplicate this.

I think you're on the right track, young man.

Please stay there and stay the course.

Thank you.

Absolutely.

Okay, thank you.

Any other input at this time?

Any questions for Mr.

Samuel?

Yeah, I had a quick question.

Um you mentioned that you wanted to keep it local, like how I'm curious.

Like, is it the August 5th stakeholders meeting where you'll be contemplating how you're going to mitigate that it actually does stay local?

Because then they don't they do a lot in Arizona City, they do a lot in Casa Grande, and I think it would be great here, but I'm just curious how you so local it it's a difficult to kind of define what local is.

Um and that's a discussion, like I said, that to have is when I say local, I I'm thinking Eloy, Casa Grande, Arizona City, maybe Maricopa.

You know, if they're willing to make that drive here, um, then they're probably fairly local.

Um but it may be that the commission, the community uh wants to narrow that scope of local down.

And that maybe that's a question that I need to add uh when I have those stakeholder that community meeting is when I say local, everybody should be on the same page.

So what does local mean for our community?

What does it mean for you?

Um is that Eloy?

Is that Eloy in Arizona City, Talltech, Casa Grande, or is that the greater Penal area?

I don't know.

Um I like to be a little bit broader to get those options to come in here, but there's a fair point to be made about if they're based in Maricopa, then you know, maybe they're taking that back to Maricopa.

Now we still win, we get that food truck.

You know, you don't maybe we don't get that revenue.

But so and that is an excellent question and and a great thing to be contemplated is what is local look like.

Okay, thank you.

Any other input?

Anyone uh on the phone?

I have one comment.

So you say they would take their revenue back to Maricopa, wouldn't they still be subject to the Eloy restaurant tax?

So whatever taxes that the city of Eloy um levies on those types of businesses, yes, that would stay here.

But they may do their um repair work, their mechanic, their commissary, their grocery shopping, that may be done in Maricopa if that's where they're based.

Okay.

So thank you.

Any anyone else?

Okay, well I got one quick question for you, sir.

If you just came from Casa Grande, what sort of arrangements did they have for food trucks?

So recently, uh so I was with Casa Grande for about three, four years, I think.

And they had just done some updates.

Umde did to benefit their food trucks was um they extended the amount of time that they're um permitting was um existing for.

So it went from six months or eighteen months to two years.

I forget exactly what it was.

Um but they and they made it so that it was administratively approved.

So they still need to go through an approval process, and we would still hear too.

I didn't bring up that you know, this would be a temporary we're we're looking at making this a temporary use, like a modified temporary use permit.

Um, but that's kind of what Casa Grande did is they made it a temporary use permit that was administratively approved.

Um that when you walked in, if you had those documents at hand, um their review time was a week.

So I'm hoping to reduce that.

Um I think that uh I think that we can do better.

I I think that that's um if that's what we choose, right?

Um I think a week, even a week or two weeks would be far better than the three and a half, four or five, six months because they're not even applying.

They they they come in here and they look at that, and uh so I can't even give you demographics or information on what that really looks like because the bridge is not getting those applications and the imposed cost that comes with all that.

So thank you.

That makes total sense.

So you would say in a nutshell that uh Casa Grande has a far more streamlined approach than we do.

They do, and I think we see that in their streets.

Uh if you uh again, I I'm a food truck nut, so I see them more often because I'm looking for them, but any given night, there's a dozen, doesn't have two dozen food trucks throughout Casa Grande.

They've got the food trucks at the you know in Sign Park, they've got um food Friday night food trucks.

There's always somebody over in the parking lot by the is it the food city, I think it is.

Um Casa Collective has usually got several trucks.

One of my favorite places to go when I get a chance.

Um so but uh all those our vendors are those vendors are paying uh on top of their permitting for the the right to be there.

So I think by making you know this available throughout the city to say, hey, you got this license, you got this permit, you're welcome here.

You know, maybe that removes another cost on them.

Okay, thank you.

Well, I just wanted to make sure because that was my general impression is that they have a far more vibrant food truck environment.

I don't see many around here because, like you say, if it takes them three months at the best to get approval, they'll just go go somewhere else.

Yeah.

So uh that's that's kind of it.

Taking what I've learned that Casa Grande once worked over there and said, hey, can we do one better?

Uh not that it's a competition, but you know, when they brought me in here and said, hey, can you look at this?

I said, hey, I'll take a look.

Um, I'm here now and uh want those food trucks.

So we didn't competition isn't bad.

So that's okay.

No, everybody wins, right?

And if everybody wins, um, because uh, you know, maybe we'll have local food truck startups.

They'd be like, hey, now you know that's one barrier, and now I can afford to get that truck.

Okay, thank you very much.

Anyone else have any questions?

All right, again, thank you.

And I appreciate your work.

I I like the presentation and keep up the good work.

Welcome.

Thank you, everybody.

I appreciate your time.

Okay, moving on to item number eight.

This is informational item.

Planning and zoning commission members and staff will update the public on relevant events and activities they have attended since the last meeting, and any future events, activities, and potential agenda items.

These items are for information only, and no action shall be taken.

Staff.

Chair Postal members commission.

The items that we have coming up, we are gonna be having a future airpark uh work session two open house meeting.

It's our third series of questions that will be going out.

Um to the public on this meeting.

So really what we're looking at is on July 29th at the senior center.

We're gonna have an open house meeting.

It starts at 5.30 and goes to 7.30 or 8.

I don't remember exact times.

8 p.m.

Thank you.

The and then we will be uh at that time is this a walkthrough where we'd be going through the goals that we have developed based on the public comments that we and the commission's comments that we have received so far.

We have a very preliminary uh land use kind of plan for that area, uh addressing a bunch of different things.

We we worked pretty detailed on that land use plan, and then we as I was looking at it, it was too specific.

So I kind of backed it out a little bit.

We're we're our are how can we consolidate this to be more uh beneficial and user-friendly.

So we we put together a very preliminary draft land use plan because if we remember in the general plan, we designated that whole area as a planned community area.

So this will be more what's driving the development.

Um furthermore, since our last commission meeting, this the I probably steal the mayor's thing on this.

Uh for that um for ratification to the voters in uh November.

So we do look to you all as being our champions in the public because at this point the city city staff can no longer promote the plan.

Yep.

So city counts.

It's all up to the city council and the planning commissioners to say, hey, yeah, you do want to vote for this.

It's a good thing.

So we can't we can't we can't uh do anything.

I probably said too much as it is, but so those kind of things that popped uh for an August meeting.

I do not foresee an August meeting at this time.

Uh it may be possible, but very unlikely.

Um September may be possible.

Uh I won't be here, so but um that's a possible meeting, but definitely August.

I'm looking at possibly at canceling that meeting.

So on that, I will hand it back to the chair.

Okay, thank you, sir.

Appreciate that.

Uh anyone else?

I know there's someone over to my right who's just dying to give us some information.

Absolutely.

Oh, I'm gonna back up a little bit more than one meeting ago.

You know, approximately two years ago.

This body zone, and they recommended to council that we change the zoning for the uh quote tiny houses.

And I don't know if you've been on fourth street in the past week or so outside Panel Hispanic Council.

They've already landed 10, have come in on Crane, and they're on they're sitting there on their foundations.

They got 10 more to land in front of Penelophic Council, and further down Fourth Street.

The uh smaller one, the autumn cottages, they've gone vertical.

They've got walls up and things already installed, and that's just a testament to how things get done.

It really is, and it's something we can see.

It's something the public sees when they come out and they drive around and go, wow, look, new stuff has happened, and it's all because of people doing what we do.

And I want to thank everybody on that.

And that's it from me.

Thank you, sir.

I do remember that, and uh we had some good discussion.

And uh I was kind of waiting to see, and I I don't I won't go over there too often, but I'll have to go and take a look.

Thank you.

Anyone else?

Okay, I think we're done.

Item number nine, motion to adjourn.

Do I have a motion to adjourn?

Aye motion, second.

Okay, and I have a motion.

I have a second.

I don't think we need a roll call.

All in favor of adjournment, please signify by saying aye.

Aye.

All opposed.

This meeting is hereby adjourned.

Thank you.