Mesa City Council Meeting - October 6, 2026

The Mesa City Council met on October 5, 2026 (recorded as October 6, 2026) to consider a consent agenda, a zoning case for Park North, a notice of intention to adjust utility rates, and public comments. All votes were unanimous.

Consent Calendar

• Council approved the consent agenda (items 2, 3A-3F, 4A-4B, 5A) with the removal of items 6A and 6B, which were later considered jointly.
• Items 6A and 6B were then approved unanimously, covering the Park North development agreement and associated landscaping and pathway requirements.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Park North (Items 6A/6B): Five speakers addressed the council.
  • Anthony Kelly (from Ridgeville) expressed frustration with the city's general plan enforcement process but was not opposed to Park North itself. He cited a previous case where he felt the plan was not applied consistently.
  • Stacey Shepherd, Kerry Davis, and Cheryl Kirby (all from the Superstition Springs neighborhood) supported the project, noting extensive collaboration with the developer to transition from apartments to townhomes.
  • David Wynn Stanley (District 6) spoke in favor, citing good due process and design changes made by the developer.
• Utility Rate Notice (Item 7): David Wynn Stanley (representing On Court East Mark HOA) raised two concerns:
  1. The excess water surcharge disproportionately impacts HOAs with seasonal grass usage, as the winter baseline leads to very high ratios. He requested a postponement to discuss the surcharge definition.
  2. He asked for a more detailed explanation of the general fund transfer (a constant 30%) and why an $11 million increase to utility customers is needed for public safety.
• Items from Citizen Present (Item 8):
  • Igor Zenkov (Chandler resident, student) opposed the NTT 10 data center project, citing urban heat island effects (3-5°F increase), utility rate impacts from data center subsidies, and public opposition. He also claimed the project was being grandfathered from new environmental reviews.
  • Noah Markham requested a virtual sign language interpreter for live streams and YouTube recordings of meetings. He supported the data center, noting that Japanese partners are intelligent and that water use concerns are overstated (72% of water used in agriculture). He also called for a policy against anti-Zionist threats.
  • David Wynn Stanley (third speaker) discussed automatic license plate readers, expressing support for their traffic safety benefits but raising privacy concerns about third-party access, data retention, and enforcement consequences for misuse.

Discussion Items

• Park North Zoning Case (Item 6A): Council discussed the project, which includes 78 townhomes on a 5-acre site at Power and Guadalupe Roads. Brennan Ray, the applicant, explained that the site's general plan designation (Neighborhood Place Type) allows multifamily residential without an amendment. The development agreement (6B) includes landscaping, pathways, and notices to residents. Council members acknowledged the lengthy process and thanked stakeholders. The motion to approve passed unanimously.
• Utility Rate Adjustment Notice (Item 7): Brian Richel, Management and Budget Director, presented an updated forecast showing improved financials due to bond refunding ($12M savings), higher water consumption from a warm spring ($6.9M extra revenue), and lower chemical/electricity costs. The proposed rate adjustments for fiscal year 2026-2027 are: water service charge 3.5% (reduced from 4% per Audit and Finance Committee), water tier rates 3.8% impact on typical customer, wastewater 5.9%, solid waste 9.4% (reduced to 9% after committee input), electric 8.3%, and natural gas 2.34%. The total impact for a typical residential customer is $5.92/month for water/wastewater/solid waste, and ~$6/month for electric and natural gas. Mesa remains among the most affordable cities in the region. The notice of intention was approved unanimously. The final adoption is scheduled for December 8, 2026, with rates effective February 1, 2027.

Key Outcomes

• Consent Agenda: Approved with removal of 6A and 6B.
• Park North Development Agreement (Items 6A and 6B): Approved unanimously.
• Notice of Intention to Adjust Utility Rates: Approved unanimously (7-0). The council will hold a public hearing on December 8, 2026 to adopt the final rates.
• Public Comments: No formal action taken on comment topics, but council acknowledged requests (e.g., investigation into sign language interpretation, further review of license plate reader policies).

Note: The transcript indicates the meeting occurred on October 5, 2026, but the instruction specifies October 6, 2026 as the recorded date.