Mesa City Council Study Session Discusses Price Manor Notification and Battery Storage Text Amendment on September 23, 2025
Mesa City Council Study Session – September 23, 2025
The Mesa City Council held a study session on September 23, 2025, to review the regular meeting agenda and discuss two primary items: the Price Manor rezoning application (Item 9A) and a proposed text amendment addressing legal non-conforming structures related to a battery storage project (Item 8B). Council members also acknowledged receipt of board minutes and shared current events.
Discussion Items
- Price Manor Rezoning (Item 9A): Council discussed the citizen participation process for the proposed development. Planning staff explained the three required notification methods: mailed letters to a 500-foot radius and registered neighborhoods/HOAs, site posting, and newspaper publication. Staff confirmed that the applicant provided an affidavit stating letters were mailed, but several neighbors reported not receiving notice. Council member Adams noted a conflict between the affidavit and neighbor complaints, suggesting a “tie goes to the runner” approach favoring those who said they were not notified. Council member Spilsbury observed that immediate neighbors (adjacent to the east) expressed support, while opposition appeared to come from farther residents. The mayor noted that a previous concession—changing egress to the west—shifted neighborhood support. The project aims to provide missing middle housing in an area with mixed zoning, similar to the previously approved Price Manor One project.
- Battery Storage Text Amendment (Item 8B): Council member Go Forth requested more time to review the proposed zoning ordinance amendment, stating she received new information only hours earlier about its link to a battery storage facility under construction. Staff explained that a prior zoning interpretation prohibited battery storage citywide, threatening financing for an already-permitted, partially built project. The amendment would create a “procedurally conforming” status, allowing reconstruction if destroyed (but no expansion) and updating non-conforming structure standards citywide. Council members raised concerns about fire safety, the lack of prior notification, and the perceived tailoring of the amendment to one developer. Vice mayor suggested a two-week continuance to October 6 for further study, which was generally supported. The council also learned that a broader battery storage ordinance will be presented in late November or early December.
Key Outcomes
- Price Manor: The item will be considered at the regular council meeting immediately following the study session; it was left off the consent agenda for separate discussion and a motion on continuance.
- Battery Storage Text Amendment: Council agreed to continue the item to the October 6 meeting to allow additional briefings and public discussion. A motion to that effect is expected at the regular meeting.
- Item 3C: The applicant withdrew the item; it will be read into the record as withdrawn.
- Minutes: The council unanimously approved acknowledgment of the Housing and Community Development Advisory Board and Parks and Recreation Advisory Board minutes.
Meeting Transcript
Well, good evening, everyone. It's time to start our Mesa City Council study session for September 22nd. All of our council members are present. Item one is to review the agenda for tonight's council meeting. I know we've gone over this, but I know there's some questions from council and uh counsel uh going through the agenda. What would be your wishes? I'll start out. Uh Mr. Smith 9A. I was told Mr. Butler uh a continuance has been requested of some type. Yes, Mayor, the the applicant has some I think we can probably still we could leave it off of the agenda because I think I don't want to still make under, but I think the vice mayor might want to make a motion on the precise nature of that continuance as opposed to putting it on to the consent agenda so that way we can have clarity as to the nature of the continuance. What's your pleasure? Yeah, we'll leave it off consent and I'll take 9A9B as one vote and I'll make a motion on it upstairs. Okay, very good. I know we received some requests about HC. That would be price manner two. Uh Ms. Brown. Can we talk about the participation there? Public participation. I know that's been a question having gone through price matter one myself as a council member. And um Evan, can you give us some updates to that? Uh yes, thank you, Mayor. Uh council. So with me tonight, I have Jennifer Merrill. She's a senior planner with our our planning department. And yes, we've gotten um a few questions about the citizen participation process for price manor. There are two essentially two steps with citizen participation. The first one we call it the hey neighbor letter, and that's an informal letter that the applicant sends out, and it's hey neighbor, we've made this application with the city of Mesa to for rezoning. Here's my contact information. I'd love I'd love to talk to you. That one is a more informal letter, and then this one did a neighborhood meeting as well. The formal letters are required by state statute to go out 15 days before the public hearing for planning and zoning board. So there are three things public notice-wise that have to happen before a planning zoning board meeting. One, the letters go out 15 days before. Two, uh sign gets posted on the site, so they physically post one of those big signs on the site, and then it also needs to be published in a newspaper. Um the city provides the applicant uh the address list for the residents within a radius, a 500-foot radius, and then also uh registered neighborhoods and and hoas within a mile of the site. We have moved to a model where the applicant and we give the applicant instructions, reminder to post, and we outline, you know, you have to do your site posting your letters and and all the things, and that you have to send the letters to these two separate lists. The applicant actually mails those letters and provides the city an affidavit that says I mail the letters on on this date. Uh, we receive that affidavit uh from the applicant for the letters and also the sign posting. Uh we also have them include a letter to the the case planner that that goes through the normal process so that we can be sure that that they actually went out and we received that that letter as well. So uh from the city's perspective, uh the the citizen participation was was completed. Okay, I I know there were some comments about uh registered neighborhoods. I guess I'll ask the question is the Lehigh Community Association a registered neighborhood would have received that information. Uh mayor, yes. The uh neighborhood, the Lehigh neighborhood is a registered uh neighborhood. They appear on on the list for registered neighborhoods, yes. Um did they receive the notification? I guess is my question.
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