Mesa City Council Study Session – December 8, 2025
Mesa City Council Study Session – December 8, 2025
The Mesa City Council held a study session on December 8, 2025, to review the evening's council meeting agenda, discuss continuances, and deliberate on policy items including e-bike speed limits in parks, the transit-oriented development plan, and extensive code updates. Council members also shared reports on community events and initiatives.
Consent Calendar
- The council unanimously approved the receipt of board minutes (Item 2) via motion by Mr. Adams, seconded by Mr. Reddy.
- Items 8A (applicant request) and 9B (battery storage) were continued to future meetings. Item 8A was continued to the January 26, 2026 council meeting at the applicant's request. Vice Mayor Summers moved to continue Item 9B to the January 2026 council meeting and place it on the consent calendar, citing ongoing negotiations to protect public health and safety while supporting economic growth. The motion was approved by council.
Discussion Items
E-Bike Speed Limits in Parks (Item AD/Ordinance)
- Council discussed proposed speed limits: 15 mph on shared use paths (existing) and a new 5 mph limit for e-bikes on park properties. Councilmember Adams expressed initial concern that 5 mph is too slow compared to regular bikes, but was willing to move forward with the understanding that the ordinance could be amended later. Vice Mayor Summers reported that a legislative bill mirroring the proposal has been introduced, and that a staff test of an e-bike at 5 mph found it manageable. Mayor expressed concern about enforceability, questioning how police would enforce the limit without stationing officers at parks. Staff responded that enforcement would be education-based initially, with resources deployed to parks with complaints; LIDAR can detect speeds at 5 mph. Vice Mayor Summers noted that the park ranger program is being reconstituted to handle enforcement. Councilmember Duff raised a constituent request to consider a 20 mph speed on shared use paths for commuters, but staff noted that 15 mph is the national standard and that a state bill also proposes 15 mph on shared use paths. Staff agreed to research neighboring city speed limits.
Transit-Oriented Development Plan (Item 6B)
- Councilmember Taylor requested a continuation of the item to the first council meeting in January 2026 to allow her more time to study the plan, as she is new to the council. Some council members expressed concern about setting a precedent for delays due to new members and that the plan has been in development for two years. Vice Mayor Summers and others supported the continuance, noting that staff could continue working and that the timeline (grant paperwork due by end of February) could still be met. The council agreed to continue the item to the first meeting in January 2026.
Code Updates (Items 11A–J, 12A)
- Councilmember Taylor asked for elaboration on the extensive code updates, seeking assurance that they are not stifling development. Staff explained that the codes (building, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire, etc.) are updated every three years by the International Code Council, and Mesa adopts on a six-year cycle to align with the valley. The updates incorporate new technologies and safety features, such as battery storage fire safety. The process involved a year of stakeholder engagement with the development community, resulting in broad support. Staff noted that the updates are pro-business by providing uniformity across communities. The codes will take effect 30 days after adoption, with flexibility for projects already in the permit process. Councilmember Edward shared his experience serving on a plumbing code commission, confirming the standard nature of these updates. The fire code update also impacts the city's ISO rating, which affects insurance rates.
Key Outcomes
- Continuances: Item 8A continued to January 26, 2026; Item 9B (battery storage) continued to January 2026 and placed on consent calendar; Item 6B (Transit-Oriented Development Plan) continued to the first council meeting in January 2026 (expected January 8, 2026).
- Approved: Receipt of board minutes unanimously.
- Next Steps: Staff will research neighboring city speed limits on shared use paths. Council will vote on the e-bike speed ordinance and code updates at the regular council meeting (likely December 8, 2025 evening meeting). The council will go into winter break after the meeting, reconvening on January 8, 2026 for a study session.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, well, welcome to the Mesa City Council study session for December 8th, 2025. All our council members are present. As we know, item one is to review the agenda for tonight's council meeting. A council is go through that, and if there are any questions or we'll be able to get you an answer, Mayor, um, just wanted to um say for the benefit of the council, item 8A at the request of the applicant, and they would like to that to be continued to the January 26th council meeting. So to um have 8A for continuance to the January 26th council meeting. Okay. Um Ms. Goforth, that's in your district. So okay. Vice Mayor. Mayor, item uh nine. Let's see, let me make sure I have the right one. Nine B on the battery storage. I'd like to make a motion to continue and with agreement of council, leave it up for consent. I've had uh some pretty productive discussions with the interested parties related to this item. And based on these discussions, I'm optimistic that ongoing negotiations between the parties could provide an equitable solution that both protects public health and safety and ensures that we have the power to grow our economy. I support a recommendation of continuance to allow the involved parties additional time to collaborate, refine the proposal and present mutually acceptable resolution at our next meeting. Yes, date forward. My expectation is continued good faith effort of a resolution. I want to be clear that while I seek a balanced approach, I will not compromise on public health and safety in the final determination. Um what would be our next uh so we can leave it on consent on consent date. Certain or for January 2026, and Mr. Christopher can read it that way. Okay, council's okay with that. Mr. Christopher have that. Okay, thank you. So those that were wishing to speak uh tonight at City Council may not want to or choose to come in January. So hopefully we did waste your time, but uh things happen fast around here. We're flexible. Yeah. We want to work it out. All right, council. Any other things? I know uh in my I listened to study session last week and and there was discussion about uh thoughts on speed in the parks, uh e-bikes and between regular bikes, that's AD, an ordinance. Um I know some concern was uh Miss Goldforth, you brought up concern about speed on a regular bike versus an e-bike and five miles an hour. Was that uh was that resolved uh everybody's satisfaction, or do you want to move forward on the ordinance itself and then maybe make an amendment in the future? Uh we have Haley and Andrea here. Ask the many questions. So why don't you maybe go over that scenario for us between e-bikes and in the parks and versus a regular bicycle with pedals? Sure. Mayor, council, in terms of the speed limits that we're proposing. So we have proposed to keep the speed limit of 15 miles an hour on a shared use path. That's in existence now, and add a speed limit of five miles per hour for e-bikes on park properties, which is the new addition as far as speed limits in the code revisions that we've presented. And and council, you're okay with that. I just want to make sure there was uh kind of some robust discussion on that. Yeah, I uh I've also heard, Mayor, that uh a bill has been dropped in the legislature that is very similar to what the proposal is with five miles an hour. I also know that senior staff set out a very junior staff member to ride an e-bike at five miles an hour to see if he'd fall off. I met that fellow, he didn't fall off, which is very good news. Um, but I find it funny that senior staff would send that all the way down.
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