Good evening, everyone.

Welcome to the Development Review Commission regular meeting.

Today is Tuesday, July 28th, 2026.

The Development Review Commission is created to hold public meetings and hearings to provide analysis and recommendations to the city council regarding general land use policies and applications where the commission has recommendatory power and to render final decisions on specified applications where the commission has final decision making power.

The development review commission recognizes that the creation of a desirable environment throughout the city for residents, businesses, and industry is a prime requisite for the interdependence of land values, aesthetics, and good site planning by promoting harmonious, safe, attractive, and compatible development that is therefore considered to be in the best interest of public health, safety, and general welfare.

Any person aggrieved by a final decision of the development review commission may file an appeal to the city council within 14 calendar days after the development review commission has rendered its decision.

Development review commission recommendations to city council are not final decisions.

Tonight with us on the commission.

I would like to introduce our newest commission member, Kendon Jung.

Um adjacent uh next to Kendon is Linda Spears and Commissioner Charles Redman.

To my far right is um now our regular member, Robert Miller, um Stefan Richter, Vice Chair Michelle Schwartz, and I am the chair Andrew Johnson.

Tonight with us from staff, I would like to call out uh Jeff Tamolivich, Ryan Levake, Michelle Dalke, Chris Jasper, Whitney Mayfield, Warren Rivera, Joanna Barry, and Jason Wolfe.

Anyone wishing to speak on an item tonight?

Uh please fill out one of these forms and bring it up to the front here to Joanna Barry, and we will hear your comments.

Uh those members of the public wishing to speak will be given up to three minutes to speak, and staff will be monitoring on that timer.

Um first on the agenda, we have a consideration of our meeting minutes.

I'll take the first two items together, item two A and two B, development review commission study session and regular meeting minutes from June 9th, 2026.

Could I get a motion for the approval of those two items?

So moved.

We have a motion for approval from Kenan Jung.

Is there a second?

Second.

Seconded.

By Stefan Richter.

Is all in favor, please raise your hand.

All right, and that passes unanimously.

And the next two items will be items two C and two D, development review commission study session and regular meeting minutes from June 23rd, 2026.

Could I get a motion for approval of those?

Move approval.

We'll spread the wealth.

Move uh by Commissioner Miller.

Um, is there a second?

Second.

Second move by Commissioner Richter.

All those in favor, please raise your hand.

All right, and that passes unanimously.

Um, next, I we during our study session, we agreed on a consent agenda.

All these items will be voted on together without hearing each one of these cases.

If anyone here tonight wishes to speak on one of these items, please get my attention after I read out that item.

Uh, first up on our consent agenda is item 4A, request use permit to allow live entertainment in the CSS zoning district for Mills Modern Social located at 83 East Broadway Road.

Was anyone here wishing to speak on that item tonight?

Okay.

Um, next item on our consent agenda is item 4B.

Request use permit to allow two required parking spaces within the front yard setback and a use permit to allow an engineered shade structure over the existing driveway for messinger property located at 504 West 15th Street.

Was anyone here wishing to speak on that item?

Okay.

Uh item 4C is the next item on our consent agenda, which is request use permit to allow two required parking spaces in the front yard building setback for Pangeo Taco Topical.

Sorry, sir.

Panagio Tecopolis residents.

Is that good?

Yeah.

Uh located at 1421 West 7th Street.

Um, was anyone here wishing to speak on that item?

Okay.

Item 4D is request use permit to allow two required parking spaces in the front yard building setback for Corino residents located at 621 West Howe Street.

Anyone wishing to speak on that item?

Okay.

Next item on our consent is item 4F, request use permit to allow two required parking spaces within the front yard setback for Hill Garage Conversion located at 432 East Garfield Street.

Anyone wishing to speak on that item?

All right.

And then the last item on our consent agenda is item 4G.

Request a use permit to allow a fitness center in the GID zoning district for Red Line Athletics located at 1231 West Warner Road Suite 101.

Anyone wishing to speak on that item?

Okay.

So our consent agenda will remain as it was discussed in our study session.

Could I get a motion for approval of our consent agenda?

Motion to approve consented consent agenda as stated.

And that was moved by Richter.

Is there a second?

Seconded by Commissioner Jung.

All those in favor, please raise your hand.

That passes unanimously.

All right.

So the next item that we will be hearing is item 4E.

Request use permit to allow two required parking spaces in the front yard building setback for Malm residents located at 1612 East Galen Drive.

And I believe we have the applicant online for that item.

Okay.

Are you able to hear us?

Austin, are you able to hear us?

Yes, I can.

I believe I was muted.

Um from the owner of the meeting, but yes, I can I can hear you.

Fantastic.

So if you would like to uh present your um your case for us this evening, we are yeah, and it since you're virtual, if you would like to just tell us um next slide, if you're following along, we can um advance those for you.

Wonderful.

Yeah, thank you very much.

Um so my name is Austin Mulm, and I'm a I am requesting a use permit for the two uh driveway spaces due to a pre-existing uh carport conversion prior to uh my ownership of the property.

Uh approximately it was around circa 2013.

Um following this use permit request, uh there will be a subsequent as-built building permit request uh or application in order to make sure that all of the pre-existing uh construction is up to code um and everything is uh accepted.

Um we can go ahead to the next slide.

All right, so uh as mentioned, this uh the the use permit areas for the two driveway spaces in the front left side of the property.

Um what you see with the white wall uh and the two uh the two windows up above, um, I believe those are called transoms.

Uh that area was previously the carport.

Um as mentioned around circa 2013, based off of Google images, uh Google Earth images.

Uh the the existing area there was made into uh livable space.

So based off of the current code, uh there needs to be a use permit in order to accommodate those two parking spaces that were previously in the carport to now be allowed uh and permitted to be used in the driveway as permanent permanent uh spots.

Um so my overall goal is to get this pre-approved or to get it pre to get it approved as well as uh move over into the uh as built permit process uh for the building permit so I can continue operations as a uh investment rental property.

That's it.

Thank you for the presentation.

Were there any questions from the commission?

No?

Okay.

Uh thank you.

Uh please stay online and we will uh we may bring you back for follow-up questions.

Um, Miss Mayfield, if you would like to present for the city.

Okay.

Good evening, Chair and Commissioners Whitney Mayfield, City of Tempe Planning.

I will be presenting on the use permit request to allow two required parking spaces in the front yard of the mom residence.

It is zoned R16.

And as the applicant has already stated, the work has already been completed.

It was completed sometime between the sometime between 2013 and 2015.

And the property owner applicant purchased the residence in 2022.

And 2026 of this year, March 2026, the correction the code compliance division issued a correction notice for the unpermitted work.

And this use permit serves the purpose of resolving that matter, followed by a building permit.

So here we have the site plan and with the conversion of the carport to the livable space.

And to the left are the new floor plans that show the fifth bedroom.

The kitchen was relocated along with the pantry and the dining room.

And because of the conversion eliminating the on-site parking space, or at least in the carport area, it triggers the need for the two required spaces to be met elsewhere.

And in this case, they'll be in the driveway, which is the front yard set back.

With the approval criteria, the property will remain residential in nature.

It is a rental property as the applicant has already stated.

And then the lot is about 42 feet wide, and that allows for two spaces for guests to be met on the uh street.

There aren't any current parking restrictions for the street that I can find.

So we found that they met approval criteria number one.

The request has already been, I'm sorry, the request in the work has already been completed.

And I didn't find that there would be any nuisance as a result because it is remaining as uh residential in character.

And then as far as the contribution, uh the third criteria, we found that it was met as uh the renovation or the conversion of the spaces can be seen as an investment in the property.

Um as it is also again retaining the character of the neighborhood.

And we also found that the remaining approval criteria were met.

Um there are some clear story windows that are at the very front where the conversion uh was made and they're integrated into the former carport wall.

Um and then with the fifth approval criteria, we found that that was met as the residence is registered as a residential rental, and the uh owner and property management company that the applicant um has will be responsible for maintaining any kind of behavior or um if there are any issues where it becomes disruptive, they'll be responsible for maintaining that.

And then as far as public involvement, no neighborhood meeting was required, but um to date actually as of today, we received one comment in opposition citing um concerns of the amount of residents living at the at the residence, um, as well as parking because of how many residents may be living there, and then there was mention of use of the public alley on the opposite side of the street for trash um instead of the alley behind the residence itself.

With all of that, uh, we found that they did meet the approval criteria.

So staff is recommending approval, and there aren't any special conditions.

Um, that any special conditions of approval for this one, and I'm happy to answer any questions.

Any questions?

Commissioner Jung.

Um, you mentioned that this is uh a rental and that it is moved from a four bedroom into a five bedroom.

Is there any current um and this is my lack of understanding of the rental market?

Is there any restrictions around uh three or more unrelated people living in a single property according to uh Tempe ordinances?

Uh Chair and Commissioner Zhang.

There is something in our code that restricts the amount of unrelated people living in a residence.

I believe it is up to five.

Um, and it is in I can't remember if it is our zoning and development code or it may be in the city code.

I can have um one of our deputy director or a director answer that.

Thank you.

No problem, Mr.

Tamilich.

Welcome, Mr.

Chair, Councilman, uh Council members.

Sorry.

Um good, okay, and commission members.

Umber uh Young.

I uh the answer to that question is that we do have a section of the code that uh talks about the definition of family, and there's also a definition of of consanguinity, which basically says that no household can have more than three unrelated people, and uh we address these issues on a case by case basis.

This, as you can probably imagine, is a very difficult ordinance to enforce.

Uh, but we do our best.

So um, if that answers your question.

Yeah, did you have a comment?

Did you want okay?

Good.

Any other questions?

Commissioner Miller.

I just have a question regarding parking.

Um, there the request is before us because they they're going to get two spaces in a driveway, but if they have five residents in the house, where are the other three going to park?

And maybe this is a question for more for Mr.

Mom.

Um I'm not really familiar with that area too much, but it appears as though the streets are not overly wide.

So it's there you could end up with a lot of congestion out there with uh with five residents plus all the other people who have places, and I have no idea how many other rental properties there might be in that area.

So it's it I don't know how we want to deal with it if we have to, but uh it's just a thought.

Did you have something to add?

No, I was gonna give you an opportunity.

Um Chair and Commissioner Miller, thank you.

Um with the property, I'll actually go back to our site plan because I believe it.

I believe the right of way, so it's a 50-foot right-of-way, and um, as I stated earlier, the property uh does have about 42 feet of uh space for guest parking that may be able to accommodate about one to two vehicles.

We also have um can consider that some people may um opt for alternative modes for transportation as well, and then I believe if you had a second question, not really, it was more comment on not knowing the number of rental properties that are in that area.

So how that might impact parking otherwise.

That's that is not um something that I was that I confirmed during my review.

I don't think it's true.

My entire discussion.

Okay.

So with a 35-foot-long driveway, it's conceivable they could park tandemly that no, I believe uh based off the depth of the driveway that it wouldn't be able to accommodate another vehicle behind it because it would then encroach into the right of way.

Gotcha.

Okay.

Any other questions for staff?

All right.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Okay, next we will move into our public comment period.

Anyone wishing to speak on this item, please fill out one of these cards and bring it up to the front here.

I do have one card in hand.

Um and I like to invite Joel Lynn Granillo.

Welcome.

And if you could please state your name and city of residence for the record.

Thank you, Chair Andrew.

And Charles, there's your name.

My name is Jana Lynn Granillo.

I live at 1615 East Galen, directly across the street from this property.

And I'm glad to meet the uh owner virtually, but I do have a statement.

Should I just go ahead?

Yeah, please go ahead.

You'll have three minutes.

Okay.

Um, first of all, um, Austin mom, please contact me.

I'd like to meet you and find out who you are.

I lived across the street for I lost count after 30 years.

So I've been there a long time.

So there's a rental property right next to me, which would be Kitty Corner or across the street from this property.

Uh, and they're probably they're getting ready to rent it again.

So we usually have students there.

Uh I don't know, I have to guess how many people have lived right next door.

And then across the street, I've seen that house evolve.

Uh there it originally was three bedrooms, and then they usually use the front room as a fourth bedroom, and then they added on to it, and that became the fifth bedroom.

There's been students in there over and over again.

Uh I'm gonna read from my statement so I don't forget any everything.

So the changes were made way after whatever you guys said here between 2013 and 2015.

No, it has been a covered cardboard, but it was changed long after that.

So um using the Google maps is is not correct.

Um so let me read from my statement, and then I have some questions or some comments regarding that.

Um my statement is that I plan to be in attendance.

I live across the street.

Because this poem has been and I expect will continue to be rented to students.

I don't know the property owner, and the owner has not attempted to reach out to me, and I doubt other neighbors.

I have some concerns to express and and doubts about the permit use.

I would like the number of unrelated students to be monitored and city guidelines, ordinances followed.

Question mark.

The number of cars parked for the student renters pours across the street and directly impacts my home and street parking.

The number of cars has been excessive, so much so that we've had a renter, I want to say not the one that's there now, but uh who's been there before, a student renter, and I kid you not, coordinated an ASU waterboard skiing uh event for a weekend, and we had a limousine bus parked in the middle of the street with uh by the days and drunken students coming out of there with their waterboards and uh it was a it was a traffic nightmare, huge obstruction.

Uh we've had good student rentals there, and we've had some not so good.

Sorry, sorry to interrupt.

Um the the three minutes is up and we actually have your full statement here, which you were able to read before the the meeting.

Okay, so there is a rental right next to me, which would be right across the street.

It is a a small street, it does get filled up.

Um my concern is that yes, we've had families there before, and I won't tell you about the nightmare fourth of July for the current family living there, shooting off illegal fireworks.

But my concern is how many people are going to be living there?

Is it gonna be cluttering up the streets again?

And those two parking, I mean it's already there.

There's two parking spaces that has been using, but what kind of conditions can be put on that property?

And that's basically what I'd like to know from this board.

Thank you.

Thank you so much for your comments.

Appreciate it.

Was there anyone else wishing to speak on this item tonight?

Okay, seeing none, I would like to offer the applicant an opportunity to comment on anything that he would like to comment on.

Yes, thank you, Chairman.

Um Jana, nice to meet you as well.

Uh I hope to meet you in person uh one day as well.

Um and thank you for expressing the concerns.

Um is the the time limit still at about three minutes as well from up for me.

No, I think it'll take less.

But um more or less, I would start by saying, you know, since since owning since living in Tempe, I've lived there uh between 2009 and 20 uh 22 or so, 2021.

So a considerable amount of time where I've been a renter myself in houses living with some roommates, uh transitioning into uh becoming a uh you know separate property ownerslash investment property owner.

And of course it's had its challenges, but um, you know, coming from Wisconsin uh originally and growing up there, uh, one of the main things we always like to do is become friends with our neighbors, make sure that we actually create a very nice neighborhood where everybody is able to communicate with each other um and express any concerns so that you know we're able to kind of squash things out before um needing to go to through a formal process.

Um think overall that is uh a betterment uh towards relationships.

So uh I will mention uh there were I when I purchased the property back in 2022, um I had gone to each neighbor um and one of two done one of two things: an attempt to have a conversation and just let everybody know that I'm the homeowner and or and as well as passing out my phone number.

Um what I had requested was that you know, anyone feel free to reach out uh from reach out to myself to uh address any issues, and I'll do my best to try to um resolve them.

Uh I believe your house specifically, uh I was not able to reach you.

Um, you know, maybe you're at work, whatnot.

That's okay.

Um, but I had left these slips of paper with my name and phone number on it, describing the situation.

I left it in the door to each of the residents that I was not able to speak to in person.

Um so an attempt was made, but I do recall I don't believe I was able to talk to you in person.

So um that being said, I I know how difficult it can be uh having renters in a place living near you, as I was one myself.

Now during this time of the specific tenants that I believe I know exactly who you're talking about.

Um between August 1st of 2024 and July 31st of 2025, uh I do agree these these tenants um were not the uh most outstanding um stewards to a great a great environment within a neighborhood, uh potentially causing some nuisance and disturbances.

So I do understand this.

And one thing I recognize through the process was because I was a you know landlord self-managed, trying to do things myself and make a uh a good living for myself and my wife with some extra cash flow.

Uh I recognized that I do not have all the skills to uh run a property management company full scale.

So since then, uh it was around September or October of last year, 2025.

I did realize I needed some help and I've contracted a professional property management company for uh this property.

And uh and I intend to keep it that way for as long as I own the property.

Um I really want to run things the right way and not cause any issues.

Uh so that being said, I believe one additional point I wanted to uh address was in your in your uh complaint letter.

Um it had mentioned that you weren't sure if there were uh families or students there.

And typically um, you know, there there are students um in the past, there have been students as you are well aware of.

I think I believe currently right now there is a family there.

Um, however, you know, I don't have any necessary uh necessarily any requirements to have families or students.

So I believe that there will be uh both.

However, with this new property management company, um I've been able to audit their processes for uh their applicants, and it is much more rigorous than I had had during my self-managing.

Uh, most importantly, uh I've even received messages of prior tenants that have lived with me requesting uh my own input as a prior landlord for this person to make sure that they were in fact a good tenant.

Now that the property management company that I work with right now is that same company, um, their formal process is to also do that with previous landlords.

So I'm hoping that um I'm hoping that with those measures taken into consideration, uh, I really want to create a better experience for anybody in the neighborhood who might have some complaints.

Any additional questions for the applicant?

Okay, and um I I just have a quick question.

Uh I I did notice in the staff report there's a requirement for the trees on both sides.

I one of the things that I've noticed looking back at um the Google Street View, since there was a question of when uh the conversion occurred, I was looking back through that.

And looks like the landscaping has deteriorated over the years as well.

And so I'm glad to see that um uh in the staff report that there would be additional landscaping required um as part of this approval.

Um anything else to add, Ms.

Mayfield.

No.

Um chair, thank you.

Um along with the information that the applicant has shared, um, I will note that the family that lives there is uh there are the two parents with two children that are under 18.

Um they didn't really give the age range, but I would presume that they are not drivers, and so that may help with the parking along the street and uh leaving that space for guests.

Excellent.

Any questions for Ms.

Mayfield?

No.

All right, thank you very much.

Uh with that, we will close the public comment period and move to commissioner discussion.

Uh Commissioner Miller.

Oh, I saw you wave at me.

No.

Okay.

Any any discussion or motions.

Commissioner Spears.

I move for the approval of PL 260176.

Okay.

There's a motion for approval by Commissioner Spears.

Is there a second?

Second.

Second by Commissioner Richter.

All those in favor, please raise your hand.

Okay.

And that passes unanimously.

All right.

Let's see.

The next item is moving on to announcements.

Um, item 7A, for those who are new to the commission, uh, any if there's any announcements any commission member may have, this is your opportunity.

Or if you just like to introduce yourself or not, you're welcome to.

Okay.

Um, any city staff announcements?

No, Mr.

Chairman.

We will just see you on August 11th.

Great.

Okay.

Next scheduled meeting date is August 11th, 2026, and we are adjourned.

Thank you all.