Development Review Commission Meeting – February 28, 2023
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Development Review Commission Meeting – February 28, 2023
The Development Review Commission held a public hearing on February 28, 2023, starting at 1:00 PM (MST). The meeting covered approval of previous meeting minutes, a consent agenda with three routine items, a contested use permit for an 80-foot wireless telecommunications tower, and a use permit for a private middle school. Key decisions included denial of the cell tower (6-1) and approval of the school (7-0) with added noise mitigation conditions.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes (January 24, 2023): The study session and regular meeting minutes were approved with a name spelling correction. Vote: 6-0 (one commissioner abstained for not being present at the January meeting).
- Consent Agenda (Items 4, 6, 7): Unanimous approval (7-0) of:
- Fenlason Residence (second story addition and parking setback variance)
- Gans Residence (up to 10 chickens)
- Krispy Kreme/El Pollo Loco (amended PAD and two drive-through restaurants)
Public Comments & Testimony
- Item 3 (Crown Castle Cell Tower): Four comment cards and six live speakers (including Catherine Rosario, Mark Bach, Rachel Johnson, Julia Rice, Thomas Catlaw, and Gigi Seeger) all opposed the proposed 80-foot monoelm at Desert Palm Church. Speakers cited:
- Property value decreases of 2.65%–20% according to various studies
- Health concerns from radio frequency exposure
- Visual blight and incompatibility with the one-story neighborhood
- Objections to Crown Castle’s business decision to leave Marcos De Niza High School due to lease disputes
- A petition with 38 signatures and an HOA’s formal opposition
- Item 5 (Lead AZ Schools): One speaker, Byron Torgerson (adjacent business owner), expressed concerns about:
- Noise from a video game area and lunchroom sharing a wall with his engineering firm
- Parking conflicts and safety issues from nearby transient activity and a mental health facility
- Inconsistent depiction of drop-off routes and parking on the site plan
Discussion Items
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Item 3 – Crown Castle 80-Foot Monoelm (1230 E Guadalupe Rd):
- Applicant: Crown Castle sought a use permit to replace a T-Mobile site at Marcos De Niza High School (lease expiring 2023) with a co-locatable monoelm on church property. The 80-foot height matches the existing school light pole. Staff recommended approval with conditions including 19 Chinese elms along the north property line and 14 street trees.
- Commission Debate: Commissioners discussed whether the proposal met use permit criteria (especially compatibility and avoidance of neighborhood deterioration). Some argued the fake elm was incompatible with the surrounding single-story homes and that the existing school site offered better buffering. Others noted the need for coverage and that the design met code setbacks (182 ft from residential to north, 405 ft from condos to east).
- Vote: Motion to approve failed 6-1 (Commissioner Spears in favor). Motion to deny passed 6-1 (Commissioner Spears dissenting). The decision is appealable to City Council within 14 calendar days.
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Item 5 – Lead AZ Schools Private Middle School (1602 S Priest Dr):
- Applicant: Lead AZ Schools proposed a 35-student private middle school in an existing office/industrial suite. Staff recommended approval with conditions: update parking model, replace landscaping, and provide bike racks outside landscape areas. No outdoor play areas; all activities indoors.
- Commission Debate: Public testimony raised noise and parking concerns. The applicant agreed to relocate the video game room to the north side of the suite (away from the adjacent tenant) and to add 5/8-inch acoustical board on the south wall to achieve an STC rating of 55.
- Vote: Approved 7-0 with the added noise mitigation conditions.
Key Outcomes
- Item 3 Denied (6-1): The cell tower use permit was denied. Crown Castle or other aggrieved parties have 14 days to appeal to the City Council.
- Item 5 Approved (7-0): The middle school use permit was approved with additional conditions requiring relocation of the video game room and soundproofing of the south wall.
- Staff Announcement: Senior Planner Lee Jimenez announced his departure from the City of Tempe after seven years; his last DRC meeting was February 28, 2023. He will join the Flood Control District as a project manager.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, everyone. Welcome to the February twenty-eighth, two thousand and twenty-three Development Review Commission hearing. 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, including but not limited to all aspects of a proposed and future development. The development review commission recognizes that the creation of desirable environments 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 uh 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 the City Council are not final decisions. Uh so that uh we don't fly right by and don't give you your chance to come up to the podium and speak. When you come up to the podium, real informal, uh you're just going to address the commission by starting by giving us your first and last name and your city of residence. We don't need any more details. Uh we don't need phone numbers or exact addresses. And then you'll just take us, you'll have three minutes to to make your case. If you're in the middle of something at the end of the three minutes, we'll give you a little bit of time to wrap up. Uh there's lights somewhere. Where are lights? There. And the little lights. Oh, that's a much smaller box than we used to have. I like that. Um you'll get a green light and at uh the two-minute mark, uh at the one-minute mark, it'll turn to yellow. And then uh red means you've hit your three minutes and wrap up as soon as you can. So I'm going to kind of give a heads up uh for people who've just gotten here in the audience. If you are here and wish to be heard on item number four, uh, the Fenlacen residents, or items six and seven. Uh please fill out a card and hand those to us because those three items will be on our consent agenda, and we'll handle that right at the beginning of the meeting and pass those three items. Uh so that's uh what we'll do with those three. Um I've misplaced. Now we'll go off the old copy. All right. So our first item tonight uh is two sets of meeting minutes, both for a study session uh and a regular meeting that happened on January 24th of this year. Uh in pre-session, we mentioned one name spelling correction that we read into the record. Uh so I am looking for a motion to approve those two sets of minutes with that correction. Commissioner Kitman. Yes, Mr. Chairman. I make a motion for approval of the development of review commission study session and regular meeting session of uh January 24th, 2023. And do we have a second vice chair? Second. Uh it's been moved by Commissioner Cassano and second by Vice Chair Johnson. Uh, all those in favor signify by raising your hand. Opposed, none. Uh I will be abstaining because I was not present at that meeting, and those minutes are approved by a vote of six to zero. Uh, the next uh items on our agenda are those cases four, six, and seven. Have we missed anybody? Anyone wish to be heard on those cases. Seeing none, I will call for a motion for approval of the consent agenda. Mr. Chairman, I move that we approve the consent agenda agenda consisting of items four, six, and seven. Do we have a second? Second. Uh it's been moved and seconded by Commissioner Spears. Um those in favor, signify by raising your hand.
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