Goodyear approves $806.9M budget, U-Haul storage facility; defers Circle K diesel permit to June
GOODYEAR, ARIZONA — May 23, 2023

Goodyear approves $806.9M budget, U-Haul storage facility; defers Circle K diesel permit to June

Goodyear City Council approved FY 2024 budget and U-Haul storage facility while deferring controversial Circle K diesel truck stop use permit to June 26 amid significant public opposition citing health and notification concerns.

Goodyear Defers Controversial Circle K Diesel Truck Stop Permit After 1,029-Signature Petition and Procedural Challenge

Goodyear City Council unanimously approved the FY 2024 budget, a U-Haul storage facility, and revised municipal user fees on May 23, 2023, but punted the contentious Circle K use permit to June 26 following an unexpectedly vocal public-comment period in which residents accused the city of failing to notify affected neighbors and raised health-and-safety concerns rooted in EPA guidance on diesel-exhaust toxicity.

The deferred Circle K item exposed a potential gap in how Goodyear applies Ordinance 1-3-8, which allows the zoning administrator to expand notice beyond the standard 500-foot radius. Council member Wally Campbell explicitly asked staff to clarify that authority, suggesting the city may have short-changed the notification process. The three speakers who addressed Council—Vic Knight, Constance Angus, and Sean Angus, all Pebble Creek residents—collectively painted a narrative of surprise, exclusion, and health endangerment that belied the apparent routine nature of a convenience-store-with-gas-station use permit.

Key Speeches

"Well I could say we're not laughing about it in Pebble Creek. The issue is the notification process used. There were no formal citizen review meeting. The action report states that a notice was mailed to all property owners within 500 feet of the property. The closest residence is 550 feet away. That means no one in Pebble Creek received their notice." — Vic Knight, Pebble Creek resident

"Our petition that went around Pebble Creek reads as such: petition survey summary and background Circle K convenience store and gas pump… The truck area butts the six foot wall by the new pickleball courts, Ramada, restrooms, open sports area and golf cart path. We're asking the action be to deny the use permit… It will cause excessive noise, odors, lights, and will be detrimental to the health of the people exercising and using those sports facilities." — Constance Angus, Pebble Creek resident

"I am here tonight to adamantly oppose the use permit for a convenience store and gas station by Circle K. It is more than that—it is a diesel refueling station also known as a truck stop. The use permit states it will not materially be detrimental to persons residing or working in the facility adjacent to the property… If that is true, why does the Environmental Protection Agency say, and I quote, 'These exhausts can lead to serious health issues like asthma and respiratory illness and can worsen existing heart and lung diseases, especially in children and elderly'? The World Health Organization classifies diesel exhaust as carcinogenic to humans even at low concentrations and through short-term exposures." — Sean Angus, Pebble Creek resident

Timeline

Circle K Use Permit (Case 21-300-00011)

Opposition

Number of speakers against: 3 (all Pebble Creek residents)

Main concerns:

  1. Notification deficiency: Closest resident lived 550 feet from the property; city mailed notice only to property owners within 500 feet per standard practice, meaning no Pebble Creek residents received formal notice. Applicant relied on property sign, legal ad in Arizona Republic, and zoning-administrator discretion not to expand the notice area.

  2. Health risks from diesel exhaust: Sean Angus cited EPA and World Health Organization guidance classifying diesel exhaust as carcinogenic, associated with asthma, respiratory illness, heart and lung disease worsening, and other chemicals (carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and approximately 20 others). Concerns centered on elderly and child exposure.

  3. Proximity to recreational facilities: The diesel truck-parking area, with four pumps and seven semi-truck spaces, is adjacent (butts against a 6-foot wall) to the Pebble Creek sports complex, which includes pickleball courts, Ramada structures, restrooms, and open sports areas.

  4. Scope concealment: The application title ("convenience store and gas station") did not clearly disclose the 24-hour diesel refueling and semi-truck-parking use, preventing residents from understanding the true nature of the proposal before the April 12 Planning & Zoning meeting.

  5. Grassroots scale: Petition circulated over three weeks with over 1,029 signatures. Constance Angus noted that over 40 percent of Pebble Creek residents are snowbirds or on vacation, suggesting the true community opposition was likely higher. She stated, "Almost no one signing this petition was aware of what was going to take place with the diesel refueling station and its location to our Sports Complex."

  6. Material detriment claim: Residents argued the 24-hour operation would cause "excessive noise, odors, lights" and be "materially detrimental to the health and safety and welfare of Pebble Creek community."

  7. Inadequate Planning & Zoning process: Vic Knight noted that "no one that I spoke to in Pebble Creek knew about the details of the requested use permit before April 12th." He stated the zoning administrator "had the authority to expand the noticed area" under Ordinance 1-3-8 and that the notice "may meet the letter of the law but not the spirit of the law."

Most compelling arguments: Sean Angus's invocation of EPA and WHO health classifications, combined with the fact that approximately 250 people within 50 feet of the diesel station use the adjacent sports complex daily (pickleball, golf), created a visceral public-health framing. Vic Knight's procedural critique—that the city had legal authority to expand notice but did not exercise it—raised a governance question that resonated with Council member Wally Campbell, who explicitly requested staff clarification.

Organized groups: Pebble Creek HOA and RCI (likely a property owner or management entity) were mentioned by name but were not notified and did not speak. The 1,029-signature petition was the primary organized expression of opposition.

Support

No speakers in favor of the Circle K application appeared at the May 23 meeting. The application was not discussed on its merits. The Planning & Zoning Commission's recommendation (approval or denial) was not stated in the transcript.

Project Details

U-Haul Moving and Storage Facility (approved item)

Circle K Convenience Store and Gas Station / Diesel Truck Stop (deferred item)

Vote Breakdown

U-Haul Special Use Permit:

FY 2024 Tentative Budget (Resolution 2023-2309):

FY 2024 Financial Policies:

Municipal User Fee Schedule (Resolution 2023-2307):

Consent Agenda Items 1-10 (including eminent domain authorization for water-line easement):

FY 2024 Expenditure Authorization Over $500,000:

Outcome & Next Steps

Circle K:

U-Haul:

FY 2024 Budget:

Municipal User Fees:

Controversies & Context

Notification and Procedural Gaps: The Circle K notification issue highlighted an apparent disconnect between Goodyear Ordinance 1-3-8's language (which appears to allow zoning administrators to expand the notice area) and the city's apparent default practice of notifying only within 500 feet. Vic Knight's claim that the zoning administrator "had the authority to expand the notice" but did not do so suggested either a lack of awareness of the discretion or a deliberate choice not to exercise it. Council member Wally Campbell request for written clarification indicates the Council had not previously examined this authority closely and may result in procedural changes to future applications of similar sensitivity.

Public-Health Preemption: Sean Angus's testimony invoking EPA and WHO guidance on diesel-exhaust carcinogenicity and respiratory impact was the meeting's most legally grounded objection. If Circle K's use permit is ultimately approved, residents may pursue a claim that the permit decision violates health-and-safety standards embedded in the use-permit review criteria (i.e., that the use is "materially detrimental" to neighborhood welfare). The fact that the application was deferred rather than voted on may indicate Council recognized the strength of the health argument and wanted additional time to vet staff's analysis.

Snowbird and Transient Resident Bias: Constance Angus's observation that over 40 percent of Pebble Creek residents are snowbirds or on vacation and therefore unable to sign the petition or attend the April 12 Planning & Zoning meeting raises a broader governance question: whether Arizona's seasonal-resident base systematically disadvantages stable communities during development review. The petition's 1,029 signatures in just three weeks suggests suppressed demand for participation.

Budget Process Concerns: Council members Stipp, Wally Campbell, and Lauretano expressed concern during the FY 2024 budget discussion that two new FTE positions (assistant to council members and government relations position) were added to the budget with "very little discussion" and without a formal "needs assessment" or director justification. Council member Stipp stated: "in three and a half hours we found a way to spend three quarters of a billion dollars with very few questions." He called for more "strategic" vetting going forward, noting the danger of creating positions intuitively ("I said my God please get me a street sweeper at one point and the next thing you know the next meeting there's a street sweeper and a body attached to it"). Council member Wally Campbell was more emphatic, saying she was "not comfortable with that at all" and that Council "really didn't vet it."

Council member Wally Campbell also raised the absence of a fourth Deputy City Manager position in the budget, though the City Manager clarified it was not added because a current position was repurposed and converted to that role.

However, Council members Vicki Gillis, Laura Kaino, and the City Manager pushed back gently, noting that the Council is growing (two new members expected within two years) and that additional staff support (especially for government relations at the Arizona legislature) is becoming necessary. The debate resulted in approval but signaled that Council may institute more formal evaluation procedures for supplemental staffing requests in future years.

Fiber-Provider Cost Concerns: Robert Pisorno of Lumen Technologies testified in favor of the reduced dry utility boring inspection fees, stating that prior fee levels had pushed the company to a "no-build" position in Goodyear. The revised fee schedule, he said, would allow them to proceed. This was the sole public comment in favor of any agenda item and underscored how municipal fee structures can enable or inhibit private investment.

Duration

Other Notable Items

Eminent Domain Authorization (Consent Item 7): Council authorized the city to pursue eminent domain to obtain a temporary construction easement on one homeowner's property along the water-line extension in the historic Goodyear area. The real estate coordinator clarified that 135 of 136 homeowners agreed to allow the water-line installation voluntarily; the one holdout will be served via court proceedings to obtain access. No Council member objected.

Goodyear Night Market and Ballpark Events: City Manager reported over 3,000 attendees at the May 22 Goodyear Night Market and more than 15,000 guests at three high school graduations (Buckeye Union, Yonker, Australia Foothills) held at the Goodyear Ballpark on May 23–25. No storms disrupted events.

Next Council Meeting: June 5, 2023, at 5 p.m. (no business listed).