Apache Junction Council Unanimously Approves 146-Unit Banyan Apartments After Developer Redesigns Twice, Eliminates All Parking Variances

September 15, 2026 to order and ask everyone to put their cell phones on silent. The invocation be led by Council Member Hec and the pledge by Councilman Solard. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the privilege and freedom we have of being able to gather together this evening to discuss city business. We ask that you give the staff and council wisdom and clarity in their decision-making. Keep us mindful that we serve the residents of this city.

We ask you to watch over the men and women who serve in our military around the world. Please keep them safe in these troubling and uncertain times. And we ask also for your blessing on our first responders, including our police and fire departments along with our EMS personnel and our park rangers. Please keep these brave men and women safe in their duties to protect and care for the residents of this city.

And thank you for the honor and privilege we have to serve the residents of this great city. These things we ask in your name. Amen. Amen. Amen. To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Roll call. Mayor Wilson here. Vice Mayor Schroeder present. Council member Cross here. Council member Hec here. Council member Johnson here. Council member Nesser present. Council member Seller here.

You do have a quorum, your honor. Thank you. [snorts] Consent agenda. As a reminder, all items in the consent agenda will be approved with one motion. If a council member wishes to remove an item for further discussion, the request will be made prior to approving the consent agenda and will be moved to new business. Do I have a motion for the consent agenda? Your honor. Yes. I move that the consent agenda be approved. Second. Moved and seconded. Roll call. Council member Hec. Yes.

Council member Nesser. Yes. Council member Cross. Yes. Council member Johnson? Yes. Vice Mayor Schroeder? Yes. Council member Ser? Yes. Mayor Wilson? Yes. Consent passes unanimously. [clears throat] Excuse me. Awards and presentations. I have an award to be presentation to that to do. Proclamation Consideration Constitution Week September 17th to the 23rd.

Whereas it is a privilege and a duty of the American people to commemorate the anniversary of the drafting of the Constitution of the United States of America with appropriate ceremonies and activities. Whereas the Constitution of the United States of America, the guardian of our liberties, represents the principles of limited [clears throat] government in a republic dedicated to the rule by law.

And whereas on this day and during this week, we celebrate our great founding the charter as listing as a listing beacon of freedom. And whereas it is fulfilling and proper to accord official recognition to this magnificent document and its memorial anniversary. And whereas public law 915 guarantees the issuance of a proclamation each year by the President of the United States of America designating September 17th through the 23rd as Constitutional Week.

Now therefore, I, Chip Wilson, mayor of the city of Apache Junction, Arizona, do hereby be proclaim week of September 17th through 23rd, 2026 as constitutional week. Kelly McDonald Council members, I'm Amy Faringer. I am the regent for Apache uh trail chapter of the American uh the national society daughters of the American Revolution. So um just want to let you know that we are a service organization of women of lineal descent of our first uh patriots and veterans of the United States.

Um so we can trace our lineage back to um our ancestors who fought or aided in um our American Revolution. And so the constitution week is very dear to our hearts because the daughters of the American revolution petitioned the congress uh for constitution week back in 1955 and then in 1956 president uh Dwight Eisenhower signed that into law. So uh we um as our organization we um help to promote historic preservation and education and patriotism.

And so we're in the schools this week reading to our our kids teaching them about the Constitution. and we're going to do bells across America on Thursday, September 17th. So, at 1 p.m., um we're going to be at the Gold Canyon uh United Methodist Church to ring the bells. So, you can join us there if you'd like. Um and so we're just really trying to make sure that all of our citizens uh realize how important this document is and what it gives to us. So, appreciate the time today. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. [clears throat] Intergovernment Updates Council. Well, I wanted to bring up I wanted to let everybody know how honored I was to be able to be uh coordinator of the 911 ceremonies that we did for the 25th anniversary here in Apache Junction at the Veterans Memorial Park. We had over 25 organizations that did race and did volunteer work to make sure we got everything out to the crowd that was there.

We were very honored to have our police department, fire department, our mounted rangers, and of course our our mayor and our mayor elect there representing the city. I can tell you that in the back of everything, regardless of how wonderful it was to see the turnout of the individuals, it was wonderful to see the children who actually um wrote their essays for why is it important that I learn about 911 2001.

I can tell you that the heroes of the event for getting this all done was our parks and recreation and library staff. They worked diligently with me for eight and a half months to make sure that this went off well and I appreciate all the people who came out and I was very honored to be a part of this. Yes. Um, I will als I would certainly like to acknowledge and thank Bambi for all of her work and effort in preparing for this and having been a part of committee meetings.

She had she was instrumental in making this happen. Um, and I thank her and the other organizations that that jumped in and and were part of this and allowed us to have a a very meaningful and profound event particularly being the 25th anniversary. So, thank you, Bambi, for that and to all those involved.

But I do also want to take the opportunity to recognize that we had a second uh 911 ceremony took place on the day before on Thursday at the Avalon Elementary School and they have every year they have uh they've been doing for many years a 911 ceremony. Um, and it's it's important because the the students there are involved in the in the event and and the they're between songs and and such things there, you know, they're very involved in that.

And I was I was very impressed during the event that the students there they recited the pledge of allegiance but then they also recited the preamble to the constitution. And I I went up to the Mike McCord who's I think he's their chief operating officer and I I said, you know, I'm I'm really proud of you that you have these students that do that. and he said every morning the students recite the pledge of allegiance and the preamble to the constitution.

[clears throat] Now I think talk about profound that's going to help these kids and then these events like this 911 events to help them remember that that about what happened in our history and understanding the constitution and I think that's so important and I think Avalon Elementary needs they need to be recognized for that. So I thank them as well. So and I thank all those who came as well to that event. So thank you. Anyone else?

Well, I had the opportunity not only at the 911 and the aspects on it. It was very well attended and I appreciate everyone that came out and uh pres you know not only presented but also was in the audience and the aspect it took and participated.

It was uh really a uh very moving aspects of the different people that spoke and their aspects of what they remembered and how they reacted and uh [snorts] uh it's I want say I had a conversation afterwards with an individual that uh I even had family that was in New York City that uh was involved in this as well and uh it was they got out safely but uh it is something that uh is very memorable and something that we definitely want to remember especially afterwards how we all got along.

It was not like I said in the aspect it was not a Republican or a Democrat at all. It was we're Americans and we all worked together as an American. I also had an opportunity to celebrate a uh individual's 100th [clears throat] year birthday and Dy uh is [clears throat] uh was on the uh [cough] excuse me on the 7th was her birthday and uh it was uh you know very I'm going to say emotional in the aspect of uh celebrating with her.

She was uh quite excited and very excited that uh of all these people that came out. Uh Liz laying back from the the uh parks and wreck also came out and presented her some flowers and she was also a volunteer at the multi-generation center for several years as well and worked in there over the years. So, it was something that was unique in celebrating someone's 100th birthday. She's lived in the city of Pache Junction for over 50 years.

So, uh we wanted to make sure that she was well recognized and celebrated. Uh unfortunately, we uh also lost one of our former mayors or mayor, excuse me, uh council member Dave Walden. And uh we uh I have a little comment here that I'd like to say in in honor of uh Council Member Walden's many years of dedicated service to the city of Apache Junction in our community.

I, Mayor [clears throat] Wilson, am ordering the flags at all facility facilities to be lowered to half staff beginning tomorrow, Wednesday, September 16th, and to remain at half staff for one week. The flags will also be lowered again from sunrise to sunset on November [clears throat] 27th, the day of Dave's services. And we join his family and friends in our from our community in honoring his life and legacy.

And I received several comments also from people from other cities as well on doing their condolences on the loss of Dave. and uh he was uh very much [clears throat] appreciated in our community. City manager report. Thank you, your honor. Bryant Pal, city manager. I want to add my thanks to yours to council member Johnson for helping make the event for our memorial for 25 years happened. It was a group of individuals and volunteers to help make that happen.

and and a big thanks to our departments, library, parks and wreck, Kayla and her team and the communication department, as well as our police and fire. Um, may we never forget. I also want to announce that tomorrow we're very happy and pleased to be able to do a ribbon cutting over at our visitor center.

The visitor center is the area of the Chamber of Commerce and where we will be um celebrating a a new um and refreshed visitor center at the Chamber of Commerce and invite our public to come at 9:00 and encourage those that want to participate to enjoy uh that time with us. Big part of our economy is our tourism and what we have out here.

And then before I turn it over to Republic, I'd like to turn some time over to our city clerk, Evie McKini, to go over an update from the Daughters of American Revolution, that project. Thank you, Bryant. Eie McKenna, city uh clerk, just to give you an update. Back in August, we had a representative from the Daughters of the American Revolution uh come to call to the public and request a future date of council's time.

Um she was requesting that the city would work with the Daughters of American Revolution for a placement of a 250 um patriot marker that they wanted to place somewhere significant within the city. There are a couple of places in discussion. Nothing has been determined officially. Uh, one of the places that was discussed was the flags at the focal point and another discussion point was at the Veterans Memorial um, park. So, that is to be determined.

They actually received um grant money to purchase this. So, they will pay for all of the expenses um for the design, the um the um getting it shipped here. Uh it will be I don't I don't recall the exact dimensions but it's kind of like a boulder size with a square plaque that's in the center of it. It's very nice looking. They did send us some pictures.

Um so they are now working with the parks and recreation department to find that placement and go through the logistics and um just wanted to give you a little update on that. Thank you. Thank you Abby and mayor members of council. I'd now like to turn a portion of my time of my report over to Emma Reyes and Kevin um Wolfman of Republic Weight Services as part of our calling contract with them. They're uh required to come up and give a quarterly report. Emma, [clears throat] good evening.

Ladies and gentlemen, uh I believe I've met most of you. For those who don't know me, I'm Kevin Wolfman. I'm the new general manager here for public services in the East Valley, including Apache Junction. Uh my predecessor was Charlotte Thomas, so I'm sure you all knew. Uh very happy to be here. It's my first council meeting, first of many, I hope. Um without further ado, I'm going to turn over to my colleague here, Emas, and she's going to run through our quarterly update for you.

Hello everyone. Good evening. Good to see everyone tonight. All righty, let's start off with the good stuff. I always like to present these. Uh so the community events that we did this year was the Lost Dutchman Days parade. was happy to see council members out there as well. Um, but we decorated our big garbage truck, got it all cleaned up nice for the community and paraded down. Um, it was a lot of fun and we got a a lot of honking out there for all the kiddos. So, it was great.

Uh, but so we also had the we love coming out to the construction expo. It was really successful and we were able to bring our supervisor Eddie. That's the picture that you see below there with him and his family. He's a supervisor of the Apache Junction landfill and we're just super lucky to have him. Uh so the Fourth of July fireworks, uh we we always do an annual donation of a rolloff for that event and Herder was very very successful. My friends went to that one.

Um and then also the Apache Junction Area Chamber Golf Tournament. We always are an annual sponsor of that event. All righty. So for our holiday schedule, these are the only uh days that we do not have um collection services on. So that would be Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. And just a reminder, so for each holiday date that falls on a weekday, uh that day and the remainder of the week's collection will be serviced on a one-day delay. So just all push out to that one day delay.

So for free dump week, it was really successful um for February, May, and August. So we had a total of 699 total free halls. In February for Q1 free dump week, uh May May 5th through the 10th for Q2, 740. And then August, we had 550 total free halls that we gave back to the community. So um it's always an event. We always welcome the community out. And yeah, it's like almost like a barbecue or something. [laughter] All righty. And I just wanted to throw this infographic.

You know, we're really proud of the work that we do at the landfill and our team. Um, a lot of our scale house attendants and workers and employees at the landfill. They do live, play, and work here in Apache Junction. Um, but this is the engineering and the science that goes behind the landfill that they work every day to achieve. Um, and it's just something that we we really pride ourselves in as an environmental services company.

Um, but yeah, I just wanted to appreciate every each and every one of you and thank you for city staff for the wonderful partnership always. Any questions? Any question? Yes. And I just want to acknow or want to give you credit for the dumpsters, the rolloff dumpsters you provided for the what's the community cleanup day. It used to be make a difference day. I think you provided four dumpsters I believe right? Yes. Yeah. And that's that helped us a lot having been out there and collecting trash.

It was very helpful to have them. So, thank you for that. Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you, Emma. Thank you, Kevin. Your honor, that concludes my report. Okay. Well, for the ribbon cutting, unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to attend. I uh have a situation with my wife that we need to uh address at the same time. So, uh, public hearings, presentation and discussion of public hearing and consideration of proposed ordinance number 1578. Nick, thank you, your honor.

I'm Nick Leitch, principal planner with the city of Apache Junction. I'll be presenting the case information. This is for case P264PZ, the Banyan Apartments case. This is a proposed zoning amendment of approximately 6.7 acres located at the southeast corner of Renkin, Virginia, currently zoned RM2 highdensity multiple family residential.

And this would amend the development plans approved in ordinance 1526 which was a zoning ordinance approved in 2022 uh in order to adjust the approved development plans uh from a 124 unit two-story apartment complex to a 146 unit 2 and threetory apartment complex as currently proposed. Shown here is the zoning of the property. As noted, it is zoned currently and would still be zoned RM2 highdensity multiple family residential.

We see this zoning additionally immediately to the north of this property with uh properties along San Marcos developed with forplexes. And then also to the north and to the west we see the RS20M medium density single family residential zoning. To the south we have the B2 Old West commercial with the Arnold's Auto Center. And then to the west we have an RV park and a manufactured home park. This property is located within the downtown mixeduse area of the general plan land use map.

This project would be compliant with all that. No change is being requested at this time. And as this project has come before the council multiple times, just wanted to provide a brief overview of the timeline for for everyone's benefit and the public. This project was originally scheduled for public hearings in April and May of this year, at which time there had been a lot of concerns expressed regarding the site plan and parking and a parking deviation that had been requested.

And due to that, the applicant requested additional time in order to address in order to change their plans and address these concerns. Following which they the case was presented to the planning and zoning commission on June 23rd and at which point the planning and zoning commission citing concerns regarding parking regarding the provision of amenities and concerns regarding the uh clarity of communications with the public voted to recommend denial to the city council on a seven to zero vote.

Following that, the applicant wanted addition requested additional time in order to address these concerns in order to address the sentiments expressed during the planning and zoning commission meeting and requested an additional continuence to the city council. Um, and following all of that, just two weeks ago, staff presented the these updated plans and updated information to the city council at the city council work session of August 31st.

So within this latest iteration to address the concerns expressed by the public, city staff, the planning and zoning commission, and city council at some of these prior meetings, this most recent iteration, the applicant has updated the plans in the following ways. As it currently stands, there is no parking deviation requested at this time.

They have reorganized elements of the site in order to ensure that all of the required parking minimums have been met and that there is no deviation being requested at this time. They have also provided additional amenity spaces, including a family playground, which I'll get to when we review the site plan. And they have made adjustments to the building designs through more muted colors, which I'll also showcase.

Additionally, in order to address some of the public outreach concerns, the applicant held a second neighborhood meeting on Tuesday, August 4th. And previously, they had collected and provided the council letters of support from local businesses. And as those letters had previously referenced older plans, they went back out to to most of the businesses that they could and uh have since provided a new new set of signatures with reference to the updated plans.

And they have a public outreach team who will be able to to go into further detail about their public outreach efforts following my presentation. To showcase the difference within the plans, I have the old site plan as well as the new site plan. [clears throat] This project comprises six primary buildings and a clubhouse. The buildings one and two along Renick are two-story apartment buildings while the remaining four buildings in the interior are all three-story buildings.

Primary access to this project is served on Renick at the southwest corner of this project with secondary access being on Virginia Street at the northeast corner. Regarding the amenities, uh there is the clubhouse with pool and community lawn space.

Uh one of the things that has been added, this being the original site plan provided to the planning zone commission and this being what we see now, there is a a family park with playground equipment and then there's also a dog park in between buildings one and two now being provided. Shown here are the elevations. At prior public meetings, there had been concerns expressed that the original color palette didn't exactly mesh well with the neighborhood.

And so, as part of a response to that, the applicant has has tweaked the colors in order to provide a more muted color scheme, something that they believe better fits within the neighborhood. Shown here are the two-story buildings, what we see along Renick, and shown here are the threetory buildings with the the newer color scheme. this being the older one. This is the new one.

And with that, the applicant does have a presentation prepared uh to fully go into the operational details of the project, to be able to to answer any of the questions that have previously been expressed by the council, and to be able to talk about their public outreach efforts. Any questions? Okay. Good evening, Mayor Wilson, council members. For your records, my name is Michael Marowitz. I'm with the law firm of Snell and Wilmer at one East Washington Street in Phoenix.

And I'm here on behalf of Banyan Residential. The purpose of this application is to accommodate the development of this vacant property with uh new quality and modern housing units that will be made available to households and families at affordable rental rates.

Uh this is a property that is located in fairly close proximity to the city of Apache Junction's downtown and so is a great uh location that will provide an opportunity for Apache Junction's workforce for employees to live in a relatively close proximity to the surrounding businesses that they work in.

And by extension for employers, it provides an opportunity for their employees to live close to the place of employment, supporting businesses, which is part of the reason we've received a tremendous amount of support from the business community as part of this application. But also, uh, this is a development project that provides many, uh, larger units, uh, larger twobedrooms, threebedrooms, and even fourbedroom units.

And so it's designed for for families to provide new and updated housing options where families can live in as as well paired with with family amenities that that you saw Nick cover in his presentation. Um and as you'll see as I cover in a little bit more detail my presentation and Nick certainly touched on this. Uh we are doing this with a development proposal that is on property that is already zoned for multif family that's zoned RM2.

It's also on property that's subject to an existing approved site plan for multifamily which we are replacing with our site plan which solves some of the practical constructibility issues with that old site plan that'll cover but also results in an enhanced design. As Nick had mentioned, it's also on a property that the general plan uh calls for multifamily at a density that is consistent with what we are proposing.

And very importantly, now with all the design changes that we have made throughout this process, this development project now no longer proposes a single deviation from the zoning and development standards that are applicable to the property. We are no longer requesting a deviation from the provided parking. We are not requesting a deviation from the required amount of open space, no deviation from the uh permitted building height under the property zoning, no deviation from setbacks.

we are meeting and exceeding all of those zoning and development standards. And then very lastly, and and I think this is one of the most important points, this is also a development team that has spent a tremendous amount of effort, countless hours on community outreach, listening to the feedback uh from from the community, from the planning commission, from planning staff, from this council, and then addressing all the the concerns that we've heard in the design of of the project.

And that's exactly what what these development projects are are all about and what makes a great development project. And it's certainly reflective of the commitment of this developer, Banyan Residential, to be a partner with Apache Junction and both the development of of this project uh and and the operation of it as well. So touch on a little bit of uh highlights that that were not covered. So a little bit about Banyan.

Banyan is an experienced uh multif family developer uh throughout the United States. They've developed over 4,600 units in various US markets from Arizona to Texas, Colorado, and North Carolina. And Phoenix is a primary market of theirs. As shown on this slide, they have seven existing uh development projects for multif family developments that are either under construction or in operation today. And this project uh will be um a low-income housing tax credit project.

So, as part of the development, Banyan will be participating in the LITC program, which is a program that is administered by the uh the United States Housing and Urban Development uh Department, also known as HUD. And as part of that program uh for 30 years uh the the project will be restricted so that it may only be made available to tenants whose household income is at or below 60% of the area median income or AMI for Apache Junction.

And as part of that uh the LITC programs like this one including with the way that this project has been designed it's designed to serve a number of different uh individuals and and families. Uh so first as I mentioned it's of course designed to serve uh employees uh it provides a a close place to their employment where they can live with the larger units that we're providing. It's intended for families.

Uh but it's also intended for for the elderly so that people when when they're retiring or or in the later stages of their life would like to live in a safe and secure environment that's wellmaintained, professionally managed. It provides that opportunity to live in those units at affordable rental rates. Um and then also for for single parents.

is very much an all-inclusive uh development that serves a variety of needs, which is why we have such a large mix of of bedroom sizes between onebedrooms, two bedrooms, three bedrooms, and even the four bedrooms. As part of the LITC program, uh the rents are are restricted as regulated by by HUD. And the rent that is able to be charged depends on the household income of the tenant that lives there as well as the size of the unit.

But just by comparison, you can see bullet point three on the screen. uh the the HUD limitations for this type of lite-check housing in Apache Junction uh in 2025 would have resulted in rental ranges between uh just over 1,200 and just over,900 again depending on the size of the household as or the household income as well as the size of of the units. Uh another um important point is that uh LITC uh developments are not section 8 housing.

uh those are very much two uh separate federal government programs. So with section 8 housing uh that involves government subsidies that are provided to tenants and those subsidies uh pay for a very large portion of the rent. So it's the government paying a large portion of the rent for the tenant and that's done through the housing vouchers that are provided to that tenant and they can take those section 8 housing vouchers to any development that accepts those section 8 housing vouchers.

Uh but by contrast for LITC developments uh those are have very strict income requirements and if you are a qualifying household you then are responsible for paying 100% of of the rent. There is no government subsidy that's subsidizing the rent. Uh the tenant itself pays 100%. And LITC projects are all about allowing a developer to construct highquality development that ordinarily a a developer would have to offset those high construction costs to build that development with higher rental rates.

but through the tax credits is now able to offer that same quality of development at reduced rates that comply with the LITC requirements um because of the tax credits that that are provided and you can see the quality of that development provided uh in both the site plan with the amenities that are being provided as well as the renderings itself. Nick touchs on this of course projects located along Renick Drive. Uh it's 7 acres in size and of course it's it's currently vacant.

Um it's surrounded by by existing development. So there are existing commercial businesses that that are to the south. Uh to the west across Renick Drive are existing single family homes. To the north are a mix of there are some forplexes as well as single family homes. And then to the east are are mobile home parks. And the mobile home park that is uh the just a little bit north well along the eastern boundary extending north.

That is a high density mobile home park at 18 dwelling dwelling units per acre, which is very similar to the density that's being proposed for this property at 22 dwelling units per acre. So, it's certainly consistent with with the density that that is around it there. Here's an image of the existing site conditions of of the property.

So, in addition to providing uh new uh quality housing units um at at affordable rates, one of the great benefits of this project is that it will also make significant improvements to the existing streetscape. At the moment, uh there's not a lot by way of streetscape improvements.

Uh, this project, as you'll see in the renderings and and you can see in the site plan, will provide new detached sidewalks along both Renick Drive as well as Virginia Avenue, as well as a lot of landscaping on both sides of the sidewalk to provide shade uh really to to boost uh the the streetscape appearance uh and uh and [snorts] aesthetics of of this property. Uh Nick touched on this. The general plan designation for the property is downtown uh mixed use.

uh that uh general plan designation supports multif family housing at a density between 10 to 40 dwelling units per acre. So we're right in the middle of the range of what the general plan supports at 22 dwelling units per acre. The zoning also already allows for multif family. It's zoned RM2 and we're not requesting a change to the zoning or a general plan amendment with this application.

The reason we're here and and why we filed this request is that the property zoning was established in 2022 when this city council adopted uh the resolution that's uh shown on the title of this screen. And that included several stipulations. One of which was a stipulation that required the project to conform with the development plans that were included with that zoning case. And that zoning case included this site plan. Uh this site plan is approved today.

So, in theory, someone could build this property today in accordance with with this site plan, which has 124 multif family units spread throughout uh 17 separate buildings. And as far as we can tell, this was always a a speculative development with no real intent uh to develop it. And so, when Banyan acquired the property, they looked into developing a a multif family development that could be consistent with the site plan, but discovered a number of issues with with doing that.

Uh the the first as you can see on the site plan uh there are a number of dead-end streets. The traffic circulation really doesn't doesn't work here. Um just about very many turns that you make would lead to a dead end. Also with 17 separate buildings are more exposed wall planes which drives up construction costs, reduces energy efficiency um and also requires utility connections now additional ones to each one of those individual units.

And so the very significant concern with with a development like this beyond just a traffic circulation is that in order to um build a development project with those increased construction costs and reduce energy efficiency, you would have to charge a significant amount for rent uh which really would just not be be practical.

So instead abandoning uh residential or their application very simply rather than reszoning the property is just replacing uh the development plans that were associated with that prior project with these new development plans which have been designed in accordance with the property's underlying zoning but could con uh but correct some of those constructability issues uh and also result in in enhanced uh design features.

I mentioned that one of the big components of of this project has been uh outreach, listening to feedback and and responding to that feedback. The site plan that you see on your screen was a site plan that was uh presented uh to the planning commission back in in June. And there are a number of features that that still remain today. So, it's still 146 units spread throughout six separate buildings. We have the two larger buildings along Renick Drive that are two stories in height, maximum 27 ft.

And then we have the four smaller buildings in the back that are three stories in in height uh with a variety of amenities access from from Renick. But we listened to to the concerns that that we received and there were really two concerns that that that we received. The first was uh the amount of parking. Uh so at the time of this site plan uh that was presented to the planning commission we were providing 290 parking spaces. That resulted in a deficit of 27 parking spaces.

We're required to provide 317. So, as part of our application, in addition to replacing the plans, uh we're also requesting a deviation from the provided parking. And then the other concern that that we heard was uh this project because it's designed for for families, we heard a request to increase the amount of family amenities through either a playground or a dog park on on the site.

And so, after receiving that feedback, our design team uh went back and looked into making revisions to the plan that could address those those concerns. And this is now the site plan that is before you today. Um, this site plan, as Nick covered, it's it's made two key changes that have freed up space to add a number of improvements. Uh, it's reoriented the placement of buildings four and five.

So, it's essentially rotated them so that the, uh, shorter elevation is now facing the east property line. And then it shifted the driveway to the uh, to the east as well as the parking spaces to the east down just a little bit. And what that did is it freed up room so we could now provide additional parking. We were able to provide 27 additional parking spaces. So the site plan that's before you today now meets the 317 parking spaces that are required under the zoning ordinance.

And then in addition, those changes allowed us now to provide a family park in the middle of the site. That is a 3500 square foot uh park area that will be provided now that will include uh playground equipment. And then another change that that we made is over around building 3, you can see a little bit more green area. And so we've repurposed that area uh to add uh more more turf that provides more usable open space where families and children uh can can play or recreate in in that area.

And this site plan now as designed with the changes that have all been made now meets or exceeds all the zoning development standards that are required of the property under its existing zoning. So, we're no longer requiring any deviations from from the zoning development standards that apply to the property. And that's shown by this chart that that's on your screen.

So, on the third column, uh the text in red, uh that is those are the development standards that are required under the property's RM2 zoning. That that third column in green is what the approved site plan from 2022, the one that's approved today, uh proposed to provide. And then the last column in blue text is what our development is providing. So just to highlight a few things, the setbacks, the building setbacks uh required under the RM2 zoning require a 20 foot front setback.

That's the setback of the buildings from Renick Drive. Uh the approved site plan from 2022 provided exactly 20 ft. We're exceeding that with 26 feet. So pushing the buildings a little further back from from Renick Drive than what is required. The rear setback uh is 20 feet. That's from that east property line where we have those mobile home units. That's exactly what the existing approved site plan provided. By contrast, we're providing a minimum of 62 feet.

So, those three-story buildings are smaller set back significantly now from the east property line where those mobile home units are much more than what's required. And then all other zoning development standards are are met again or or exceeded. So, we're within uh the density that that's permitted of 22 dwelling units per acre. No requested deviation there. We're less than the permitted height that's allowed. The RM2 zoning permits 40 feet up to four stories.

We have three story and twotory elements at 36 just over 36 feet and then 27 feet for the twotory buildings. Lot coverage. Uh we're permitted to have a building area over the site that that equals 50% of of the site. Uh again, this site plan, as you saw, includes lots of landscaping, amenities, and other open space areas. And so we're significantly less than that at at 25% lot coverage.

And again, now with the provided parking, we have exactly 317, which is over two spaces of of parking spaces per per unit. So plenty of parking now on the site that meets the code requirement. One of the uh common misconceptions of low-income housing tax credit developments is that that means it's a lowquality development. And in fact, the the opposite is is true.

As I mentioned earlier, the intent of the LITC program is to provide tax credits to developers so they can build quality developments. And rather than offsetting those construction costs with higher rents, they're able to uh provide the reduced rents through the tax credits that comply then with with HUD's rental requirements. And you can see that in kind of the quality of of the development that that is being provided. So on this screen is is a rendering of the clubhouse.

Uh this is where the leasing office will be as well as a fitness area. Behind uh this amenity building is where the pool and spa and cabanas are are located. This is a rendering of of the threetory one of the three-story buildings in the back of the property. Uh this rendering is from the main entrance along Renick Drive looking northeast at at the property. So you can see a couple things here. The first is I mentioned uh the existing streetscape conditions.

It's a vacant property, no sidewalk currently. Um this uh shows is reflective of the improvements that will be made. So now detach sidewalk landscaping on both sides provides a much more comfortable environment. And the other thing that the architect did a very good job of that you can see in this rendering is it's not just a flat building. Uh so and the building itself has a lot of articulation and movement in the building to help kind of break up the massing of it.

That is one of the features of what you see in in more quality developments and and is reflective of that. Here's another rendering along Renick Drive looking south. So again, you can see the streetscape improvements as well as the the building that'll be along Renick Drive as well. And then another image of more of a bird's eye view uh looking at one of the twotory buildings.

I've uh highlighted this um but but again is important to to emphasize um this community outreach has has truly been a very critical component of of this uh case and that's lasted for for a very long time from the inception of of this project.

This certainly has not been a an application where a developer came in, proposed a development, and said, "This is what I'm building, take it or leave it, heard concerns, but didn't do anything to address those concerns." Um, and then is surprised when when the the city council denies it. Uh, this has been quite the opposite.

Uh so this process started in in November uh when we first had a pre-application meeting with with city staff where we sat down explained uh the the proposal uh the application that that we would be filing and receive preliminary feedback from planning staff at that time. We then submitted the formal application and in January we held our first neighborhood meeting uh to present the initial project to uh to the community that that attended the neighborhood meeting.

And then from there in March uh so beginning now about uh a little over seven months ago, we began our direct outreach with adjacent neighbors as well as surrounding businesses uh to to explain the project but but also to to listen. And as a result of uh that that work uh so listening to to uh the community, listening to planning staff, uh the city's decision makers, uh we then went through our first site plan revision.

And so at the time when we first submitted our application, we had uh twotory old two-story buildings but much less parking. We were providing 248 parking spaces at that time. And the primary concern that we heard was that's not enough parking. And so we made our first site plan revision that uh reduced then the footprint of those buildings in in the back, the floor in the back, but added a story on them which freed up room so that we could add more parking spaces.

And the first design allowed us to increase the parking spaces from 248 parking spaces then to 290 parking spaces. And this was the site plan. This June site plan was the one that you I showed you earlier on the screen that was presented to the the planning commission.

Um, after that planning commission meeting, again, as as I covered, we then underwent the second uh iteration of of the design, which is now the design that that is before you, that adds the family playground, the dog park, some of the additional open space areas, and then also increases the parking now from 290 to 317 parking spaces. And while throughout the process with outreach starting in in March uh we had gathered a significant number of support letters.

We had at the at that time had gathered 123 support letters. We also recognized that because we are listening to feedback and addressing uh concerns through the design of the project that depending on when we reached out to those individuals uh they may have seen a different uh design than than what was being proposed. And we wanted to be transparent as to what the the newest design was. And so we did two things and we had a very intentional approach.

Uh the first was in in August after the site plan was redesigned to show you the site plan that's before you today. We held a second neighborhood meeting where we invited again the public to see the new design, explain the changes. Uh and then secondly, uh we made efforts to revisit all 123 supporters that had previously signed a a support letter.

And the intent for those conversations was was one to explain uh the newest changes that that we have made so they could see the current version of the design uh but also uh to explain that that this again was a LITC program and to explain the differences between a LITC program and section 8. And after those uh meetings with those individuals uh those were still supportive uh signed this support letter that that is provided on on your screen.

And to to be abundantly clear about what it is that that they're signing, the support letter uh notes at the top of the paragraph that they had previously signed uh an original support letter. Uh they've now uh been provided updated information about the project. And you can see in the three bullet points, it explains exactly what that updated information was. So explains revisions to the site plan and building layout.

They're provided the additional parking and design considerations including the addition of threetory buildings, which was one of the changes. and then also an explanation of the low-inccome housing tax credit program and how it differs from from section 8. And uh to date uh we have been able to revisit uh with most of of those supporters. So as I mentioned there were 123 that we made efforts to revisit. Uh 10 of them were were businesses that that are no longer in in business.

So that left 113 to revisit and were able to revisit with 102 of those 113 since beginning this these efforts in in August and 99 of those 102 signed that updated support letter that I showed on your screen and that was provided uh to you uh in advance of of this hearing. Um and so received again tremendous uh support there.

Um before I conclude, um the the city staff has of course prepared a draft ordinance uh with uh the approval ordinance for for this application that includes a number of stipulations which we are in agreement with. But in addition, we'd also would like to propose three additional stipulations that if you're to approve this application that that we would propose be included as as additional stipulations.

Uh the first is to uh provide that is a requirement that the family park amenity identified on the site plan include a perimeter fence and shaded playground equipment.

Um for candidly I have to give credit here to council member Johnson who had expressed a very good comment about the playground is located in the middle of the site surrounded by parking areas and so we want to make sure that if children are playing there there's there's safety there safety measures where they wouldn't run off into uh the parking areas and put themselves at risk.

And so that will help to to address that concern as well as to provide shade for the playground equipment that that is there in the hot Arizona sun. The next uh two stipulations are that the project will participate in Apache Junctions Police Department's crime-free multi-ousing program and also a third condition that the project will include a minimum of one on-site manager that lives at the project.

Again, candidly, I have to give credit here to council member Solar uh who um provided these comments to us, suggested these conditions. Think they're very good uh good ones that we'd like to comply with and in particular um again the purpose of of this project is to provide a well-maintained quality development that that is safe and so it'll be professionally managed.

Uh and these stipulations really help to ensure that to reduce crime, ensure a crime-free community, uh but also to provide a an on-site manager that is there um at all times as well. And so with that, we respectfully request your your approval and I would be happy to answer any questions they may have. Any questions? Mayor. Yes. I'd just like to say thank you. You've jumped through all the hoops. You've done everything we've asked. Uh I think it's a great spot for this type of project.

Uh I think it's just a great location for this type of project. And I think that you worked with city staff, took recommendations back from us. I think you hit this one out of the ballpark. Thank you. Anyone else? Okay, I will now open to public hearing. There's a five minute time limit with a one minute warning light indicated by yellow light. Please state your name and address for the record.

If you're in a group and would like to speak, please pick one person to represent to everyone to address the council. Please be respectful of each other's speakers. Anyone like to speak on this matter? Good evening, Mayor Council. Andre Meek 1327 South Bair Road here in AJ project is something that the city really needs. Uh it's perfect spot. It meets all the criteria of the general plan.

Uh it'll give housing to to people that can't find housing because there's nothing open with a you know that in the LITC program that that's offers anything like this and uh you know it's contract or the company is jump through all the hoops. It's got everything in line. There's nothing that violates or anything uh of the general plan falls right in place. And uh you know, I really think that we need to approve this. We got to get one off the ground.

You know, I mean, the last one that was over behind the fries, you know, that company came through here, went through the city council three times. And you know, you guys send them back, do this, send them back, do that. Then in the end, no, you know, you can't do that this time. This isn't, you know, much better area for what's going in. Um, you know, and we need to get the ball rolling on some housing.

It's and, you know, there's a lot of people say, "No, we don't want apartments and all that." Well, where you going to start? You know, nobody can come in here and buy a house right now. You know, I've seen Rexa housing going for 350 400,000. It's crazy. So, people have to start somewhere. You know, they got to be able to save the money for a house and all of that. And so, this is where they start. It isn't section 8.

It's a whole different program, you know, and I'm keep hearing, you know, all these section 8 people coming in. No, that ain't it. That ain't it. We're not. We're not playing that game with this one. And so I really wish you guys let this one happen. Let's see what happens with it. And uh plan some more and uh hopefully you know you can get some.

There's other areas around town uh you know along Southern there's property open for apartments uh right across the street from Apache Junction High School. There's 18 acres just sitting there that would make, you know, a wonderful place to build housing like this. And uh got to get the ball rolling. That's all I got to say. Good evening, council. My name is Heather Berea. I live at 975 South Palm Road. Um, I'm here tonight in support. Um, I'm a single mother.

Um, every dollar stretched and I have supported or been into the LITC program before. Um, and it's been very successful. Um, being a resident here in Apache Junction, uh, raising my daughter, every dollar stretched, you know, the groceries, the children's, the child care, um, groceries, everything. Um, so at the end of the day, this really helps me.

Um also um other mothers in the fathers in this um ind or in this uh community um are in need of this also because um they can't afford just single families can't afford to be alone. Um so I respectfully ask that you um definitely approve this project please. Thank you. [laughter] Good evening. My name is Donna Adams. I've been a resident of Apache Junction for about 17 years now. I'm in full support of something like this. I am a single parent myself.

I do work and I make decent money, but 75% of my income does go to rent. I started out in a home at $1,800 a month. Here we are four years later and it is now 24 slash2500 a month. I am to a single parent. I make a little bit too much money for any kind of aid through the government or county whatever it is. So I think something like this is huge for our community especially the single parents because there's many mothers and fathers that are out here doing it on their own without any help.

So, I'd really really appreciate it if you guys could pass this for us. Thank you. Hello, my name is Daniel Pap. I'm at East 18th AB is where my business is. I've only been in Apache for two years now that I've owned. Um, one of my biggest struggles is actually the keeping guys because they don't like the commute out to Apache. Everybody yelled at me for moving the company out here, but I see the potential of Apache. I love the views.

I love what it's capable of, and I love the quiet neighborhoods. My guys are all bluecollar workers. We're in the window and door industry. They may be bluecollar, but their wives and kids still want the modern amenities. No offense to what's out here, but you look at some of the communities, you look at some of the parks where they could rent, they don't have the swimming pool, they don't have the playgrounds, they don't have the modern format that they're used to.

So, most of my guys drive in from Phoenix or Glendale where they can afford. They can't afford to buy. But with a project like this, the husbands, the guys that actually work for me, they could care less where they live. With their wives and their kids, it matters. And watching what you guys do with the schools, the 911, it's a great community to raise them. I think it's a great project to have as a whole.

And as I walk 18th and 19th Street every morning before I start work, I'm watching the changes that occur in Apache Junction. And I'm really excited for what's coming. And I think this project is still what we need. You need the working guys, you need the working gals, but then you need a place where the family can actually still be a family. The pools, the fitness, you know, that was my two sons. Thank you. Good evening, Maril Councilmen. Um, my name is Mia Hunter.

I live at 975 South Royal Court. Um, that's the Soma Valley Apartment Complex I'm sure you guys are familiar with here in AJ. Um, I support this project because AJ needs more housing options, especially housing that's affordable for not only low-income residents, but people like myself who don't qualify for government assistance. Um, this isn't simply about building another apartment complex.

It's about giving hardworking individuals like myself, my neighbors, my family an opportunity to have a stable home without having my entire paycheck consumed by housing costs. Uh people shouldn't have to leave our beautiful city just because they can't afford the rising cost of living. And we want people who work here uh to be able to live here and contribute and build their future here. So, I'm in support of this. I hope you are, too. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening, Council.

My name is Deja Mans. I live at 97 um South Royal Palm Road here in Apache Junction. I'm fully in support of this simply because it'll help the lower class such as myself. Um, I'm currently also a full-time student, so it definitely helps um when it comes to um any type of housing just to get by, how um dayto-day everything is, the way gas prices are going up, as well as food, etc. Having a more affordable living area definitely will be a great improvement. Thank you for your time.

Hi, I'm Paula Mahoney, 350 North Renick Drive, and I've been through this since the beginning, so I'm very eager to, you know, have a final solution. And I thought tonight's plans uh really brought it home. you know, the single family homes across the street. If you want development, you want community, you want family, and we've got a private corporation that's going to build sidewalk and make that street inviting.

But you look across the street, there's no line division, and our side is just dirt and gravel. So, I hope that the city approves this project and maybe that'll be the impetus to get Renick developed. You're going to put in apartments and we're going to have kids and we're going to have families and we're going to watch it build, but we don't want to be left out. It'd be nice to see the continued growing and development of Renick Drive. uh the traffic studies were 82 cars an hour.

Well, that's, you know, so we need those sidewalks. So, they're being very thoughtful and proactive. And I hope the city will jump on the bandwagon and recognize that you can't just walk on one side of the street. And we've still got families.

Not all of us are retired and we're still working and 82 cars an hour is a lot, but a sidewalk and they've addressed where the entrances are going to have less of an impact on the main part of Renick, which I really appreciate and I really appreciate them changing the color palette. And so I just want you guys to know that I'm fully in support of this and I hope that you guys vote for it. Thank you. [clears throat and cough] Hi, good evening.

Um, my name is Chandler and I live with Mia who spoke earlier on this project. Um, I am in support of this project as a working professional. Um, our community here in Apache depends on hardworking people, teachers, healthcare workers, retail employees, and first responders and many more. But if those workers can't afford to live here, they may eventually be forced to move farther away.

Low-income housing gives working residents another opportunity to remain in Apache Junction and be a part of the community they serve. Um, if we want a strong workforce and a strong community, we need housing people that can actually afford. Um, so please approve this project. Thank you so much. Give me your address, too, please. H your address. Oh, I'm at 975 South Royal Palm Road. Okay. Thank you.

[clears throat] Donna Carpache Junction resident just to say it used to be back in the day they used to give farmer home loans to help the younger generation to be able to afford a home. Now they give tax breaks to the developers to rent them a place to live instead of letting them own it. Um I was looking up something the other day because I'm I've been looking for just some bare land, but I happen to come across this and Denver, Colorado, and this price is actually it's crazy.

Um $25,000 for a one-bedroom condo. How crazy is that in Denver, Colorado? I mean, even if it was $100,000 for a one-bedroom condo out here in Apache Junction, I'd rather see people own than to pay a developer to own the land or to own the home. Um, uh, as you know, as I'm opposed to the apartments, I'm opposed to any apartments because if you don't own it, you don't take as good care of it as you would if you did own it. And that's just it's it's a fact.

Um, I don't want to end up where we bring trouble into the area, but I also think that we need to revamp and revise the future plan of Apache Junction and let the people choose what they want on the map before you make the map. Don't just give them a map and say, "Is this good for you?" Let us choose. Let us choose what we want in in the city.

Um, now the developer talked about the fact that he talked to so many people and 90 people um signed his paper for it and I don't remember how many people but I know it was more than my numbers um who are opposed to the apartments. I talked to aboutund and I'd say 153 to 158 people and 145 are opposed to the apartments. And believe it or not, it was two ladies that I talked to that were losing their sight who wanted to sign the paper.

So I had to put my finger on the page so they could follow my finger just to be able to fill out the paper. But I think that we need to go with majority rules and we don't want the apartment complexes. We need to be more picky on what we allow in and stop just letting anything in so that you can get the revenue. And I know some people here always disagree with me. Um, but here's my 145 signatures. Think about it. Thanks. Anyone else want to speak? Okay.

[clears throat and snorts] My name is Dustin Swanie. I live at 440 North Renick. And uh the Banyan Group has been very pleasant for us to deal with and they've met all of the needs that we've asked and uh so I just want to say that I'm in support of this building. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else? If not, I will now close the public hearing and ask for a motion. Your honor, [laughter] can we discuss [clears throat] comments? Okay, just put comments. Start the public hearing again, don't we?

We don't have to do a public hearing again. You know, there's a lot of stereotypical misconceptions about I've done a lot of work inspections and stuff properties specifically residences on first in Mesa and you walk into that apartment complex and I really think you can eat off the ground that well these days it's amazing and it's been there for 15 years talk with the manager there. The manager, how do you like? Is this is this something that is a good good thing or good?

She would never ever manage anything other than life because the government money is there to keep it well maintained.

They're not waiting on uh somebody's it's always so you know there are a lot of people there's there's several families that live near me that um it's a 55 and older mobile home parks that they're struggling struggling bad we have senior citizens that they're only making a month their husband died that's all they're getting for social [clears throat] basically ends up with $200 and you know there's barely enough to pay for food. So I get it. I see it.

Um I had some misconceptions or I had some pre preconceived thoughts on this prior to this presentation tonight. I wanted to How many people on Renick wanted this or did not want it based on the information provided and then the individuals that came up and spoke of it tonight. I was kind of surprised. I was surprised gentlemen and the other lady here stating that, you know, they live right next to it. It's in their backyard or quote front yard and they don't have an issue with it. They like it.

And so, um, you know, it's it's it's a definitely needed product in our community. Are we going to constantly, um, approve apartment after apartment after apartment? No, I don't think so. But we don't have very many low income properties. We really don't. And there's there's definitely a need.

I know other council members have specifically gone out and talked with lots of people in our community and lots of people that work in our community [snorts] but live in Mesa or live as some of you spoken that um they can't afford to live here. They're living in a litech product or some other type of lower income uh over in Tempb or Mason. So hopefully everybody into consideration.

This is, you know, our entire community is not going to be apartment complexes from this to the [clears throat] end of the earth. I mean, we have tons of houses going in in the south part of our city. There's lots of home ownership. You'll never get, you know, a 600. If you want an individual home that you can own, probably afford mobile home. Do we have enough mobile home parks that allow under 55? That I'm sure we have a few, but um yeah, that's kind of anyone else, mayor. Oh. Oh, okay.

Uh I want to just address a couple things. One, LITC is for our working class individuals. Uh I talked to a lot of the restaurants and businesses around uh their employees don't make a lot of money and this will really help them find places to stay and we talk about doing the will of the people. We have a downtown plan that called for apartments and that downtown plan passed with a 3 to one vote in favor of doing the downtown plan. So we are doing the will of the people.

Uh it's, you know, and this is a I believe this is something we need to help our businesses and our restaurants and our community to have the people be able to stay in a nice place and work and live close to where they work. And this project again, you guys jump through all the hoops we asked you to do, and I'm 100% behind it. [clears throat] Yes. and referring back to the general plan and the and the downtown master plan um that calls for multi-family residential.

Reason being and it's really twofold. One brings more people into the downtown to utilize restaurants, shopping, and our schools which will in turn generate more business down there. One of the things we struggle with and I think the reason why we have so many businesses that support this is because we don't have enough yearround population. And until we have that, no matter how much we want all the all the new restaurants and shopping and entertainment venues, we're not going to see it.

We need to bring more have more people living in the city year round. So this an apartment like this will do that. In addition, it'll also provide the opportunity for the enhance the workforce. The one gentleman said with the business, you know, he's got he has somebody that drives from Glendale to come out here. Man, wouldn't it be nice to be able to tell him he could get an apartment here in Patchy Junction and work here? That's what we want.

We want to be able provide that kind of opportunity. And I think this to me is the it's a great location and I think they've really truly done everything we could ask them to do to make this work for us and for them. Thank you. Anyone else? Yes. I just want to thank the developer for going the extra mile to do to bring us a project without uh asking for all kinds of uh varian variances.

Uh for years we've had developers come and just expect us to roll over and play dead and approve whatever they want to bring to us. uh they want to build things with five foot setbacks and and just things that weren't very nice and you guys were told no. So you went back a couple times and you've now made a to me you're you're the example of a developer who can do what our code says and bring us a project that fits and works and you can by rearranging things. Look what you did.

you probably when we fir you were first told uh that it uh that we're g you know it couldn't be the way you wanted it you said well what are we going to do now but look what you did you you changed it and it's even nicer than what the original plan was so I want to thank you for that okay I will now ask for a yes regarding ing any motion. Does it have to have the proposed stipulations attached? Uh you Yes. The motion would be if you're for this project. Yes.

You say as presented in ordinance number 1578 and the proposed stipulations. Thank you. All right. I will now ask for a motion. Your honor. Yes. I move that ordinance number 1578 be read by title only [clears throat] and the reading of the entire ordinance be waved. Second. Moved and seconded. Roll call. Council member Hec. Yes. Council member Cross. Yes. Vice Mayor Schroeder. Yes. Excuse me. Council member Nesser. Yes. Council member Johnson. Yes. Council member Ser. Yes. And Mayor Wilson? Yes.

Motion passes unanimously. Ordinance number 1578, an ordinance of the mayor and city council of the city of Apache Junction, Arizona, amending ordinance number 1526 for the property described in resoning case P-26-4-PZ, a request by Banyan Residential LLC, represented by Michael Marowitz of Snell and Wilmer LLP, repealing any conflicting provisions and providing for severability. Okay. Now, do I have a second motion to adopt the ordinance of 1578?

Your honor, I move that ordinance number 1578 as read by the city clerk and including the proposed stipulations be approved. Second. Moved and seconded. Roll call. Council member Ser. Yes. Council member Johnson. Yes. Vice Mayor Schroeder. Yes. Council member Nesser, yes. Council member Cross, yes. Council member Hec, yes. Mayor Wilson, yes. Motion passes unanimously to approve ordinance number 1578. Thank you. Okay.

Direction to staff, presentation and discussion of possible direction to staff regarding automated license plate readers employed by the police department. Good. We max mass exits. [laughter] Thank you all for coming by the way. Yes. Thank you. You can go. Okay. Hurry up. Make your escape. [laughter] So, [clears throat] who wants to start this off? Mayor. Yes. I'd like to uh make a motion and direction to staff.

I move that the direction to staff be given to the city attorney to prepare a draft uh city code ordinance amendment reflecting uh the discussion of last night and tonight on the use of automatic license plate readers with Flock Incorporated and bring it back the draft ordinance for a public hearing consideration and possible adoption on October 6th, 2026 And in that I would like to include all the bullet points from yesterday. If you want to read those.

Do you want to read those or you want me to read them? Oh, I I think you can you can read them. Okay. Um, access shall be limited uh to internal law enforcement representatives only. Data collection and record retention will include uh time limits on information storage 30 days. Uh it restricts the selling of information and types of information collected. Vehicle type and counter location date and time. Agency sharing will require supervisor authorization.

Uh queries access will require the incident number and supervisor approval. Audits will be required uh per the chief's direction on how often and when. Uh use of information is for law enforcement only. Personal searches will be strictly prohibited. Approved approved use will be invest approved use will be investigations and hot list alerts.

Penalties for unauthorized access or use include termination of employment and uh potentially a class one misdemeanor conviction resulting in a fine up to $2500 plus statutory assessments, a three-year summary of probation, community service, and up to 180 days in jail. Um I that would be my recommendation for that. But I also want to put in the caveat that all government uh technology for surveillance falls under the misdemeanor uh crime that we're going to be uh proposing.

and all of the uh flock real time drones, Axon, all the stuff we have right now falls under this and it will be a crime to misuse it for personal use and can only be used for government uh legit government purposes. Your honor. Yes. Can I on the last um point there bullet point were the Penalties for unauthorized access or use include termination of employment and potentially a class one.

You have the right until you give that that potentially word is, you know, I think it should be termination and a class one, not potentially a class one. I, you know, officers need to be held accountable for their actions. Absolutely. And you're talking about any future things being a crime. You can't have that word potentially. That's discretionary. And and so there should be no discretion on management saying, "Well, you know, okay, you messed up.

We're firing you." It should be more than that. There needs to be fear in these individuals that they do not abuse the system whatsoever. alls I'm going to lose is my job that ain't no big deal. But if you are actually going to be charged [laughter] with a crime, it makes there's there's some teeth there. If they misuse it, you're absolutely right. They should be charged with a crime. So, you want to amend your motion on that? Yeah, we'll just take that word out if it's okay.

Legal is there a legal issue? Yeah, Mr. Mayor, council. Yes, mayor. The Can I add on to what Daryl just said? It shouldn't It's not just police officers. It's any police department personnel. It could be any employee, right? Absolutely. Yeah. You said police officers, but it anybody within the that has access to the system and Mr. Mayor, Council, uh you could say it's a class one misdemeanor. Just keep in mind judges have discretion on uh giving out the penalties.

The word potentially was because potentially these are the the maximums. A judge does not have to uh set the maximum. So I just wanted you to know that and you cannot tell the judge to set the maximum on a class one. Mr. Mayor, here's the thing. Let's just make it you are going to get charged county attorney. Well, not county because it's misdemeanor until the chiefs get it to be a felony which is eventually coming hopefully after the legislation starts. But they should charge them.

Then it's up to the judge to make a decision. Yeah. But we they should be charged. Can't the judge, you know, they're going to be charged with a misdemeanor. Then the judge can make the decision whether it's $2,500 fine and three years in prison or probation. That's the judge's decision. But it should not be our decision to, you know, give them the ability to to um quit or get fired only. I think they need to be charged with a crime. Understood. We got it. Got it.

I think that's a concurrence on everybody sitting up here. Got it. We got it. So, does he have to mod modify his motion on that? Uh, I think it's understood. Okay. We have I have the direction I need to craft that ordinance and I will bring it back to Do you want a work session also or just bring it back for public hearing? Work session first. I think we should have a three weeks from now. Yeah. He's he's already got it home. So, a work session and then the next night a public hearing. Correct.

I think perfect. So, October 5th and 6th is that it shall be done. Yep. Okay. So, we have a motion. Do I have a second? Second. A roll call. Council member Cross. Yes. Council member Ser. Yes. Council member Hack. Yes. Council member Johnson. Yes. Vice Mayor Schroeder. Yes. Council member Nesser. Yes. Mayor Wilson. Yes. Motion passes unanimously. Thank you. [clears throat] Okay. Call to public. I would like to remind everyone the call to public is a courtesy and not required by law.

It's a time for the public to express requests, communication comments and suggestions. Requests to speak forms must have been completed and handed to the city clerk before the end of the [cough and clears throat] city manager report. All issues shall be presented in a professional matter without personal attacks.

Under the open meeting law, the council cannot engage in a discussion on the issues presented, but may respond to criticism and may direct staff to follow up with a speaker directly or place this matter on a future agenda for council discuss discussions. There's a threeminut time limit with a 30 second warning indicated by the yellow white. I have one. Donna Carr, Donna Car, Apache Junction resident. Um, I'm sort of disappointed on the whole apartment complex.

Uh, as far as the Flock cameras go, it doesn't matter whether it's Flock or any other brand name license plate reader, I'm opposed to those, too. and um went to a meeting the other day and Sheriff Tle was there and I got to talking to him and he took down his flock cameras and then nine other license plate reader companies contacted him. He told them all no. And I am pleased to hear that because once you lose this part of your privacy and yes, they're surveilling all of us.

Once you lose it, you're not going to get it back. Um it's bad enough that we have to keep arguing here to try to get the flock cameras taken down. Um, one of the things that that I realized when I was at the meeting is that you can afford to pay for more officers if you're not paying for the flock cameras or any other license plate reader. And I think that we're better off hiring more officers and not surveilling everybody because it it is it's nothing but mass surveillance.

And I was told is what about your cell phone? Well, I got a Faraday bag that I can stick my cell phone in anytime I want to go anywhere. Nobody can track me and I still have my phone in case of emergency. So, if October 6th is the date, I don't mind sitting on the corner of Ironwood in the Trail inviting people to please show up if you want the goddamn things down. Thank you. Any comments from the council? Nope. Okay, I will adjust.