By Cindy Lee
Outpost Site Plan
I attended with interest the two Open Houses and two Scottsdale Planning Commission meetings on The Outpost proposal to place a commercial planned neighborhood center designed by Vern Swaback Partners into a rural neighborhoods site at the northwest corner of Pima Road and Dynamite Boulevard. I listened with open mind to what was communicated by all parties involved: the applicants, Scottsdale citizens, City Planning Staff and Planning Commissioners.
As a community service on behalf of the Greater Pinnacle Peak Association (GPPA), I provide information, observations and facts of the October 28, 2015 Planning Commission (PC) meeting. Readers can decide for themselves how to view the PC vote 4-2 to recommend City Council approval. To see the entire 10/28 hearing online, go to:
Summary of Staff Reports
The following brief summary is excerpted and paraphrased from City Planning Staff Reports.
The applicant requests a major amendment 1-GP-2015 to the City of Scottsdale General Plan 2001 to change the land use designation from Rural Neighborhoods to Commercial on a 10+/- acre site located at the northwest corner of Pima Road and Dynamite Blvd. And in conjunction, the applicant requests a Zoning District Map Amendment 10-ZN-2015 from Single-Family Residential District R1-190 ESL FO zoning district to Planned Neighborhood Center PNC ESL FO zoning district. The property is part of the 1999 Council-adopted Desert Foothills Character Area.
The applicant proposes a collection of “retail and related commercial uses” including a general store, hardware store, feed store, a restaurant, a gas station and “other compatible neighborhood commercial uses.” The applicant proposes to meet the Rural Desert Character and goals of the Desert Foothills Character Area Plan.
The applicant’s proposal could be precedent setting. It would be the first Commercial designation established adjacent to Rural Neighborhoods since the adoption of the General Plan. Commercial areas are most commonly designated in locations adjacent to more intense uses. The applicant’s request has been submitted previously (3-GP-2009 and 5-GP-2011).
The applicant contends that the subject site is unlikely to develop as a rural, single-family residential neighborhood, stating that “factors resulting in the site being undesirable for low density residential include the location at the intersection of regional roadways” and the presence of a major power line corridor.
The Foothills Overlay requires additional development standards from that of the proposed PNC zoning designation and the ESL overlay. The site plan does not appear to violate the Foothills Overlay development standards, but the application is lacking the required information and calculations to verify that the proposed site plan meets the city ordinances and policies.
The gasoline station use requires a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) in the proposed PNC/ESL/FO zoning district. The CUP case is the step where the project would typically be stipulated with regard to the architecture and design associated with the gas station use. The applicant has not submitted a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) application for a gasoline service station at this time. The applicant stated they did not wish to apply for the CUP without having an outcome on these two proposed major GP amendment and associated zoning cases.
Summary of October 28th Planning Hearing
On Wednesday, October 28, 2015 at 5:00pm the Planning Commission held the second hearing on the Outpost at Scottsdale City Hall Kiva. Planning Staff presented and recommended to the Planning Commission to recommend to City Council the denial of 1-GP-2015 and 10-ZN-2015.
L. Miller, landowner, and Paul Gilbert, of Beus Gilbert law firm, gave applicant presentations. Over one hour of public testimony followed. As Staff Planner Reynolds stated, “Community Involvement is a fairly important aspect of the major General Plan amendment process.”
Nine of twelve Scottsdale homeowners speaking in opposition to the Outpost live within 1.7 to 2.5 miles of Dynamite and Pima. Two others live 3.5 and 4.6 miles away. They expressed their lack of desire or need for a gas station or a restaurant in their neighborhood, and described the unwanted impacts this planned center would bring to their rural neighborhood quality of life, equestrian lifestyle and the environment they chose to live in.
Fourteen supporters spoke, including the applicant’s partner/land co-owner and a designer from Swaback Partners Architecture firm. Of the twelve not linked to the project, only one lives within 3.5 miles of the proposed Outpost site. Nine reside 6 to 20 miles away, mostly to the south in higher-density suburban or mixed-use neighborhoods close to shopping and services. One speaker lives in Old Town Scottsdale; another near the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess. Two live close to the 101 south of E. Bell Rd. One Paradise Valley resident spoke on behalf of his unidentified athlete clients in Scottsdale. One speaker did not provide his address.
Seven of the twelve supporters referred to the applicant as “R.L.” with two identifying themselves as his friend and another having worked with the applicant(s) for 15 years.
Supporters spoke of the desire to have a restaurant with the western/cowboy experience or the convenience of a gas station, and praised the merits of the project. They do not reside in the immediate area. Pinnacle Peak Patio moving to the Outpost is a possibility but not a guarantee.
Bryan Moreno, partner of the applicant, described how they purchased the land 12 or 13 years ago with the vision of creating a “community meeting point.” By 2002 or 2003, the General Plan (GP) 2001 had been approved by City Council and ratified by voters. The rural neighborhood parcel at the time of purchase was within the Environmentally Sensitive Lands and the Desert Foothills Character Area Plan, bordered on the south and east sides by lands delineated in the GP 2001 to be within the Recommended Study Boundary (RSB) of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. The City’s intent at that time was to purchase all of the land within the RSB for the Preserve.
A reasonable expectation of success is questionable that, at time of purchase, a future application would be approved to change the rural neighborhoods designation to commercial with a gas station at that location. In fact, the applicant’s two previous requests for a major GP amendment have not materialized.
Commissioner Larry Kush spoke strongly in favor of the Outpost project with its genuine merits and low coverage. He underscored the owner’s property rights and unsuitability of the corner site for residential. He cautioned that something undesirable could end up in its place. Commissioner David Brantner followed with his support. Commissioner Ali Fakih had previously expressed a desire for some commercial uses in the area, although he did not agree with the proposed uses.
Vice Chair Matthew Cody articulated his conflict. He acknowledged the site’s uses are very limited. Personally he felt the applicant’s proposal is “a good use, and more importantly, most likely an appropriate use for the site.” However, he returned to the notion of predictability.
“Predictability from the perspective of what can residents expect in their neighborhood, and what can land owners expect to do with their property. And, while the existing zoning is somewhat telling, I think the General Plan speaks clearly. And that is, the area neighbors and the North Scottsdale residents have consistently said, ‘No, No, No.’ I don’t agree with them saying ‘No, No, No’ but they have been consistent and predictable. And as a result, I think that taking a change from R1-190 which is a 5-acre lot with ESL zoning to a commercial center anchored by a gas station is simply too great of a change and I don’t think that’s what the area residents and the people who bought up there would have expected.
“And therefore, Mr. Miller, I’m really sorry, but I think you’ve got a fabulous plan. And I think it’s probably very feasible and I think it would serve the area very well. But I think we have to listen to the neighbors who have consistently fought to have a General Plan reflect the fact that it’s rural and this is not what they want. So I won’t be supporting the case. I’m sorry.”
Commissioner Kush spoke next.
“Before I make my motion, I suspect that Mr. Miller could put up a lemonade stand on the corner and people would be lining up saying they don’t like lemonade or they’d like to get the lemonade downtown. So with that in mind, Mr. Chairman, I’d like to move that we approve 1-GP-2015 The Outpost request for a major General Plan amendment to the City of Scottsdale General Plan 2001 to change the land use designation from rural neighborhoods to commercial … and at the same time, approve Case 10-ZN-2015 request by the owner … with the only stipulation that the site plan” as submitted by the applicant “be the substantial site plan that is finally approved. No changes of any substance.”
The motion made by Commissioner Kush was seconded by Commissioner Brantner. The vote to approve passed 4 to 2:
Chair Michael Edwards No
Vice Chair Matthew Cody No
Commissioner Kush Yes
Commissioner Brantner Yes
Commissioner Minnaugh Yes
Commissioner Alessio Yes
Tim Curtis, AICP, Current Planning Director, added: “For the record, Mr. Chairman, dissenting votes were the Chair and Vice Chair.”
Motion was made to adjourn just after 8:30pm.
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Outpost Gets Planning Commission O.K. – Published 9/30/2015
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