Whetstone Community
Infrastructure Sub-Committee
Meeting Minutes
October 13, 2005
The Whetstone Community Infrastructure Sub-Committee met at
431 E. Oak Street at 2:00 p.m. on October 16, 2005. In attendance were:
Warren Backes
Randy Bennett
Andrea Ellis
Andi Malone
George Malone (Zoning Sub-Committee)
George Whitmill
The minutes from the October 13, 2005 meeting were approved
as posted.
Agenda:
Approval of minutes from October
13, 2005 meeting
Old business:
Research reports
Emergency Services (Andrea,
Warren)
Transportation (Andrea, Andi)
Postal Service (Diana, Andi)
Utilities (Valerie)
Water (Randy, George)
Communications (Randy, George)
New business:
Next meeting:
Conclusion/Adjournment:
Old
business:
The only old business to be discussed was the deliverables
for the community meeting on October 20, 2005, consisting of the research
reports and recommendations in each of the assigned areas.
Emergency Services (Andrea, Warren)
Andrea reported
the Santa Cruz Plan (SCP) defines a large scale development (20 or more houses)
and requires the developer to calculate the impact of large scale development
on emergency services, as well as other things. The sub-committee recommends we
adopt this stance.
Further the SCP
requires applications for permits be submitted to the local emergency services
agency (in our case, the Whetstone Fire District(WFD)) for review. The
sub-committee recommends we adopt this stance.
Andrea found no
other plan that addressed the impact of growth on emergency services.
Warren related
one of the concerns at WFD is the ability of emergency vehicles to gain entry
to Highway 90. Installing stoplights for emergency services entry from their
station to the adjacent roads should be done using a stop light controlled by
the station. The sub-committee recommends we adopt this stance, with the caveat
that the emergency services entry cannot be immediately adjacent to an
intersection. This could cause an accident involving the emergency services
vehicles. Using a frontage road for access to existing stoplights may be a
viable alternative for this circumstance. The sub-committee recommends we adopt
this stance.
Transportation (Andrea, Andi)
Andrea reported
the San Pedro Valley Plan (SPVP) provisions for vehicular transportation were good,
and the J6 Plan contained good non-motorized traffic (e.g., pedestrian,
equestrian, bicycle) provisions.
Andi pointed out
the overlap between transportation, business development, and zoning
considerations.
The J6 plan
institutes traffic controls (e.g., posted weight limits) to restrict flows on
streets other than major arterials. This acts, for example, to restrict heavy
truck traffic from residential areas.
The Cochise
Comprehensive Plan (CCP) prohibits public access easements (e.g., alleys)
possibly due to maintenance costs. Warren recommends utility companies be
required to maintain the alleys. The sub-committee recommends adopting this
stance on alleys.
Current practice
is to put utilities in road easements. The plans reviewed seem to offer an alternative
of placing them adjacent to, or under, the roads. The sub-committee recommends
they NOT be placed under the roads to preclude utility maintenance requiring
disruption of street continuity.
The Naco Plan
(NP) specifies expected usage in engineering of existing roads. The
sub-committee recommends including this aspect in any discussion of roads and
streets. A Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) should be required of any new
development and needs to tie in to county and Arizona Department Of
Transportation road standards
The
comprehensive plan must address adequate parking for businesses and how storm
runoff from paved areas adjacent to businesses is to be handled.
The J6 plan
calls for preserving the rural aspect of the area and providing for wildlife
corridors. The sub-committee recommends adopting this stance.
The Babocamari
Comprehensive Plan (BCP) addresses flow control considerations using existing
roads and specifies where proposed roads are to connect to existing roads. The
sub-committee recommends adopting this stance.
Postal Service (Diana, Andi)
Andi reported
she was unable to find information on the various websites she visited. Diana
not present to give her findings. Andi is going to visit one of the post
offices this week prior to the community meeting.
Utilities (Valerie)
Using alleys to
provide utility easements was addressed during the conversation on
transportation.
None of the
plans reviewed, including CCP and BCP, specifically addressed any of the
utilities with the exception of the BCP statement restricting any additional
wells in the Babocamari alluvium (100 year flood plain).
In some of the
plans, developers are required to post security for construction of utilities
to new developments.
Some of the
plans recommend builders plan for near-future technology, such as including
CAT-5 cable for data and voice lines.
There was some
discussion at the last sub-committee meeting about burying electrical power
lines. The SSVEC website states the cooperative requires lots less than an acre
be served by underground line.
No plan
addresses underground utilities.
George contacted
SSVEC directly:
SSVEC stated there is a state
requirement for power lines to be buried in subdivisions. George is pursuing
this issue.
Beyond feeder lines, SSVEC doesn't
have a problem with burying lines.
Underground feeder lines are too
expensive in terms of installation and maintenance.
Cost of burying lines will be on
developer, and the cost for underground lines is 2-3 times the cost of overhead
lines.
The definition of what a feeder
line is was soft.
No additional high-voltage lines or
towers should be required to service the anticipated development within
Whetstone.
Avoid dev around/near towers
possible future easements for transmission towers
George will
research additional information from ACC
Water (Randy, George)
George described
several considerations for any section addressing water, all of which the
sub-committee recommends adopting:
There should
be a system to monitor aquifer levels, with a trigger point in any decline to
limit further development.
There should
be a means of monitoring wells for contaminants. The sub-committee recommends
adopting this stance.
There needs to
be provision for monitoring the aquifer itself for contaminants since the
aquifer may be contaminated before it shows in the well water due to additional
filtration.
There needs to
be provisions for preventing aquifer contamination, particularly for water
soluble and organic chemicals.
Many of the
plans call for water harvesting. The sub-committee recommends clarification and
factual evidence of its contribution or detriment to aquifer water levels.
Many of the
plans address storm water filtering prior (apparently for recharge to the
aquifer) but provide no recommendations on means nor do they give any standards
for the effluent. The sub-committee recommends identification of standards
before adopting this stance to avoid possible litigation over unspecified
requirements.
The
sub-committee recommends any water consumption standards in the plan (e.g., 312
gallons per person per day) be tied to the most recent hydrology study of the
area.
Many of the
plans address washing machines as being either front-loaders or water
efficient, but provide no standard for a water-efficient washing machine. The
sub-committee recommends a standard be included in the plan if this is to be
specified.
Several plans
require swimming pools and spas to use other than potable water. The
sub-committee could discern no alternative to potable water with the possible
exception of harvested water. The sub-committee recommends an alternative
approach on swimming pools, such as requiring a containment building
incorporating water recovery to reduce evaporative losses or limiting the size
of pools, and removing any mention of spas altogether.
Several plans
called for drip irrigation systems controlled by timers and rain sensors. The
sub-committee recommends augmenting rain sensors with soil moisture content
sensors.
Several plans
called for installing dual water meters to measure inside and outside use of
potable water. The sub-committee recommends dropping that requirement and
replacing it with premium fees for excess usage payable to the providing water
company or agency using a tiered fee system.
Several of the
plans discouraged water intensive industrial practices, such as bottle washing
and car washes and establishing a minimum 75% recycle rate for any that are
permitted. The sub-committee recommends keeping the minimum recycle rate of 75%
and leaving it at that.
The J6 plan
requires new businesses to consume no more than 85% of the average industry
standard for similar operations in a similar environment. The sub-committee
recommends identifying those standards prior to adopting the statement.
Communications (Randy, George)
George described
several considerations for any section addressing communications, all of which
the sub-committee recommends adopting:
The plan
should encourage competition in communications providers
The plan
should encourage provisions for advancing technology (e.g., fiber optic instead
of copper wire for communications uses).
Given the
desirable views throughout the Whetstone area, limiting the height of
communications towers (e.g., cell towers) is desirable. The BCP speaks of a
height limit, defined in zoning districts, on wireless communication towers,
but provides no standards. The sub-committee recommends defining and adopting a
height restriction on future towers.
Spectrum
management is not addressed in any of the plans. The sub-committee recommends:
Including a
means of preventing interference problems between communications providers
where this is not already regulated by FCC or state agencies.
Calling out
areas where we know this kind of interference occurs in unregulated frequencies
(e.g., wireless broadband Internet Service Providers)
The
sub-committee does NOT recommend resolution at the federal or state level.
As discussed for
utilities, the sub-committee recommends wired communications (e.g., telephone,
cable, DSL, etc.) be underground where feasible to preserve our views.
The
sub-committee recommends:
Wireless
communications providers show cause for erecting any new towers, including a
study and discussion proving existing towers cannot provide the functionality
required at market rate.
Plans for new
towers shall be limited to 30 feet and require disguise as native vegetation
(e.g., Pinon pine). Further, the plans shall show lease rates for excess
capacity.
The
sub-committee recommends short wave radio towers be allowed on private property
and limited to 60 feet in height.
General (All)
As a general
comment on the plan as a whole, the sub-committee recommends any plan contain a
paragraph near the closing that allows revisiting and revising the plan as
necessary. Further, as in some of the plans reviewed, the plan should contain a
severability paragraph that allows the remainder of the plan to retain its full
force even if a part or parts of the plan are found to be invalid.
New
business:
Presentation of
information at next community meeting will parallel discussion today. Andi will
prepare outline of presentation, and research teams will present their findings
verbally.
Next
meeting:
The sub-committee’s next meeting
will be planned following conclusion of the community meeting on October 20,
2005.
Conclusion/Adjournment:
The meeting
adjourned at 4:35 p.m.
