9/6/2012: Updated with links (below) to more information on the Echo project and the City Council video.
The City Council just finished deliberations on the high-density housing project known as Echo at Windgate [AZ Central article] with a 5-2 vote to approve. The video of the City Council meeting is very telling and this case clearly illustrates many of the issues that have generate so much resident dissatisfaction over the past ten years. Notable:
Public comment from Mark Stuart at about time index 00:07:00.
Dialog on the Echo item begins at 00:00:14.
My remarks begin at about 01:30:00.
An hysterically arrogant comment from zoning attorney John Berry at 02:33:00.
The most notable points about these hours of discussion is that “neighborhood protector” Suzanne Klapp voted without hesitation to ignore the General Plan and principles of zoning to screw the residents of the Windgate neighborhood.
Neighborhood protectors Virginia Korte and Eric Luoma not only didn’t go to the microphone to defend this neighborhood, they weren’t even in the building!
I hope you’ll remember this when it comes time to vote in the General Election on November 6th. The only candidates who showed up and spoke to defend this neighborhood were NOT the ones who spent tens of thousands of dollars to send you campaign literature bragging about protecting neighborhoods: Guy Phillips, Chris Schaffner, and Joanne “Copper” Phillips.
4 Comments
Do you have a link to more information about Echo at Windgate? Curious about why the neighbors are mad about its approval.
Thanks,
Phil
Phil, thanks for your question. Sorry it took me a while to respond.
I have updated the article (above) with links to the Arizona Republic article on this item, as well as a link to the video of the City Council meeting where the residents of Windgate and shills for the developer debated the relative merits.
Phil I can give you some insight. The main issue was density. The approval allows the developer to more than double the footprint of its structures over what was legally allowed on the land, prior to Tuesday. The developer deliberately lied to the residents and the Planning Commission about this fact. The previously executed agreements that support the argument were hardly considered a factor in the deliberation. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could so easily wipe out the stipulations of our mortgages. Oh how nice it would be.
The other main issue is that this 1 parcel has been approved as URBAN INFILL. Yes at the base of the Preserve we now have URBAN land. This is the first URBAN designation to hit 85255…but it won’t be the last. They needed it to be urban to avoid a major amendment to the General Plan….so the 5 Council people waved their magic wands….and POOF…we are Urban!