Gilbert Planning and Zoning Commission

Vital Discussion Held Regarding Gilbert's Growth and Development

Introduction
On September 22nd, Gilbert's planning and zoning commission met jointly with the city council to discuss the town's comprehensive growth and development plan. The session was more of an orientation for the council with a few strong opinions expressed, but no action was taken. The plan will most likely be discussed again at the next city council meeting. A public hearing is required at some point before the council votes to adopt the plan.

Persons present included: consultant Gary Reiners of the Public Management Resource Group; mayor Bob Jaquis; council members Craig Allen, Chris Benda, Lynn Henn, and Jon Popp; commission chairperson Yvonne Wannemuehler; commission members Dick DeMoss, Kurt Jensen, Frank Rydl, and Merrill Swanson; city engineer Scott Williams of WHKS Company; acting city clerk Carolyn Main; and Gilbert editor Helen Gunderson.

Resource materials
We have prepared an unofficial, abridged version of the text of the plan and created unofficial renditions of two of the key maps in it. One map designates the general kind of development that is desired for various land areas. The other map establishes priorities for which properties should be used first for building single family homes.

You may go to a file that contains our entire abridged version of the plan, but the file is 219Kb and may be unwieldy to open via slow Internet connections. Or you can go to individual sections of the material as outlined below.

The complete PDF file, includes two introductory documents and the plan. (219 KB)

Gilbert Gazette explanatory letter. (47 KB)

Cover letter from P and Z commission chairperson. (42 KB)

Chapter One: Road Map to the Future (47 KB)
Chapter Two: The Planning Process (48 KB)
Chapter Three: Existing Conditions (82 KB)
Chapter Four: Public Facility Infrastructure Inventory and Analysis (131 KB)
Chapter Five: Future Growth Concepts (79 KB)
Chapter Six: Growth Policies and Implementation Policies (90KB)

We also tape recorded the 90-minute conversation, and have prepared two CDs that contain a total of 77 tracks along with an index as to what is on each track. Interested persons can contact the Gazette to obtain the packet of materials. Rather than summarizing the discussion, we have chosen to post some of the remarks in RealAudio format.

In order to play the sound files, you will need to have the latest version of RealAudio software on your computer. The RealAudio player is easily available via the Internet. Click on the icon to follow the link to the RealAudio site. The free version should be all you need.

Index to Posted Remarks from Joint City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting on September 22, 2003
track:	speaker:	content:
01	Bob and Gary	Introductory remarks.
02	Gary	Explains that the plan is more like a constitution than a set of detailed statues.
06	Gary	Talks about the town's growth rate and how too much land is currently designated for single family homes.
08	Gary	Responds to a question by Craig about whether the consultants are merely reporting or advocating the plan and says that Gilbert residents value small town characteristics.
10	Gary	Refers to Gilbert's golden era in the past and talks about the current balance of housing and commercial enterprises in the town.
16	Gary	Talks about the Gilbert residents' desire for the town to be a viable institution.
20	Gary	Speaks about formalizing planning agreements with the county.
22	Gary	Talks about cooperation with the county.
23	Gary	Says that Gilbert will annex land to protect the integrity of its urban frame.
25	Gary	Explains one of the principles of the plan — a bias toward developing the infill first. Infill consists of those properties that are within the city limits but that have not yet been developed.
33	Gary	Talks about the emphasis on mixed density residential development.
34	Gary	Responds to a question from Craig and explains the need for balance in development in order to accommodate people who have adopted Gilbert and who want to continue to reside in the town.
35-36	Craig and Chris	Craig expresses a reservation about shutting down the development of single family homes. Chris comments on how the current development on the southern side of town consists entirely of single family homes.
38	Frank	Explains that the issues ultimately boil down to economics.
47	Gary	Talks about issues of developing the downtown area of Gilbert.
48	Gary	Explains the evolution of the rationale for the three percent growth rate.
51	Craig, Yvonne, Chris, and Dick	Craig suggests that the plans says "this is yours, Rich" in reference to the fact that the three percent growth rate in the plan favors the town's only developer. The other persons respond.
53-54	Gary	Talks about the low demand for single family homes in Gilbert and that the idea of the growth rate limit is to deal with the potential unbridled demand for single family homes in Gilbert.
55	Lynn	Speaks about the plan's intent to encourage diversity in housing.
57	Helen	Reminds the group that apartments are commercial property and taxed on 100 percent of their value while homes are taxed at something like 60 percent of their value.
62	Dick	Explains that there is a need in Gilbert to develop multi-family homes to ensure a healthy city budget.
63	Dick	Talks about the nature of modern developers.
64	Helen	Talks about the potential for residents of the new development to not identify with the core of Gilbert; the importance of a small town feel and fostering community spirit; and the need for healthy city finances to do some of those projects.
77	Bob, Helen, Gary	Bob begins to close the joint the session, but Helen asks about plans to educate the community regarding the plan. Gary responded that the consultants take their direction from the client and that they will do whatever the council directs. Bob said, "That’s what I guess will happen."

Review
The Planning and Zoning Commission has been working on the plan for at least four years, and we appreciate the work of its chairperson and members to deal with issues that are sometimes dry and tedious. However, these are important issues and the decisions about them have the potential to affect the quality of the Gilbert community far into the future.

Among other things, the plan includes a measure to restrict the growth of Gilbert's single family homes to 3 percent and to have an eventual cap on the number of such homes that can be built in Gilbert. The plan also designates the kinds of development that Gilbert would allow in various areas within the current city borders and on adjacent property.

At the P and Z meeting on September 9, chairperson Yvonne Wannemuehler announced that Rich Lepper is about ready to submit his proposed plans to build several more homes. The commission joked that Rich's plan would use up the 3 percent growth allotment for the next three years. One commission member quipped, "Rich wants to get in before the plan is approved." We don't believe this is a laughing matter. It is serious business.

The plan is not written in stone and could be altered if there was enough public concern and the council acted in reaction to that concern. There are supposed to be preview copies of the plan at city hall in the near future that people can examine. Also, the consultants once said they would post educational material about the plan on their web site. We hope they follow through on their word.

Concerned persons should study the plan, ask questions, and voice their opinions to individual city leaders and at commission and council meetings. For additional information, contact P and Z chairperson Yvonne Wannemuehler or commission members Dick DeMoss, Kurt Jensen, Steve Knutson, Merrill Swanson, Elaine Cox, or Frank Rydl.