Two final plats hit snags at hearings
Two subdivision final plats ran into hiccups during the Yuma Planning and Zoning Commission public hearings Monday.
Dahl, Robins and Associates, on behalf of Saguaro Desert Development, requested approval of the final plat for the Saguaro Unit No. 3 Subdivision, located at the northwest corner of South Avenue 8E and East 44th Street. The developer wants to divide 29 acres into 136 residential lots, ranging in size from about 6,234 square feet to 9,923 square feet.
City staff recommended
approval with the condition that the developer post 10 percent of the cost of the public infrastructure construction as assurance through the end of the oneyear subdivision warranty period.
Development Engineering Manager Andrew McGarvie said the money would be used to “motivate” the developer to repair deficiencies to infrastructure such as sidewalk cracks. If the developer failed to complete the repairs, then the city would use the money to do them.
McGarvie explained that city staff wanted to impose the condition due to problems with unrepaired deficiencies in another of the developer’s subdivisions, Park West, including cracks around manholes, streets, gutters, sidewalks and handicap ramps “that are falling apart.”
“We’re trying to stop the public from funding the repairs,” McGarvie noted.
Attorney John Weil, who represents the builder Hall’s General Contractor, objected to the condition, calling it “unfair,” and said that the $250,000 would add another $1,700 per home. He explained that the proposed condition stems from a “minor dispute” with the city. He noted that Hall’s has built more than 4,000 homes and more than 20 subdivisions in Yuma and occasionally disputes arise but they are usually resolved quickly during meetings with city staff.
This situation has not been resolved due to a change in inspection standards, primarily having to do with sidewalks, since the arrival of new City Engineer Jeff Kramer, Weil said. At that time, inspectors started requiring “near perfection” and “all sidewalks starting failing” although the developer was still building them to the same standards.
Some infrastructure that had already been inspected and accepted were reinspected and failed. They were looking for “the smallest, tiniest crack” and “went crazy looking for any kind of defect,” Weil said.
He added that the developer has always fixed problems that occur within the one-year warranty period.
He asked the commission to apply the standard procedure and not set a precedent. He also pointed out that the city shouldn’t discriminate subdivisions because of problems with other projects.
Vice Chairman Tyrone Jones said he was “concerned” that the assurance condition would set a precedent and then it would have to be required by all developers to avoid discrimination.
Commissioner Tiffany Ott asked whether the city had received complaints from residents. McGarvie replied that, yes, Park West residents had complained about sidewalk “tripping hazards.”
He acknowledged that some repairs might not have been done because the developer is so busy and suggested that action be postponed so staff could meet with the developer to work out the issue.
However, Weil said they would never agree to the 10 percent assurance and that he would rather have the commission approve the final plat without the condition.
Jones reiterated that he doesn’t want to impose the condition on every developer, but at the same time he doesn’t want the public to pay for repairs that should be done by developers.
Commissioner Fred Dammeyer made a motion recommending approval of the final plat with the conditions suggested by staff. However, no one else seconded the motion and it died.
Jones then made a motion to recommend approval of the final plat without the assurance condition. The commission voted 3-1, with Dammeyer casting the sole “nay” vote.
In the second case involving a final plat, Colvin Engineering, on behalf of Terraces Business Park AZ for the Terraces West Subdivision, plans to divide 6.67 acres into 15 residential lots ranging in size from 10,242 square feet to 40,586 square feet. The property is located north of Interstate 8, west of the Terraces Two at the View Subdivision.
The original design for the subdivision, then referred to as “The Cove,” included residential development almost spanning the entire distance of Avenue 5E to Araby Road.
However, the developer ran into a hiccup when the Yuma Fire Department determined that the secondary fire access did not adequately meet code standards.
According to a staff report, secondary access is an issue because this development is on the western edge of the existing Terraces neighborhood. Two paved roads were constructed to provide access into the Terraces neighborhood, but the two roads converge into one roadway, and that one roadway is what provides access to the western portion of the existing neighborhood and the new residences proposed. This leaves one way into this section of the Terraces and only one way out, and these new proposed homes are farthest from where the roadways converge.
“As such, if the entry or any part of the roadway to the west of the convergence is blocked, the fire department would be unable to enter this area of the Terraces and provide service or tardy in providing service,” the report says.
However, Alyssia Linville, a city principal planner, said that the builder, Elliott Homes, has now agreed to construct a secondary fire access with an “all-weather driving surface,” maintain the roadway for one year and then provide a maintenance fee to the city totalling $10,500 for maintenance of the secondary fire access roadway for the following four years.
The commission approved recommendation of the final plat with a 4-0 vote.
Both final plats will now go to the City Council for final approval.