The Holbrook Planning and Zoning Commission met last week with Chair Mike Sample, and commissioners Trent Larson, Aaron Colon and Buddy Dupee in person and commissioner David Smith present telephonically. Also in attendance were a room full of citizens eager to learn about a proposed detoxification center for the storefront building located at 261 Navajo Blvd.
Knudson and Penrod presented on behalf of Western States Developing, a company owned by Penrod, requesting a conditional use permit, stating the proposed use of the facility would house a 16 to 20 bed detox facility. “This is going to be medically supervised detox for drugs and alcohol. What it entails is medical supervision of a doctor or nurse staff, behavioral health technicians in a 24-hour secured environment,” stated Knudson. He added that the clientele would be individuals struggling with substance use disorders and that the stay at the facility would be from seven to 10 days.
“The conditions of release from the detox facility are placement into a continuing institution, like an in-patient treatment center. So, before they can be released, they would have to have that next level of care coordinated. They could not be released into the streets just to wander the public,” stated Knudson.
Chairman Mike Sample asked if Western States Developing would be leasing or purchasing the building, to which Knudson replied that would be determined on the outcome of the decision by the commission.
Larson asked where the people being treated would be coming from and it was stated by Knudson and Penrod that it would be local individuals, but added that it would also be those coming from the jails and the judicial system.
Larson said that his biggest concern was the location. “It’s an odd location to try to put a facility of this type because you’re right there at the center of where other businesses might be attracted to a downtown area.
When asked the number of employees that it would take to run a facility of that size, Knudson stated there would be between four and five employees at the facility at any given moment. To this, Larson expressed concern for parking at that location, given the proximity to the Sheriff’s Office, Gillespie Park and the Head Start Preschool, and the fact that the front door opens just four feet from the busiest street in the city.
It was noted that the square footage of the building is less than 4,000 square feet. Commission Colon wanted to know the use of the space, the number of restrooms and what it would look like in a storefront with a glass front facing a main street.
Knudson confessed that the day of the meeting was the first time he had seen the property and seemed uncertain of not only where it was located but how the space would be allocated within the space provided. “The main intent of tonight was to hear from you guys, what it is you’re looking for, what is it that would be ideal for you and go from there, whether we move forward with this building or not,” he stated.
It was noted by all of the commissioners that a lot of the issue was not with the presenter but the application process. The application requests few details and no materials that would inform the commission in advance of what was being asked.
Commissioner Smith noted that all requests should have been in writing, not just verbally presented. “We’re supposed to be able to look at this before we even get to the meeting. I don’t think they’ve met the requirements. Second, there’s no site plan. That has not been met. We can’t even look at what their plan is. We also have a Stantec (Engineering) community-wide development plan that we’ve been planning on, how is that impacted? Last is for medical building codes, we should have a fire marshal look over all this stuff. We should have someone to have already looked at this before we even get to this meeting. My biggest concern is what’s required here, isn’t here.” Smith motioned to table the item until all the material is available in order to ask the right questions and make a decision.
Before a second to the motion was requested, the public was invited to address the commission with their opinions on the propose of the facility. Citizens who addressed the commission included, Nancy Barela, JoAnne DeWitt, Bill Jeffers, Leslie Laird, Leo Maestas, Mark Romo, Francie Payne, Pat Pogue, as well as Tanisha Gamez with the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Reentry, Janelle Linn, public health director with Navajo County Public Health and Dawn Wilson, Navajo County criminal justice coordinator.
A majority of those who spoke supported the facility’s purpose and acknowledged the need for such a facility, but not the location of the building. Other concerns expressed were the business model and the ability for the community to house employees for the facility due to the housing shortage, and the impact on EMS and police.
It was noted that other facilities of a similar nature have already been established at the north end of town off of Hermosa Drive. Commissioner Larson recommended the dormitories built at the former site of Northland Pioneer College that are owned by the city, which is also located on Hermosa Drive be a consideration for the presenters.
After a lengthy discussion, the motion to table the request failed to gain a second and died on the floor. Another motion was made to decline the request, which was approved by all commission members. It was noted by Planning and Zoning Administrator Joseph Jarvis, that it is the responsibility of city administration to determine if the emergency services within the city have the capacity to support a detox center or other similar facilities before such items come before the commission and that was not done. It was requested that applications include a written statement of the project, a site plan, an impact study, and ensure it coordinates with the Stantec Community Plan.
Penrod addressed the commission and those present stating, “Thank you for all your comments, I understand where you’re coming from.” He stated that after going through recovery himself, and experiencing business success he wants to give back to the communities. “I want to have one person achieve what I’ve achieved and be able to prosper.”
Penrod agreed that a new location will need to be sought in town and added that if the application had requested additional information, it would have been provided before requesting to come before the commission. Knudson stated that he would be happy to supply all the information requested with the next application.
Another item on the agenda was a request by Kelly Hatch, who was seeking approval for a conditional use permit for the development of an RV park to be located in the light industrial district between Commerce Avenue and West Vista Drive, west of Navajo Blvd. In her proposal, Hatch stated that she sought to create a small RV park that would have concrete pads, landscaping and paved roads.
Sample informed Hatch that on the application it states that the parcel is zoned C-2 (Commercial) and C-1, but on the agenda provided by the city it states that it is zoned I-1 (Light Industrial) and C-2. On the zoning map it is actually I-1, not C-2. “They misinformed you,” he said. On the parcel map it does show a small sliver is C-2, but it’s only along the easement. A RV park is not allowed in I-1, even under a conditional use permit.
Jeffers also spoke as a member of the public during this request in support of the project but expressing concerns for the inaccuracies in the county records. “I pulled the parcel and so the application says .21 acres but that parcel is 2.51 acres, so that’s wrong. It also has Jack Young’s Trust not Mrs. Hatch as the owner. It took me two minutes to find that out. But this letter came out the way it is. So, what was presented to you tonight, isn’t even valid.” He also noted that land sold in that area by the city was sold with covenants to those deeds, mandates that had to be fulfilled within a certain time frame. None of those covenants were held accountable. “The city needs to change its philosophy and determine what it wants.”
The request was denied but the commission suggested that Hatch should come back before the commission to request a zone change to C-2. As a C-2 property, the RV park would be permitted automatically and Hatch would not be required to come back before the commission again, only to work with the city. A request was also made by the commission for the city to not charge an additional fee for a new application as the error in zoning should have been discovered when the application was submitted.
The remaining items on the agenda were for discussion only and included:
* Discussion on City Code 1-6-1 C, removal from office on the commission by two-thirds vote of the council with parameters for removal to be determined.
* The Urban Residential District, a plan to determine more housing availability in downtown by perhaps creating another zone.
* Modification to R-7, R-10 and R-14 as no zones are labeled R-14, with a recommendation to perhaps remove that code.
* A text amendment to C-2, recommended by Stantec Engineering to modify the language to allow apartments and other urban scale residential projects as permitted use, taking it out of conditional use permit.
* Expanding Historic Overlay, and to include specific attributes as recommended by the commission to any improvements and new construction within the determined Historic Overlay.
It was determined that a work session would be scheduled to discuss each of those items in depth before putting them to a vote to be considered by the city council.
