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[0:17] » Good morning ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the Wednesday, February 18th,

[0:21] 2026 meeting of the Lake Havasu City Planning and Zoning Commission. If you'd

[0:25] please rise and join me for the Pledge of Allegiance.

[0:30] » I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the

[0:35] republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and

[0:41] justice for all.

[0:45] » [clears throat] >> Madam Secretary, would you please call

[0:49] the roll?

[0:52] » Commissioner Susanna Ballard. >> Present.

[0:55] » Commissioner Joan DeSerio. >> Here.

[0:57] » Commissioner Paul Lear. Vice Chair Tiffany Wilson.

[1:02] Commissioner Lonnie Stevenson. >> Here.

[1:04] » Chair Jim Harris. >> Here.

[1:06] » Commissioner Gabriel Medley. >> Here.

[1:08] » Commissioner Mary Costa. >> Here.

[1:10] » Commissioner [snorts] J.P. Thornton. >> Here.

[1:11] » Commissioner Phil Lanette. >> Okay, and let the record note that we

[1:17] have filled the two vacancy positions with Ms. Costa and Mr. Stevenson.

[1:23] All right, correspondence and announcements, Mr. Gilbert.

[1:26] » Uh thank you, Mr. Chairman.

[1:30] As you will see in the upcoming presentation, the draft 60-day comment

[1:35] period started on February 17th, which was yesterday for the general plan.

[1:40] Um >> [snorts]

[1:41] » we have no uh no other actions recently taken by

[1:45] council to update you guys on, so that's it for the uh correspondence and

[1:49] announcements.

[1:52] » Okay, uh minutes of the last meeting, are

[1:54] there any additions, deletions, corrections to those minutes by

[1:58] commissioners? I will entertain a motion then.

[2:02] » Mr. Chairman. >> Ms. Ballard.

[2:04] » Um I endure a motion that we approve the minutes of the January 21st, 2026

[2:09] planning and zoning as presented. >> We have a motion by Ms. Ballard, a

[2:14] second by Mr. Thornton to approve the minutes as written. Any further

[2:19] discussion? Seeing none, let's call for the

[2:21] question.

[2:37] » The motion to approve the minutes passes 7 to 0.

[2:41] » Okay, let me just start by saying that this is a public hearing and there is a

[2:44] structured order to this proceeding. The city staff will present each item. There

[2:47] will be time for the commission to ask questions of the staff and then the

[2:51] applicant will have the opportunity to present their case to the commission.

[2:55] That being done, we will then open the proceedings to the public for questions

[2:59] and input. I would ask that anyone of the public

[3:02] that wishes to speak limit their trips to the mic podium and microphone to one

[3:07] only, keep all comments to less than 3 minutes, and to stay on point not

[3:10] discuss subject matter that is not pertinent to the decision

[3:14] being presented here today. After public testimony is taken, I'll

[3:17] then close the public hearing and bring the motion back to the table for city

[3:21] staff's exceptions and conditions of approval, discussion amongst the

[3:24] commissioners, and eventually a motion to approve or disapprove. Thank you in

[3:27] advance for your cooperation. Today's On today's agenda, the first

[3:32] item is ID 26-5112. This is the 2026 general plan update

[3:38] progress report by Mr. Gilbert. >> Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and this item

[3:44] is an update. It will not require any action by the commission. Um

[3:50] Good morning to the planning commission, everyone joining us today. I'll be

[3:53] giving a brief update on the ongoing Lake Havasu City General Plan update.

[3:57] This presentation will cover process and schedule, participation update, next

[4:02] steps, and questions. For those participating for the first

[4:06] time, the General Plan update and the goals and objectives that will come from

[4:10] it serves as the long-range guide for the city's growth and development over

[4:14] the next decade and beyond. This update does not change the current

[4:19] development code or zoning map. Any future policy changes to those documents

[4:24] would require a formal notice legislative public hearing process.

[4:28] While such updates often follow a General Plan revision, it is far too

[4:32] early in the process to consider any amendments.

[4:40] From the beginning of this 2-year process and following the hiring of the

[4:44] consultant team from Logan Simpson Design, we established a public schedule

[4:48] to guide the timing and major milestones of the General Plan update.

[4:53] Steps 1, 2, and 3 are now complete. We are currently in step four, build, where

[4:58] draft chapters have been developed and reviewed by staff and the technical

[5:02] advisory committee, and the 60-day comment period has begun, and that was

[5:06] officially yesterday. The work completed so far in step four

[5:11] is the primary focus of today's presentation. Step five is well underway

[5:16] already, but is not yet developed enough to be at a point to include in this

[5:20] update.

[5:25] Engagement continues to be strong and consistent.

[5:29] » [snorts] >> Since our last update, we've expanded

[5:31] our reach outreach through pop-up events, in-person virtual workshops,

[5:35] social media, and local radio. The recent workshops focused on

[5:39] conforming confirming and refining the five aspirational statements, reviewing

[5:45] draft goals for each chapter, and exploring and validating the future land

[5:49] use map. Your following engagement summary was

[5:52] included in your agenda packet. I do have some copies up here on the

[5:57] dais for anyone in the audience that would like one. Just ask me after the

[6:00] meeting. It provides a brief overview the

[6:03] community events and outreach efforts and most importantly, it includes the

[6:07] workshop results that asked [snorts] residents whether each statement or goal

[6:11] reflects what they want for the future Lake Havasu City.

[6:15] Today, we've engaged more than 22,000 community members that sat from roughly

[6:20] 18,000 at our September 2025 update and participation continues to grow as we

[6:26] move into public review.

[6:33] The steering committee has continued to meet at key points throughout the

[6:35] process to review materials, provide guidance, and help ensure the general

[6:40] plan reflects community priorities. Our first meeting in June of 2025

[6:45] focused on foundational items including the general plan overview and the

[6:49] initial aspirational statements. This [snorts] set the stage for all the

[6:53] work that followed. At the second meeting in August 2025,

[6:57] the committee reviewed several major topic areas

[7:01] such as shoreline access, open space infrastructure, housing, and the draft

[7:06] goals objectives for each chapter. The third meeting in October 2025 built

[7:12] on that work. The committee reviewed revised

[7:15] aspirational statements and provided input on airport development, economic

[7:19] development, expanding housing options, shoreline access, and updated goals and

[7:24] objectives.

[7:27] A fourth meeting in February of 2026 saw the committee

[7:31] reviewing the draft general plan. >> [snorts]

[7:34] » This was their opportunity look at the full document provide guidance before it

[7:37] moves into public review.

[7:42] Since our last in September of 2025, development services staff and the

[7:47] consultant team have participated in several additional community events.

[7:51] These have been heavily attended and we've continued to reach a wide

[7:55] cross-section of residents through booths, pop-ups, and informal

[7:59] conversations. >> [snorts]

[8:01] » We also took advantage of the Havasu Resident Academy, using that opportunity

[8:04] to build a group of community champions who can help keep the spark alive during

[8:09] the waiting period leading up to ratification in November.

[8:14] Their involvement will be invaluable as we move into the final stages of the

[8:18] process.

[8:22] The second visioning workshop held at the end of October 2025 included both an

[8:27] in-person session and a virtual option, and it was widely advertised across

[8:32] radio, newspaper, city council meeting, social media, e-blast, and the city's

[8:37] website to ensure community awareness and participation.

[8:42] The workshop focused on several key components of the general plan update.

[8:46] Participants helped confirm and refine the five aspirational statements,

[8:51] reviewed draft goals for each chapter, and spent time exploring and validating

[8:55] the future land use map.

[8:59] The feedback gathered during this workshop has been especially valuable as

[9:03] it helped us test whether the draft goals and the emerging land use

[9:06] framework align with the community's long-term vision for Lake Havasu City.

[9:18] As we've reviewed input from workshops, drop-in events, surveys, and community

[9:22] discussions, several clear themes have emerged.

[9:25] These themes align directly with the chapters of the general plan and

[9:30] highlight what the community considers most important moving forward.

[9:35] And as you can see on the slide that's up on the screen right now,

[9:39] uh those five categories of balanced growth and land use, connected community

[9:44] and infrastructure, prosperous economy, cost of development, thriving

[9:48] residential areas and housing, and healthy environment, parks [snorts] and

[9:53] culture, and then some of the um and then some of the objectives under

[9:58] that.

[10:04] And then all the required elements mandated to be present in the general

[10:08] plan update per Arizona statutes are

[10:10] contained in those five themes.

[10:15] So, we actually advanced too fast. Let me go back to this.

[10:19] I'm going to highlight each of the themes individually with a few comments.

[10:23] Um theme one, balanced growth and land use.

[10:26] Public feedback emphasized shoreline access, open space preservation, along

[10:31] with sensitive growth and reinvestment priorities for the lake and the island.

[10:35] These remain essential to how residents envision future development.

[10:41] Theme two, connected community and infrastructure.

[10:44] Residents consistently highlighted the need for reliable, safe utilities, and

[10:49] public services, as well as complete streets, active transportation options,

[10:54] and [snorts] strong digital connectivity to support daily life and long-term

[10:58] growth. Theme three, prosperous economy and cost

[11:02] of development. We heard strong support for expanding health care capacity and

[11:07] the medical workforce, creating a supportive environment for local

[11:11] businesses, and ensuring fair share development

[11:14] costs as the city continues to grow. Theme four, thriving residential areas

[11:20] and housing. Committee members emphasized

[11:23] neighborhood character, diverse housing choices, and the importance of

[11:26] cleanliness, maintenance, and parking management residential areas.

[11:31] And finally, theme five, healthy environment, parks, and culture.

[11:35] Feedback also underscored the importance of protecting sensitive and high-risk

[11:39] areas, and continuing to invest in parks, recreation, arts that reflected

[11:44] identity and lifestyle of Lake Havasu City.

[11:49] These themes are shaping the draft chapters and guiding the goals and

[11:52] policies that will appear in the draft general plan.

[12:01] Let's talk about next steps.

[12:05] January and February of this year, the project team, uh technical advisory

[12:09] committee, and the general plan steering committee completed the review of the

[12:13] draft document, and it was placed on the 60-day comment review period on February

[12:18] 17th, which was yesterday.

[12:21] From February 17th to April 17th, 60-day review period for the complete document

[12:28] is underway. On February 25th, a 60-day open house is

[12:34] scheduled at the Mohave County Library from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

[12:38] Uh there are some brochures outside the entrance to this meeting room that you

[12:43] can pick up on your way out uh that are invites to that open house, and

[12:49] I'll also have some extra copies up here if you want to see me after the meeting.

[12:55] May 6th and May 20th, planning commission hearings.

[12:58] That's those are tentative dates, and then June 9th would be the tentative day

[13:03] for city council to act on the general plan update and to uh uh bind it over it

[13:09] for vote of the people in November, and then of course, November ballot voter

[13:14] ratification uh is required. Mr. Chairman, my presentation is now

[13:20] concluded, and I would be happy to answer any questions that you may have

[13:24] and the >> Any of the commissioners have questions

[13:27] of Mr. Gilbert? Mrs. Zero. >> I just a couple on the aspirational

[13:31] statements. I know those are high-level statements to compare and but did people

[13:36] when they were giving us our feedback on the prosperous economy indicate it

[13:40] seemed like they were indicating they want more mom-and-pop type businesses

[13:44] versus big box things coming into that did they give you any indication in that

[13:49] area? >> Um we we heard a wide range of desires

[13:54] including some of the a lot of desire for some of the big box

[13:57] not big boxes some of the popular names like Olive

[14:01] Garden, Chick-fil-A. So, there's a lot of national chains that did come up in

[14:05] the discussions. There wasn't a whole lot of interest expressed for like the

[14:10] really big stores. It was mostly the the types of stores that [snorts] we do

[14:15] not have here yet that other cities have that a lot of our residents are desiring

[14:20] including more local businesses. Yes. >> Okay. Thank you. And the other last one

[14:24] on the healthy environment were they indicating that the 17 parks that we

[14:29] have are adequate for them or did they indicate they wanted more or more of

[14:33] their attention on the shoreline of the lake that they were doing?

[14:37] » Uh there were it was a comprehensive look

[14:41] but the shoreline because of the waterfront project dominated the

[14:44] discussion clearly. Uh and I think rightfully so because the

[14:50] shoreline has been forefront for 30 years now and it takes something like

[14:56] this to remind everyone that preservation of it's important.

[15:03] » Any other questions my commissioners?

[15:07] Thank you, Mr. Gilbert. Um at this time I'd open it up to the

[15:11] public if there's anybody wishes to speak or ask questions.

[15:16] Please come to the microphone, state your name for the record.

[15:20] » Uh my name's Emiliano Torres. I am a resident and I'm also on the

[15:24] steering committee. Which I would relabel a focus group. We

[15:30] have done no steering. All we give is our inputs. We don't know

[15:34] where those inputs go and we don't know how they're weighted. From day one, I

[15:39] have been asking for the sources of the information.

[15:43] Because the sources mean a whole lot. We could have one segment of the population

[15:48] or one business that could provide an overweighted

[15:52] input to the plan.

[15:56] Uh, if you could go to slide, I believe it's number seven.

[16:00] Which shows, uh, >> [snorts]

[16:02] » uh, the witch talking to the crowd.

[16:08] Th- That picture right there. You have been told that these meetings have been

[16:13] well received. Well, if you look at that picture,

[16:17] this was a two two corporate workshops, each about two hours long.

[16:21] » [snorts] >> You'll notice that's me on the far right

[16:23] in the plaid shirt. The witch, who's a member of the

[16:27] consultants, she's talking to the newspaper reporter from Bullhead City

[16:32] with her daughter. And there's one other individual looking at the charts.

[16:37] That's it for two hours. And there were two of those meetings. So, they have not

[16:43] been well attended. That's That's not true.

[16:47] Uh, I have Again, I've been repeatedly asked for inputs to who are presenting

[16:52] these inputs. Because

[16:55] I know I have my limited exposure. And I would like to know who is saying

[17:00] what. Uh,

[17:03] and what adds insult to injury for me, and this is a personal thing.

[17:07] The last meeting we had, and as we get farther on, these meetings are

[17:11] important, the consultant couldn't even bother to attend. Her and her staff

[17:16] presented their, uh, or guided our way through the meeting

[17:20] via Zoom. I can understand going to Zoom if you

[17:24] can't be there for any one of you individually, but for that whole

[17:28] contracted activity not to be there, to be bothered to attend the meeting

[17:33] physically, I find disappointing. I'm going to be attending a HOA

[17:39] meeting in a in a month or so and I'll present

[17:43] my opinion. And my opinion would be read the plan very carefully and unless

[17:50] I see some major changes, I would vote no.

[17:53] Uh it doesn't represent what the community wants. The communities are the

[17:57] residents. Now the business part does have a input, but I think residents

[18:03] should have an influence, not particular organizations.

[18:08] Thank you very much. >> Any questions of Mr. Torres?

[18:11] » I have a statement. Uh I guess you didn't see me that day, but I was

[18:15] actually at that meeting as well. >> you.

[18:18] » And also I brought a couple of people with me who went through and made some

[18:22] comments on that. So there wasn't just you at the meeting. Um I was just

[18:26] observing, but I did bring a couple of residents who then did make some

[18:29] comments on it. >> At the workshops?

[18:31] » Yeah, at this one that you mentioned with the witch. We were there and came

[18:35] through, so I must have missed you. Maybe you were at the restroom or

[18:38] something. >> if you if you recall, it was not very

[18:40] well attended. It was it was sparse. >> We were only there for a few minutes,

[18:44] but that's we were there. >> There were more staff people than there

[18:47] were residents. >> And what's your answer to that?

[18:52] » My answer the answer to that is uh

[18:56] the people running this thing aren't doing their job.

[19:00] » How so? >> Uh they're soliciting inputs that uh

[19:06] guide people to answer the way the the questionnaire is is presented. Like I

[19:12] like I said, let me see who answered the questions and I don't need to need no

[19:16] individuals. I don't need to know personal information.

[19:19] But I'd like to know who presented the where the

[19:23] inputs came from. Uh a date.

[19:27] Uh did they all come from one source?

[19:30] Uh there's a number of things that you

[19:32] could find out uh just by

[19:37] finding out uh let's say what time of day these all

[19:40] these inputs came in. All these inputs came in at you know let's say between

[19:44] 10:00 and 11:00, I would say there was a meeting and the boss told everybody to

[19:48] put an input. That would be you know that's not the general public.

[19:56] » Thank you. >> Um Mr. Chairman oh I'm sorry.

[19:59] What are some of the items on here that you don't think align with what with the

[20:04] community? >> there's an over influence on tourism.

[20:08] » Over influence on tourism? >> Yes, sir.

[20:13] » And that's that's your opinion. >> That's my opinion and to support that uh

[20:17] on one of the slides not here but a slide we were given and went on the the

[20:21] plan, they show uh I'd say 14 or 12 possibly

[20:27] uh inputs from organizations that they uh received inputs from.

[20:32] And of those organizations, I think half of them were tourism related.

[20:37] And I'd like to know what those inputs were.

[20:41] Uh were were they overly weighted? I don't know.

[20:46] » All right, thank you. Any other questions?

[20:50] » Mr. Chairman. Uh

[20:52] Mr. Torres spoke at council a few weeks ago and made the same comments and two

[20:57] of the other steering committee members were present for another hearing and

[21:01] they disputed Mr. Torres' characterizations characterizations in

[21:06] their testimony. >> Thank you, sir.

[21:09] » Thank you.

[21:13] » Yes, sir, Mr. Tunaman. >> Mr. Chairman, Planning Commission, Jeff

[21:16] Tunaman, Public Services Director. I would just like to add that uh Mr.

[21:20] Torres talked about our uh steering committee that we had a couple weeks ago

[21:24] um that our consultant was virtual. That is correct. However, I'd like to add

[21:28] that there was six development services staff present at that meeting, including

[21:34] some other council members were there at that meeting, some planning commission

[21:38] members, um and I just like to add that to um

[21:42] to clarify that for you for the record. Thank you.

[21:46] » Thank you. Any questions of uh Mr. Tunaman?

[21:49] Thank you, Jeff. Is there anybody else who wishes to

[21:52] speak on this item? Anybody at all? Please come forward, state your name for

[21:56] the record. >> [snorts]

[22:11] » Good morning.

[22:15] One I don't know

[22:19] even know what the general plan is.

[22:21] Sometimes I still feel like I I don't understand what the general

[22:26] Um I was going to I attended both of those

[22:29] workshops because

[22:32] in 2016 when

[22:35] we did the whole process last time

[22:38] I didn't understand what a general plan was then

[22:43] that I was even supposed to be part of it, much less that I had a vote in it.

[22:48] I don't know if you have if

[22:52] the thing is one person I spoke to I spoke

[22:55] to someone someone from

[22:57] the City Council level who

[22:59] who believes that it's the job of the

[23:02] uh people that you guys hired

[23:05] to inform the public. But um

[23:08] I don't It may be, but

[23:10] I also believe that it's everybody's job to

[23:13] try to inform people.

[23:15] If you want to include your community that you currently live in,

[23:19] then it's their job to do that to whatever ability that you're able

[23:24] And um which

[23:26] is different for each person.

[23:30] I mean, you don't know how many of

[23:33] the company that you have hired is

[23:36] giving the message out about the general plan

[23:41] to the employees who work at

[23:44] any business, to

[23:47] the people who are uh riding the bus all day,

[23:50] to the to the

[23:53] high school students who are senior students who are turning

[23:57] 18 before November and get to vote

[24:01] in November. But,

[24:03] how many employees have been reached?

[24:06] Do they even know what a general plan is?

[24:09] And they have a whole future.

[24:12] And they're part of our future in our city and our town.

[24:16] And if we want them to be participating in that,

[24:20] how are you going to get How is your the company that you hired to

[24:24] work on reach out to them? Do they even get the message?

[24:28] But, I don't know the number from 2016.

[24:31] And if they didn't participate in 2016, I didn't even know you needed

[24:35] to. I wanted to. I saw news of the news reports here and

[24:39] there, and they looked

[24:40] really great. And you guys developed that whole region

[24:45] in 2020.

[24:48] I wanted to be part of that, but I wasn't.

[24:51] And that's why I've been trying to participate in the recent campaign.

[24:55] All of the new updates, because I want to know, but I'm only one

[24:59] person.

[25:37] » Thank you. >> Mr. Chair,

[25:40] just a quick note for you and the commission members. So, when we engaged

[25:45] with the consultant, part of what's required by the state statutes is that

[25:48] we come up with a plan. How are we going to let people know about the general

[25:52] plan? What are all the events? What are all the things? What are all the steps

[25:55] that we're going to take to try to engage the community?

[25:58] There's an extensive plan, and the consultant is following that plan that

[26:02] has been approved, that is a part of of their scope of work.

[26:07] What is impossible is to force people to participate. I mean, just look at how

[26:12] many people show up to any anything, a council meeting, something that you

[26:16] think is major that's happening within the city. We can't force people to be

[26:20] interested, and we can't force them to respond, and we can't force them to

[26:23] engage, but the amount of participation that we are getting is good. It is

[26:28] positive, and it's it's probably better than than what's

[26:34] being forecasted or what's being discussed in front of you today.

[26:38] It just comes down to to any How do you How do you get more people to

[26:43] participate? How do you get more people to vote? How do you get more people to

[26:47] care about the community? The people that do have something to say are saying

[26:51] something. Those that aren't saying something are actually telling you

[26:54] something. They're telling you that they're okay with what's going on. They

[26:57] don't necessarily have a big complaint to get out then and maybe voice,

[27:01] possibly, or they're not engaged. But it's not for not want of trying, right?

[27:06] Like it's on social media. It's being broadcasted when people get on the

[27:10] radio. It's on uh going out in the newspaper. We're giving updates like

[27:14] this. Um So, I understand I understand the

[27:18] frustration. I understand the frustration of people making the

[27:21] comments, but at what point what what else do you have

[27:25] to offer? >> Thank you for your clarification from

[27:29] the city perspective. Anybody else?

[27:33] » Um >> Please Please come forward, state your

[27:35] name for the record. >> [snorts]

[28:08] » the city council meeting, I went over to the um

[28:13] the other office where the planning and zoning commission resides.

[28:18] But I think if you put it on front page news, it's all a question of

[28:22] advertising. If you don't advertise it, they're not going to come.

[28:27] » Thank you. >> Mr. Chair,

[28:31] in the appendix, there is a list of some things that we've done to get the word

[28:36] out, and some of that is included. Like we've had it in the best bets. We've had

[28:39] our open house in the best bet section of the paper listed. We've taken flyers

[28:43] to the senior center, to the community college. Um I've reached out to HOAs to

[28:48] share that. So, you can see that when you look at the draft, there'll be an

[28:51] appendix of different venues and resources and community groups that

[28:55] we've looked out you know, reached out to as well.

[28:59] » Thank you. For the record, that was Ms. Hennigan.

[29:02] » And uh Mr. Chairman, one one final comment on that matter that brought up

[29:06] about participation. The most recent event that Shelby and I both attended

[29:11] was Winterfest. We were in the in the the park off of McCollough, right in the

[29:17] in the the tent for the that had the other city departments.

[29:21] And [snorts] we asked everyone coming through if they were local residents,

[29:24] you know, Half a Soo, or if they were out visitors.

[29:27] And so, we did not of course uh talk about the general plan with visitors cuz

[29:32] they have no invested interest. Uh

[29:35] » [snorts] >> we reached 130 people

[29:37] that were local residents and handed out brochures and swag.

[29:41] And uh again, that comes back to the point

[29:44] that none of them are here. And it

[29:49] through [snorts] that process that which I personally been involved in and and

[29:52] Shelby and some of our other staff, we've reached [snorts] hundreds hundreds

[29:55] hundreds of people in person and encouraging them to attend. So,

[30:01] uh uh as our city attorney said, we can talk

[30:05] to large numbers of people, but that

[30:09] doesn't mean they're interested in the subject or that um they see that there's

[30:13] any reason for them to take their time to come down to participate, apparently.

[30:18] So, uh we've used every method that we have

[30:22] available through email, through the paper, doing write-ups, through

[30:28] handouts, flyers, um uh

[30:30] » [snorts] >> swag, talking to We've talked to many

[30:32] neighborhood groups. Uh I have myself talked to many

[30:36] neighborhood groups. Um it just at some point, there's

[30:41] there's only so much you can do as a small staff

[30:44] with using email blurbs and blasts and the press.

[30:49] That's the best you can do compared to my last general plan

[30:54] effort, which was not here, it's a different city in

[30:58] in Missouri. Um

[31:00] the that was the pre-internet era and we had about 150 people that got involved

[31:07] total out of 26,000. So, this is not unusual. There's a lot

[31:11] of this that goes on, no matter how much you argue and yell with people to show

[31:18] up and participate and give their opinion.

[31:21] They're only going to do that if that's what they want to do and and every

[31:24] community is the same when it comes to that. But, you're going to have very low

[31:27] turnout. I'd like to point to midterm elections

[31:31] as well, which traditionally have in in the low 20% range for turnout out

[31:37] of registered voters. And what is the rest of them? They, for

[31:41] whatever reason, didn't feel the need to be there and that's what's happening

[31:44] here. >> Thank you, Mr. Gilbert.

[31:48] Mr. Stevenson. >> Mr. Gilbert, earlier in the presentation

[31:53] and I believe in our materials, there's a stat that says that there has been

[31:58] over 21,000 views and engagement online. Uh to to to me, that's a a lot of

[32:06] participation and a lot of views and I think that's why I and you're going to

[32:10] have a lot of diversity there. I understand if there was maybe a couple

[32:14] hundred, one group could maybe influence, but 22,000,

[32:19] I I just from my perspective, that seems

[32:22] like we've done pretty good. >> And now, I want to qualify that our

[32:27] consultant, which the website that's set up, our consultant's only able to to a

[32:33] point tell where these where these hits are coming from. Um

[32:40] some of them are probably snowbirds and outsiders and visitors. We We recognize

[32:44] that, but the vast majority of them, given Havasu's uh

[32:49] uh geographic location, it's probably not going to draw a lot of

[32:53] a lot of interest outside of the region and

[32:57] and people that have a connection here. So, we believe that most of these are

[33:01] legitimately the people who live here, have second homes, snowbirds, and thus

[33:05] have some kind of involvement in the community.

[33:10] » Mr. Chair >> I I would underscore that. 22,000 hits

[33:13] is a That's That's a bunch. >> Um Mr. Chair

[33:16] » Ms. Zuro >> There was a question as to what we in

[33:18] the Planning Commission have done. I can tell you what I've done, which is when

[33:21] we had these initial flyers, handed them out to everybody I could I reached out

[33:25] to over 100 people based on different clubs I was in. Um I've attended as many

[33:30] of these as I can and brought friends with me um so that they could make their

[33:34] comments known as to what they were interested in or not. Um and I would

[33:39] tried as best I can to put on my social media to forward out any of the meeting

[33:43] stuff. So, I have been trying to make sure that the word gets out to the

[33:46] community um cuz we do want their feedback. We want to know cuz that's

[33:50] going to guide our decisions that's coming up. We want to make sure that

[33:53] we're in alignment with what the people want to do. So.

[33:57] » Any other comments? All right, hearing none, I'll go ahead

[34:01] and close the public hearing portion of this item. Bring it back to Mr. Gilbert.

[34:09] » Uh thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is a non-action item. This is uh just an

[34:13] update. Again, the 60-day draft document uh public comment period. And here's

[34:19] another opportunity for the public to to uh view the draft document and provide

[34:25] public comment. Uh [snorts] 60 days from yesterday until uh technically the

[34:30] closure date, looks like it's going to be uh

[34:33] uh April 18th be the final [snorts] day that

[34:37] that that 60-day window be open. So, here's an opportunity to look at the

[34:41] document and provide your comments. >> Thank you, Mr. Gilbert.

[34:47] We do not have anything else on the agenda except for the call to the

[34:50] public. This is where anybody can address the commission about any subject

[34:54] whatsoever. We may not respond. So, is there anybody that wishes to address the

[35:00] commission?

[35:03] Again, please state your name for the record.

[35:07] » Bonnie Toy. And I would just like to recommend

[35:12] again and reiterate the need for um the planning and zoning department.

[35:18] And I don't know if it is the planning and zoning department's part or

[35:23] responsibility or where it would go from there.

[35:26] Um for

[35:29] making our city more handicap accessible and verifying that handicap

[35:34] accessibility is uh

[35:38] correct in where wherever. I'm assuming that I know that when you guys have

[35:44] plans that come up and forwarded to you that you look through them and you go,

[35:48] "Oh, yeah, that's done. That's But then you're assuming

[35:52] that the person building the property didn't

[35:56] change anything at the last minute or didn't adjust things. And I don't know

[36:01] if you guys check that part out afterwards.

[36:05] But there's also just the I don't know about the safe

[36:09] You're guys are probably not the ones responsible for like potholes that

[36:13] people have to walk through or drive through. But um there's there are a lot

[36:18] of issues when it comes to the safety and um

[36:23] of different complexes and the whole all of it.

[36:28] So, I just want to reiterate that we should it

[36:32] the American Disabilities Act is a minimal requirement, not a maximum

[36:37] requirement, and we can always do more even if they're just simple easy things

[36:42] like lowering the height of a curb. The curb doesn't have to be a block high to

[36:47] step up onto. And when people have walking issues,

[36:51] it's nicer to have a lower curb. Just want to say that. Thanks.

[36:56] » Thank you, Bonnie.

[37:02] Emiliano Torres, resident. I just need to make a comment concerning the city

[37:07] attorney's comments. They went beyond legal, they went to personal. They

[37:11] should not be included as a legal uh

[37:14] perspective. They should have been brought up at the

[37:17] mic cuz they were

[37:20] not legal opinions, but personal. Thank you. Thank you.

[37:24] Anybody else that wishes to address the commission at call to the public?

[37:29] Seeing none. Oh, well, please come forward state your name for the record.

[37:34] » Deborah Hunter. And

[37:37] um I attended Desert Storm event last year.

[37:41] And I it was so dark on you know, they should have

[37:47] fluorescent paint on the curbs. I don't know how many people fall, break a hip,

[37:52] get hit by a car. It's just a nightmare waiting to happen. I'm a retired X-ray

[37:58] tech from North Dakota. I've X-rayed

[38:01] X-rayed people that fall off. You know, it could be an accident. They may have

[38:05] had too much to drink, but it's a nightmare just traversing the city after

[38:10] dark. You don't need streetlights, but it even

[38:15] some fluorescent paint along the curbs would

[38:18] you know, you could probably get volunteers to paint it for you.

[38:22] » Thank you. Anybody else who wishes to address the

[38:26] commission? Seeing none, I'll go ahead and close the

[38:29] public hearing portion of the meeting. Bring it back to the table for future

[38:34] meetings.

[38:39] » Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So, the the next planning and zoning

[38:43] commission meeting scheduled for Wednesday, March 4th has been canceled.

[38:48] And as it sits right now, the next regularly

[38:52] scheduled meeting to be held will be on Wednesday, March 18th, 2026.

[38:58] » All right. Thank you, everybody. We stand

[39:00] adjourned.

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