[0:01] [music]
[0:06] [music]
[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.