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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1988-02-08 BOA MINUTES BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS 1001 NORTH IDAHO ROAD APACHE JUNCTION, ARIZONA FEBRUARY 8, 1988 7.00 P.M. WORK SESSION ON AGENDA ITEMS AT 6 45 P.M. PRESENT ABSENT GUESTS Mrs. Blatterspiel Mr. Schaffer List in Mrs. Castro Planning Mrs. Lynch Office Mr. Pfeifer Mr. Sanchez, Chairman Mr. Dunn, Staff Mr. Nakagawa, Staff Mr. Newcomer, Executive Secretary Mrs. Pruitt, Recording Secretary SYNOPSIS Agenda for February 8, 1988 approved as submitted. Minutes for January 11, 1988 approved as submitted. BA-7-87 approved 1. Roll Call five members present with one absent as shown above. 2. Chairman asked for motion to approve agenda dated February 8, 1988. 3. Blatterspiel/Castro M/S "I make a motion we approve the agenda for February 8, 1988. " Motion passed 5-0-0. 4. Chairman asked for motion to approve minutes dated January 11, 1988. 5. Castro/Pfeifer M/S "I make a motion we approve the minutes dated January 11, 1988. " Motion passed 5-0-0. 6. Chairman opened public hearing on BA-75-87 and asked staff to brief the Board. BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MINUTES FEBRUARY 8, 1988 PAGE TWO 7. Mr. Dunn briefed Board on BA-7-8, an application of Larry R. Sanders and Superior Training Services for a Temporary Use Permit to conduct basic training of Heavy Equipment Operators, including the erection of temporary field classrooms, an equipment compound to store heavy equipment and practice grading and earthmoving. The property is located on the northeast corner of Idaho Road and Baseline Avenue. He then showed a video of the subject site, the compounds and the buildings. 8. Chairman asked if the Board had any questions of staff. 9. Board asked what was between the four small buildings and the equipment compound. 10. Mr. Dunn replied open space 11. Chairman asked if applicant was present and cared to address the Board. 12. Larry Sanders said he is the campus administrator of Superior Training Services. He explained Superior Training is a nationwide company with schools in Arizona, California, Indiana, Florida, Pennsylvania and Texas. Their gross revenue for whole company last year was $60 million. In the Apache Junction heavy equipment school , they trained about 1300 students. They calculate that approximately $1,176,000 revenue was brought into Apache Junction proper. That includes their spending, operational costs for site and student spending. They are community-minded and have assisted several charitable organi- zations and the City of Apache Junction by using their backhoes in ground-breaking ceremonies for the Animal Control Shelter They are there to train their students, to cooperate with the community in any way possible and to be an asset rather than a problem. 13. Chairman asked Board if they had any questions of applicant. 14. Board asked if Superior Training had been previously operating without a permit. BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MINUTES FEBRUARY 8, 1988 PAGE THREE 15. Larry Sanders replied the movable administrative buildings had been sitting in the county, and they had been operating the school on county land. It was determined by the county they were operating too closely to a mobile home park, so they moved their operations onto land in the city. They thought they would only be there a short while and did not realize they needed to get permits from the city. When they applied for an address to get power to their equipment compound, they discovered they needed to comply with the city regulations and get permits. 16. Board asked what were Superior Training Services ' plans at the end of the 9-month period. 17. Larry Sanders said they had hoped to find a location in Apache Junction in which to locate their heavy equipment school , primarily because they feel the community is excellent as far as services and housing is concerned. Hopefully, at the end of 9 months, they will have found a place for a permanent location. If not, they may need to apply for another 9-month extension. They are looking for about 40-50 acres they can locate on. 18. Board asked if 16-1/2 acres would be sufficient for their operation. 19. Larry Sanders said they would prefer to be able to use the whole 40 acres because the more the dirt is worked, the finer and more unmanageable it gets, and it is more difficult to keep the dust down. They are leasing the land from Mr. Moser and would like to be able to work the whole 40 acres. 20. Board asked if they were leasing the whole 40 acres or only 16-1/2 acres. 21. Larry Sanders answered the 16-1/2 acres were within the 40 acres, and they were leasing the whole 40 acres. They use about 100,000 gallons of water per day down to keep the dust down. They would like to use the whole 40 acres within the guidelines that are given them. 22. Board asked if they were aware of any buildings on the site that might not meet code. BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MINUTES FEBRUARY 8, 1988 PAGE FOUR 23 Larry Sanders said he was not They have been informed about the use of the barbed wire, but the four temporary classroom buildings are on skids and are easily moved around. There is no elec- trical power to any of these buildings. They begin operating early in the morning and the students and instructors go to these buildings where daily activity instructions are given. 24. Board commented meeting setback requirements in stipulation No. 5 for General Rural zoning should not be a problem because buildings could be moved as necessary to meet the requirements. They then asked regarding the barbed wire fence. 25. Larry Sanders explained the barbed wire was used to protect their equipment, but they would be happy to address this problem. 26. Board asked how long the school had been located in Apache Junction. 27. Larry Sanders replied the school opened in 1985, but they had operated in the county until they had to move their location. 28. Chairman asked if they intended to file for the proper zoning. 29. Larry Sanders said Mr Newcomer had told him the Board did not have the approval authority and they would have to go through the Planning and Zoning Commission. 30. Board asked if there were a fence around the whole 40 acres. 31. Larry Sanders replied no, the property adjacent to the east and to the west was all open property. 32. Board asked about the drainage problem. 33. Larry Sanders said they leave Weekes Wash alone because the State and County have other plans for that wash. BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MINUTES FEBRUARY 8, 1988 PAGE FIVE 34. Chairman asked staff what they had discovered regarding the fence. 35. Mr. Newcomer said since the provisions for the fencing are contained in a section of the City Code which is outside the Zoning Ordinance, neither the Board of Adjustment nor the Planning and Zoning Commission had any authority in which to grant the applicant any type of variance to the fencing requirement. It would have to be taken up with the City Council . 36. Larry Sanders suggested they could remove the fence entirely and hire a security firm to watch the equipment. 37. Board said they were concerned regarding the barbed wire only, not particularly the chain-link fence itself. They asked if it would not be in the best interest of Superior Training Services to have a security service. 38. Larry Sanders said they had not had any problem until just recently with anyone bothering the equipment. It is not a complete requirement and is quite costly to have. They do have a $25,000 insurance deductible for each piece of equipment. 39. Chairman asked Board if they had any questions of the applicant. 40. Board was confused regarding the size of the area involved. 41. Chairman explained the application was for 16 acres. 42. Mr. Newcomer suggested they could: 1) have the applicant come back to the board later, or 2) grant the permit to operate and set it up so staff could review their expansion within the confines of the permit itself. They would not have to come back before the Board for a review. 43. Board asked if they could do this without handling the barbed wire problem. They wanted to request that the barbed wire be removed. BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MINUTES FEBRUARY 8, 1988 PAGE SIX 44. Larry Sanders said they would prefer this route and would remove the barbed wire. 45. Chairman asked if there were any other questions to the applicant. There were none. He asked if there were any who wished to speak in favor of the application. 46. Don Chestnut is the Assistant Director at the site. He moved here and would like to be able to stay in the area Superior Training provides services to the community and does support the community. 47. Susan Watson works at Superior Training. Family only has one vehicle and she would probably lose her job if applicant has to move locations. She wants to see them stay in the community. 48. Rodney Lovelace owns and operates B&R Machines. Superior Training is a good customer who always pays their bills. They are very businesslike. He never saw any dust there, and he appreciated .... them. 49. Tom Collins is one of the housing people who houses the students from the school He said these people are bringing a lot of money into the community. 50. Frank Cayton also houses 45-50 students and has no complaints either from the permanent tenants or the students. Superior Training serves a useful function to the community and is a great asset to the community. 51. Tom Damiano said Superior Training is helpful and cooperative to the City of Apache Junction. They have loaned the city equipment for its use. He saw no dust problem when he was visiting the area because they use water trucks to keep the dust down. He personally did not see any problem with the barbed wire to keep thieves away. If they needed to go before the Council for this, perhaps they should. He felt Superior Training is an economic asset to the city. BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MINUTES FEBRUARY 8, 1988 PAGE SEVEN 52. Doug Watson believes Apache Junction is about to enter a phase of growth of growth and feels Superior Training Services will assist the city to grow. 53. Chairman asked if there were anyone present who wished to speak in opposition to the application. There were none, so he closed the hearing to the public and asked the Board to deliberate. 54. Board discussed including the whole 40 acres in the recommendation, not just the 16 acres. 55. Mr. Newcomer asked that it be limited to the 40 acres and not go beyond that. 56. Pfeifer/Blatterspiel M/S "I move that the Apache Junction Board of Adjustment approve BA-7-87, a Temporary Use Permit request by W. A. Moser/Superior Training Services to operate their training school , together with incidental portable buildings and equipment compound, on a portion ,m& of their property located on the northwest corner of Idaho Road and Baseline Avenue with the following stipulations• 1. The permit will expire in nine (9) months (November 8, 1988) . 2. The applicant must acquire building permits for any buildings and structures applicable under the Building Code 3. The applicant must acquire a city business license. 4. Dedication of the west and south fifty feet (50' ) of the property and a twenty- foot by twenty-foot (20'x20' ) cutoff on the southwest corner of the property for public roadway and associated purposes. 5. All buildings and structures meet setback requirements in compliance with the GR-General Rural zoning. 6. Submit a plan indicating the original topography of the training site to the Building Department. 7. When the temporary use abates, the applicant take one of the following courses of action: BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MINUTES FEBRUARY 8, 1988 PAGE EIGHT i a. Return land to its original state and certify, OR b. Submit plans and obtain approval to leave the site in its altered state due to pending development. 8. The size of the training site be limited to the 40 acres in use at the time of this action. 9. A plan indicating the general pattern of site drainage be submitted to the Engineering Department for approval . 10. This permit may be reviewed by the Board of Adjustment if any or all of the following occur- a. Operation does not comply with Pinal County Air Quality Control standards. b. Complaints concerning the opera- tion are received, including but not limited to complaints of excessive noise and/or dust. c. Development occurs on adjacent .... property I have four reasons for approval 1. It would appear that in fact the use is of a true temporary nature with the possibility of a permanent use permit being applied for at a later date. 2. The use as it is explained tonight does not involve the erection of substantial buildings. 3. The school agrees to take down the barbed wire on top of the existing six to seven-foot chain-link fence until existing ordinances prohibiting such have been altered, or a variance has been granted from the appropriate authority. 4. In an effort to maintain as well as develop a positive rapport between the city and its local businesses, it would be in the best interest to approve. " "' Motion passed 5-0-0. BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MINUTES FEBRUARY 8, 1988 PAGE NINE Amok 57. Chairman told Mr. Sanders the Board had unanimously granted the Superior Training Services ' request for a Temporary Use Permit. 58. Pfeifer/Castro M/S "I move we adjourn. " Meeting adjourned at 7.50 p.m. Respectfully submitted, 41C11 arles . comer, Executive Secretary Ken Sanc ez, Chai n