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ITEM #: 10.
DATE: 10/30/2023
AI #:1699
CITY COUNCIL ACTION REPORT
 
SUBJECT: SPECIAL USE PERMIT FOR THE EXTENSION OF A LAND RECLAMATION PROJECT LOCATED AT THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF WEST ROOSEVELT STREET AND NORTH 158TH AVENUE
 
STAFF PRESENTER(S): Ann Dolmage, Senior Planner

OTHER PRESENTER(S):

Brian Greathouse, Burch & Cracchiolo

SUMMARY

This is a public hearing followed by a vote for a request for a Special Use Permit to continue operations at the existing Fusaro Land Reclamation Project on an approximately 29.4-acre parcel, generally located at the southwest corner of West Roosevelt Street and North 158th Avenue, within the Agricultural (AG) and Canyon Trails Phase I Planned Area Development (PAD) Districts.

STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT

RECOMMENDATION

Approve the request for a Special Use Permit to continue the existing Fusaro Land Reclamation Project on an approximately 29.4-acre parcel, generally located at the southwest corner of West Roosevelt Street and North 158th Avenue, within the Agricultural (AG) and Canyon Trails Phase I Planned Area Development (PAD) Districts subject to compliance with stipulations. (Ann Dolmage, Senior Planner)

STIPULATIONS

1. Prior to issuance of any further permits for onsite work, the owner/operator shall be required to contract a certified Geotechnical Engineer experienced with land creation. The Geotechnical Engineer shall stipulate and oversee all testing necessary to ensure that existing and future conditions of the property have, and will have, adequate compaction for future development of the site. The Geotechnical Engineer shall provide recommendations for any repair of existing conditions, for the processing, placement, compaction, and testing of future materials, so as to provide acceptable subgrade for development of any future buildings. The recommendations shall include what type and frequency of inspections shall be conducted. These recommendations shall be provided to the City of Goodyear in a report that will be reviewed by a third party, and if found acceptable, approved by the City Engineer. Owner shall comply with all recommendations of the Geotechnical Engineer. Upon approval of the recommendations, the Geotechnical Engineer shall designate who shall perform the inspections (must be a credentialed inspector) and submit the reviewed inspection reports with a sealed letter indicating compliance of recommendations has been followed bi-annually throughout the duration of the project to the City Engineer. The Geotechnical Engineer shall provide direction on how to correct any deficiencies identified in the reporting and verify compliance with approved recommendations has been restored. This protocol shall remain in place throughout the duration of the project. All operations shall be in conformance with the approved report;

2. “No Parking” signs shall be installed and maintained on the Roosevelt Street right-of-way west of 158th Avenue leading to Wade Acres;

3. The owner/operator shall maintain the existing perimeter fence and cloth mesh in good condition, and shall control access to the site at all times to only authorized personnel and delivery of material;

4. Development and work on the site including fill operations, shall be in strict compliance with the Fusaro Land Reclamation Management Plan attached hereto (the “Reclamation Plan”), except as may be amended at the direction of the Geotechnical Engineer.  A copy of the updated Reclamation Plan shall be provided to the City Engineer.  Updates and reports on operations on the site, monthly and annually, shall be provided to the City Engineer as set forth in the Reclamation Plan;

5. The development and operations on the site, including traffic circulation patterns, shall comply with the Site Plan for Fusaro Land Reclamation dated March 2023 attached hereto (the “Site Plan”), and site ingress and egress shall be on West Roosevelt Street only;

6. The owner/operator shall strictly observe the following schedule:

  1. Crushing & Sorting Material: 10am-3pm, Monday through Friday
  2. Delivery of Material
  1. October 16th through April 14th (per City Code winter period): 7am-5pm, Monday through Saturday (no Sundays)
  2. April 15th through October 15th (per City Code summer period): 6am-5pm, Monday through Friday and 7am-5pm, Saturday (no Sundays);

7. The owner/operator shall maintain a permanent track-out pad that is compliant with Arizona Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (AZPDES) requirements;

8. The Special Use Permit is for land reclamation involving inert materials only. No other landfill activities are included in the Special Use Permit or approved by the city. The land reclamation operation shall comply with city, county, and state requirements;

9. The owner/operator shall be responsible for ensuring that no materials are dumped outside the fence. Any such materials shall be removed immediately by the owner/operator;

10. “White noise” back-up alarms shall be used on all equipment used on site;
 
11. The decibel level at the property lines must be maintained at 65 decibels (dB) or lower. If the city receives at least five complaints regarding noise within a 30-day period from residents within 500 feet of the subject property, the city will measure the noise level. If the city finds the decibel level is higher than 65 dB, then the developer will be required to provide a noise study and implement mitigation measures to ensure the noise level is at 65 dB or lower. The city will measure the noise level after mitigation measures have been enacted;
 
12. A site plan amendment shall be required under the circumstances listed below. When a site plan amendment is triggered, a site plan application, updated traffic study, and any documents typically required for a site plan amendment will be submitted to the city for review and approval and the owner/operator shall comply with the terms of the site approval.
  1. The construction trailer is moved
  2. The filling and crushing operations are moved on-site
  3. The approved traffic plan must be amended
  4. Other site improvements or changes occur that typically trigger a site plan review as described by the Zoning Ordinance;

13. Land reclamation operations shall be suspended immediately upon notification by the city, county, or state of any violations of applicable regulations or upon notification by the city of any violations of the terms of this Special Use Permit. Land reclamation operations may resume if the violation is remediated within five business days, or as otherwise authorized by the Zoning Administrator. If the violation is not remediated, the Special Use Permit shall be revoked;

14. Provided the land reclamation operations occur without a violation of any city, county, or state regulation, the Special Use Permit shall be valid for a period of seven (7) years from the date of City Council approval of the permit. If the land reclamation operations are not complete at the end of the seven-year period, the owner/operator will need to re-apply for a Special Use Permit to resume operations.

FISCAL IMPACT

Although a fiscal impact analysis has not been conducted on this specific project, all new development will have an ongoing fiscal impact on the city. Future development of the site will be responsible for construction of infrastructure necessary to serve the site and will generate one-time revenue for the city through payment of permits, construction sales tax and development impact fees. Longer term fiscal impacts will include increased demands for municipal services, the costs of which may or may not be offset by increased property values/tax levies, city sales tax, state shared revenues and the increased demand for commercial and retail development. Any areas that will be maintained by the city will be constructed by the developer and then conveyed to the city two years after construction.

BACKGROUND AND PREVIOUS ACTIONS

On March 27, 2017, the City Council, upon recommendation of the Planning & Zoning Commission, adopted Ordinance 17-1342 approving a Zoning Ordinance text amendment to allow inert material landfills (which purpose is to facilitate land reclamation of public project borrow pits) in any zoning district by Special Use Permit.

On May 8, 2017, the City Council, upon recommendation of the Planning & Zoning Commission, approved a Special Use Permit for an Inert Material Landfill to allow for the reclamation of a public project borrow pit on approximately 29.4 acres at the southwest corner of Roosevelt Street and 158th Avenue. The site is zoned Agricultural (AG) and Canyon Trails Phase I Planned Area Development (PAD).

STAFF ANALYSIS

Current Policy
Pursuant to Section 4-1-2 of the Zoning Ordinance (Special Uses Considered in Any District), an Inert Material Landfill to facilitate land reclamation of a public project borrow pit may be considered as a Special Use in any district.
Pursuant to Section 1-3-4 of the Zoning Ordinance (Special Use Permits), a Special Use requires review by the Planning and Zoning Commission and approval from the City Council through the public hearing process.

Details of the Request
Fusaro, LLC, a land reclamation company based in Colorado, has submitted this Special Use Permit (SUP) request for approval to continue reclamation of an existing borrow pit located at Roosevelt Street and 158th Avenue. The borrow pit was originally excavated many years ago to provide fill material for the construction of Interstate 10 by the Arizona Department of Transportation. Reclamation activities began at the site sometime prior to 2007 by the previous owners of the property. Fusaro acquired the site in 2016 and obtained approval for a SUP (Case No. 17-350-00001) on May 8, 2017, to continue the reclamation process. Since approval of that SUP, Fusaro has cleaned up what it estimates to be at least a thousand piles of debris that were dumped prior to its purchase of the site.

The original SUP included a stipulation that a new SUP would be required if work could not be completed within five years of approval. Fusaro estimates that the reclamation project which includes the removal of the debris that had been dumped on the site and the fill operations, is approximately 40% complete, and because five years have passed since the original approval, a new SUP is necessary to finish the work. Application materials submitted for the project indicate that full completion is expected to occur within five to seven years, and a proposed stipulation limits the term of the SUP to seven years.

Fusaro has provided an updated Land Reclamation Management Plan for this new SUP request, which attached hereto. The plan contains procedures for filling, leveling, grading, and covering the pit; a list of acceptable fill materials; responsibilities of site staff; safety, security, and environmental procedures; reporting procedures; and closing procedures. Per the report, the estimated fill rate for the pit will be 80,000 cubic yards per year. Construction materials are imported to the site by trucks, which enter the property via Roosevelt Street and check in at the on-site construction trailer before unloading their materials and looping around to exit via the same gate. Only inert, non-hazardous materials are allowed at the site (e.g., clean dirt and gravel, plant-mixed asphalt, brick, concrete, and rock). Materials such as used motor oil, yard waste, paper and cardboard, tires, medical waste, friable asbestos, and any unidentifiable substances are not accepted. As new materials arrive at the site, they are progressively end-dumped over the edge of previously deposited materials, then compacted by machine. Material is leveled weekly using a bulldozer or heavy front-end loader. When the deposited material reaches a level within eight feet of maximum fill, an evaluation of final cover plans, based on the expected end use, will be conducted to ensure adequate geotechnical integrity for that use.

To minimize noise and visual impacts to the surrounding residential neighborhoods, a mesh fence is already in place around the perimeter of the site, and a proposed stipulation will require it to remain in place throughout the reclamation process. Additionally, Fusaro has equipped its machinery with “white noise” backup alarms and will continue to do so per a separate proposed stipulation.  Finally, a stipulation has been added that limits the hours of operation. 

A Traffic Impact Statement (TIS) has been submitted by the applicant to update the traffic analysis that was conducted in 2017 for the original SUP request. The TIS estimates that 25 trucks will access the site on a typical day, for a total of 50 daily trips. Of those 50 daily trips, 12 trips will be generated during the AM peak hour, and four trips will be generated during the PM peak hour, with the remaining 34 trips occurring throughout the day. Traffic Engineering staff have reviewed the TIS and have determined that traffic related to this SUP request will not have significant impacts on the surrounding area. A proposed stipulation requires truck traffic to use Roosevelt to access the site, which will limit noise and traffic in the more residential areas to the south and southwest of the Project.

Evaluation Criteria
The following evaluation is being provided in conformance with Section 1-3-4 of the Zoning Ordinance:

1. Will be desirable or necessary to the public convenience or welfare:
The land reclamation project was originally authorized by Special Use Permit in 2017 and is approximately 40% complete. Full completion of the project is desirable, as the borrow pit is no longer needed for Interstate 10 construction and has become less compatible with the surrounding area as residential and commercial development has increased. Filling in the pit will improve the appearance of the site and prepare it for a future use that is compatible with the area. A stipulation is proposed that will limit the term of this approval to seven years and require the applicant to obtain a new SUP if the work is not complete at the end of that term.

2. Will be harmonious and compatible with the other uses adjacent to and in the vicinity of the selected site or sites:
The borrow pit is incompatible with the residential uses that surround it. The proposed Special Use Permit will allow fill activities to continue in order to restore the site to a condition where it can be developed with a use that is compatible for the area. The proposed stipulations will minimize noise and visual impacts to surrounding residents while filling is in process.

3. Is in conformance with the adopted General Plan and any adopted Area Plans:
The property is located within the Neighborhoods land use category as designated by the city’s 2025 General Plan. The Neighborhoods category is intended for a wide range of residential densities and housing products, public and community facilities such as schools and places of worship, and commercial uses at appropriate intensities and locations. Until such time as the pit is filled, nothing can be developed on the site.  The filling of the pit, will allow for future development that will be in conformance to the General Plan. The site is not located within any adopted Area Plans.

4. Will not be detrimental to surrounding properties in the area due to:

a. Impact on the circulation system of the adjacent neighborhood:
Ingress and egress for the reclamation site is limited to one access point on Roosevelt Street. Fusaro informs companies importing materials that the preferred route to the site is via Roosevelt, which is the most direct route from Interstate 10. The City Traffic Engineering Division has reviewed the 2017 Traffic Impact Analysis for the project and has determined that it will not have detrimental impacts on surrounding roads and intersections.

b. Excessive noise or light generated from within the site:
The Special Use Permit includes a number of stipulations that will mitigate the noise and lights generated from the use permit operations. The perimeter of the reclamation site is visually screened with a mesh cloth fence, which, pursuant to a stipulation, will be maintained and remain in place until project completion. Stipulations from the original SUP have been included in this Special Use Permit, including stipulations that require all equipment used on site have white noise” back-up alarms; limit the decibel levels at property lines to  65 decibels or less; and that limit the hours of operation on the site.

c. Excessive scale or height in relationship to surrounding properties:
No permanent structures are proposed in conjunction with this Special Use Permit. A construction trailer and two water tanks will occupy the site but will be screened by the mesh fence and situated at a lower elevation than surrounding streets.

d. Hours of operation:
A stipulation of approval is proposed that will limit the hours of crushing, sorting, and delivery of materials at the project site. The hours are consistent with a stipulation placed on the original Special Use Permit in 2017, which, based on the proximity of the site to residential developments, are more restrictive than the construction start/stop times codified in Article 11-1-8(D) of the City of Goodyear Code of Ordinances.

e. Inadequate parcel size to provide adequate buffers or mitigation to surrounding properties:
The reclamation site is approximately 29.4 acres in size, and as reflected in the Site Plan, crushing and filling activities are well-buffered on all four sides from nearby residential neighborhoods. Stipulations have been proposed to limit work hours, minimize noise from equipment, screen the pit from view of surrounding streets, and ensure that materials dumping does not occur outside of the screen.

f. Inconsistency with the development character or architecture of the adjacent properties:
No development is proposed for this site at this time, as this SUP covers just the reclamation of the borrow pit. Once the reclamation is complete, any future development proposals will be reviewed for architectural compatibility with the neighborhood, as well as conformance to applicable design guidelines and development standards.

Phoenix-Goodyear Airport and Luke Air Force Base
The site is subject to noise from aircraft flying to and from Phoenix-Goodyear Airport and Luke Air Force Base. Given the non-residential nature of the use, there should be no adverse impacts to the airport or base from the continued operation of the land reclamation project.

Fire Department
Emergency response times and distances are provided below:
Nearest Fire Station Shortest path   2nd Nearest Fire Station Shortest path
Mins Miles Mins Miles
# 184 5.24 2.62 # 181 5.42 2.71

Public Participation
Citizen Review Process:
In accordance with the city’s Citizen Review Ordinance, a neighborhood meeting was held on July 6, 2023 at City Hall. Notices of the meeting were sent to the owners of all property within 500 feet of the property, and a sign was posted on the property to announce the date, time, and location of the meeting. Three residents of adjacent single-family neighborhoods attended the neighborhood meeting. All attendees were in support of continuing the reclamation process.

Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting:
Notice for the public hearings before the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council included a notice mailed to property owners within 500 feet of the property on September 22nd, and a legal notice published in the Arizona Republic, Southwest Edition, on September 29th. Additionally, the sign that was posted on the property in advance of the neighborhood meeting also included information about the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council hearings. Staff did not receive any inquiries on the project as a result of these notices.

During a presentation at the Planning and Zoning Commission public hearing, staff explained that the applicant had provided notice the previous day that completion of the reclamation project could take up to ten years instead of the five to seven years previously indicated, but that staff was still recommending a seven-year term for the SUP. Chairman Kish asked why the applicant felt the project could take more than seven years. Staff responded that the traffic study for the current SUP anticipates fewer truck trips per day than the study for the original 2017 SUP and that this could account for the longer timeframe. Staff then deferred the question to the applicant for further clarification. Brian Greathouse of Burch and Cracchiolo (speaking on behalf of Fusaro) explained that the amount of fill coming to the site is a function of the marketplace across the region and arrives at a slower rate as construction activity declines. Chairman Kish asked if Fusaro has needed to remove much material from the site in comparison to the amount being imported. Donny Fetters of Fusaro responded that little has needed to be removed, and that most of the material that did require removal was already there when Fusaro first purchased the site and was removed immediately before the original 2017 SUP was obtained. The Commission had no further questions for either staff or the applicant, and no members of the public came forward to speak. The Commission voted 6-0 to recommend approval of the item.

STAFF FINDINGS
As outlined herein, staff finds the proposed request for Special Use Permit to not be materially detrimental to persons residing or working in the vicinity adjacent to the property, to the neighborhood, or to the public welfare and that the proposed use is reasonably compatible with uses permitted in the surrounding area.

Attachments