America West blocked
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By MICHELE HOWEY
Standard-Examiner corrspondent
City council denies master plan for development
FARMINGTON -- The city council Tuesday night denied America West Development's master plan for 12 of the 140 acres America West owns in the transit oriented development zone west of the freeway between Clark Lane, 1100 West and the former D&RGW railroad line.
Specific plans for the roughly 12-acre section included upwards of 220 units of resort-style garden apartments, a credit union and a small office building with restaurants on the ground level.
Density calculations above those allowed in the zone were central to the denial, with officials saying America West was above the allowed 18 dwelling units per acre.
America West representatives argued they were within zone limits by their calculations of density at 13.5, with which the planning commission had agreed. The planning commission had recommended approval of the project during a previous meeting.
But the city council disagreed with the planning commission and the developer,favoring density calculations made by staff, which put it at 19.33 per acre.
Most of the residents who spoke during the public hearing on the matter said they thought the density was too high for Farmington and would harm the community. Many said they prefer owner-occupied dwellings to so many rental units.
Ron Martinez, of America West, responded, "I appreciate your fears, but we've assembled a heck of a team to create value in the community, as well as for our investors."
He said the residential component of his proposal would leverage the investment made in the rail line by having residents live, work and play all in the same area, which he said was the purpose of the TOD zone in the first place.
Following the public hearing, Robert McConnell, legal counsel for the developer, expressed frustration with the city staff over reports and findings contrary to those of the planning commission in a report he received at the beginning of the meeting, saying he felt "bushwhacked."
"It's incredibly irritating ... now that the planning commission has recommended approval, the staff is scrambling to find reasons to deny it," he said. "I'm sorry for my tone, I'm obviously frustrated."
Mayor Scott Harbertson responded angrily to the criticism from America West. "I don't care if you are at 19.33, or 18.1 -- you're over it. I don't agree with it. If we allow it here, it is going to continue down the rail line."
Councilman Cory Ritz spoke last in the council discussion that followed. "Letting the other council members speak first has allowed me to cool off a little bit ... If we approve this, what comes next could be worse. We set a precedent here." He then moved to deny the project, adding, "I am unwilling to tie our future into something so full of issues." The council vote to deny was unanimous.
Martinez said Wednesday morning, "This is a rogue city that doesn't follow its own policies and procedures. It was choreographed. We had an e-mail from (the city planner) that this was a completed application, and everything was in line. It was an inappropriate action."
He has said in the past that the city is holding him up on purpose because officials don't like plans he has for the entire area, which could include big box stores.
Officials, currently in the process of making changes to the zone granted for the property in December, have said they are tightening standards in the ordinance to have more control over development in the area, which they want to remain walkable and not filled with parking lots. They have also said Martinez's plans are not the kind of mixed use they want, and more office space is needed.
A special planning commission public hearing on proposed changes to the TOD zone will be at 7 p.m. Thursday.
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The comment above from Tom is very typical of the level of ignorance demonstrated by the average citizen when it comes to government dealings at all levels. All they can see is that the developers quest for making a profit from his deal is automaticaly the evil. Wake up people govermment at all levels from local to national is not in place to protect the wants of the majority but to protect the rights of the minority. There is only one thing worse than being dumb, and that is being ignorant.