On March 11, 2021 at 9:00am the Prescott Planning and Zoning Commission is meeting in person (weather permitting, snow in forecast tonight) to discuss and potentially VOTE on whether or not to give the City Council more authority and discretion to decide where cell towers on Prescott private property will go. We say NO WAY!!
- Predictably, the City Council has directed the Planning and Zoning Commissioners to vote to give the City Council more power to decide if the Bar Circle A cell tower can go where the Planning and Zoning Commissioners recommended that it NOT go there last October 2020.
- As power hungry governmental officials are prone to do, our City Council is just attempting to rewrite the rules to give themselves a NEW justification to approve the cell tower in our backyards. If they succeed, we will have no say at all when the BCA cell tower goes on up to 80 ft. Imagine what that will look like.
The City Council is going to mandate that the 80 ft cell tower be concealed — as if that accomplishes anything Is this a bad joke or what? How do you conceal an 80 ft. anything when the nearest structure for a mile in all directions is only 35 ft. They must take us for fools. They will be watching to see how many interested or outraged public citizens will either Zoom in or call in by phone to this 9:00 am meeting.
If you do not want an 80 ft cell tower in the middle of our neighborhood on Bar Circle A Road, it is imperative that you either Zoom or call in. And if you wake up to a new world of snow, what else do you have to do anyway? You won’t want to go outside, so get a cup of coffee and sign in tomorrow morning.
We would love to have you speak if to say nothing other than retain the existing cell tower regulations! It is important that you sign in to the meeting. When you have heard enough political BS, leave your line open and go do something more fun like the laundry or scrubbing the tub. Total attendance tomorrow is paramount.
Don’t let the City Council get away with this attempt to rewrite the rules to please their buddy developers who are currently deciding the City’s future. And even better, the Prescott City Council election is coming up in August. We will be watching them to see if they support US, the Prescott residents, or the wealthy developers.
Prescott Planning & Zoning Commission Agenda
Thu, Mar 11, 2021 at 9:00 am at 201 S. CORTEZ STREET
Council Chambers Virtual Zoom Meeting
Amending Title 9, Chapter 5, Article 8, Arizona Revised Statutes, By Adding Section 9-600; Relating To Public Utilities.
Prescott , AZ The following agenda will be considered by the PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION at its meeting to be held on March 11th, 2021, public may attend the meeting in person or through the use of a technological device via Zoom teleconferencing. Notice of this meeting is given pursuant to Arizona Revised Statutes, Section 38-431.02.
Participate by Zoom
- Join Zoom Webinar:Â https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89724821478
- If you want to speak, click on the raise hand button
- WebinarID: 897 2482 1478I
. . . or Dial by Telephone (if computer audio is not available):
- 1 346 248 7799 or
- 1 669 900 6833 or
- 1 929 205 6099
- Please keep your phone on mute unless you are speaking in order to minimize background noise.
- Please identify yourself each time you speak so that we can record your comments in the minutes and properly count motions and votes.
FLYER TO PUT UP IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD & POST ONLINE:Â PRESCOTT
March 3, 2020 Update
The new City of Prescott tactic is to just rewrite the rules and get what the developers want for them. Rory’s letter in today’s local Courier:
At the time Rory wrote this letter the proposed rule change was to go to the Board of Adjustment for Single Family and Multi Family zoned parcels as he states in the letter.
Last week the proposed rule was changed to eliminate the Board of Adjustment from the process for single and multi family zoning.
Our opposition has been successful in getting the Special Use Permit back into the process but now we need to keep the city from gutting our neighborhood protections.
The city just rewrites the rules now to get what they want for their developers, especially the property owner of this parcel, Mr. Gisi.
Tell the city council to keep the existing Wireless regulations LDC 2.4.49 unchanged.
Letter to the Editor: Tower end run
March 2, 2021 7:12 p.m.
Editor:
I recently moved into Prescott from out of state having bought my Prescott home a year earlier. After arriving in Prescott, I have discovered that I have a similar issue with the Prescott City Council as described in the Courier letter written by Peter Kroopnick.
Last October, the Planning and Zoning Commission voted 5-2 to recommend denial of a Special Use Permit (SUP) to allow a new 55-foot Verizon cell tower in the middle of the Yavapai Hills subdivision about 350 feet from my front door. There was massive neighborhood opposition to this same developer’s tower proposal.
Our neighborhood has spent hundreds of hours, written 300 letters opposing it, and spent thousands of dollars on legal advice to prevent this tower from depreciating our property values and ruining our neighborhood scenic views.
Wisely, five Planning and Zoning commissioners agreed with us that this cell tower costumed as a fake tree does not belong here. The City Council was scheduled to vote to accept or deny the P&Z recommendation to deny. Right before the November council vote, the developer was allowed to “continue” his application with no reason given.
Today we know what that reason was. The city staff proposed a total rewrite of the SUP regulations that protect our neighborhoods from irresponsibly sited cell towers. Then, the developer can do an end run around the P&Z recommendation to deny with the city requiring only a simple city building permit that SHALL be approved, no neighborhood notice.
Four council seats are open for the Primary Election. I can’t wait to vote in my first local election. Think before you vote. Your neighborhood may be next.
Rory Levy
Prescott
Letter to the Editor: City water for county developers
February 18, 2021 6:47 p.m.
Editor:
In April 2020, the Prescott City Council voted to provide city water to the Town of Chino Valley with the excuse that our water would only be provided outside the City of Prescott to “governmental entities.”
Then just recently they voted to provide city water to Jeff Davis, a developer in the county, but this time the excuse was even more flimsy. Davis set up a private “water district” for his planned Stringfield Ranch housing development on Williamson Valley Road to be governed by a board consisting only of Stringfield family members. All of a sudden this totally private entity becomes a “governmental entity” to our City Council.
Next, Jason Gisi of AED Development Corporation is planning a housing development on the north side of Highway 89A in the county, independent of his proposed development in the Dells along the Peavine Trail. What is to stop him or any other county developer from declaring themselves “governmental entities” in order to receive city water? Where will all this end?
Four council seats are open for the Primary Election this summer. Think before you vote.
Peter Kroopnick
Prescott
Contact your City Council and Mayor using our email templates in the Safe Technology sub menu item under the Causes Main menu item. The article is titled “Working with Your City Officials on Safe Technolgy”.
To contact any of the Council please call 928-777-1248
or email michelle.rush@prescott-az.gov
- Mayor Greg L. Mengarelli, greg.mengarelli@prescott-az.gov. 928- 777-1270
- Council Member Steve Blair steve.blair@prescott-az.gov. 928-777-1292
- Council Member Billie Orr billie.orr@prescott-az.gov. 928-777-1219
- Council Member Steve Sischka steve.sischka@prescott-az.gov. 928-777-1351
- Council Member Alexa Scholl alexa.scholl@prescott-az.gov. 928-777-1217
- Council Member Phil Goode phil.goode@prescott-az.gov. 928-777-1352
- Council Member Cathey Rusing cathey.rusing@prescott-az.gov. 928-777-1343
City Manager Michael Lamar michael.lamar@prescott-az.gov. 777-1380
