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Joyce Clark Unfiltered

For "the rest of the story"

Mar 20

22

Stay at home, don’t roam

Posted by Joyce Clark on March 22, 2020
Posted in City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials • National issues  | Tagged With: , , , | 5 Comments

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

This Sunday morning www.ncov2019.live shows 152 confirmed cases in Arizona. The spike in the number may be due to tests taken days ago. But what is concerning is that several days ago Arizona had 9 cases.

It is critical that we only make trips to grocery stores, gas stations, pharmacies and banks. Going to local parks is no longer advisable because you cannot control the mandate to practice social distancing.  You may be healthy but others may be asymptomatic. If we are going to stop the spread we must be smart and careful.

So, what am I doing? I have voluntarily stayed home the past two weeks with the exception of one run to Safeway during their new senior hours program to pick up prescriptions and a few staples. I also have attended one Glendale council budget meeting during which social distancing of 6 feet was practiced. I will attend this Tuesday’s council workshop meeting and voting meeting. They have been moved to the Civic Center Annex. Social distancing will again be in place and the only personnel at the meeting will be the councilmembers, the City Manager, the City Attorney, the City Clerk and several staff making presentations. The count of persons will be about 10 or less. I have become the Lysol Queen and I carry a can with me and spray my entire work area and chair. I also carry wipes and use them liberally.

The city is currently working to enable teleconferencing for city council that hopefully will be soon in place. The public will not be allowed to attend council meetings but we still want to encourage public participation. If you go to the city website, www.glendaleaz.com you can obtain instructions that will guide you should you wish to participate. The city website will also have information about what’s open and what’s closed. If you need to pay your water bill, make sure you check out the site. It also lists reputable links for information on the virus and how to protect you and your family. Please check it out.

As new numbers and new information becomes available, the city reacts as quickly as it can to implement new advisories and directives. We are working hard to keep city personnel and the public as safe as possible.

If you are tired of cooking dinner every night, try “dine-out” at your favorite restaurant. I checked out the restaurants at Westgate and every one is now offering “dine-out” which you can have delivered or pick up at their location. Remember you still have a back yard. Use it to get out of the house to get some fresh air.

Text message friends or family or use Skype or Facebook Live. How about giving your senior neighbors or relatives a phone call? Find out if they are OK or need anything critical such as a prescription.

This is not any easy time for any of us. The best thing we can do is to follow federal, state and local advisories. Social distancing is more important than ever.

The phrase of the day is “Stay at home, don’t roam.”

Be smart. Be careful. I pray that all that read this stay safe and well.

© Joyce Clark, 2020         

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Mar 20

17

Flatten the curve…now!

Posted by Joyce Clark on March 17, 2020
Posted in City Council Actions • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials • Glendale finances • National issues • Phoenix Metro issues  | Tagged With: , , , , | 8 Comments

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

This morning the city council had a budget workshop meeting. It began with an update on the CoronaVirus situation. Let me say this. I want Glendale to declare a state of emergency and close bars, restaurants, etc. NOW. The Mayor, the City Manager and a majority of council are reluctant to do so. I believe it is necessary.

Mayor Kate Gallego did so today and I commend her and applaud her. It was not an easy decision to make. Glendale should be doing the same. The City of Flagstaff has already done so. I am convinced other cities will follow Phoenix and Flagstaff and every day that Glendale and other cities delay, is a day wasted in the enforcement of social distancing.

At the beginning at the budget portion of our workshop I asked council to consider freezing the Capital Improvement Program. We can allot a line item within the budget to preserve our capability to resume the CIP when financial conditions warrant it. We should also be freezing spending on all but essential items. Again, no support. I went through the national recession and I fear a repeat. At the very least I do not expect to see a rebound in the national economy until the fall. Those that do not study history are doomed to repeat it.

© Joyce Clark, 2020         

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Mar 20

15

CoVid-19 (the Wuhan Virus)

Posted by Joyce Clark on March 15, 2020
Posted in City Council Actions • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials • National issues  | Tagged With: , | 14 Comments

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

Voluntarily staying home has allowed me the time to think about this situation…a lot. As a councilmember it is my primary duty to protect the residents of Glendale. On a personal level, I am the primary caregiver for my 84 year old husband, a 90 year old brother-in-law and a 76 year old brother. If I get sick they have no one else. These are my random thoughts about this situation. I’d love to have your thoughts as well as a comment to this blog.

  • With increased testing the number of people diagnosed with the virus will rise dramatically. Many probably already had symptoms or were mildly ill and the tests will merely confirm their illness.
  • Social distancing has become critical. You may be young and healthy and may not care about social distancing but you should care…deeply. What if you are asymptomatic? You have no symptoms but turn out to be a carrier. Do you want to take the chance of giving it to an aunt or uncle? Your grandmother or grandfather? There is a difference between thinking you are immortal and selfishness. Granted, nothing may happen to you but there could be many people who may suffer as a result of your action or perhaps, inaction.
  • The City of Flagstaff has just declared a State of Emergency. It has a population of 138,000 (roughly half that of Glendale) and ranks as the 15th largest city in the state. What prompted them to declare? Should the ten largest cities in the state (Phoenix, Tucson, Mesa, Chandler, Scottsdale, Glendale, Gilbert, Tempe, Peoria and Surprise) be making the same declaration?
  • Hoboken, New Jersey, with a population of about 50,000 has declared a curfew for the entire town from 10 PM to 6 AM. What made them decide to do so? Many cities nationwide are mandating the closure of all public gathering places such as restaurants, theaters, gatherings of people, etc. What caused them to do so?
  • As Dr. Anthony Fauci stated very recently, “If it looks like you’re overreacting you’re probably doing the right thing.” Personally, I think Glendale should be overreacting. I think it is time for Glendale to become proactive by mandating the closure of all businesses with the exception of pharmacies, grocery stores, banks and gas stations.
  • Why when we have council meetings are we still allowing the public to attend? Why are we not taking the temperatures of employees when they come to work? If they have a fever they should be sent home and self quarantine for 14 days.
  • Fauci talks repeatedly about “flattening the curve.” What he means is that if we social distance and contain the spread, our local health systems will not be over whelmed. We know there is a limited supply of Personal Protective Gear (PPE) for first responders as well as ventilators for the sickest. In order to preserve these limited resources cities throughout the country, including Glendale, should be taking extraordinary measures; to do their part to contain the spread thereby preserving our limited capacity to deal with thousands of sick people…that will soon be here.
  • First responders in Glendale should be tested often. Fire personnel will respond with full PPE as long as they can obtain it but police officers will not be wearing that type of protection. How do we protect them?

There is far more that I could say but I would rather have your thoughts. What should Glendale be doing? If anything?

Here’s a dilemma for you that I’d love to have you weigh in on. This Tuesday, Glendale’s city council will have a budget workshop in city hall chambers, open to the public. Should we be meeting in person or should we be telecommuting? We possess that capability.

© Joyce Clark, 2020         

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Mar 20

7

A look at the Love’s site location

Posted by Joyce Clark on March 7, 2020
Posted in City Council Actions • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale Economic Development • Glendale elected officials • Glendale finances • Glendale zoning issues • Yucca district  | Tagged With: , , , | 4 Comments

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

Sometimes “a picture is worth a thousand words.” I thought a photo of the proposed site of the Love’s Travel Center would be helpful. So I went out to the site the other day and took this photo. I was sitting in my car immediately west of Cotton Lane at Rose Lane.

In the background you can see the Loop 303. The proposed Love’s site is at the Bethany Home Road exit of the Loop 303. The approximate distance between the proposed Love’s site and the nearest home is1,600 feet, about a quarter of a mile.

NOT TO SCALE

Conceptual Courtesy of Lincoln Property

Now, imagine an industrial building on the east side of Cotton Lane (with appropriate front setbacks). The industrial building will not be sited right along the western boundary of the property. It will be set back from Cotton Lane. I don’t know the distance but I would guess about 50 feet. That 30 to 40 foot tall building will act as a noise and visual buffer between the proposed Love’s and the nearest resident.

Please note that the property owner will be required to improve that portion of Cotton Lane that is adjacent to their property. That means Cotton Lane will be improved from Bethany Home Road to Glendale Avenue.

I hope this visual provides some perspective of context as we continue to discuss this issue.

© Joyce Clark, 2020         

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Mar 20

2

Change is never welcome

Posted by Joyce Clark on March 2, 2020
Posted in City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale Economic Development • Glendale elected officials • Glendale zoning issues • Luke Air Force Base • Yucca district  | Tagged With: , , , , | 24 Comments

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

As the stadium and arena were announced back in the early 2000’s, residents who live in the adjacent areas were very concerned and many were upset. The farm fields that they had gazed upon from their windows was about to disappear. Many were saddened and angry that their way of life was about to change…forever.

Over the years we (including myself) have adjusted to the dramatic changes that have occurred in the Westgate and Zanjero areas. Humans are highly adaptable. Consequently, we now take alternate routes on football game days and when there are major events in the area. We cope with the tremendous traffic increases we experience on every major arterial in this area. Those residents who couldn’t adapt moved elsewhere but most of us stayed. Many of us now shop at the Tanger Outlets or enjoy a movie at the AMC Theater or go for lunch or dinner at the abundance of restaurants in the area. We enjoy and use the variety of entertainment while living on the periphery of it all.

Change is coming to another part of Glendale and the nearby county residents are unhappy about it. Several years ago city council made a policy decision to reserve the land beyond 115th Avenue to our westernmost boundary, especially around the Loop 303, for job creation. We call it the “New Frontier.” It has succeeded far beyond our expectations. For example, every parcel within the Glendale Airpark is in escrow, sold, in plan review or under construction. By the Loop 303 industrial and commercial development took off with the announcement of Red Bull, Rausch and Ball choosing the Woolf Logistics Center as their location of choice. It was followed quickly by White Claw who expects to be open for business by June of this year. There are 15 projects worth over $600 million dollars in various development stages that will offer over 1,500 good paying jobs to our residents.

Now Cotton Properties is about to develop on the west side of the Loop 303 from Bethany Home Road to Glendale Avenue. Located at the intersection of the Loop 303 and Bethany Home Road is a proposed Love’s Travel Center. The rest of the Cotton Properties parcel will have several industrial/commercial buildings on it and they will act as a visual/noise buffer between the Love’s and the county residents to the west. There is a concentrated swath of county residents who have expressed their opposition to any kind of development of Cotton Properties. It really doesn’t matter what is developed there. The residents are opposed to change of any kind. The farm fields that they had enjoyed for years is about to disappear.

They have decided to concentrate their opposition on the Love’s Travel Center and I and other Glendale personnel have received a lot of email in opposition to the proposed project. That is their right and I encourage their commentary. However, one would think Love’s was a creation of the Devil himself. There was one email that stood out from the pack and it was from a family of truck drivers who live in the county where the opposition is the strongest. I asked them for permission to use it and they graciously granted it. Here’s the “other side of the story:”

 

To Whom It May Concern:

 

First of all I would like to introduce myself to you. My husband and I, Joe and Kathy Papineau are both long haul truck drivers. We bought a beautiful home in the Russell Ranch subdivision. We have been in the trucking industry for over 20 years. We would welcome a Loves Truck Stop with open arms. In this letter I wish to offer an accurate rebuttal to all of the surrounding areas’ concerns and arguments on why they think a Loves Truck Stop is going to ruin their quality of life.

 

First of all, with all the warehouses and businesses going up in the area providing safe and designated parking for truckers’ transportation needs is a great idea. If there isn’t sufficient parking provided, they will be parking on the side of the roads. Due to Elogs (Federal regulations), they are not permitted to drive after loading and unloading. Even law enforcement may not ask them to move. Truck drivers must obey the federal laws. They will have no other choice but to leave debris and human waste on the side of our roads. That would be a disgrace to put truckers in that position. My neighbors will argue there are enough truck stops off of I-10. However, on the contrary, there is not enough parking. Throughout this country, there is a shortage of safe parking for truckers.

 

Secondly, my neighbors will argue about the crime a truck stop will bring. That is false. Now back in the 70’s and 80’s that may have been true. Nowadays all trucks have armed security. As a woman truck driver, I have never felt unsafe at a truck stop. It does not bring drugs, prostitution, human trafficking, or serial killers. This is fear mongering at its worst and is dangerous. Truck drivers deserve more respect. Everything that we all have or consume is delivered by a truck. Our food, lumber to build our homes, furniture and decor that we all love to use, eat or display is delivered by long haul truckers. The lack of knowledge about the trucking industry is not their fault. They have been misinformed by fear mongering. Statistically, 40% of all truckers are now women. Truckers are hard working and they deserve a safe place to park, sleep, shower, and eat. We owe it to them for all that they do in providing goods throughout this country. 

 

Also, my neighbors will use the argument of increased air and noise pollution. Today, most trucks have DPF systems to ensure that truck pollution is minimal. I find it to be very hypocritical, that my neighbors love Luke Air Force Base yet will not accommodate the trucking industry. The jets continually release fumes and jet fuel over our heads. The noise from jets breaking sound barriers is more harmful than a 100 trucks.

 

My neighbors argue about the traffic of the big trucks being solely caused because of the truck stop alone. With all of the warehouses and distribution centers, we already have more traffic than ever before. It has not caused any grief to residents except for making them go the actual speed limit. The truckers will not be detouring through neighborhoods or by the schools. Truckers are smarter than that. They like and appreciate the quick on and off access to highways.

 

We have a state prison right down the street. Residents seem to be more comfortable with incarcerated prisoners than truck drivers. The prison had two escapees a few months ago. Neighbors didn’t seem to mind a few escaped prisoners and appeared to think of it as of no concern.

 

So, on behalf of our family and for all of my brothers and sisters in the trucking industry, please approve this Love’s truck stop. We appreciate a clean and safe place to lay over as I am sure you also appreciate the delivery of food and consumer products we haul and you use.

 

Thank you very much for your time,

 

Joe and Kathy Papineau

18028 W. Medlock Dr.

Litchfield Park AZ 85340

© Joyce Clark, 2020         

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Feb 20

3

Hotel and apartment development in the Yucca district

Posted by Joyce Clark on February 3, 2020
Posted in City Council Actions • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale Economic Development • Glendale elected officials • Glendale finances • Glendale zoning issues • Yucca district  | Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

Let’s review hotel projects first. I have no further data at this time other than their locations. Generally, most of the hotels that have been built in our district have approximately 200 rooms:

Townplace Suites Hotel at 7271 N. Zanjero Blvd. has been approved and is in the design review stage.

The Aloft Hotel by Marriot @ Westgate located at 6920 N. 93rd Avenue is open.

Tru by Hilton is located at 6610 N. 95th Avenue and is under construction.

Marriot Towne Place Hotel in Zanjero is now under construction.

The Holiday Inn Hotel is located at 6151 N. 99th Avenue, adjacent to TopGolf, is under construction.

We now have 5 hotels in the Zanjero area. Three are already in business and two are under construction. There are another 6 hotels in Westgate. Five are already in business and one is under construction and 1 hotel under construction on the west side of the Loop 101. With 12 hotels that brings the total number of hotel rooms in the area to approximately 2,000 to 2,400 rooms.

When it comes to apartments we also are experiencing a lot of activity. My reputation over the years has been to oppose apartments but there is one exception to that caveat. I do believe apartments are appropriate in a few selected locations: west of 91st Avenue in the Westgate/Zanjero area and on the west side of the Loop 101 close to these two major economic centers. Population mass is needed to sustain the Westgate/Zanjero areas now and into the future.

We will see little, if any, residential development on the west side of the Loop 101. Council would like to see more commercial and retail on the immediate west side of the Loop 101 and industrial development along the Loop 303 corridor.

Again, I have only apartment locations to offer and no hard data on the density or the number of units:

Urban 95 Apartments will be located at 9600 W. Georgia Avenue. It is approved but has not submitted for design review.

The Zanjero Apartments is located at 7375 N. Zanjero Blvd. and is under construction.

95 Camelback at 5151 N. 95th Avenue and is under construction.

Zanjero Sante Assisted Living at 7410 N. Zanjero Blvd. is approved and is under design review.

There are 3 more apartment complex proposals but they have not come before city council yet and until they receive city council approval or denial I am not at liberty to discuss them. There are more development projects that are only in the conceptual stage and may or may not ever end up being submitted to the city.

There were a few apartment complexes (2?) such as Summerly at Zanjero that were approved by city council while I was not a councilmember. As such I have very little information or history on them.

To sum it up, the Yucca district has 5 new hotels bringing the total to 12, 3 new apartment complexes and 1 assisted living facility recently opened, approved and under design review or under construction with more of each kind of development to come.

Elliot Pollack, one of the best know economic gurus in the state, once said during a speech he gave in Glendale years ago that Glendale and especially the Westgate/Zanjero/Loop 101 was destined to become the geographic center of the Valley. His prognostication is now becoming reality as development marches westward in the state. We are not only destined to become the Valley’s geographic center but we are already the state’s mega center for sports and entertainment. The Yucca district has a baseball Spring Training Complex, a hockey arena, the new brand of golf entertainment and a football stadium. More mega entertainment opportunities will be coming, of that I am certain.

Next up, I’ll be reviewing commercial and industrial development and the tremendous opportunities for job creation for Glendale’s residents. It is extensive. It will take me several days to compile all of the information.

© Joyce Clark, 2020         

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner

Jan 20

31

Residential development status in the Yucca district

Posted by Joyce Clark on January 31, 2020
Posted in City Council Actions • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale Economic Development • Glendale elected officials • Glendale finances • Glendale zoning issues • Yucca district  | Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

I view Facebook and NextDoor sites regularly. There are always questions about what’s coming here or what’s coming there. It’s been awhile since I have done any updates about development in our district. Trust me, there is a great deal. I’m going to tackle residential development first and in follow up blogs I will cover commercial development.

Let’s start with the project we all love to hate…Stonehaven. A little background on this one. It will have 1,364 lots. Some of them could be as small as 3,000 and 3,500 square foot sized lots. Unfortunately, a majority of council approved this. Only Vice Mayor Malnar and I voted in opposition. This was despite 1,000 local Yucca district resident signatures presented in a petition of opposition to the proposed project to the city council. This council squandered an opportunity to create a signature residential subdivision on one of the last remaining large parcels slated for development. It is actually larger than Rovey Farms Estates which contains about 800 homes. However, the Rovey Farm lot sizes range from 7,000 square feet to over an acre in size.

The Stonehaven subdivision is located at 9050 W. Camelback Road. On its south side. which abuts the north side of Camelback Road, it goes from 87th Avenue to 91st Avenue. Its west side goes from the Grand Canal to Camelback Road. Its east side does the same and surrounds already existent housing and commercial. Its north side goes from 83rd Avenue to 91st Avenue, just south of the Grand Canal.

Here is the latest information on its progress which only addresses 565 of the 1,365 lots:

  • Parcel 2 167 lots         Final Plat approved
  • Parcel 3 72 lots         In design review, Pulte Homes
  • Parcel 4 38 lots         In design review, Pulte Homes
  • Parcel 5 85 lots         In design review, Pulte Homes
  • Parcel 6 37 lots         In design review, Pulte Homes
  • Parcel 7 25 lots         In design review, Taylor Morrison Homes
  • Parcel 8 45 lots         In design review, Taylor Morrison Homes 
  • Parcel 13A 67 lots         In design review, Pulte Homes
  • Parcel 14 29 lots         In design review, Pulte Homes

When design review is complete we can assume construction of these homes will begin. You might have noticed the activity on the 83rd Avenue side of the project. The large concrete pipes are the sewer pipes which are s-l-o-w-l-y being installed. All of the infrastructure, water, sewer, electrical,  internal roads and internet, must be installed before work can begin on Bethany Home Road (now known as Cardinals Way) and construction of homes can begin.

Another residential project that has received entitlement but no design review has been submitted, is Orangewood Terrace at 7901 W. Orangewood Avenue. It will be a subdivision whose lot sizes (51 lots) is large and compatible with the large lots adjacent to the proposed subdivision.

The Orangewood Ranch subdivision is located at 7536 N. 83rd Avenue and is comprised of 43 lots. Its lots will be comparable to the Rovey Farm Estates subdivision. It is entitled but has not submitted for design review.

The Enclave at Rovey Farms subdivision, with 43 lots, located at 8806 W. Emil Rovey Parkway is currently in design review. Once that is approved expect construction to begin.

The Bethany Ranch subdivision of 56 lots, located at 5850 N. 71st Avenue and Bethany Home Road is a Garrett Walker project. It is nearly finished. All lots are sold and the last homes within it are in various stages of construction. I note that this subdivision was immensely successful and once the model homes were open they sold out in under a year.

Northern Ridge Estates subdivision containing 53 lots by KB Homes now has its model homes open. I expect it to be sold out within 6 months. It is located at 8237 W. Northern Avenue, adjacent to 83rd Avenue.

The Garden Grove and Affinity at Positano subdivisions of 138 lots located at 8510 and 8450 W. Glendale Avenue are Taylor Morrison/K Hovanian projects. They only have a few lots left. I expect the last lots to be sold by the end of February.

Cadance at Westgate Village subdivision located at 8835 W. Glendale Avenue is another K. Hovanian project of 71 lots of primarily R1-5 (5,000 sf lots). The site is currently being prepared and the first model home is under construction.

El Prado I and II subdivisions located at 7932 W. Camelback Road is another Taylor Morrison project with 119 lots. The El Prado II lot sizes abutting the acre lot homes to the west of the project will be larger lots compatible to those large lots. This project is just beginning construction of its infrastructure.

The Camelback Village subdivision located at 8420 W. Camelback Road has 53 lots by Hillstone Homes. It is entitled but has not submitted for design review.

The Jaafar Estates subdivision will be at 7111 N. 83rd Avenue and is comprised of 23 lots. It has not submitted for design review. This is the only subdivision I opposed and did not vote for. It is a long, narrow strip of land with 4,500 square foot lots.  It should not have been approved by council as it does not meet the concept of 83rd Avenue as a large lot corridor. It has not submitted for design review.

That’s 13 subdivisions either nearly sold out, under construction, under design review or in some cases, have not yet submitted for design review. This is stunning and amazing. I don’t think anyone realizes the magnitude of residential development occurring in our district.

Here’s a trivia fact I discovered while reviewing the last census data available for our area. The Yucca district, since the last census in 2010, has grown in population by 104%. Each city district is supposed to have a generally equal population. In 2010, the figure was 45,000 per district. A doubling of the Yucca district population since 2010 requires that the city conduct a redistricting of the city in order to once again equalize the district populations. Once the 2020 figures are compiled and released by the federal government in 2021 I will ask that redistricting begin.

In my next blog I will cover apartment and hotels. Believe me, there are plenty of those as well!

© Joyce Clark, 2020         

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Jan 20

23

A bit of this and a bit of that

Posted by Joyce Clark on January 23, 2020
Posted in City Council Actions • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials • Glendale election 2020 • Glendale finances • Glendale's Fire Union • Heroes Park • Yucca district • Yucca district election 2020  | Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

I have published two blogs on “What’s great about Glendale” and there will be more to come over the next few months but I wanted to take a break from that series and share other events and issues happening in Glendale.

Perhaps the most important events yet to occur this year are the Glendale and national elections. The Primary Election is in August of 2020 and the General Election is in November of 2020. The people of the United States will choose who will be the President of the United States for the next four years.

Perhaps what may be of more importance to you is our local election selecting  3 councilmembers and the mayor of Glendale. Those elected will determine the direction of Glendale for the next four years. Those running for reelection are:

  • Mayor Jerry Weiers. As of this date in January one person has taken out a nominating petition packet with the intent of running against him.
  • Councilmember Ray Malnar. As of this date in January one person has taken out a nominating packet with the intention of running against him.
  • Councilmember Ian Hugh. As of this date in January one person has taken out a nominating packet with the intention of running against him.
  • Councilmember Joyce Clark. As of this date in January three people have take out a nominating packet with the intention of running against me.

These possible opponents must do the following to get on the ballot. Each must form a Political Action Committee (a PAC) and register it with the City Clerk. In March each must turn in their citizens’ nominating signatures to the City Clerk. Those signatures must be verified and then accepted by the City Clerk in order to have their names placed on the ballot. The signatures presented must be of a minimum amount and the number required varies by district and also must be verified as registered voters.

Then the fun begins. Each candidate must make their case to the electorate over the next 4 months – April to the Primary Election date in August. That takes cash for signs and mailers. It may sound like there is lots of time but there really isn’t.

This is where I need your help. If you think I’ve done a good job as your representative please make a contribution to my campaign. I can’t succeed without your help. There are two ways that you can contribute:

  • Please go to my campaign website,www.joyceclark2020.com, click on the “Donate” page and follow the prompts to make an online donation.
  • While you are reading this, make out a check payable to Joyce Clark 2020 and mail it to:

      Joyce Clark 2020                                                                              8628 W. Cavalier Drive                                                                      Glendale, AZ 85305                                  

Thank you for your support. I deeply appreciate it.

Now, on to other things….recently I had the opportunity to meet one on one with Arick O’Hara, the newly elected President of the Glendale Fire Union. We had a thorough and frank discussion and for the first time in many years I believe that this President of the Glendale Fire Union is someone I can work with. Only time will tell but I am very hopeful.

The City Council will begin budget workshops in March for the upcoming Fiscal Year 2020-21. As I have said on previous occasions, in fighting between staff and city council on allocating funding only occurs when the economy is good. When there is no money there is nothing to fight over.

One of my goals is to secure the funding to complete construction of the remaining elements of Heroes Park. Another is to secure some funding for the Scalloped Street program and for upgrading bus stops. I’m sure you’ve driven on a street like 83rd Avenue between Glendale and Northern Avenues. The street is 2 lanes wide in both directions on some portions and not on other portions. That’s because city policy is to have the developer of a new project such as the newly constructed church on the northwest corner of 83rd and Northern put in the new lanes adjacent to their property.  It becomes a safety issue as the second lane appears and disappears along the street. We are at the point where I do not expect much more development, if any, on 83rd. With the Scalloped Street Program the city constructs roadway where it is lacking and no further development is expected.

There are many bus stops that have only a bus stop sign planted in the dirt. These locations need a shade structure with seating, a concrete pad and a waste receptacle. If we are going to not only work on beautifying Glendale and to encouraging bus ridership, upgrading bus stops should be a priority.

Recently on NextDoor, a website application that connects neighbors and neighborhoods together, there was a great deal of comment about New Year’s celebratory fireworks. In my opinion they were excessive and long running. People in my neighborhood started shooting them off in the early evening and they persisted until several hours after midnight. For about 8 hours my neighborhood sounded like a war zone. In addition, I know darn well a lot of them were illegal, shot into the air. I kept waiting for embers to start some kind of fire in my yard. It has become ridiculous.

I’ve read and reread the Arizona Statutes on fireworks. The state legislature has pretty well prohibited cities from regulating them in any way but I think I have found a tiny loop hole. The state legislature mandates the times of year when fireworks are legal to use. OK.  So far the legislature has not messed with the daily time period when fireworks are legal. I have asked our Intergovernmental Department to work with several legislators making for example, the hours from 11 PM to 1 AM, as the legal time period for using fireworks.

Last year I introduced the concept of having a municipal representative on the state liquor board. Many liquor licenses that are granted end up have a detrimental effect in a neighborhood. Having a municipal representative on the board will perhaps make it more sensitive to the concerns of neighborhoods.  The legislation  made it through all of the legislative hoops until it hit the Governor’s office where he vetoed it. State Representative Anthony Kern sponsored the bill last year and has announced that he will introduce it again this year. “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” or “the second time is the charm?”

I don’t usually make this offer but if you have a topic about which you would like to know more or a topic that needs further discussion or explanation I urge you to post your suggestion as a comment to this blog. No promises but I’ll see what I can do to fulfill your request.

© Joyce Clark, 2020         

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

 

Jan 20

17

What’s great about Glendale? Part 2

Posted by Joyce Clark on January 17, 2020
Posted in City Council Actions • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Downtown Glendale • Glendale elected officials • Glendale finances  | Tagged With: , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

In my last blog I shared some of the innovations, strategies and cost savings to tax payers in the Transportation Department. In this blog I tackle Landfill, Recycling and Trash Pickup. These are not sexy programs but they are essential to our daily living. The personnel in these departments are often unseen and undervalued.

City Council has approved and restored funding for some essential services that help to keep our city looking good. I can’t tell you the number of complaints I received about the lack of street sweeping in neighborhoods. When we, and everyone else, were in recession we cut back on our street sweeping schedule reducing the service to quarterly. Now, instead of street sweeping 4 times a year, it has been restored to every other month – 6 times a year.

Did you know right-of-way cleaning has increased by 25%? Each day about 25 pounds of trash are picked up with the creation of a dedicated litter patrol?

Are you annoyed when your neighbor puts out bulk trash right after it’s been picked up? A solid waste inspector has been added dedicated to dealing with these complaints. Make sure you call and register your complaints about this issue because we now have a person solely dedicated to dealing with them. We heard you and want to help you to keep your neighborhoods looking good.

By the way, did you know that our city is the only one that provides once-a-month pickup of bulk trash free of charge? I live on a street of large lot homes. Most of us have a tremendous amount of vegetation. When bulk trash makes a pickup on our street they are definitely earning their pay as they pick up mounds of tree limbs, brush and grass clippings.

Did you know that the city has a Landfill Master Plan? Our landfill serves about 55,000 households as well as some surrounding communities such as Avondale, Peoria and reciprocally with Phoenix.  It is important to maximize its current use in order to increase its lifespan as well. Right now the landfill deals with about 350,000 tons of garbage each year and our recycling facility deals with another 15,000 tons.

The landfill is made up of two distinct cells, the South Cell, currently in use, and the North Cell, currently being prepared for use in anticipation of the South Cell’s closure. By 2021 digging out the first portion of the North Cell will be completed.

Then beginning in 2022-2023 Phase 1 of the North Cell liner will be installed and the transition from using the South Cell to the North Cell will begin. The dirt from the North Cell excavations will be saved and stock piled to be used as daily cover. That means after all of the daily garbage has been put in, some of the dirt from the stock pile is used to cover that day’s trash collection.  Staff’s extensive planning for the use of our landfill has ensured that it will have capacity for more than the next 50 years.

Here’s another innovative program – Alley Gates. It seems inconsequential but it turns out that it is not. Have you ever driven down one of our alleys? They are located in the older portions of our community. They tend to be nasty. Trash strewn all over, weeds, varmints attracted by all of the trash, illegal dumping, a haven for crime related activities that are difficult to observe and they are often a magnet for the homeless. A majority of residents abutting an alley can request the alley gates or in some cases, certain city departments; Police, Field Operations, or Code Compliance can request the gates for safety, operations or health reasons.

The 300 gallon bins are removed and residents get the 95 gallon containers. All trash is removed from the alley followed by a street sweeper. Then the gates are closed and locked. If a resident needs access to the alley they may borrow a key from the city (to be returned). Since the program started in 2016, 27 alleys have been gated.

Another new, innovative program is the adoption of routing software for both residential and commercial garbage pickup. Right now it is about to be implemented for commercial routes. Once that is complete, it will be used for residential routes. Why bother? Well, first of all, the program figures out the best routes to use. That ends up reducing mileage driven and equalizes routes for all of the drivers. Improved routing will cause a reduction in overtime charges, a reduction in fuel costs, a prolonging of the life span of garbage trucks and a reduction in maintenance costs.

The last major innovation I will share today is the city’s Blue Barrel Pilot Program. What many residents don’t know is that while recycling feels good, after all, we’re helping to clean our environment — our recyclables are so contaminated, that fewer and fewer recyclable companies will accept our material.

Did you know that some of the only items you will soon be asked to place in your green recycling container will be plastic water bottles, plastic soda bottles and milk jugs? On the bottom of each piece of plastic is a triangle with a number in it. It’s not easy to find or to read it but it is important for the health of our recycling program. The city doesn’t want and cannot use plastics with the numbers 3 though 7 on the bottom of the container. It will soon be starting an education program for all residents about proposed changes. Here’s a quick graphic explaining what’s acceptable and what isn’t:

The city started the Blue Barrel Pilot Program to audit the level of contamination in recycling containers as well as the level of participation of our residents. Why a blue barrel? Why not use the barrels we have now? Many residents have problems in distinguishing between the beige garbage containers and the pale, sage green recycling containers. Below are some preliminary results:                        As a result of the preliminary audits, city council is questioning whether the city should continue recycling. At some future date there will be a workshop devoted to this topic once the Pilot Program is completed. 

Why bother to share these and other great activities occurring in Glendale? It’s very, very easy to criticize but much more difficult to recognize the good.  Glendale’s employees, when unleashed, are creative and innovative. They, too, love Glendale whether they live here or not.

They are proud of the work they do to serve you and to make Glendale the great city that it is. I believe it is important to share their strategies and programs they have implemented to make Glendale stand out from our sister Valley cities.

© Joyce Clark, 2020         

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.  

Jan 20

6

What’s great about Glendale? Part 1

Posted by Joyce Clark on January 6, 2020
Posted in Camelback Ranch Spring Training Facility • City Council Actions • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale Economic Development • Glendale elected officials • Glendale finances • State Farm Stadium • Westgate • Yucca district • Zanjero  | Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

Too often we read in the media about all the things that are wrong with Glendale (or any other city, for that matter) because community wrongs, weaknesses and failures – in other words, any form of sensationalism, sells. I can’t remember the last time the media reported good news about Glendale.

Most of us are not even aware of the improvements made in our city or may take them for granted. There is much to be proud of in Glendale. This city council has made many good policy decisions that have positively affected your quality of life. Over the next couple of blogs I want to share just some of the improvements that have become part of the fabric of life in Glendale.

The three years of my city council term, from January of 2017 to January of 2020,  have proven to be amazing for Glendale. Here are just some of the often unnoticed improvements affecting all residents. In this edition of my blog I have chosen transportation first because traveling through our community you will have likely encountered one or more of them.

HAWK at 65th Ave. and Bethany Home Rd.

A HAWK is an acronym for a High-Intensity Activated Crosswalk. It is a pedestrian activated traffic light that stops traffic at pedestrian critical crossing locations proven to be very dangerous for those attempting to cross a major street. Historically they are at locations that account for many pedestrian fatalities. To date four of them have been installed throughout the city at:
                    *  60th Avenue and Bethany Home Road
                    *  65th Avenue and Glendale Avenues
                    *  63rd Avenue and Beardsley Avenues
                    *  65th Avenue and Bethany Home Road

Flashing Yellow

Flashing Yellow Arrows have become more and more commonplace throughout our city. These blinking yellow traffic signal lights allow motorists to make a left turn during a green light period as long as there is no oncoming traffic. Their purpose is to relieve traffic congestion at major intersections. They have been installed at 16 different intersections throughout the city and more are to come:

  • 59th Avenue & Glendale Avenue
  • 59th Avenue & Olive Avenue (during nighttime and weekends)
  • 51st Avenue & Peoria Avenue
  • 59th Avenue & Union Hills Drive
  • 51st Avenue & Glendale Avenue
  • 67th Avenue & Deer Valley Road
  • Dysart Road & Glendale Avenue
  • 75th Avenue & Deer Valley Road
  • 99th Avenue & Cardinals Way
  • El Mirage Road & Glendale Avenue
  • 83rd Avenue & Bethany Home Road
  • 91st Avenue & Montebello Avenue
  • 95th Avenue & Camelback Road
  • 67thAvenue & Pinnacle Peak Road
  • 67th Avenue & Bell Road
  • 59th Avenue & Thunderbird Road

The city continues its pavement management program to rehab all 748 miles of city streets. Council directed that $5 million dollars a year for each of five years be used to rehab residential streets. Streets that have not been done yet can expect some treatment in the next two years. Unfortunately one of the contractors was found to have performed sub standard work and those streets will be remediated. In tandem with improving residential streets throughout our city there are major arterial streets over 20 and 30 years old that require reconstruction. These will be done as funding becomes available. In addition to these two strategies there are some instances where a new street needs to be constructed to spur further economic development. One such case is Ballpark Boulevard.

Ballpark Boulevard will connect the Camelback Ranch training facility with the Westgate area and is scheduled to open in February of 2020 to coincide with the start of the Spring Training season. This roadway extension closes a significant gap in the city’s transportation system and provides traffic options for getting between the two venues. The effect of constructing this road along the Maryland Avenue alignment is that it opens up a great deal of land for economic development. Knowing that this road is almost completed has caused the property owners along this new street to master plan their land concentrating on more job opportunities with commercial, retail and office space. There will be some residential but very little as the primary goal is to provide Glendale residents with more jobs.

The same objectives are being realized along 95th now that it is open and connects Glendale Avenue to Bethany Home Road. Many land parcels along this corridor are about to come forward for approval. The plans include a mix of apartments, office spaces, retail and entertainment venues.

The last piece of the immediate connectivity puzzle is the construction of Bethany Home Road (it will be called Cardinals Way) between 83rd Avenue and 91st Avenue. The construction of this road is the responsibility of the developers of the Stonehaven residential subdivision, Pulte Homes and the John F. Long Trust. Even though Stonehaven was approved in June of 2018 it is just now that the developers have finally begun any work on the road. At their current pace do not expect to see it completed until sometime in 2021.

Camelback Rd. looking west from 43rd Ave.

Major street reconstruction projects have begun with the reconstruction of Camelback Road starting on its east side from 43rd Avenue to 51st Avenue. I have lived in Glendale since 1968. That’s 51 years and in that time Camelback Road has never been reconstructed. Major arterial streets last usually have a lifespan of 20 to 30 years. This type of work carries a large price tag of anywhere from $2 million to $5 million dollars per mile dependent upon the condition of the street. In this case, the city is also replacing the waterline that runs under this street.

Northern Parkway

The city in conjunction with its partners, Maricopa County, Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG), El Mirage and Peoria, continue its relentless move of the Northern Parkway Project starting from its western side, the Loop 303, to its eastern termination at Grand Avenue (US 60). Currently work is being done in the El Mirage Road area. The next segment will extend to the western side of the Loop 101.

There are bus routes and street lighting that have changed for the better. The bus route on 83rd Avenue used to run from Camelback Road to Northern Avenue. In conjunction with Peoria, this route has been expanded and now goes beyond Northern to P83 and Bell Road. In this budget cycle I will be asking for funding to improve many of the bus stops that have a sign planted in the dirt identified as a bus stop.

All street lights in Glendale have now been converted to LED lighting. This initiative was my “ask” in the budget cycle of 2017. As a result of the completion of this initiative Glendale saves about half a million dollars a year in the cost of operating and maintenance. In addition it has received an annual rebate from APS of about another half million dollars resulting in one million dollars of reduced street light costs.

There is certainly more to call out and to brag about with regard to the progress Glendale has made in transportation. It would take far too much space to share it all. I have tried to highlight some of them. The point is that this city council  has made major investments in transportation to improve everyone’s quality of life, to catch up on long overdue roadway maintenance, to provide greater interconnectivity that will spur new economic development, and to adopt new cost saving initiatives that save taxpayer dollars.

My next blog will concentrate on economic development within the city. As a preview I continue to say that Glendale is hot! Glendale is the preferred location in the West Valley for some extraordinary development projects. Stay tuned…

© Joyce Clark, 2020         

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

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