Developer opposes Farmington’s closed-door meetings
Zone changes need review, input, he says
By MICHELE HOWEY Standard-Examiner correspondent
FARMINGTON — A developer is not happy with proposed changes to the transit-oriented zone he was granted on 140 acres west of the freeway in December. Ron Martinez also is upset with the city for holding subcommittee meetings behind closed doors. The developer said he is concerned that proposed changes to the zone will not be available for review until Wednesday, just one day before a public hearing will be held on the issue during the planning commission meeting. “You need to give enough time to allow people to review it and allow for a robust dialogue,” Martinez said. “It is unfortunate behavior to me. It sends a message to developers and constituents on how the city treats the process. It’s inappropriate.” City Manager Max Forbush answered Martinez’s comments about being treated unfairly by saying, “It’s our city — it’s not his city. We’re going to treat him as fair as possible, but we’re in charge of planning our city. “We’re being careful on how we plan our city, and we’re not delaying him on purpose. This is a big thing for Farmington. We’re going as fast as we can, methodically,” he said. “We want to do a good job. We don’t want to be unfair to anyone. We just want to do it right.” Martinez has said he feels the city is making changes to the zone because officials are not happy with plans he has for the area. Those plans include a mix of high-density housing, office space and retail space, which could include some big-box stores. “Once I’m zoned, process me,” Martinez said. “I have the right of due process.” Mayor Scott Harbertson has said the subcommittee meetings were not made public because members of the committee did not constitute a quorum of either the planning commission or the city council, and the city wanted the subcommittee to be able to proceed without outside influences.
Officials from both the city council and planning commission got a first look at proposed changes in a presentation from a consulting group working with the subcommittee, which is tasked with “tightening” the zone and setting more development standards. Martinez, of America West Development, and his team were at the presentation, during which they expressed concerns about not having been allowed to be part of the process, despite what they said are repeated requests to be included in meetings that will have far-reaching effects on their property. Martinez’s team renewed its request to meet and share information before any decisions are made. “Moving forward without that input would be a big mistake,” Martinez said. Forbush said officials and staff would “think about and discuss it, and get back to him.” Officials have said Martinez’s plans are not the kind of mixed use they want. They object to the density proposed in some of the residential areas and want more office space than is now included. They said they also have concerns about allowing bigbox stores in the area, as they want the area to remain walkable rather than filled with large parking lots. Susie Pethram, of Cooper, Roberts, Simonsen & Associates, an architectural and planning firm advising the subcommittee, suggested two major changes to the zone. Those changes include switching to a form-based code, which is more graphic than text-oriented, and imposing a grid street system as part of the ordinance to keep development based around smaller, walkable blocks. Pethram said the design would be based on a type of street hierarchy, with different percentages for target use in certain areas, including residential, office and retail. “The city wants to have more certainty and control as to how that area is going to end up,” she said, adding that using the form-based code and street hierarchy will achieve that. She said typical residential uses should fall between 25 percent and 60 percent of the overall plans, retail should make up between 10 percent and 30 percent, and office should make up between 20 percent and 50 percent. She explained that, in form-based code, the emphasis is on location and orientation rather than use and density. Areas are defined around districts and neighborhoods to relate to the transportation framework. “It shifts from density and use to how a building frames the public space,” she said. “Essentially, it streamlines the process and provides more standards up-front. It puts more limitations on where the building can go, but more flexibility for design.” It will also save time, money and guesswork on the part of the developer, she said. “The road grid system is a way of spot zoning me,” Martinez said in an interview the day after the meeting. “It won’t work for the retail side. They are trying to exact from me my rights. If they want to make that a part of their ordinance, we’re going to fight that.”
