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Candidates
<br />~o gather· for
<br />qrues~oning
<br />By,JOH~~HROE~~~~v~~~ ~ o
<br />The Arizona Republic · V ifd'
<br />Pressure from developers, a utili-
<br />ty-purchase question and traffic
<br />congestion are likely to emerge as
<br />major issues when five Par.adise
<br />Valley Town Council incumbents
<br />and five challengers square off Jan. ·
<br />20 in a candidates forum.
<br />The forum, sponsored by the
<br />weekly Paradise Valley Indepim-
<br />dent newspaper and the Paradise
<br />Valley Republican Caucus, begins
<br />at 7 p.m. at the Phoenix Country
<br />Day School, 3901 E. Stanford Drive.
<br />The 10 candidates for seven
<br />council seats in the Feb. 9 primary
<br />election will respond to questions .!
<br />from a panel of news-media repre-.
<br />sentatives and from the audience.
<br />Although the affluent rommu-
<br />•· nity historically has barred most
<br />forms of commerCial development,
<br />developers last year launched an
<br />intensive effort to getthe town to
<br />permit limited commercial develop-
<br />ment and higher-density residen-
<br />.tialbuilding along major roads .
<br />. · Ever· increasing commuter traffic
<br />through the town also has been
<br />troublesome for the town leaders,
<br />with more than 50,000 cars a day
<br />using some of the town's major
<br />thoroughfares.
<br />· The council last year also was.
<br />urged by the Paradise Valley
<br />Homeowners Association to evalu-
<br />ate purchasing Arizona Public Ser-
<br />vice Co.'s electricity-distribution
<br />system serving the town as a way of
<br />cutting electric costs. .
<br />The incumbents are Mayor Rob-
<br />Plenge, Vice Mayor Joan Lin·.
<br />coin, Richard Andeen, Sara Moya·
<br />and Kent Wick.
<br />New candidates are George Hud·
<br />· man, John Miller, Richard Mybcck,
<br />Earl Eisenhower and Scott O'Con-
<br />nor. l
<br />Councilmen Russ Mosser and {
<br />James Coffee have decided not to I
<br />seek new terms. t
<br />After the March 29 general ;
<br />election, the council will pick the 1
<br />mayor and vice mayor from among
<br />the members .who serve two-year ,
<br />terms. All seven seats are up •
<br />; elect~n every two yeary,. · ,. . . .. ·~ •";.-·. . ". ·-
<br />.. ~od·;
<br />(f!ijl ni iiJ:J [1 t~Y,/:
<br />/i:u-TTE 1-f!-rfR By Pat Kosscm
<br />The Phoenix Gazette
<br />ARADISE VALLEY -Few
<br />Valley residents know or care
<br />about this tiny enclave of
<br />wealthy homeowners wedged be-
<br />tween Scottsdale and Phoenix.
<br />Reporters or pollsters rarely
<br />: call for the mayor's opinion.
<br />; Few: .. care about its Town Council
<br />campaigns.
<br />Most people· think Paradise Valley is
<br />· the name of an area in northeast Phoenix ..
<br />· TheY know nothing about the other
<br />: Paradise Valley, a 16-square-mile town
<br />. with about 12,000 residents sprinkled on
<br />: and around Mummy Mountain. .
<br />· That's just the way this community -
<br />: filled with celebrities, the fabulously rich
<br />. and a few, semi-wealthy old timers __:.
<br />· wantsit. . .
<br />It's a place where the residents, who
<br />: live in mansions or sprawling estates on
<br />: one or. more acres, prefer streets that look
<br />· more like unlit, unmaintained country
<br />·lanes.
<br />· A place where speeders· are not only ·
<br />. tracked but photographed, where commer-
<br />: cial development is called a "disease" and
<br />condominiums are unwelcomed.
<br />A place that's sitting on a $12·million .
<br />: budget surplus.
<br />· And a place that's fighting for its life.
<br />This sober town of elegant country
<br />living -. sitting in a Valley drunk on
<br />· growth· mvf development -is clinging to·
<br />a zoning code and 25-year tradition that
<br />. strictly limits commercial building. . .
<br />. · A few stores grandfathered in thr~.ugh
<br />Carn«:Bidate~1
<br />~?-to gatlheajl V()&li.
<br />que~~· ooninf~
<br />?I f II r? Ll C::'~#
<br />By JOHN SCI-irf6Ef1 .15 I . D 1?
<br />!he Arizona Republic /-W -(} 0
<br />Pressure from developers, a utili-
<br />ty-purchase question and traffic
<br />congestion are likely to emerge as ·
<br />major issue~> when five Paradise
<br />Valley Town Council incumbents
<br />and five challengers square off Jan.
<br />20 in a candidates forum.
<br />The forum begins at 7 p.m. at the
<br />Phoenix Country Day School, 3901
<br />E. Stanford Drive. ·
<br />The 10 candidates for seven
<br />council seats in the Feb. 9 primary
<br />election wm respond to questions
<br />from a pariel of news~media repre-
<br />sentatives and from the audience.
<br />Developers last year launched an
<br />effort to . get the town to permit ,
<br />limited development
<br />and higher-density residential
<br />building alongmajor roads.
<br />Ever-increasing commuter
<br />through town also
<br />troublesome for the town leaders.
<br />The council also has been urged .
<br />to consider purchasing Arizona
<br />Public Service Co.'s electricity-dis-
<br />tribution system in the town.
<br />Incumbents are Mayor Robert
<br />Plenge, Vice Mayor Jo~n .u1uo.;m.u,
<br />Richard Andeen, Sara Moya
<br />Kent Wiele. New candidates are
<br />George Hudman, John Miller, Rich-
<br />ard Mybeck, Earl Eisenhower
<br />O'Connor.
<br />James Garcia, The Phoenix Gazette
<br />The town's strict limits on commercial zoning are under fire.
<br />annexing, a collection of Mobil star-stud-
<br />ded resorts and one small medical com-
<br />plex are the only commercial develop-
<br />ments that have squeezed past the
<br />watchful eye of town fathers.
<br />That anti-commercial zoning has left
<br />large tracts ·of empty land along the
<br />town's busiest roads, which, developers
<br />argue, are too noisy and polluted for the
<br />one-acre homesites the town prefers.
<br />Even a few homeowners who live along
<br />those bus:y streets complain that only
<br />commercial developers are interested in
<br />buying their houses.
<br />In recent months, the town's zoning
<br />code has been threatened by action in the
<br />state Legislature and court action by
<br />developers.
<br />"I think someday it will collaps~/' said
<br />Lawrence Mann, director of the univer-
<br />sity of Arizona's Drachman Institute, a
<br />thmk tank dedicated to studying develop-
<br />ment.
<br />Compromise, said Mann, is the only
<br />hope Paradise Valley has to maintain its
<br />exclusivity. . . . . . ,
<br />"My suspicions -in fact, I·. know -
<br />that existing town fathers already reached
<br />a agreement to allow limited commercial
<br />development," Mann said.
<br />"No one's talking about it, but there
<br />have already been gestures toward open-
<br />ing up Scottsdale Road.''
<br />Last year, when town officials appeared
<br />unwilling to negotiate, developers com-
<br />plained to the Legislature. The lawmakers
<br />listened and threatened to push through a
<br />surprisingly popular bill allowing Para-
<br />dise Valley landowners to deannex from
<br />the town.
<br />That bill would permit owners to
<br />become part of Maricopa County or
<br />another municipality where building
<br />codes were less restrictive.
<br />In an effort to keep the bill from a vote,
<br />Town Council members agreed to commis-
<br />sion an independent land-use study.
<br />That completed study has been side~
<br />lined into a Planning and Zoning Commis-
<br />sion subcommittee, which has not met and
<br />has no deadline for issuing a report .
<br />"I think the possibility oflegislation is
<br />very real," Mann said. . .. · .
<br />Mayor Robert Plenge called the dean-
<br />nexation bill blackmail, but Mann called
<br />the town's stubborn approach toward any
<br />commercial development "far too suspi-
<br />cious to maintain.''
<br />Mann believes the town would come out
<br />on the losing end if it chooses to battle the
<br />lawmakers.
<br />The town has gained a reputation as an
<br />arrogant clique of .nealthy homeowners ,.
<br />f.V ooqnfiiJp discuss tax funds
<br />J .The Para(/:f!J?..J~qTown Coun6fi upfafe on the use of the town's bed Fibrosis for a celebrity auction to be
<br />will hear how ~he to.wn's 1 percent tax for advertising tourism in the held Jan. 23 at the Wyndham
<br />hotel .bed ta~ IS bemg spent at a area. Paradise Valley resort.
<br />council meetmg Thursday at 7:30 The town has committed a total of
<br />· p.m. at. the Town Hall, 6401 E. Lin-$350,000 to the chamber's tourism The council will also hear reports
<br />c:oln Dnve. marketing fund this year. from city officials concerning the
<br />Also on the agenda, council town's photo-radar system and
<br />The Scottsdale Chamber of Com-members will vote on approving a plans to straighten the Tatum
<br />merce will give council members an temporary liquor license to Cystic Boulevard curve.
<br />···~·· ·., .' . ; ' . ~ :
<br />.., : .. ~ '
<br />' .
<br />sitting on a $12 million surplus. . :
<br />They are notorious for not cooperatin~
<br />. in Valleywide projects,, including: Ir~n~
<br />portation and road maintenance, the :arts,
<br />or health an.dwelfare projects. · . · · ·: ~
<br />· "There's no doubt they.wou1d be:hutt if
<br />they ever got into a political dogfight{'
<br />Mann said. : · . ~
<br />"People . see the town. as elite ·ann
<br />selfish. They could not find the votes tb
<br />protect their.way of life. How will-they
<br />· explain to a rancher in Benson that th~s is
<br />what we have and this is what we want to
<br />keep?Itwon't hold up,~' .
<br />Mann believes\ the town is wealthy
<br />enough to pursue a court battle if it is
<br />initiated by a develop~r. . :
<br />Despite a trend toward the courts siding
<br />against cities in zoning battles, th~
<br />director of Arizona State University's
<br />Real Estate Center believes the town
<br />could win. · . \
<br />Jay .Butler said the .town;s small size
<br />·· and its nearness to cities with plenty of
<br />space for commercial growth and multi-
<br />family housing would work in its favor. :
<br />"There's been a lot of court cases that
<br />went against this kind of zoning," Butler
<br />said. "But these were isolated towns and
<br />·areas.'' :· ·.. ~ · ·
<br />But Mann believes the town can avoid $.
<br />court battle with developers by judicious
<br />compromise. · ·
<br />"It would cost a lot to do it, and if
<br />developers believe a compromise can be
<br />achieved, they won't. They'll threaten ang
<br />they're be a lot of heavy rhetoric,. but
<br />nobody wants to make the lawyers r~ch/
<br />Mann said.
<br />Jm'i Voters i~ th~ ;o~v11 ofPata~·:;i
<br />i. dif3e V?ll~y Wi.H gqt()the pg!!~rhf~
<br />special ()IE:lc:t!cm.J<nh 1~ t.Q, qi,'Wjq~ '
<br />on the nmmval .. of &. ~.g"yr:~r ...
<br />franchise with Ar~~ona pgl}J!gcS~r~~J
<br />. vice Co.l?ett(i3l.Je!_/-:/3-rf tf{
<br />•The Tow11 C<!mWi.!1 including th"l !i
<br />fivli) incum!Jent~ ~~·ing r(jl;lj()i;ti(m :f.
<br />. f!ext month, au4 Jl.!£,: Jive (:()4f1eij i;
<br />challenger~ hav~. ~ndor~JccJ t!w 1
<br />new, revised.··· a~f~~JTH.mt, <J :}
<br />hom.eownen:~1 asso(:iqtion ha\> j:;OHW l;
<br />out with a neutl;al'stmlce. ' ! . . ' . . . . .. . . . • • : ... -~j,
<br />In. addition to.· th~; rrmHI}.~,;~~ :\
<br />:. perce11t qf !?ros$ .paYnWn~ to1'ii~1~ ~
<br />' town, APS as. agree~ to, sw~~i~rJ 1
<br />tJ1o . p.gt. l:Jy .· Pa.Y~n~ : an · ~!l;Qitaf 11
<br />.. $;J(WQQ ~n H~'q -of, t~~~ ~nd'~!J l
<br />percQnt o.f ~m @fltiffiat~4, $.~Q mH' ~,·
<br />lio11; 1Q;Y~M Proj~t, tg MrY I?~ ~
<br />ril~s of A:PS ov~rh!l.a~ !'lle~rig ~
<br />.ln.Cf:ly .·. ' : ':, .·•· . -~·":d :
<br />The ·PQradi.se· •· VllU,~)' ~
<br />Homeowlwl'S Associatiop ea'dlcr i ·
<br />urged ·the council t.o·· delay' The j
<br />election until a study can be mad(! ,
<br />of alternatives to, APS. providin13!!.
<br />electricity tO the co~uiJunjty, ··· ,, ;i
<br />·Council members sa;'thc issue~ !I
<br />are , SCj~anitff aricJ' . that. a : nc\v ~~
<br />franchise is needed now because~
<br />the el(isting 25,year franchise ex~ i; ·
<br />pires soon. The towri is not lx>imd :i
<br />.by the franchise it it. decides it::
<br />wants to acquire the -utility,, at·
<br />·.some point in the future. •' · .-· .... ... ... ..,_ . .,.,,' ...
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