In our continuing series on questions for town council candidates we are asking this week about the General Plan. The General Plan is due for an update that must, by law, go to voters for approval in 2020.

The question is as follows: A new General Plan amendment is due to go to voters in 2020. How do you use this tool to sustain current residential quality of life? Attract necessary and sustainable commercial ventures? Maintain environmental stewardship? Enhance transportation opportunities?

Cecil Yates: I am very familiar with the ideas and goals of the document, as I was the chairman of the General Plan update committee in 2010.

We were able to update and add several opportunities for the smart growth of our community. We reached out to our Yavapai and Scottsdale neighbors to see how we can work together for the betterment of the entire area, as well as Fountain Hills.

The overall document lends itself to preserving the residential quality of life for all. The ideas and opportunities our campaign is revealing stays in line with the General Plan. Encouraging starter homes, and lower density apartments will attract the young families necessary to fill our schools, add to our tax base as well as diversify our population demographics.

Our residents are what primarily drives the demand for commercial projects. The goal of the General Plan is to keep commercial opportunities in the areas best utilized by folks, and stay in line with the small town feel of Fountain Hills. Believe it or not, both can and will be accomplished! Today’s building techniques and technological advances will enable the development opportunities we seek to maintain the environmental stewardship that makes Fountain Hills so beautiful.

More parks, mixed in with the desert landscape recommended will add and preserve our environment. Our work with Valley Metro, the town’s ride program and electric/self-driving car technology will provide some incredible transportation opportunities both in and around town, as well as the need to sometimes go abroad.

Ginny Dickey: The General Plan, a legally required municipal statement of land development policies, represents a 10-year strategy to address elements of land use, circulation, growth, the environment, development and water.

The mayor/council use the 10-year updates as a guide to reflect our collective vision for the town by requesting voter approval.

Fountain Hills has always sought to sustain a high quality of life, overarching all other elements. To do so, a resident’s perspective is key.

Encouraging commercial growth that best fits our community in all respects is important. For example, I didn’t favor the change allowing four-story buildings, nor the prospect of a lagoon at our signature Fountain Lake.

Having the infrastructure to support commercial activity, including modern technologies and education, while preserving views, managing noise, and protecting hillsides are all examples of considerations to identify appropriate growth.

Becoming a Dark Sky community was an environmental designation that aligned with our Fountain Hills mission statement; special character and stewardship of natural resources. Maintaining our desert feel, integration with wildlife, curbside recycling, energy considerations, and investing in Fountain Park should remain a vital part of our General Plan.

Transportation options should include connection to urban amenities while maintaining our existing roadways in an acceptable condition. We’ve fallen short of the General Plan for the downtown area through traffic calming and overall to be more pedestrian-friendly, plus keeping our roads in good repair.

The General Plan identifies critical steps to meet residents’ wishes; all voices should be heard as we create the 2020 version.

Alan Magazine: The Fountain Hills General Plan “serves to unite and support the community with a focused and comprehensive vision for guiding community growth and development.” Since first created in 1993, the Plan has been updated twice, each time approved by voters.

The 2020 update must reflect overall quality of life priorities and necessary objectives, not just “nice to have.” And they must be affordable.

Commercial ventures: The town has made strides in attracting commercial ventures. Since 2016, the town has issued 308 new licenses to businesses owned and operated in Fountain Hills, an increasing number of which are home-based. The 2020 Plan needs to address this new and growing trend as well as a strategy for growing our commercial sector.

Environment: This is our most important asset and must be protected through careful land use planning. Our lake and surrounding mountains should be respected by restricting building heights through important zoning and land use requirements.

Transportation: One of the advantages of living here is our ability to move around with a minimum of traffic disruption. The new Plan must assure efficient circulation with attention to the potential impact of State Trust Land development. Because most of us get around in our cars, the condition of our streets and how to pay for maintenance and improvements must be addressed.

Mike Scharnow: The General Plan (GP) is just that – general.

An update is timely since many things have changed since 2010.

Some of those changes include long-awaited downtown development, transfer of state trust land ownership, continuing decline in student population and closure of Four Peaks, opening of EVIT, development of Adero Canyon, more trail development and the impending opening of the town trailhead, uniform garbage/recycling collection, etc.

The GP provides a broad “vision” for guiding growth. More importantly, I think it does help unite citizens and private interests toward common goals.

This tool already is used and will continue to be used by planning staff and the council as different projects and concepts are evaluated and voted upon.

That’s important to me, as it provides the framework for discussion, citizen input and ultimately policy decisions by the council.

We must work hard to get as much citizen input as possible into the 2020 plan.

It will be a valuable guide as we – hopefully – scrutinize a viable development plan for the State Trust Land in the future.

I’m also hoping we can expand the Valley Metro bus presence here to better connect residents to public transportation and continue our strong record of environmental stewardship.

Our washes, mountain views, hiking trails, parks and adjoining open spaces remain important elements to our citizens and among the top reasons people move here.

The current Strategic Plan also is a valuable tool to be evaluated and incorporated into the updated GP.

David Spelich: In 2020 Fountain Hills will celebrate 50 years as an established community. This community’s founding vision “…to invigorate the body, mind and spirit…” combined with core values of public safety, community infrastructure and economic vitality still holds true today. A General Plan, driven by the residents of Fountain Hills, is an important accountability tool which creates a common platform for focused community goals and coordinated, prioritized local government initiatives/activities.

Any vision plan requires periodic updating to improve upon and adapt it to ever changing needs. The General Plan becomes a powerful tool, when used as a working document to structure meaningful dialogue and common goals. We must never lose the small-town charm that attracted us to this spectacular desert community.

Attracting commercial ventures/businesses is challenging in this age of Amazon. However, attracting savvy, internet friendly businesses that can sell needed services/product to residents is essential. Maintaining the harmony of the Sonoran environment is key to Fountain Hills survival, since most of us chose to live here because of this beauty.

Fountain Hills began as a master planned community – we must keep development and building construction thoughtful and appropriately scoped within this plan. Open space districts and views must be preserved. Water conservation must take a higher priority in the upcoming plan.

Partnerships that expand transportation opportunities can be increased by teaming with such entities as Valley Metro. Environmentally friendly strategically placed car charging stations create forward thinking, environmentally friendly options, which may draw people in to sample Fountain Hills amenities.

Marcus Bulow von Dennewitz: Defined: the General Plan serves two primary purposes. (1) To comply with the State’s Growing Smarter/Plus Legislation. And, (2) A guide which helps the council manage our community’s growth and development. It consists of seven required elements ranging from land to water usage.

Updating the plan is a wonderful opportunity! A chance to engage the public and town leaders (city management, Planning and Zoning, Vision Fountain Hills, The Chamber of Commerce, and The FHCCA) to provide input on updating the plan. This document sets a road map for our future.

We should consider using the plan to help attract an anchor employer similar to Moss Adams, The Mayo Clinic, The Vanguard, or a state agency like Arizona’s Fish and Game. Having a major employer will help spur economic activity and increase sales tax revenue as the entity’s employees would shop at our existing businesses. And, a major employer could add to our property tax collections and potentially raise property values as the people working in town could choose to settle in Fountain Hills.

The General Plan sells Fountain Hills! It highlights our strategic geographic location, age distribution, education level, and income. What a chance to work together and update the instrument to not only protect our environment and values, but also, attract a necessary and sustainable commercial venture: as in an anchor employer.

Gerry Friedel: The general plan written in 2010 needs to be updated to reflect the town’s current zoning, environmental issues, transportation issues and general needs of the town. All of this while maintaining our beautiful scenic desert and our quality of life.

We should be good stewards of the land and environment. We have been entrusted with a resource which once moved, dug up, or destroyed cannot be replaced. This general plan amendment should be used to require a more sensitive treatment of all build outs based on the environment for our town.

We should explore every opportunity and use this general plan to address the community transit needs. We need to see if it is possible for Valley Metro to increase the frequency of their visits to our town. Maybe a review of inter community regional connections with the McDowell Yavapai Nation, Mesa, and Scottsdale is in order. Possibly the existing RPTA Regional Transit Plan could be a resource in this area.

This plan can also be used as a marketing tool to show potential commercial ventures how easy and what a great place Fountain Hills is for their business. We can use this plan along with our zoning to attract new, vibrant, and sustainable commercial businesses to our town. Through our plan we need to show we are for business and walk hand in hand with them.

As with any plan of this importance, it will require more research and thoughtful consideration of every component.

Sharron Grzybowski: The General Plan (GP) is another tool in the toolbox to help guide the town staff and elected officials. According to the Arizona Growing Smarter legislation, the GP serves as the framework for decision-making on various town issues and reflects the vision of the town. Key information from the Strategic Plan was incorporated in to the 2010 GP, and I hope that our 2020 plan includes the same, as well as reflecting the town's changing perspectives and attitudes.

The GP Mission Statement speaks volumes. “The Town of Fountain Hills has grown from the guiding hand of the founders into an independent, vibrant, and vital family-oriented community where the conservation and preservation of the natural heritage and visual beauty of the surrounding desert are maintained. Residents revere the sense of closeness and small-town feeling in a community dedicated to high-quality schools and strive for diversity in neighborhoods that all have an adjacency to nature in common. Fountain Hills is committed to creating a town that is attractive for small businesses, clean industry, and village commerce, where the natural environment is preserved and protected and where diverse housing is supplied in beautiful developments.”

The Planning & Zoning Department shall undertake various actions to encourage implementation of the plan. In accordance with the GP, the P&Z reports to the Council annually on status and application of the General Plan.