GENERAL PLAN—YOUR THOUGHTS? Participate in a virtual General Plan Update Open House. The first in a series of virtual open houses runs Thursday, Feb. 18, at three times: 8-10:30 a.m., 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. and 5-7:30 p.m. Content will be the same for each time slot. Participants will hear a brief presentation about the plan, followed by a question and answer series then a feedback submission opportunity. If registration is closed, or if this specific date and time(s) does not work for you, please be on the lookout for future dates and times when additional online. Open House registration opportunities will be posted.
Register on the city's General Plan Update page.
General Plan Website Links
Scottsdale General Plan The active GP today is 20 years old and requires updating. City Council appointed Task Force volunteer writers in 2011 and again in 2019 plus a Citizen Review Committee in 2020. The 2021 City Council members are currently reviewing and making recommendations for the Scottsdale residents to evaluate and comment. The current goal is a FINAL document to be voted in November 2021.
Character Area Plans These are unique areas of the city that have specific characteristics and boundaries that volunteer committees developed years ago. Proposed projects are suppose to be appropriate within that area to gain approval.
Overview of Scottsdale's planning processCOVID-19 UPDATE Starting soon—available sites for vaccine
Safeway: 23565 N. Scottsdale Road
Safeway: 7920 E. Chaparral Road
The city’s COVID-19 page contains information about the city’s emergency orders, facilities and operations.
Learn more here.
LAND CASES OF CURRENT COMMUNITY INTEREST
Sherwood Heights subdivision 5925 E Wilshire Dr. appeal 15-BA-2003 #2 and 19-BA-2020 Appeal of the Zoning Administrator's written interpretation, dated October 19, 2020, as supplemented; related to Section 7.201.A. Adjustment of front yard requirements, as applicable to a corner lot within the R1-10 PRD Zoning District, including the method of calculation for the front yard setbacks. After an Executive Session, the request was denied in this motion: 7-0 to uphold the decision of the Zoning Administrator's calculation of the front yard setback along Wilshire finding his decision was not arbitrary, capricious or an abuse of discretion.
Osborn Rd from Scottsdale Rd to Hayden Case 3-DR-2021 Request to approve road improvements on Osborn Road including the addition of a new round-about at Miller and Osborn Road.
Greenbelt 88 Southwest corner of Hayden & Osborn Rd. cases 15-ZN-2019 and 2-AB-2020 Replace the current Lucky Plaza with 300 approx. residential units, retail and restaurant. No hearing dates yet scheduled. Review the application, site plans, and other details at
https://eservices.scottsdaleaz.gov/bldgresources/Cases/Details/51398 Local neighborhood group contact:
safeguardScottsdale@gmail.comThe Miller 7570 E 6th Avenue request for zoning a new 76 ft tall bldg. with 87 residences/acre on 1.7 ac lot Case 1-ZN-2021
The Kimsey (formerly called Triangle) 7110 & 7120 Indian School Rd and 7117 3rd Ave. Rezone to build a 158 room hotel, 230 unit residential bldg. and the part that was the first Scottsdale City Hall to be designated Historic. Case 10-ZN-2020
COGS POSITIONS TO BE SHARED WITH THE NEW CITY COUNCIL
Public attendance and speaking live at city meetings. COGS strongly urges that provisions and facilities be provided for the public to attend city council, board and commission meetings for the purpose of interacting during Public Comment.
Council appointee policy for the Planning Commission. Broaden the professions and experiences of the appointees and not select solely from the development and real estate-related professions.
Excessive recusal for conflict of interest. If any board member or commissioner recuses self on more than 25% of all agenda items/cases heard in a 6 month period, he/she will be removed from that body. Too frequently in a 7 member body only 4 members remain to deliberate and vote.
Desert Rural neighborhoods with large lots/acreage for equestrian and/or single-home residential use needs protection. The new General Plan should require a Major Amendment to the Land Use matrix if a development requests an increase in density greater than 50%. A Major Amendment is heard only once a year and requires greater scrutiny if a public benefit and requires a super majority ( 5 or more of 7 council members) to be approved. A property owner who wants to subdivide their acreage greater than 2 acres has the right to request and if a project is appropriate for the character of the existing area, the council can certainly approve. No property rights are endangered.
The McDowell Sonoran Preserve should be completed. When possible, the remaining designated lands within the proposed Preserve boundary should be acquired.
The Historic Old Town Scottsdale must be clearly designated now that the entire downtown is being marketed as "Old Town"
The southwestern characteristics of our Main Street, Brown Avenue, 1st Street and 1st Avenue are major tourist destinations and the character of the building facades, heights, densities and pedestrian areas must be preserved through zoning ordinances,
CITY GOVERNMENT UPDATES FOR YOU
Still no public attendance is allowed at public hearings or meetings.Until further notice, meetings will be held electronically and remotely. You can review the past and coming agendas for these major boards and commissions by clicking on the title.
City CouncilPlanning Commission
Development Review Board
Board of Adjustment
Historic Preservation Commission
Neighborhood Advisory Commission The Fiesta Bowl Museum in the stable building at Brown Ave and 2nd Street, has temporarily closed due to the rise in COVID-19 cases.
The Little Red Schoolhouse, which closed last year at the start of the pandemic, remains closed until further notice.
Parada del Sol (annual western parade) will not be held in February.
Adopt A Road city-wide cleanup is tentatively rescheduled for Fall 2021
Downtown information sidewalk carts and Ambassadors are not available in Historic Old Town or on Fifth Avenue/Stetson until after the Covid-19 regulations are lifted.
Indian School Park Tennis Center has been completely rebuilt, funded through the 2019 Bond which entailed the removal of the asphalt courts, construction of post-tension concrete courts, new fencing, and LED lighting. Updates may be seen on the
Parks and Recreation Facebook page.
Registration for spring 2021 junior tennis activities at Scottsdale Ranch Park and Indian School Park will begin on Feb. 15. Learn more information by visiting
ScottsdaleAZ.Gov and searching 'Tennis'.
Council selects Ben Lane as Scottsdale’s next city clerk. After a national recruitment, the Scottsdale City Council has selected Ben Lane as Scottsdale’s next city clerk. Ben Lane has been the deputy city clerk in Phoenix since March 2011, where he managed election processes and the city’s records management program. Among his key accomplishments was helping establish voting centers in place of polling places for city elections, allowing voters greater flexibility while saving the city hundreds of thousands of dollars. Lane holds a master’s degree in public administration from the University of North Carolina, and a law degree from the University of Texas. He is a Certified Municipal Election Official from the Arizona Municipal Clerks’ Association. He will start in Scottsdale March 8. He is no relation to W.J. “Jim” Lane, Scottsdale’s previous mayor.
Learn more.
Getting visitors? Want to update your visitor information? The 2021 edition of Experience Scottsdale’s
Visitor Guide is now available online as an easy-to-use flipbook with new interactive features. The annual publication begins with a Safe Traveler Pledge and information on COVID-19 mitigation measures in the city, followed by business listings and articles about the area's offerings, such as “The Impossible Beauty of the Desert,” “Old Town Walkabout,” “Scottsdale Pride,” and many more. Experience Scottsdale serves as the city’s destination marketing organization, promoting the Scottsdale area as a luxury destination for meetings, events and leisure travel.
Want to bid on surplus city items?
The city of Scottsdale offers to the general public the opportunity to bid electronically on a wide array of assets using our Public Surplus materials auction web site. View the current City of Scottsdale
public surplus material auctions Want to bid on a city contract?
21RP015 - Request for Proposal - LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE OF MEDIANS, RIGHT-OF-WAYS, WASHES & TRAILS / The City of Scottsdale Parks & Recreation department invites sealed submittals for landscape maintenance for medians, right-of-ways, city maintained washes and city owned property at various locations throughout the city.
Due Date: 3/4/2021 2:00 PM, local time Contact:
Karie Ingles, 480-312-5744
21RP019 - Request for Proposal - ONLINE INSTRUMENTATION FOR DATA COLLECTION SERVICES / The City of Scottsdale is seeking submittals for online instrumentation for data collection services for the Water Resources Department.
Due Date: 3/3/2021 2:00 PM, local time Contact:
Cheryl Champine, 480-312-5719
ANOTHER AWARD FOR THE ECONOMIC DEPARTMENT
The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) announced that the Scottsdale Economic Development department has once again been recognized as one of 68 economic development organizations accredited by IEDC as an Accredited Economic Development Organization (AEDO). The AEDO program is a comprehensive peer review process that measures economic development organizations. The judges took a virtual ride-a-long through Scottsdale landmarks as well as upcoming development projects. They evaluated the structure, organization, funding, program, and staff of the economic development organization. The re-accreditation validates the importance and value to ensure Scottsdale is a highly desired place to live, work and grow your business.
EVENTS FOR YOUR CALENDAR:
“Black History is American History” – celebrating National Black History Month Learn more about the experiences of African American/Black Americans and celebrate their contributions to science, public leadership, music, technology, environmental, businesses and more that enrich the USA. Develop conversations with one another and learn about the insights of others. Check out the wide variety of information available through the Scottsdale Public Library. Here’s one place to start:
TEDWomen 2016, “The racial politics of time” with Brittney Cooper.
February is American Heart Month. Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of adults in the United States. The American Heart Association recently noted that there has been a
decline in awareness around heart disease in women – too many women, particularly our youngest most diverse women, remain unaware.
Learn more about heart disease in women.
Gold Palette ArtWalk features “Artistic Variety” Thursday. Old Town Scottsdale’s Arts District boasts an array of artistic talent across multiple mediums which will be showcased for this
special art walk from 6:30-9 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11. From local to international talent across mediums including sculpture, painting, resin, steel, pottery, glass, jewelry, 3D, small and large format and more … art of nearly any form and style can be found here. COVID-19 protocols will be in place.
Phone Discussion Group
At 2 p.m. every Thursday unique topics are discussed that stir interesting conversations. Each week is a new topic. Join to share your point of view.
Here are the topics for the month of February:
Feb. 11 – Valentine's Day Memories
Feb. 18 – Trading Places
Feb. 25 – Senioritis
To access the discussion group via phone:
Call 480-378-2354
Listen for the prompts
Press 409 832 787 #
Celebrate the Chinese New Year with Scottsdale Sister Cities. The Scottsdale Sister Cities Association is partnering with the Musical Instrument Museum to celebrate the Chinese New Year along with our sister city – Haikou, China. The Zoom social hour will be at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23, and feature the museum’s Asia Curator Dr. Eddie Hsu. Hsu will discuss Chinese Sizhu instruments and play Sizhu music that is typically performed during Chinese New Year.
Get more information and register.
Veg out at the Old Town Farmers Market. Buy food and specialty items supplied by locals. There is a large variety of organic and pesticide-free produce, as well. COVID-19 protocols are in place. The market runs from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays, through May, at 3806 N. Brown Ave
GOT A TEENAGER IN YOUR HOME?
If you have a teen between the ages of 12-18, take your best shot at an anti-Valentine's day poem. Drop off submissions at the drive-thru windows or
Civic Center Library during open hours, or post to social media with the hashtag #ScottsdaleLibraryLove. The winning submission will win an awesome prize.
Do you have a 15 years-plus teenager looking for a fantastic summer job? The StarGuard Lifeguard Training class certifies you in lifeguard rescues, basic first aid and CPR. Scottsdale is offering a class from 5-8 p.m., Feb. 16 - March 2 on Tuesdays/Thursdays/Saturdays at
Eldorado Aquatic Center. Scottsdale Aquatics hires many lifeguards and it's important to take class to become certified and eligible for hire this summer.
Visit
ScottsdaleAZ.gov and search 'Become a Lifeguard' for more details.
All Ages: Learn about the chemistry of color. 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, on the library's
YouTube channel experience an explosion of color changing magic through chemical reactions. Use everyday household items to conduct your own experiments!
Spring 2021 Program Registration Begins
8 a.m., Monday, Feb. 22. for April and May programs
Don't miss your chance to participate in Scottsdale Parks and Recreation's April and May recreation programs. Registration opens 8 a.m., Monday, Feb. 22 for residents, and 8 a.m., Tuesday, Feb. 23 for non-residents.
Browse classes starting Friday, Feb. 12 via our
online registration system.
Some helpful resource links for you
Do you need some help with your full-sun plants as spring arrives? Check out this updated, comprehensive guide on full-sun plants for every soil type. It is completely free and you can find it at this link
https://happydiyhome.com/full-sun-plants/Scottsdale EZ is available to assist you
Whether it's a broken streetlight, a fresh pothole, a missing trash can, or an out-of-place scooter, the EZ online service makes it easier for residents to report problems with city facilities or services.
Scottsdale EZ lets you quickly report issues on your desktop or mobile device and provides the city with a consolidated tracking and reporting system.
City maps
View a map with information on active and completed Old Town development projects and locations.
View additional maps for more information on amenities, services, zoning and traffic restrictions.
Traffic restrictions map
View a map of city-wide traffic restrictions or
subscribe to receive weekly notices.
COGS--COALITION OF GREATER SCOTTSDALE...
WHO are we? WHAT have we accomplished for our neighborhoods and city in our 14 years? WHERE can you read previous newsletters? HOW can you support and join? Go to our website at
www.cogsaz.net Dues for individuals and family are $35 per year. We are a 501 c 4 nonprofit organization of all volunteers..no one is paid for the research, conferences and aid we provide to fellow Scottsdale residents, merchants and business owners. We are not only a reliable resource for you, but an advocate for HOA Boards and other advocacy groups.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR TAKING YOUR TIME TO READ OUR FREE NEWSLETTER.
