The Cottonwood City Council unanimously approved final plats for two housing subdivisions previously approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission on Feb. 20.
Acting City Manager Tom Whitmer was present for his first council meeting as manager as well as contract attorney John Gaylord from Gust Rosenfeld.
The council unanimously approved a contract with Whitmer that clarified their basic expectations for his performance.
6 on Sixteen, a six-lot single-family residential subdivision with a multi-family residential zone, will be located at 856 S. 16th St. on 0.95 acres. Lot sizes will range from 5,600 square feet to 9,580 square feet. Two units will be two stories of 2,200 square feet with 3 bedrooms/22 baths, while the remaining homes will be single-story and between 1,585 and 2,200 square feet with 3 bedrooms/2 baths.
City Engineer James Bramble said that city staff will look more extensively into the quality of 16th Street during the design and grading permit phase. Staff are currently looking to widen the road to include additional space for a bike lane and will look at the remaining pavement once they understand the effects of the utility connections.
Vice Mayor Debbie Wilden was concerned about the two-story homes being the only two-story homes in a single-story area and that grading might be an issue.
The applicant, Daniel Fox, clarified that only two houses will be two-story; Fox said that he did not think the design would result in any obstruction of views. Fox described it as a cluster development adding housing to the area even if not low income or affordable.
The council also approved the plat for Mingus Views, a 10-lot single-family residential subdivision at Marauder Drive and 16th St. on a 2.73-acre lot.
The applicant, Joe Mulcaire, said that he was trying to bring back some of the Old Town Cottonwood or Clarkdale-style houses and that his company is known for the craftsman and farm-style houses they build.
“I’m not building affordable homes, I’m building for workforce housing,” Mulcaire clarified. He said that these homes would be intended for the nurses who work at the hospitals and the managers at Walmart.
Executive Session
The council also discussed three agenda items in executive session, including the notice of claim filed by former Police Chief Steve Gesell, a letter from former City Manager Scotty Douglass regarding his contract severance provisions and a Notice of Charge of Discrimination filed by the Arizona Civil Rights Division.
