|
“You’re
not only the future of the community, you’re the future
of this country,” Francia said, before
turning the meeting over to the students.
The
council then debated the fairness of Cave Creek’s
recently approved noise ordinance. The council sided
with the business owners as far as allowable noise,
and cited the changing demographics of the town.
Simpson
said it was important to maintain the “Old West” character
of the town, which would include “cowboy music in
the middle of the night.”
Ultimately,
no action was taken on the noise issue and the council
turned to the next item on their agenda–Wal‑Mart.
Wal‑Mart has applied for a General Plan Amendment
near the corner of Carefree Highway and Cave Creek
Road, requesting the land be rezoned from low‑density
rural to commercial.
Bailey
commented that the move was a “wonderful idea,” noting
the newer stores going up
look much better than the older Wal‑Marts and
the benefits of having the store within town borders
would outweigh the negatives.
Simpson
cautioned the council about the increased traffic
that would come with the discount chain, but Bailey
pointed out the Wal‑Mart would probably locate
somewhere in the area no matter what the town did
and the traffic would come anyway.
Nelssen
asked Cordwell if a parcel zoned rural ever had been
rezoned to commercial before in Cave Creek, to which
Cordwell replied “yes,” but that it is a very rare
occurrence and never for a parcel like the kind Wal‑Mart
is looking at now.
The
student council then voted 6‑1 to rezone the
land commercial.
Francia
commented he wished the real Cave Creek Town Council
was present to witness the Wal‑Mart discussion.
From
Wal‑Mart, the council turned to immigration
issues, but were cautioned by Mattice that anything
a town council proposes regarding the issue is either
already covered by federal law, or might infringe
upon civil rights.
After
the meeting, Chris Dodrill,
teacher of the course at CSHS, said he was very pleased
by how the exercise played out, but noted the students
needed to work on not violating the rules of order
for a governing body. The council had to be reminded
on proper procedure a few times by town staff.
“Other
than that, I think it went pretty smooth,” Dodrill
said.
|
