By Talaina Kor | The Tribune
The Holbrook City Council held a meeting April 27, with the only agenda item being a zone change request, which brought with it some heated debate.
The item was a zone change request by FTMSNYC LLC, DBA Veterans Services USA, for the property known as America’s Best Value Inn located at 700 – 720 North Navajo Blvd., to change it from a general commercial zone to residential commercial.
The request was brought before council at the meeting held earlier in the month, and was tabled by council due to concerns by some members that the building, which has 52 units that are currently being utilized as veteran’s housing, was not up to state building code due to the square footage, lack of a kitchen sink, as well as concerns for electrical and plumbing. The Holbrook Planning & Zoning Commission had recommended approval of the change prior to that meeting, with stipulations for renovation but a majority of the council felt the matter should be looked at further and advised the property owners to determine if they would have the funding to upgrade the property by doubling the square footage and adding kitchen sinks.
Mayor Kathleen Smith expressed surprise that the issue was back on the agenda just two weeks later with a recommendation from city administration for approval, with a statement that the building did not in fact need to adhere to a larger square footage to be within code. “I don’t really necessarily agree with the recommendation,” stated Smith. She then made a motion to table the item for at least six months until the council could confer with the city’s attorney on what the city code states, with a second from Councilmember Robert Black.
