By Richard Smith | YourValley
A long-anticipated Surprise City Council vote that attracted a large, vocal crowd was decided in part by the narrow scope of the agenda item council members could vote on.
An overflow crowd, largely in opposition to the proposed multibuilding Truman Ranch Marketplace affordable housing development’s preliminary development plan was at the Aug. 16 council meeting. But the repeated theme was the limit of the council’s latitude since the project is presented as a PDP instead of the more common lanned-area development.
In the end, the council determined Minnesota-based Dominium Inc. adhered to the plan established in 2008, voting 4-3 to approve the measure. Mayor Skip Hall and council members Alyson Cline, Ken Remley and Roland Winters voted in favor while councilors Patrick Duffy, Chris Judd and Jack Hastings were against.
“Ninety-nine percent of the items we bring forward to you allow you to make your decision holistically and consider a wide range of factors in making your decision. Unfortunately this item before you this evening requires your decision to be very focused and limited,” City Manager Bob Wingenroth said before the presentation. “It must be limited to the following question: Is the current plan in front of you in compliance with the planned-area development approved by the Surprise City Council in 2008.”
