Surprise is taking a deeper dive into its pool waters.As one of the fastest growing cities in Arizona — and the nation — keeping residents cool is a priority.
But the waters …
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Surprise is taking a deeper dive into its pool waters.
As one of the fastest growing cities in Arizona — and the nation — keeping residents cool is a priority.
But the waters are still a little murky on how to do it.
Like its parks, Surprise is quickly outgrowing its pool space, which is only getting worse with the recent trend of several neighborhood developments receiving waivers from a city requirement to build pools in subdivisions with at least 60 homes.
“I’d like to see a standard in Surprise of what you can expect when you go and buy a house,” District 4 City Councilman Ken Remley said during a recent city workshop on the issue. “I’m so tired of waivers. Why can’t we stick with a city we’re all proud of today and 20 years from today?”
That’s what city staff, including City Planner Robert Kuhfuss and the team that includes interim Community Development Director Chris Boyd, Deputy City Manager Terry Lowe and planner Lloyd Abrams, have been brainstorming to come up with the best solution.
Mr. Kuhfuss recently gave presentations to both the City Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission, and the P&Z plans to take the up matter again soon.
Making the issue tricky is pool construction costs are high. And homebuilders are finding legal ways to get around the city’s neighborhood pool requirement.
That puts the pressure on the city to provide pools when they’re already strained for their own needs.
“It’s like if we don’t have a pool in that community we’re asking the city to provide a pool,” Mr. Remley said. “It’s as if the city has a tree out back that grows money.
“We don’t.”
Growing pains
The city welcomes growth, which sometimes results in incentives for companies to come here.
For home builders who provide features such as more green space or a lower density than the zoning allows, the elimination of a neighborhood pool, like those found in Marley Park and Ashton Ranch, doesn’t feel like a big loss.
It’s a delicate balancing act, Mayor Skip Hall said.
“We’ve got to figure out how to go forward where it’s good for the city but where the developer can also take a risk and make a profit,” Mr. Hall said.
“It’s a tricky thing. There are also things called property rights and the rest of it that we need to be sensitive to.”
Mr. Kuhfuss said the city is now preferring what it calls a “3-Prong Test Approach” in coming up with a freshened-up pool requirement for homebuilders.
This approach would require the developer of any single-family residential development to provide a semi-public pool amenity when the following triggers are met:
• The property is zoned either R-1 or R-2;
• The site is 40 or more gross acres;
• The project generates a density of 3.25 dwelling units per acre.
Weighing the costs
The debate also centers around how much its worth building the price of pools into the price of a new home.
“I think if you add 1% to the price of the house, that’s not unreasonable,” P&Z Commissioner Dennis W. Smith said. “I think if you add 20 bucks a month to a HOA I think that’s unreasonable.
“We need to have real livable neighborhoods that provide the quality of life that what we want in this city.”
Mr. Smith said pools are a portion of what helps provide quality of life.
“That’s part of our job — that we don’t just develop, we develop good neighborhoods with pools and amenities that people in neighborhoods get to know each other,” Mr. Smith said.
Despite all this talk, it’s interesting to note that only Surprise has such a pool requirement for its planned subdivisions.
“The City of Surprise really is setting the standard for other communities in the Valley,” Planning Commissioner Gisele Norberg said. “That’s good to know.”
Mr. Remley said he likes how Rancho Mercado in Marley Park built the pool amenities first.
“The buyer could see all the amenities before they even buy a house and say, “Wow, I want to live here,’” Mr. Remley said.
Planning and Zoning Commissioner Mitchell Rosenbaum said encouraging more neighborhood pools than backyard ones is better for water conservation as well.
City needs
For communities without a neighborhood pool, those without one in their backyards have two options in Surprise — the Surprise Aquatic Center, 15831 N. Bullard Ave., and the Hollyhock Pool, 15808 N. Hollyhock St.
Because of that, it’s not just neighborhoods that need more pools.
The City of Surprise, the local schools and OUAZ are all looking for addition pool time to field their programs and competitive teams.
Plus, explosive growth is preparing to happen in the northern part of Surprise over the next decade, which will necessitate a pool in that area as well.
Parks and Recreation Director Donna MIller told the P&Z Commission that city programs are “maxed out” during the fall with the competitive swim teams.
Ms. Miller said between the two city pools, about 68,000 people come to them every year.
About 30 times this year, the Surprise Aquatic Center reached capacity 30 teams, meaning being turned away or waiting on long lines.
Hollyhock, meanwhile, was filled to capacity on 10 different occasions in 2019.
“Our plan does include more city pools, and one competition pool,” Ms. Miller said. “I do feel that would be a need for the support programs that we’re offering I don’t think you would see typically those types of programs in a neighborhood pool.”
Some cities partner with local high schools on pools, but Ms.
Miller said there are no plans to build any pools at the high schools, and no plans for pools were part of a recent Dysart Unified School District bond measure that voters rejected.
Ms. Norberg said there’s still a great demand at the school level, outside the DUSD.
“I see the need for another pool in the city for the charter schools so they don’t have to be bussed to other places,” Ms. Norberg said.
Ms. Miller said there are potential partnership opportunities with OUAZ, which is still deciding its pool plans with swimming and water polo teams.
“We’ll see where that goes,” Ms. Miller told P&Z commissioners.
Editor’s Note: Jason Stone can be reached at jstone@newszap.com or on Twitter at @thestonecave. Visit yourvalley.net.
Former NAU Lumberjack who loves going to concerts (or I did), watching sports (or I did) and hanging out with friends (oh, never mind). I also enjoy backgammon, surfing and men who are not afraid to cry.
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