Prescott council approves petition to exclude 4.21 acres of charter-protected open space from Rodeo & Fairgrounds master plan, 5–2

The Prescott City Council on Jan. 27 approved a citizen petition and accompanying resolution to exclude 4.21 acres of voter-protected open space from the Rodeo & Fairgrounds master plan boundary, voting 5–2.

Petitioners and residents urged the council to make the exclusion explicit and to correct public-facing maps. Petitioner Bonnie McMinn said the community had “overwhelmingly approved Prop 44” and that folding the parcel into the master plan “raises serious concerns about compliance with the open space protections now required by the city charter.” She urged the council to support the petition’s section 3, which would exclude the 4.21 acres from the plan.

Co-petitioner Deb Thalassidis (read by Ralph Hess) and co-signer Marty Siegel also told the council the city must follow the public-engagement steps described in the petition and that an end date contained in Resolution 20 23 18 62 (the petitioners said it currently reads 07/01/2026) risks truncating required participation. Siegel asked the council to eliminate the sunset date from that resolution so the public-engagement requirements remain in force while the master plan process continues into 2026.

Deputy City Manager Mike Morris told the council that consultants expected residents to ask about prior plans at the Feb. 2 public meeting, and staff planned to display previous plans as informational boards while making clear the current effort is a new master plan. Councilmembers debated three sections of the petition: removing or extending the sunset date; whether prior plans may be shown as informational at the open house; and how to show the 4.21-acre parcel on the master-plan maps.

Mayor (unnamed in the transcript) moved to approve the petition and resolution “as it is with the open date, include the previous master plans, and just exclude the open space.” The motion was seconded and passed, with the mayor announcing the vote as 5–2.

The council clarified that parts of the petition addressing rezoning and a seven-meeting approval sequence (listed in an exhibit to the petition) apply to any future rezoning step; staff said the petition’s rezoning language would govern that later process. The council directed staff to proceed with the public engagement described and to ensure materials at public meetings label prior plans as informational. No further zoning approvals were made at this meeting.

Next steps: The city will hold a community open house on Monday, Feb. 2, where the consultant will solicit public input via stations and comment forms; any rezoning or formal approvals would follow the public engagement and separate review process.