By Julie A. Pace, Councilmember and Former Vice-Mayor

Paradise Valley’s Town Manager Jill Keimach resigned mid-January to enjoy skiing and hiking in Truckee, Lake Tahoe, California.  Almost one year ago, she and her husband purchased the lot of their dreams to design and build a new house that is now under construction.  

Jill's last date of employment is May 12, 2023. She has served the Town for approximately 4 years and has completed so many good things. Please wish Jill well and give her a big thanks for all of her contributions. Jill has done an excellent job and we all appreciate her service and wish her the very best in her retirement in the gorgeous area of Lake Tahoe.

At the January 26, 2023, Town Council meeting, the Council and Town Manager Keimach unanimously agreed to get the recruitment process started right away for a new town manager since we have only 90 days to find a replacement. We may be hiring an outside person to serve as interim like we did utilizing a recruiting firm to hire former Town Manager Brian Dahlke, who was a fabulous leader for our Town. We were all grateful for Brian’s contributions, experience, and style.

The Town Council meets this Thursday, February 9th to get the ball rolling on starting the procurement process to notify and obtain candidates to interview and possibly a process to hire an interim as we did before with Mr. Dahlke. 

Currently in Arizona, there is much movement regarding city and town managers so our timing is good and we may have a great opportunity to find a new town manager with the necessary city/town manager experience, seasoning, and leadership to join our PV Town Team.

By Julie A. Pace, Councilmember and Former Vice-Mayor

The By-Right Zoning bill is back and worse than ever. Last year many of us wrote about and worked hard to educate all residents and communities about the dangers and destruction of by-right zoning bill HB 2674 for all municipalities throughout Arizona.

The Home Builders Association and the Arizona Multifamily Association were the entities that worked to create and advocate for HB 2674 last year, and they now bring SB 1117, which is much worse than the previous version of HB 2674 from last session.

SB1117 has many elements that apply to every municipality in Arizona including but not limited to: eliminates single-family zoning, eliminates planning and zoning or Council review or approval of projects, requires a maximum of thirty (30) day fast-track approval process, allows use of public right of ways, allows accessory dwelling units on 4,000 square foot lots so increases density significantly and increases short term rentals everywhere and eliminates one house per acre zoning, permits up to 75-foot tall complexes built adjacent to bus stops, freeways, and light rail when located by major arterials with no public input or council or planning and zoning review, the bill removes public engagement process completely, and more.

Every resident needs to stand up now and write to all state legislators opposing SB1117. SB1117 will destroy the beauty of Arizona and the unique character we have throughout our state with the wonderful communities that have been nurtured and created by local residents.

The motivation driving bill SB1117 is allegedly to create more affordable housing, but there are ways to do so without the significant unintended consequences of SB1117. SB1117 will destroy Paradise Valley, along with most Arizona neighborhoods. 

There is bipartisan support for this bill from Democrats and Republicans, but with different motivations on each side. None of the provisions have anything to do with affordable housing, but the bill bypasses all municipal zoning review and approvals and shuts out public comment.

Start writing and calling all legislators today. This is critical that legislators hear from residents and registered voters to strongly and loudly oppose SB1117. This is not the answer for Arizona.

Paradise Valley Town Councilmember Julie Pace proactively engages to preserve the mountains and open space and focuses on substance, action, and doing good work for the best interests of the Town, while building a sense of community.

Julie Pace for Paradise Valley Council | 5501 E Solano Drive

Paradise Valley AZ 85253 | paceforpv@gmail.com

Paid for by Julie Pace for Paradise Valley Council

Authorized by Julie Pace.