Q & A
Meeting discussions:
Temporary Hosting
Q. Will the greenhouse be used as temporary farming on the agriculture zoned property owned by SRP?
A. Yes, PERA Club is temporarily hosting the greenhouse, which aligns with their interests on water conservation, farming and employee recreation.
Design intent was to;
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provide temporary greenhouse farming structure which could be removed quickly,
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limited/ temporary infrastructure impact,
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generate nutritional organic crops,
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demonstrate water conservation.
The site is owned by SRP with the current purpose of providing recreation for employees. SRP may have other uses for the property, therefore hosting temporarily to our start-up.
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Greenhouse Placement
Q. Will the greenhouses be farther away from neighboring backyards than allowed by code?
A. Yes, 120'feet away from behind homes. Building placements are moved as close as easements allow to the canal bank.Code allows structures to be within 20'feet from the alley property line.
Design intent was to;
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self-impose 120'foot minimum building setback for landscape buffer behind homes and greenhouse,
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minimize visual impact by 'row-ganging' greenhouses together,
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Greenhouse Setbacks
Q. How close are the greenhouse setbacks?
A. The minimum direct distance between greenhouse and behind homes is;
Design intent was to;
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provide a landscape buffer behind homes and alley,
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visually screen greenhouses behind homes and alley,
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develop the wildlife corridor behind homes and alley,
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develop rain water harvesting on site behind homes and alley
Agriculture zoning allows building setbacks of,
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45' front yard at South end of property,
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35' rear yard at North end of property,
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20' side yard at West and East boundaries.
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Grading and Drainage
Q. Will the greenhouses affect the alley run-off behind homes?
A. Yes, the rain water sheet-flow will be retained on site.
The Design Intent of retention accomplishes several benefits to the adjacent neighborhors such as;
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higher site soil moisture content,
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dense site vegetation behind homes and alley,
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greater site wildlife food and water sustainability,
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reduction of off-site water damage behind homes.
Currently the sheet-flow runs onto the alley and into neighboring rear yards, causing erosion and debris gathering.
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Landscape Buffer and Greenhouse Screening
Q. Explain the benefits of Wildlife Corridor and Landscape Screening behind homes.
A. Three benefits of Rain Water Harvesting, Landscape Screening and Wildlife Corridor are inter-retated in nature. All three support the sustainability of each other 'while providing the neighbors visual screening of sustainable greenhouse farming behind their rear yard'.
Design intent was to;
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maintain desert pallete landscape with native Sonoran Lowland Desert plant species,
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creating screening of greenhouse, providing plant density conserving existing historic vegetation,
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conservation of rain water for landscape growth,
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habitat sustainability for desert wildlife preservation
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Landscape Screening
Q. Will the landscape conceal the greenhouses without impacting the Papago Park Vista?
A. Yes, 'Height tapered landscape and greenhouses' will be maintained below existing sight line.
Design intent was to;
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conceal the greenhouses with varying height landscape screening,(below existing sight line of 3 degrees)
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ensure that greenhouse ridge-lines remain below the existing 3 degree sight line.
Mesquite, PaloVerde and Ironwood trees, along with the Creosote, Sage and other native species of ground cover and cacti, will be planted between the existing site vegetation.
The new landscape will be height maintained to remain below the existing sight line across the site section.
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The sight line is established at 3 degrees above natural grade from the backyards of the adjacent homes.( 5'foot eye-level ) see landscape Concept page for schematic drawing
Research on the existing sight line of Papago Buttes has indicated;
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existing tree-lines (tops of trees) conceal the base of the buttes, (below existing sight line of 3 degrees)
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looking from the neighbors backyards,buttes are visible over 5'foot tall fences.(3 degrees above existing sight line)
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View Corridor Preservation at Belleview Street.
Q. Will the Community view from Belleview Street be preserved?
A. Yes, Preservation of views will be maintained by matching community building setbacks along Belleview street and maintaining landscape heights below 3 degree sight line.
Design intent was to;
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separate greenhouses 80'foot distant, to maintain the existing street alignment,
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place landscape screening to conceal the greenhouses along the view corridor,
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reduce sound with dense planting,
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conceal access roadway from community view.
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Papago Buttes View Preservation
Q. Will the neighbors' view of Papago Buttes be preserved from back yards?
A. Yes, 'Height tapered landscape and greenhouses' will be maintained below existing sight line.
Design intent was to;
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conceal the greenhouses with varying height landscape screening,(below existing sight line of 3 degrees)
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ensure that greenhouse ridge-lines remain below the existing 3 degree sight line from rear yards.
Mesquite, PaloVerde and Ironwood trees, along with the Creosote, Sage and other native species of ground cover and cacti, will be planted between the existing site vegetation.
The new landscape will be height maintained to remain below the existing sight line across the site section.
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Water Recycling
Q. Will the greenhouses conserve water?
A. Yes, Water conservation is one of the benefits of greenhouse farming.
Design intent was to;
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re-cycle water through bio-filtration,
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demonstrate 15% use of water as compared to conventional land farming,
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provide crop production of 1 greenhouse acre equal to ten acres of conventional land farming.
Controlled Environmental Agriculture is constantly be researched at the University of Arizona and the Environmental Research Lab in Tucson. Understanding that conservation of natural resources are important to the future of sustaining our planet, governments (domestic and foreign) are placing research funding into technology which will be demonstrated at Quincea Greenhouses.
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Site Traffic
Q. Will Quincea traffic have restricted entry and exit points?
A. Yes, All vehicles associated with greenhouses will be restricted to enter and exit through the PERA Club guard gate located on Continental Drive.
Design intent was to;
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reduce vehicle traffic by implementing car pools of 12 passenger vans,
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reduce vehicle traffic by modifying vans to enable 'end-of-day' produce delivery while transporting employees home,
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only use existing PERA Club roadway along Arizona Cross-Cut canal property line for greenhouse access.
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Phased Growth
Q. Will the project start with only one greenhouse?
A. Yes, the first phase consists of one greenhouse structure, refered to as Phase One.
Design intent was to;
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only construct Phases as they become economically valid.
The Site Plan shows the maxamum potential greenhouse farming with each phase called out.(see Design review Documents page)
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Parking
Q. Will parking be hidden from view?
A. Yes, vehicles heights remain below the sight-line, concealing internal movement and parking.
Design intent was to;
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group greenhouses as visual shield,
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place parking along existing canal access drive
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Employee Count
Q. Will employee count increase with greenhouse phased growth?
A. Yes, each additional greenhouse requires 3-4 employees.
Design intent was to,
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minimize employees with each greenhouse,
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only add greenhouses if market demand warrants growth.
Projected employee count with Phased greenhouse growth
Phase One 8 employees
Phase Two 10 employees
Phase Three 17 employees
Phase Four 21 employees
All Phases 56 employees
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Vocationally-Qualified Employees
Q. Will the employees be trained to work here?
A. Yes, each employee will pass "off-site" vocational education and skill training.
Vocational training intent is to;
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employee university agriculture graduates as supervisory facilitators responsible for crop production,
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employee vocation trained autistic adults as general work force
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employee trained providors for autistic adults as side-by-side general work force,
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ensure that there will be 1 providor to assist 3 autistic employees,
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ensure that only vocationally instructed individuals are employed,
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provide volunteer opportunities from university under-graduate programs related to earth sciences and health innovation.
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Sound
Q. Will greenhouse farming sound be controlled?
A. Yes, the greenhouse has whole-house air circulation which uses low decible belt-drive electric motors.
Design intent was to;
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place greenhouses 90 degrees perpendicular to neighboring lots ,
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provide natural air circulation with ridge vents,
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provide sound reduction with distance between greenhouses and rearyards.
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ensure that decible levels remain below air conditioning compressors located at home sites
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crop production is within greenhouse double-insulated Lexan wall panels.(similar to dual pane glass windows)
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Odors
Q. Will odors be controlled coming from greenhouse?
A. Yes, the use of continually controlled monitoring of ph, organic fertilizer, water quality, humidity remains with the greenhouse.
Design intent was to;
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use controlled environmental agriculture,
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use camera and computer monitoring control systems,
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keep bio-filtration system small and separated, limiting possible odor generation
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Hours of Operation
Q. Will the hours of operation be limited?
A. Yes, greenhouses are only functional during daylight hours.
Design intent was to;
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be occupied by technical employees one half hour prior to sunrise and one half hour after sunset.
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Work force employees operate between 8:00am and 5:00pm.
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Site lighting
Q. Will the light pollution from the site be controlled?
A.Yes, the Night Sky ordinance will be followed per City of Tempe.
Design intent was to;
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use light bollards for night security and safety,
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ground directed and shrouded
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Greenhouse Lighting
Q. Will lights used in the greenhouses be limited at night?
A. Yes, operations stop one half hour after sunset, lights are needed with exception of exiting signs required by Tempe Building and Safety department.
Design intent was to;
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limit the need for lights by only operating during daylight hours
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Construction Materials
Q. Will the construction materials be suited for the desert?
A. Yes, the University of Arizona has successfully used these type of greenhouses for many years.
Design intent was to;
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purchase duplicate greenhouse used at the U of A Contained Environmental Agriculture College(CEAC),
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materials of structure are galvanized steel tube;
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exterior surface is double-wall Lexan UV permeable panels,
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whole-house air exchange is galvanized sheet-metal with evaporative water pads.
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Greenhouse Heights
Q. Will the greenhouse heights remain below the existing line of sight?
A. Yes, the greenhouse will be no taller than +18'foot.
Design intent was to;
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adjust the greenhouse ridge line heights to remain below the sight line of 3 degrees above natural grade within the neighbors rear yards,
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tallest greenhouses are furthest away from rear yards,
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shortest greenhouses are nearest the neighbors rear yards(120'-160'feet away)
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30'foot allowed with Agriculture zoning(existing)
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