Email and First Class Mail
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Page Gonzales Chief of Staff
Steve Chucri, District 2 Maricopa County
301 W. Jefferson Street, 10th floor Phoenix, AZ 85003
Jen Pokorski Director
Planning & Development Maricopa County
501 N 44th St # 200
Phoenix, AZ 85008
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Re: Application for Special Use Permit by Damon Bruns and Dynamite
Water
TA2019006 (comment)
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Dear Ms. Gonzales and Ms. Pokorski:
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I write to comment and advocate as to the Application for Special Use Permit by Damon Bruns and Dynamite Water and the proposed text amendment to Maricopa County Zoning Ordinance (MCZO) Chapter 11 General Regulations, Section 1102 Parking Regulations, Article 1102.9 Additional Parking Regulations, 1102.9.4. I object to the Board of Supervisors granting the special use permit. I much favor the proposed rule as to one (1) water hauling truck only per residential lot, but only if within no less than a quarter-mile radius of any other water hauling truck. I ask that my letter and these materials be made part of the public record as to each matter and shared with all those involved in the process as to each, especially each of the members of the Board of Supervisors.
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My wife, Ann, and I reside in the Rio Verde Foothills (“RVFH”). I am an attorney. While my practice these days is mostly complex family law matters and estate planning, I continue to handle other types of cases. The Honorable Jane D. Hull appointed me to two state boards, both of which I chaired and one of which required state senate confirmation. I served the State of Arizona as an Administrative Law Judge. I served the State Bar of Arizona as a Director. I have been a Judge Pro Tern in Maricopa County Superior Court for more than twenty
(20) years, serving virtually every department at one point or another. My life and career have been tethered to the facts and law. [Affidavit of Kip M. Micuda — PLAINTIFF. 000001-79, Attachment l (1) , Supplemental Affidavit of Kip M. Micuda — PL.000272-281, Attachment 2].
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Damon Bruns, a Captain with Phoenix Fire Department, at 27513 N. 137" Street, Scottsdale, AZ 85262. (2) Bruns’s Answer to Amended Complaint, pg 3, Attachment 3). He is part owner of Granite Mountain Investments, LLC, (“GMI”) and owns five (5) acres (the “LOT”) adjoining property belonging to my wife and me. The LOT is located at 31222 N. 166th St., Scottsdale, Arizona 85262. The Parcel ID is 219-41-045X. Mr. Bruns recently purchased another lot adjoining our property and the LOT.(3) (Parcel ID 219-41-152). Mr. Bruns is also partial owner of Dynamite Water, LLC, (“Dynamite Water”) a water hauling company with
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(1): “PLAINTIFF” is abbreviated as “PL,” going forward. Further, citations are not intended to be exhaustive, but rather merely sufficient to establish the credibility of the preceding assertion in the face of any unsupported or incredible contrary allegation. Additionally, while considerable time and effort was spent to assure the truth and accuracy of the factual assertions made below, I cannot guarantee anything but the truthfulness of my assertions made based upon what I know. My conclusions and opinions are my own, based on what I know and believe to be true and accurate. I invite readers to draw their own conclusions from the facts.
(2): I believe Mr. Bruns’s actions described below are contrary to the Phoenix Fire Department, Rules of Conduct, under which Mr. Bruns is employed. Rules of Conduct, 4, 12, 14 and 15 — PL.000473-474, Attachment fi.
(3): Mr. Bruns claimed in court the consequences to Dynamite Water will be “catastrophic” if it cannot continue operations on the LOT. He seemed to allude to financial trouble. If Dynamite Water is in such financial trouble, how does Mr. Bruns have extra funds to purchase more land adjoining the LOT? Why purchase more land?
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federal, state and local contracts for potable water delivery, among other service.(4) {IHfOFmation on Dynamite Water Contract with U.S. Navy — PL.000185-189, Attachment 4, Information on Dynamite Water Contract with Arizona Game and Fish — PL.000190-212, Attachment 5, Information on Dynamite Water’s various federal contracts — PL.000335-342, Attachment d].(5) He operates commercial water hauling trucks from adjoining neighbors/employees, at 16605 E. Creosote Drive, Scottsdale, Arizona 85262, owned by the Rohrer Family Trust. (Parcel ID 219- 41-079). Mr. Bruns employs two members of the Rohrer family as drivers and a mechanic. Consequently, these three properties together account for nearly eight
(8) acres being used by Mr. Bruns and his several businesses for a commercial/industrial complex in a rural/residential area, zoned RU-43.
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Mr. Bruns purchased the rural/residential LOT in January, 2016. Bruns’s Affidavit of Property Value — PL.000111, Attachment 13]. My wife and I purchased our adjoining property on May 31, 2016. Supplemental Affidavit of Kip M. Micuda — PL.000272-281, Attachment 2]. At the time, there was nothing constructed on the LOT, contrary to multiple statements by Mr. Bruns; indeed, he did not obtain a building permit as to the LOT until July 7, 2016. [Supplemental Affidavit of Kip M. Micuda — PL.000272-281, Attachment 2; Supplemental Affidavit of John Hornewer, PL.000282-287, Attachment 9,’ Affidavit of Damon BFuns — PL.000254-256, Attachment 14; Permit — PL.000118, Attachment /J]. The credible evidence, plus Maricopa County and Google aerial photos of the
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Additionally, Mr. Bruns has yet to ‹nform here that he has an ownership interest in National Emergency Water, a company that provides water hauling services interstate and intrastate. {Information on National Emergency Water - PL.000213-216, Attachment 8; Supplemental Affidavit of John Hornewer, PL.000282-287, Attachment 9, Email from Holly Wagner — BR tINS.000185, Attachment 10). ). Mr. Bruns is partners in this company with James Cantelme, son of Mr. Bruns’s current attorney, David Cantelme. James Cantelme already has an industrial complex for his water hauling business on a commercial lot, as is proper. [Information on Cantelme business — PL.000313-315, Attachment 11,’ Supplemental Affidavit of John Hornewer, PL.000282-287, Attachment 9]. Mr. Bruns apparently seeks to have the same complex, but in a rural/residential area. The photograph of Mr. Cantelme’s industrial complex should be startling to anyone against such a complex in a rural/residential area. Photo of Cantelme Industrial Complex — PL000313, Attachment 12]. Thus, it is inescapable that Mr. Bruns seeks to operate on the LOT multiple businesses that provide interstate, as well as intrastate, services. None of this commercial activity outside the RVFH benefits the RVFH. Rather, it appears, Mr. Bruns seeks to build an industrial empire in a rural/residential area that the residents of RVFH essentially subsidize, at the expense of lifestyle and other water haulers, for no legitimate reason.
’-The contracts here add to nearly $lMillion in late 2019.
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LOT, establish that no structure appeared on the LOT until 2017, a direct contradiction to Mr. Bruns’s prior statements and affidavit. Supplemental Affidavit of Kip M. Micuda — PL.000272-281, Attachment 2,’ Supplemental Affidavit of John HoFnewer, PL.000282-287, Attachment 9,’ Affidavit of Damon BFuns — PL.000254-256, Attachment 14}. Early to mid-2017, Dynamite Water completed construction of a warehouse.[Supplemental Affidavit of Kip M. Micuda — PL.000272-281, Attachment 2,’ Supplemental Affidavit of John Hornewer, PL.000282-287, Attachment 9]. Mr. Bruns and his spokesperson, Holly Wagner, (6) have referred to this structure as a “barn,” a future “fire substation” and a “garage,” depending on the context of the representation. [Emails from Holly Wagner - BRUNS.000199, 203, Attachment 17, Affidavit of Damon Bruns — PL.000254-256, Attachment 14). They have also represented the LOT as agricultural. Application to Arizona Department of Revenue — BRUNS.000085-87, Attachment 18]. Thus, Mr. Bruns and Ms. Wagner have asserted numerous inconsistent and misleading statements as to the use of the LOT, relying on various agencies and people in authority not communicating and, thus, they will not be held accountable. About mid-2017, Dynamite Water started conducting business from the LOT, operating 1-2 water hauling trucks and storing a few pieces of equipment. [Supplemental Affidavit of Kip M. Micuda — PL.000272-281, Attachment 2]. Dynamite Water’s business operation continued and expanded until the summer of 2019, when Mr. Bruns started to build another structure. Maricopa County Aerial Photos of LOT over several years — PL.000126-27, 132-33, Attachment 19]. Mr. Bruns has operated and stored, by his own admissions, as many as eight (8) water hauling trucks on the LOT. [Recognition Between Dynamite Water and Rio Verde Fire District — BRUNS.000001-2, Attachment 20’, Recognition Between Dynamite Water and Rural Metro Fire Station #826 — BR tINS.000226-227, Attachment 21,’ Supplemental Affidavit of Kip M. Micuda — PL.000272-281, Attachment 2,’ Supplemental Affidavit ofJohn Hornewer, PL.000282-287, Attachment 9,’ Bruns’s Part of Amended Joint Pretrial Statement, pgs 45-47, Attachment 22]. M . Bruns
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(6) Many have asked me who is Holly Wagner† Holly Kaylene Lasley-Wagner works for Circle K at Alma School and Dynamite Road. Though she testified in court she is a Controller for a large corporation, she appears to be a counter-clerk and stock-person. She has regularly represented Mr. Bruns and Dynamite Water in dealings with local organizations, the community of Rio Verde Foothills, on social media and in the news. She indicated herself as counsel to both at a hearing in Justice Court, until I objected and she was asked by the court to step back. On August 7, 2019, she and Mr. Bruns created Rio Verde Foothills Volunteer Fire Support and Emergency Fire Services, a non-profit organization with the Arizona Corporation Commission, in an apparent effort to bolster their defenses in the litigation. Ms. Wagner was arrested on August 8, 2019, for criminal damage. (Online Maricopa County Public Records, Attachment 1 p.
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also operates and stores on the LOT numerous pieces of equipment utilized for business, including various tanks and trailers, washing stations commercial pumps and other vehicles. Supplemental Affidavit of Kip M. Micuda — PL.000272-281, Attachment 2, Supplemental Affidavit of John Hornewer, PL.000282-287, Attachment 9] All such activities are prohibited by the Zoning Code.
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In June, 2019, I contacted Mr. Bruns and asked him to stop conducting a commercial/industrial business in a rural community. He claimed he did not conduct business from the LOT and refused to stop such activities. [Affidavit of Kip M. Micuda — PL.000001-79, Attachment 1, Supplemental Affidavit of Kip M. Micuda — PL.000272-281, Attachment 2,’ Coui t Under Advisement Ruling, entered December 4, 2019, Attachment 23). Consequently, I filed a complaint with the Maricopa County Department of Planning and Development (“Department”). Violation case V201901256. The Department verified the zoning complaint on July 10, 2019, finding a violation of the Zoning Code and issuing a Notice and Order to Comply. Notice and Order to Comply — PL.000033, Attachment 24]. The Department cited Mr. Bruns and GMI for operating a business on a rural/residential lot and for maintenance of commercial vehicles on the LOT. Maricopa County Records — PL.000080, 82, Attachment 25]. Mr. Bruns entered a Compliance Agreement (hereinafter “Agreement’) with the Department on August 7, 2019, admitting “responsibility for the Violation,” negating his prior denials to the Department and to me that he did not conduct business on the LOT. Compliance Agreement - PL.000041, Attachment 2Q. At least one Department representative referred to the business activities on the LOT as “an industrial complex,” contrary to the rural/residential zoning.
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On September 19, 2019, my wife and I filed a civil complaint against Mr. Bruns, Dynamite Water and others in Maricopa County Superior Court, Cause CV2019-012879, seeking injunctive relief to terminate the business activities on the LOT and seeking damages. The court found and concluded that Mr. Bruns and Dynamite Water, among other defendants, caused a public nuisance and a private nuisance and imposed a preliminary injunction as to future business activity on the LOT. COHFt Under Advlsement Ruling, entered DecembeF 4, 2019, Attachment 23). Prior to the injunction taking effect, Mr. Bruns’s demanded the court address his request that my wife and I post a cash bond of nearly $100,000 to cover alleged damages of Dynamite Water for operating from a local commercial lot because the injunction would be “catastrophic” to Dynamite Water. A trial on the issue was scheduled. Significantly, thirty (30) minutes into the trial, counsel for Mr. Bruns informed the court, after reviewing my pretrial memo to the court on Mr. Bruns’s bond claim, he wished to discuss settlement of the bond issue. Plaintiffs Separate Bond Hearing Statement, filed January 14, 2020, Attachment 2. My memo showed how many of the expenses incurred by Dynamite Water would actually be less if it operated from the commercial lot Mr. Bruns proposed.
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Ultimately, the parties agreed Dynamite Water could continue to operate only two (2) water hauling trucks from the LOT, under restricted hours and days, consistent with positions at the time in support of a proposed rule change by the Department as to water hauling trucks. Contrary to his prior statements in court and elsewhere, Mr. Bruns stated he required only two (2) trucks to service the RVFH. The court entered the agreement as a court order. Court Minute Entry, entered on January 15, 2019, Attachment 28]. Mr. Bruns waived his demand for a bond, despite his prior representations that an injunction would be “catastrophic.” The order also required Mr. Bruns and Dynamite Water to remove all equipment from the LOT. [Court Minute Entry, entered on January 15, 2019, Attachment 28]. To date, Mr. Bruns and Dynamite Water have failed and refused to follow the strict terms of the order, often operating more than two (2) trucks from the LOT, violating the restricted hours and days outlined in the order and refusing to remove the equipment, as directed. A spFeadsheet of some of Mr. Bruns’s violations of the court order is currently being compiled and will be available and disclosed when complete]. Further, Mr. Bruns and Dynamite Water violate the spirit and intent of the order by operating water hauling trucks from employees’/adjoining neighbors’ (the Rohrers) lot; an obvious attempt to avoid the terms of the court order.
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In December, 2019, Mr. Bruns applied to the Department for a Special Use Permit to allow Dynamite Water to conduct business on the LOT; that is, to utilize the entire five (5) acres as an industrial complex. Mr. Bruns’s justification for such an unprecedented permit in the RVFH is that the permit is essential for Dynamite Water to operate; that Dynamite Water provides unique potable water delivery services to the RVFH; and that Dynamite Water provides fire support to the area. Mr. Bruns misleads and misrepresents, as evidenced by the details outlined above and below. As a result, others, including county and state tax- payers, bear the consequences of his actions, not him. A Special Use Permit in this context is little more than a financial subsidy to Mr. Bruns; Mr. Bruns and Dynamite avoid their share of various taxes and fees, while the residents of the RVFH, as well as residents of Maricopa County and competitors, pay theirs. Worst, such a permit is contrary to the interests of the RVFH community and opens the door wide to future industrialization of this community, which has fought hard to maintain its rural lifestyle. Apart from dispelling any justification for the permit, other purposes of this letter are to shed light on some of Mr. Bruns’s activities and show how support for such activities is an unequivocal afront to truth, reason and the law.
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First, in stark contrast to the hysteria manufactured by Mr. Bruns and Ms. Wagner, Dynamite Water’s operations are not at risk by either being precluded from operations on the LOT, or by strictly limiting operations on the LOT.(7) Dynamite Water has been operating in the RVFH since 2006. Supplemental Affidavit of John Hornewer, PL.000282-287, Attachment 9, Online information on Dynamite Water — PL.000183, Attachment 29, Arizona Corporation Commission on Dynamite Water — PL.000198, Attachment 30]. Mr. Bruns did not purchase the LOT until late 2015 or early 2016, ten (10) yeaF5 later. [Supplemental Affidavit of John Hornewer, PL.000282-287, Attachment 9, Bruns’s Affidavit of Property Value — PL.000111, Attachment 13}. Mr. Bruns’s assertion Dynamite Water cannot operate without doing business on the LOT ignores the history, long past and recent. So how did Dynamite Water operate in the RVFH for ten (10) years prior to purchasing the LOT? Mr. Bruns did the same things all other potable water haulers in the RVFH still do; he parked trucks and equipment at his home, at the homes of drivers and wherever else he was allowed. [Maricopa County Aerial Photos of Bruns Residence with Trucks over several years — PL.000288-290, 316- 317, Attachment 31; Photo of Bruns Residence with Truck in November, 2019 — PL.000318, Attachment 32, Maricopa County Aerial Photos of Rohrer Residence with Trucks over several years — PL.000.291-296, 297-299, Attachment 33, Photos of RohreF Residence with Trucks since mid-2019 — PL.000156, 162-63, Attachment 34,’ Supplemental Affidavit of John HorneweF, PL.000282-287, Attachment 9]. Mr. Bruns can still operate as other water haulers in the area, especially with the Department’s proposed rule for water hauling trucks. Instead, Mr. Bruns sought a competitive advantage by purchasing the LOT and then operating his business illegally in a residential area. By doing so, he has, for instance, apparently paid less to operate by avoiding the cost of commercial property to operate from and has avoided property taxes for a commercial use. Mr. Bruns’s assertion that business operations on the LOT are essential for Dynamite Water to continue operations simply ignores that Dynamite Water operated for ten (10) years prior to the purchase of the LOT. Moreover, after Mr. Bruns argued in court that an injunction precluding operations on the LOT would
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(7) Notably, Mr. Bruns has failed and refused to produce any financial records personally or for Dynamite Water in the suit filed by my wife and I. Accordingly, he failed to produce any corroborating evidence to his vague, self-serving testimony of the alleged consequences to Dynamite Water if it cannot operate on the LOT. As a consequence, in part, the court entered a preliminary injunction against Mr. Bruns and Dynamite Water as to operations on the LOT. Mr. Bruns and Ms. Wagner have offered no more outside court. Nothing but vague and conclusory assertions, expecting people to simply accept their words. To merely accept their words is to ignore the facts. If Mr. Bruns had credible evidence that Dynamite Water would be at risk if not allowed to operate on the LOT, he would have provided that evidence to the court. He did not. Moreover, Mr. Bruns would not have changed positions several times in court, ultimately affirming he only needs two (2) trucks to service the RVFH.
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be “catastrophic,” he changed his position and asserted in court that he really only needed four (4) trucks to service the RVFH. My memo to the court showed how his new position was still misleading, at best. [Plaintiffs Separate Bond Hearing Statement, filed January 14, 2020, Attachment 2 fl. In the face of my memo, Mr. Bruns changed his position again, agreeing he could actually service the RVFH with merely fwo (2) tFucks, contrary to his prior statements. Court Minute Entry, entered on January 15, 2019, Attachment 28]. Accordingly, in court Mr. Bruns virtually abandoned his contention that the LOT is essential to the operations of Dynamite Water. Since Mr. Bruns himself avowed to the court that Dynamite Water needs only two (2) trucks to service the RVFH, he can park a truck at his home and at employees’ residences, as he currently does on occasion and has done for years. (Photo ofBruns Residence wlth Truck in NovembeF, 2019 — PL.000318, Attachment 32, Maricopa County Aerial Photos of Rohrer Residence with Trucks over several years — PL.000.291-296, 297-299, Attachment 33,’ Photos of Rohrer Residence with Trucks since mid-2019 — PL.000156, 162-63, Attachment 34]. Despite this reality, Mr. Bruns and Ms. Wagner continue to misrepresent that Dynamite Water cannot operate without the LOT. Other than the operation of two (2) trucks from the LOT, Dynamite Water has operated since January, 2020, without the vast majority of trucks and equipment owned by Mr. Bruns being operated and stored on the LOT. He has yet to disclose where else he operates and stores his trucks and equipment. Despite these facts, Mr. Bruns persists in seeking a Special Use Permit to operate and store at least eight (8) water hauling trucks and numerous pieces of commercial equipment in such a way, on a rural/residential lot, to save him money and secure a huge competitive advantage over other water haulers who operate within the law. No one benefits by the pending application for special use but Mr. Bruns. In so benefiting, a likely consequence is that other water haulers cannot compete and either follow Mr. Bruns in establishing other industrial complexes in the RVFH or go out of business. Even so, the assertion Dynamite Water cannot operate without conducting business on the LOT is false. Mr. Bruns’s own statements and changed positions in court reveal the untruthfulness of his and Ms. Wagner’s pleas to the contrary to the RVFH community, the Department and the Board of Supervisors.
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Next, Dynamite Water is one of three (3) potable water delivery services in the RVFH. It does and offers virtually nothing that is not or cannot be provided by competitors. There is nothing unique about Dynamite Water, but for its operations being centralized on a rural/residential lot, contrary to the Zoning Code. Indeed, even while Ms. Wagner represents the LOT as a potential fire substation to others, she is quick to point out that Dynamite Water would do nothing more than provide water. Email from Holly Wagner - BRUNS. 000199, Attachment 1 fi. Regardless of the labels of the use of the LOT or services of Dynamite Water, Mr. Bruns and Ms. Wagner themselves limit Dynamite Water to water delivery; that is, the normal daily services Dynamite Water and other water haulers provide to the RVFH.
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Finally, Mr. Bruns and Ms. Wagner emphasize Dynamite Water provides fire support to the area. Each ignores the fact that the other water haulers in the community also provide fire support to the RVFH. Historically, even before Rural Metro Fire Station #826 (“Rural Metro”)' introduced a station into the RVFH, water haulers fought fires from their homes where they parked their trucks. Water hauling trucks were, and continue to be, but for Dynamite Water, dispersed throughout the RVFH. In court, Mr. Bruns exaggerated the fire support of Dynamite Water and showed he has “recognitions” of his trucks by Rio Verde Fire District and Rural Metro.(9) [Recognition Between Dynamite Water and Rio Verde Fire District — BRUNS. 000001-2, Attachment 20’, Recognition Between Dynamite Water and Rural Metro Fire Station #826 — BRUNS. 000226-227, Attachment 27]. (10) What Mr. Bruns did not inform in court was that he secured a “formal” exclusivity agreement from Rural Metro for fire support services; that is, Rural Metro will only call Dynamite Water for fire support.1' This arrangement defies reason and smacks of collusion and conflicts of interest. Recent fires in the RVFH expose the danger of such an ill-conceived arrangement by those the RVFH is to trust, its fire fighters.
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Rural Metro is a private company; it is not a government agency. It leases the land in the RVFH upon which it is located. It is largely unregulated and has little to no authority greater than anyone else in the RVFH. Rural Metro is paid by residents of the RVFH, via a subscription service, for fire services.
(9) More recently, I understand, Rio Verde Water obtained a similar recognition from Rio Verde Fire District.
(10) Mr. Bruns misrepresented to both Rio Verde Fire District and Rural Metro that the Arizona Department of Transportation (“ADOT”) certified his water hauling trucks as “emergency service vehicles.” This is false, as explained further below. For ADOT to certify water hauling trucks as “emergency service vehicles,” as indicated on Dynamite Water’s trucks, such trucks must be used for firefighting only. Mr. Bruns uses his trucks daily for water delivery, as he himself states in his affidavit. Affidavit ofDamon Bruns — PL.000254-256, Attachment 14].
" On June 3, 2019, Mr. Bruns and Ms. Wagner made a presentation to the Rio Verde Horseman’s Association. Each perpetuated many statements shown herein to be false. Further, each represented that Dynamite Water has a “formal contract” with Rio Verde Fire District and Rural Metro Fire Station #826. [Rio Verde Horseman ’s Association, Board of Director’s Meeting, Attachment 35]. The contract appears to be for exclusive fire support services, contrary to the practice in the RVFH for decades.