Request for a Major Amendment to the Goodyear 2025 General Plan for approximately 180 acres generally located at the intersection of Estrella Parkway and Yuma Road to amend the designation for the property from City Center to a mix of Business and Commerce (88 acres) and Neighborhoods (92 acres).

Although a fiscal impact analysis has not been conducted on this specific project, all new development will have an ongoing fiscal impact on the city. The development is responsible for construction of all infrastructure necessary to serve the site and will generate one-time revenue for the city through payment of permits, construction sales tax and development impact fees. Longer term fiscal impacts include increased demands for municipal services, the costs of which may or may not be offset by increased property values/tax levies, city sales tax, state shared revenues and the increased demand for commercial and retail development. Any areas that will be maintained by the city are constructed by the developer and then conveyed to the city two years after construction.

The concept for the Goodyear City Center can be traced back to the mid-1980s. Community leaders envisioned a central core area where municipal business, citywide activities, and entertainment would be the focal point. In 1987, 40 acres located at the northwest corner of Estrella Parkway and Yuma Road were obtained through a land swap agreement, trading land the city owned at Bullard Avenue and McDowell Road. The Goodyear City Center Master Plan was approved in 1988. The other three corners of the intersection of Estrella Parkway and Yuma Road, which are privately owned, were later incorporated into the plans for City Center and the 2003-2013 City of Goodyear General Plan designated the 180 acre city center site as the “City Center” land use.

After the ratification of the 2003-2013 City of Goodyear General Plan, a Technical Advisory Committee made up of 27 members of the community, including Mayor Lord and Councilmember Lauritano and representatives of the private-property owner, was established to create a plan for City Center. Their efforts resulted in the Goodyear City Center Specific Area Plan which was adopted on September 25, 2006 through Ordinance 06-1026 and was later amended through Resolution 09-1299.
Four separate PADs were created for each of the corners of City Center. These PADs were connected by themes and design principles. The PADs include:

• Goodyear City Center Northeast Quadrant Final PAD – Ordinance 08-1118, adopted June 23, 2008
• Goodyear City Center Northwest Quadrant Final PAD – Ordinance 09-1175, adopted May 11, 2009 (city-owned site)
• Goodyear City Center Southeast Quadrant Final PAD – Ordinance 08-1119, adopted June 23, 2008
• Goodyear City Center Southwest Quadrant Final PAD – Ordinance 08-1120, adopted June 23, 2008

The City moved forward with plans to build a city hall, library, and performing arts center at the city-owned site and had an approved site plan and construction plans were underway when the Great Recession hit and plans had to be halted.
The Goodyear 2025 General Plan which was ratified by voters in 2014 continued the designation of City Center on the four corners of the property and required these properties be developed in conformance with the City Center Specific Area Plan.
In 2014, Goodyear hosted an Urban Land Institute (ULI) Technical Advisory Panel (TAP) which is made up of experts from the real estate and development community who volunteer their time to help local communities solve development issues. The ULI TAP provided formal recommendations, one of which included a recommendation that the Goodyear City Hall either be located at the Goodyear Ballpark site or the planned Estrella Falls Regional Mall site. The relocation to either of these sites bolsters the success of the existing or planned private development by increasing the day-time population with a use that does not compete with the private development.

Not long after the recommendations of the ULI TAP were received, an opportunity presented itself to enter into a Public Private Partnership with Globe Properties to develop Civic Square, which will include a City Hall and Library, northwest of McDowell Road and 150th Avenue, adjacent to the planned Estrella Falls Regional Mall site as recommended by the ULI TAP. On July 8, 2019, City Council adopted Ordinance 2019-1440 which rezoned the property to the Civic Square at Estrella Falls PAD.  Because of the relocation of the municipal facilities, a new approach for the development of the area identified in the Goodyear 2025 General Plan as City Center. 

The first public hearing for the Major Amendment to the General Plan for City Center was held on Thursday, November 18, 2021.

Current Policy:
Chapter 9 of the General Plan defines what type of change is considered a Major Amendment, Minor Amendment, or No Amendment.  A change to a property’s land use designation affecting more than 160 acres is considered a Major General Plan Amendment.  A Major General Plan Amendment requires two public hearings before the Planning and Zoning Commission (one of which must be at a location other than the regular meeting place) and one public hearing before the City Council.  All Major Amendments to the General Plan are processed at the same time so that their cumulative effect may be considered.  For this calendar year, there are two Major Amendments that have been submitted.

Chapter 9 of the Goodyear 2025 General Plan states that Major Amendments to the General Plan should address certain criteria in order to be considered for approval.

Details of the Request:
This Major General Plan Amendment has been initiated by the city of Goodyear in order to amend the General Plan Land Use for 180 acres located at Estrella Parkway and Yuma Road. The proposed land use designation is (the numbers do not add up to 180 acres due to rounding):

• Northeast Site – approximately 40 acres designated as Business and Commerce
• Northwest Site (city-owned site) – approximately 40 acres designated as Business and Commerce
• Southeast Site – approximately 12 acres designated as Business and Commerce, this property is within the Ballpark Village PAD. Approximately 40 acres designated as Neighborhoods.
• Southwest Site – approximately 52 acres designated as Neighborhoods.
• A Village Center overlay has also been designated on the property which encourages pedestrian oriented development and traditional neighborhood development principles.

The Business & Commerce land use would allow Agriculture (AG), Commercial Office (C-O), Neighborhood Commercial (C-1), General Commercial (C-2), Light Industrial (I-1), Multifamily Residential (MF-18) Public Facilities District (PFD), and Planned Area Development (PAD) zoning districts. The Neighborhoods category allows Agricultural/Urban (AU), Single Family Residential (R1-10, R1-7, R1-6), Two Family Residential (R2), Multifamily Residential (MF-18), Manufactured Home Subdivision (MHS), Manufactured Home Park or RV Park (MH/RVP), Public Facilities District (PFD), Commercial Office (C-O) Neighborhood Commercial (C-1), General Commercial (C-2), and Planned Area Development (PAD) districts.

The proposed land use categories are generally in conformance with the exiting zoning with the exception of the Southeast Site which is proposed for Neighborhoods but the zoning allows for high intensity retail and business park uses. An application to rezone the property in conformance with the Neighborhoods land use designation has been received and is currently being processed.

Evaluation Criteria:

Chapter 9, Amendments and Public Participation, specifies the Amendment Review Criteria to be used in reviewing a proposed amendment. The following information identifies these criteria and how this proposed amendment to the General Plan complies with those criteria
 

1. The amendment must forward the vision for Goodyear as described in Chapter 3 of the General Plan.           

The vision statement for Goodyear is to “create a highly desirable and sustainable place for all to live, work, visit, and play.”  The vision statement is supplemented by nine Fundamental Strategies which in turn are implemented by twenty-three community goals that were identified during the General Plan planning process and are reflected in Chapter 4 of the General Plan.  The changes proposed support the relocation of the city hall to the Civic Square site where it can create a mixed-use development that provides a central gathering place for the community as well as opportunities for office and entertainment development. The proposed land uses at Estrella Parkway and Yuma Road will provide for a mixed of land uses to create neighborhoods and commercial development that will provide additional opportunities for housing, jobs, and amenities.
 

2. The amendment must be consistent with the goals, objectives, and policies contained within the General Plan.

The proposed amendment does not conflict with the goals, objectives and policies in the Goodyear 2025 General Plan, and, more specifically, it supports the following goals, objectives and policies:

Objective GD-5-2 Integrate land use planning with transportation planning to establish a fiscally sustainable, environmentally sustainable, and healthy community.

Part of the City Center Specific Area Plan called for the unique development of Estrella Parkway and Yuma Road. Goodyear Boulevard was to act as one-way pairs, traffic would divert away from Estrella Parkway and onto Goodyear Boulevard. This would allow Estrella Parkway and Yuma Road to be narrowed to pedestrian-oriented roadways with on-street parking. Estrella Parkway is a heavily traveled roadway, especially since the development of the Goodyear Ballpark. The plans for the roadways have changed and so the land use plan should adapt as well. If the roadways remain major arterials, then the four corners of the General Plan become disconnected and can’t develop as originally intended. The proposed land use categories align with the future transportation plans.

Objective GD-5-4 Enhance and expand retail and entertainment districts to create quality shopping, dining, and entertainment experiences.

The recommendation of the ULI TAP to locate City Hall at either the Goodyear Ballpark or the planned Estrella Falls Mall was in part so another entertainment district was not created that would compete with either of these areas. Removing the City Center designation allows for the successful development of the Goodyear Ballpark without nearby competition from the future City Center.

Objective CC-2-1 Provide diverse and quality housing products.

The designation of “Neighborhoods” at the Southwest Site and Southeast Site will provide an opportunity to create unique housing development that is located in close proximity to city assets such as the Goodyear Ballpark, Bullard Wash, and Recreation Campus. This objective is also supported by the Village Center designation which promotes creating a walkable/bikeable community.
 

3. The amendment must align with at least one of the fundamental strategies identified in Chapter 3 and shall not conflict with any of the fundamental strategies.

The proposal supports Strategy 6. Protect and Utilize our Assets. The changes proposed support this strategy by ensuring we are not creating an additional entertainment/business center that will compete with other existing or planned centers such as the Goodyear Ballpark, the planned Estrella Falls area, and the I-10 corridor.
 

4. The amendment must not negatively impact the implementation of any City-approved Master Plan or shall provide mitigation measures to alleviate the potential impact.

The amendment will not negatively impact the implementation of any Master Plan.
 

5. The amendment must constitute an overall improvement to the General Plan.

Changing the future land use category will result in an overall improvement to the General Plan as outlined in this staff report.
 

6. The amendment will not adversely impact a portion of, or the entire community, by:
   1. Significantly reducing the balance of residents and jobs. Although this amendment does incorporate new Neighborhoods designation, the overall result will not reduce the balance of residents and jobs as it will help the successful development of other employment centers.
   2. Increasing traffic without mitigation. This proposal is anticipated to reduce the amount of traffic in this area. 
   3. Requiring additional and more expensive improvements to infrastructure without mitigation. The proposal is much less dense and will likely result in the reduction of the intensity of utilities and associated infrastructure in the area.
   4. Significantly altering the existing character of an area in a negative and unplanned way. Although the proposal will significantly alter the plans for the area, it is generally seen as positive by the surrounding neighborhoods.
   5. Diminishing the environmental quality of the air, water, land, or cultural resources. The land use change should not diminish the environmental quality of the air, water, land, or cultural resources in this area.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:
On September 3, 2021, in compliance with A.R.S. § 9-461.06(D), a notice of the general plan amendment proposal was sent to the appropriate agencies, including the Arizona State Departments of Transportation, Water Resources, State Land, and Governor’s Office, adjacent municipalities and counties, Maricopa Association of Governments, Phoenix/Goodyear Airport, Luke Air Force Base, Maricopa County Department of Transportation, Flood Control District, and Arizona Commerce Authority inviting the agencies to provide comments by mail.  City staff received no comments in response to the notices that were sent. 

In compliance with the Citizen Review requirements of the Zoning Ordinance, a neighborhood meeting was held on October 20, 2021 at the Goodyear Municipal Complex. A post card notification was sent to adjacent property owners. Two residents were in attendance at the meeting. They had questions about the proposal but did not express any objections at this time.  

Notice of the proposed General Plan Amendment and of the first of the two public hearings before the Goodyear Planning and Zoning Commission required for General Plan Amendments scheduled for November 18, 2021 and December 1, 2021 was published in the Southwest Edition of the Arizona Republic on November 2, 2021, and was included in signs posted on the property at two locations on November 2,2021, and included in postcards mailed on October 29, 2021 to the owners of the property affected by this proposed amendment and those within 500 feet of the Property.

The first public hearing was held on November 18, 2021. A summary of the meeting and comments received will be presented by staff at the second public hearing on December 1, 2021.