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ITEM #: 8.
DATE: 10/25/2021
AI #:496
CITY COUNCIL ACTION REPORT
 
SUBJECT: REZONE FOR HANCOCK AT CANYON TRAILS NORTH
 
STAFF PRESENTER(S): Alex Lestinsky, Senior Planner

OTHER PRESENTER(S):

Andy Jochums, Beus Gilbert McGroder, PLLC

SUMMARY

Request a rezone to approximately 31 acres within the Canyon Trails Phase 1 PAD, from PAD to MF-12 with a PAD Overlay.

Recommendation

  1. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2021-2179, DECLARING AS PUBLIC RECORDS THOSE CERTAIN DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE CITY CLERK AND TITLED “OFFICIAL SUPPLEMENTARY ZONING MAP 21-06 REZONE FROM PAD TO MF-12”; AND “LEGAL DESCRIPTION – CANYON TRAILS NORTH”;
     
  2. ADOPT ORDINANCE NO. 2021-1518, CONDITIONALLY REZONING APPROXIMATELY 31 ACRES OF LAND LOCATED AT THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF COTTON LANE AND GARFIELD STREET FROM THE CANYON TRAILS PHASE I PLANNED AREA DEVELOPMENT TO THE MULTIFAMILY (MF-12) ZONING DISTRICT WITH A PAD OVERLAY; AMENDING THE ZONING MAP OF THE CITY OF GOODYEAR; PROVIDING FOR NON-ABRIDGMENT; PROVIDING FOR CORRECTIONS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE; AND PROVIDING FOR PENALTIES. (Alex Lestinsky, Senior Planner)

FISCAL IMPACT

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.

BACKGROUND AND PREVIOUS ACTIONS

The General Plan Land Use Plan designates a portion of the subject property as ‘Business & Commerce’ and the remaining portion as ‘Neighborhoods’. The subject property is currently zoned Final Planned Area (PAD) District, Medium/High Density Residential (Court Homes and Townhomes) within the Canyon Trails Phase I PAD adopted on July 26, 1999 by Ordinance No. 99-649.

A public hearing was held before the Planning & Zoning Commission on October 13, 2021. No one from the public spoke in opposition to the request. The Commission recommended approval 5-0 of the request.

STAFF ANALYSIS

Current Policy:
A rezoning request requires public review by the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council approval. The proposed amendment must be in conformance with the General Plan and should not adversely impact the surrounding area as outlined in the Zoning Ordinance.

Details of the Request:
The request is to remove the subject property from the Canyon Trails Phase I PAD and rezone it to the City’s Multifamily (MF-12) residential zoning district with a PAD Overlay to reduce the rear setback, which is along the eastern boundary of the Property, from 30’ to 20’.

Staff supports the reduction in the rear set-back for two reasons.  First, the eastern boundary abuts a 100+ open space trail which provides additional separation from the existing single family to the east. Additionally, this 20’ setback is consistent with many of the other MF-12 PADs recently approved within the city. 

The documents provided in the project narrative, including the conceptual site plan are conceptual and are not being approved with this rezoning action. Stipulation #2 requires a separate site plan and design review for the property. The city’s MF-12 Design Guidelines require three elevation types and three color schemes, which meets the desire of Council to implement a variety in building elevations and color variations for this type of product.

Evaluation Criteria:
  1. Consistency with the General Plan.
As mentioned in the Backgrounds and Previous Actions section, the General Plan designates a portion of this area as Business & Commerce and a portion as Neighborhoods. Multifamily residential uses at this density (12 du/ac or less) are appropriate in the Neighborhoods category, while higher density residential is required in the Business & Commerce. Although the MF-12 zoning district does not meet the minimum density required in the Business & Commerce land use district, the area designated as Business & Commerce is less than 20 acres, therefore it does not trigger the need for a General Plan Amendment.

General plan Standard 26
Medium Density Residential. Residential uses with densities greater than 5 dwelling units per acre up to 12 dwelling units per acres, may be considered along arterial roads, adjacent to commercial areas, adjacent to community and regional parks or significant open space areas, adjacent to interstates when appropriately buffered, or to provide transition between low and high density residential uses.

The project is adjacent to the Loop 303 transit corridor but is separated by a frontage road and will provide the appropriate noise wall and mitigation as required in the Zoning Code for developments within 500-feet of Interstate 303.  In addition, there is a transition to the single family residential to the east.
  1. Suitability of the subject property’s physical and natural features for the uses permitted under the proposed zoning district.
The subject property is currently an irrigated farm field. The property’s physical and natural features are suitable for the proposed rezone and multi-family use as the property will be required to be graded and developed in accordance with all applicable engineering design guidelines and standards.
  1. Compatibility of all potential uses allowed in the proposed zoning district with surrounding uses and zoning.
Uses and development surrounding the subject property include:
North – Vacant, zoned and planned for multifamily (Canyon Trails Phase I)
South – Vacant, zoned for Commercial (Canyon Trails Phase I)
East – Existing single family residential (Canyon Trails Phase I)
West – Cotton Lane frontage road Loop 303

The multi-family use proposed with this property will be compatible with the development in the surrounding area. The development will provide an appropriate buffer between the Loop 303 and single family residential.
  1. Proposed zoning district’s consistency with other land uses within the immediate area and whether uses allowed under proposed zoning district would be better suited to the subject property than the uses allowed under current zoning.
Within the Canyon Trails Phase I PAD, the property is currently allowed to develop as Court Home and Town Homes, which is typically a density of 7-12 dwelling units per acre and allows two-story homes. This request does not increase the maximum number of dwelling units that could be developed under the existing zoning.  It does change the type of product from single family dwelling units to multi-family to allow for the development of the single family rental product. Additionally, multifamily uses are encouraged along freeway corridors by the General Plan.

Luke Air Force Base:
The subject property is located within the vicinity of a military airport. Notice was provided to Luke AFB and they have indicated that given the location of the subject property, base operations will not be adversely impacted by this proposed multi-family development.

Phoenix-Goodyear Airport:
The subject property is located within the Phoenix-Goodyear Traffic Pattern Airspace. Given the location of the property, airport operations will not be adversely impacted by this proposed multi-family development.
  1. Demand for the types of uses permitted in the proposed zoning district in relation to amount of land currently zoned and available to accommodate the demand.
The property is currently designated as medium-high density residential (court homes and townhomes) within the Canyon Trails Phase I PAD. The PAD provided development standards for court home and townhome products but did not create restrictions on the number of units within each parcel. With the court home and town home designations, this property could develop under the current zoning with up to approximately 210 units.

The PAD did not stipulate the number of units in each parcel to allow for the “transfer” of units throughout the PAD, however, it did stipulate the maximum number of units within the entire PAD area to 5,421 per Ordinance 99-649 in order to cap the entire Canyon Trails Phase I development. This proposal does not exceed that original stipulation, as the current number of residential units within Canyon Trails Phase I, including this request, is 4,902. Although this request removes the property from the Canyon Trails Phase I PAD, staff tracks this unit count within the Canyon Trails area in order to limit exceeding the original intent of the PAD cap, which was to meet Luke Air Force Base’s Graduated Density Concept. The Canyon Trails Phase I PAD area is within 1-3 miles of the 65 Ldn (high noise or accident potential zone), limiting the overall density from 0-6 dwelling units per acre. With this proposal, the Canyon Trails Phase I PAD development area, including properties that have been rezoned out of the PAD, remains at 3.94 dwelling units per acre.

This proposal does not replace any commercially zoned land. The proposed MF-12 is a similar use to the existing court home designation.
  1. Demands for public services that will be generated by the uses permitted in the proposed zoning district.  
Below is a summary of impact to public services.

Fire Response:
Emergency response times and distances are provided below:
Nearest Goodyear Fire Station Shortest path Longest path 2nd Nearest Goodyear Fire Station Shortest path Longest path
Mins Miles Mins Miles Mins Miles Mins Miles
#184 5.14 2.57 5.72 2.86 #181 7.81 3.90 8.39 4.19

Police Response:
The subdivision is located within an existing Police patrol beat and the current level of service within the beat can accommodate the development of the property.

School Districts:
The subject property is located within the Avondale Elementary School District and the Agua Fria Union High School District. The application was sent to the school districts for comment and no objection was received.

Streets/Transportation:
The site plan is not being approved with the rezoning of the Property. Two points of public access will be required to be constructed before structures may be constructed within the Property.  If permitted by ADOT, one of the access could be a right-in/right-out off of the Cotton Lane frontage.  At the time of site plan review, the required connections to public streets will be reviewed for compliance with City engineering and public safety standards.

Water/Wastewater:
The subject property is located within the City of Goodyear water and wastewater service area.  

Solid Waste/Recycling:
Solid waste and recycling services for the property will be contracted through a commercial provider.
  1. Potential adverse fiscal impacts that will result from providing services to areas not in proximity to where existing public services are provided; 
The subject property is in proximity to where existing public services are provided.
  1. General public’s concerns.
Public Participation:
Pursuant to the Citizen Review process, a neighborhood meeting was held via Zoom on June 8, 2021. The applicant was prepared with a presentation for any and all attendees. Staff and the applicant were available for questions. One couple attended this Zoom call with questions about the project, but did not object to the request.

Notice for the October 2021 public hearings before the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council included a postcard mailed to the owners of property within 500 feet of the subject property; a legal notice and display ad published in the Arizona Republic on September 24, 2021; and a notice of public hearings sign posted on the property.

The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of the request on October 13, 2021 with a 5-0 vote. No one from the public spoke in opposition of the request.
  1. Whether the amendment promotes orderly growth and development;
The subject property is located adjacent to existing infrastructure and developed areas. The amendment will allow development of the subject property and promotes the orderly growth and development of the City.
  1. Any other factors related to the impact of the amendment on the general health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the City and the general public.
The development of the proposed multi-family project will be required to adhere to all applicable design, building, and engineering standards of the City of Goodyear. Adherence to these standards will be evaluated during the site plan, civil engineering, and building plan review processes.

Attachments