Scott Laten, Suntereo Real Estate Services, LLC

A Use Permit for an Assisted Living Facility in the C-2, General Commercial Zoning District within the Palm Valley Phase II PAD, located on approximately 6.15 acres at the southwest corner of N. Litchfield Road & W. Virginia Avenue.

1. Conduct a public hearing to consider a request for a Use Permit for the development of an Assisted Living Facility in the C-2, General Commercial Zoning District of the Palm Valley Phase II PAD located on approximately 6.15 acres at the southwest corner of N. Litchfield Road & W. Virginia Avenue.
2. Recommend approval of a Use Permit allowing for the development of an Assisted Living Facility that meets the definition for Assisted Living Facility in the Goodyear Zoning Ordinance on approximately 6.15 acres at the southwest corner of Litchfield Road & W. Virginia Avenue that is included within a portion of property designated as C-2 in the Palm Valley Phase II PAD subject to stipulations. (Karen Craver, Principal Planner)

1. Approval of the Use Permit does not constitute approval of the site plan. All future development will be subject to site plan review and approval by city staff, at which time all elements of site development will be reviewed, including, but not limited to, architecture, landscaping, grading and drainage, lighting, infrastructure, parking, access and circulation; and,
2. No signage is approved as part of this Use Permit.  All signage shall require separate review and approval, and shall comply with the requirements in Article 7 of the City of Goodyear Zoning Ordinance applicable to signage in the C-2 Zoning District.

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 subject property is within the portion of the Palm Valley Phase II Planned Area Development (PAD) with underlying C-2, General Commercial zoning. On May 29, 2001, the City Council rezoned approximately 29.3 acres at the northwest and southwest corners of Litchfield Road and Thomas Road, including the subject 6.15 acres at the southwest corner of Litchfield and Virginia, from Low and Medium Density Residential to Neighborhood and Mixed Use Commercial, with the adoption of Ordinance No. 01-751. The former SunCor zoning designation of Neighborhood and Mixed Use Commercial is currently identified as the city’s C-2, General Commercial zoning district.  Hospitals and related uses are allowed in the C-2 General Commercial zoning district subject to approval of a Use Permit.  Pursuant to a zoning interpretation by the Zoning Administrator, the provision allowing Hospitals and related uses in the C-2 General Commercial zoning district applies to Assisted Living Facilities. 
 

Request:
The applicant is requesting a Use Permit to allow the development of an Assisted Living Facility on a vacant parcel designated as C-2 General Commercial within the Palm Valley Phase II Planned Area Development (PAD) located at the southwest corner of N. Litchfield Road and W. Virginia Avenue. The planned active lifestyle assisted living facility will be two-stories, and will have 132 units consisting of 18 studio units, 64 one-bedroom units, 24 one-bedroom plus den units, and 26 two-bedroom units, averaging 780 square feet. The facility will operate 24 hours a day, and the office will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily. The facility amenities will include:

Community Amenities	Fitness Amenities
Club House	Fitness Club and Spa
Concierge	Equipment
Pitch & Putt (3-holes)	Free Weights
Full-Service Dining Room & Lounge	Fitness Classes
Inside and Outside Dining	Exercise mats and balls
Beer, Wine and Mixed Drinks	Bocce Ball
Resident Computer Center	Lap, Exercise and Relaxation Pool
Private Conference Room	Therapy spa
Theater
Craft Room
Gardening areas

Analysis:
The required Zoning Ordinance analysis and evaluation criteria is provided below:
 
Section 1-3-2 (Use Permits) of the Zoning Ordinance requires that the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council must determine that the proposed use meets the following analysis and evaluation criteria prior to granting a Use Permit:
 

1. The Use Permit will not be materially detrimental to persons residing or working in the vicinity adjacent to the property, to the neighborhood, or to the public welfare;
    
   The underlying C-2, General Commercial zoning approved for this area of Palm Valley Phase II allows for more intense uses such as motels and hotels, at an allowed maximum height of 56 feet, to be developed on the subject property by right. A two-story assisted living facility at approximately 30 feet, generating less traffic than a motel or hotel, being age-restricted, and allowed only by the granting of a Use Permit, is not considered to be materially detrimental to persons residing or working in the vicinity adjacent to the property, to the neighborhood, or to the public welfare.
    
2. The proposed use is reasonably compatible with uses permitted in the surrounding area. This section further states that should a Use Permit not be established within two years, then the Use Permit approval shall become null and void;
    
   The underlying C-2, General Commercial zoning was approved for this area of Palm Valley Phase II in 2001 in order to increase the amount of neighborhood and mixed-use commercial, and to decrease the amount of low- and medium-density residential that was originally planned. It was determined that the zoning change would provide better transition parcels from Litchfield Road to future residential development to the west. Considering the intensity of other commercial uses that could be developed on the subject property by right, an assisted living facility, allowed only by the granting of a Use Permit, is compatible with uses permitted in the surrounding area.
    
   Fire Response:
   The subject property will be served by Fire Station No. 183 located at 3075 N. Litchfield Road, or by Fire Station No. 181 located at 450 N. 143rd Avenue.
    

Nearest Fire Station	Shortest path		Longest path			2nd Nearest Fire Station	Shortest path		Longest path
	Mins	Miles	Mins	Miles			Mins	Miles	Mins	Miles
# 183	1.43	0.71	1.86	0.93		#181	4.58	2.29	5.01	2.50

 
Police Response:
The subject property is located within an existing patrol beat and the current level of service within the beat can accommodate development of the property.
 
Public Participation:
The alternative citizen review process was conducted for this application. Owners of all properties within 500 feet of the subject property were sent a postcard notifying them that the city had received the application; that additional information regarding the application could be found on the city website; and that staff or the applicant could be contacted with any comments or concerns regarding the application. To date, staff has received one phone call, and a follow-up email, from the owner/resident of a single family home west of N. 140th Avenue, at 14037 W. Cambridge Avenue within the Floriana neighborhood of Palm Valley Phase II. The homeowner cited concerns over a loss of privacy in their backyard and a loss of their home value. The applicant, who was copied on the email to staff, has reached out to the homeowner.
 
When the public hearings on the application were scheduled before the Planning and Zoning Commission on August 11, 2021, and before the City Council on August 23, 2021, a second postcard was sent to the property owners; a legal notice with the hearing dates was published in the Arizona Republic Southwest Valley Edition on July 23, 2021; and a notice of public hearings sign was posted on the property. To date, staff has received another phone call, and a follow-up email, from the owner/resident of a single family home west of N. 140th Avenue, at 2651 N. 141st Lane, also within the Floriana neighborhood. This homeowner cited concerns over the adjacency of the facility to the residential play park for the subdivision; traffic, congestion, and noise; and the number of assisted living facilities already open, as well as currently under construction, in Goodyear.

FINDINGS:
Staff finds that the Use Permit request is compatible with the existing land uses within the area and will not be a detriment to surrounding properties or persons. The assisted living facility is proposed on a parcel zoned for commercial use, and separated and buffered from residential development within the area.