Carolyn Oberholtzer, Bergin, Frakes, Smalley & Oberholtzer, PLLC

Request for a Major Amendment to the Goodyear 2025 General Plan for approximately 481 acres generally located east of Estrella Parkway north of the Willis Road intersection to amend the land use designation for the approximately 481 acres from Business and Commerce to Neighborhoods.  

1. Conduct a public hearing to consider a request for a Major General Plan Amendment for 481 acres generally located east of Estrella Parkway, north of the Willis Road intersection.
2. Recommend approval of the request for a Major General Plan Amendment for approximately 481 acres generally located east of Estrella Parkway, north of the Willis Road intersection to amend the General Plan Land Use designation from Business & Commerce to Neighborhoods, as set forth in the draft of Resolution 2021-1524, attached hereto. (Alex Lestinsky, Senior Planner)  

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 property subject to the General Plan Amendment is located within what is known as Community 14 of the master planned community known as Estrella (formerly known as Estrella Mountain Ranch).  Community 14 encompasses approximately 1,322 acres within Estrella, which is currently zoned Planned Area Development (PAD), and is to be developed in accordance with the Estrella Phase II PAD, adopted by Ordinance 88-257.  

The property subject to the General Plan Amendment is approximately 481 acres and is depicted in the document titled Major General Plan Amendment Case No. 21-100-00001 Proposed Changes to Land Use Plan dated November 8, 2021, attached hereto as Exhibit A (the “Property”).  Under the current Estrella Phase II PAD, the Property is zoned for the development of commercial uses, high density residential, a school site, park space, and even designated a Regional Mall site. 

Land planning for Community 14 is in its initial stages, and a General Plan Amendment is required to allow for the development of Community 14 as currently envisioned. 

The first public hearing for this request was held before the Planning & Zoning Commission on Thursday, November 18, 2021, at Goodyear City Hall.

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, requests for two Major Amendments 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:
When the Estrella Phase II PAD was adopted in the 1988, State Route 303 was anticipated to be located along portions of Community 14.  To capitalize on its proximity to State Route 303, the Estrella Phase II PAD provided for the development of approximately 521 acres contiguous acres within Community 14, which included the Property, to be developed for commercial and employment uses, high density residential, a school site, park space, and even designated a Regional Mall site.  The vision at the time was for the 521 acres to a regional commercial and employment center.  By the time the Goodyear 2025 General Plan was adopted, the State Route 303 alignment was shifted away from Community 14.  Although the realignment of State Route 303 made the development of the 521 acres as a regional commercial and employment center less viable, the Land Use designation in the Goodyear 2025 General Plan for the 521 acres was left as Business and Commerce to be consistent with the existing zoning for the 521 acres as depicted in the “Existing General Plan 2025” attached hereto as Exhibit B. 

An application has been submitted seeking to amend the General Plan Land Use for the Property from Business & Commerce to Neighborhoods.  If approved, the amendment of the land use designation on the Property to Neighborhoods will allow the 481 acres to be rezoned for the following types of development:  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) district.  The land use designation of the approximately 40 acres of the 521 acres that had been designated as Business & Commerce will remain as Business & Commerce; which allows for the following types of development: 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. To put this into perspective, 40 acres of Business & Commerce could support approximately 400,000 square feet of buildings. Staff anticipates that a rezoning application will be submitted to rezone all or part of Community 14, including the Property consistent with the amended land use designations. 

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.

 

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

   

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.

 

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.

 

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

 

6. The amendment will not adversely impact a portion of, or the entire community, by:

1. Significantly reducing the balance of residents and jobs.

2. Increasing traffic without mitigation.

3. Requiring additional and more expensive improvements to infrastructure without mitigation.

4.  Significantly altering the existing character of an area in a negative and unplanned way.

5. Diminishing the environmental quality of the air, water, land, or cultural resources.

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 September 29, 2021, at Starpointe Residents Club. A postcard notification was sent to adjacent property owners on September 13, 2021, and the applicant also provided an email blast to the community members by the HOA providing details of the proposed neighborhood meeting. Approximately 20 residents attended the neighborhood meeting. The applicant made a presentation to the residents and staff and the applicant were available for questions. Meeting minutes were provided by the applicant and are included as an attachment to this packet.

Notice of the proposed General Plan Amendment and of the two public hearings before the Goodyear Planning and Zoning Commission required for General Plan Amendments was published in the Southwest Edition of the Arizona Republic on November 2, 2021, 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, at Goodyear City Hall. A summary of the meeting and comments received will be presented by staff at the second public hearing on December 1, 2021, which will be heard at the Goodyear Municipal Complex.