By Roland Murphy for AZBEX
A trio of rezonings and a General Plan amendment request coming before the Casa Grande Planning and Zoning Commission this week could, if approved and built as planned, deliver a total of 808 new residential units and a small volume of new retail to the city.
According to the accompanying staff report, developer Innovation Communities has requested:
- A minor General Plan amendment from Neighborhoods to Community Corridor for 30.1 acres near the SEC of Rodeo and Pueblo roads,
- Rezoning from Planned Area Development (Medium Density and Low Density) to PAD (Medium Density) for Innovation Villas at Colorado near the SEC of Rodeo and Pueblo roads,
- Rezoning from Planned Area Development (Commercial, Senior Living, and Medium Density Residential) to PAD (Commercial and High Density Residential) for The Village PAD at the SEC of Rodeo and Trekell roads, and
- Rezoning from Planned Area Development (Office/Commercial and Low Density) at the SEC of Rodeo and Trekell roads.
Innovation Villas on Colorado
In the first request, Innovation Communities envisions Innovation Villas on Colorado, a 230-unit Build-to-Rent townhome development. The existing Neighborhoods General Plan land use category has a development acreage limit of 25 acres or fewer for medium-density residential. The proposed site is 30 acres.
The site was originally intended for traditional single-family development but does not have Certificates of Assured Water Supply, which are required for single-family.
Units are planned as single-story, cottage-style townhomes, with 84 one-bedroom and 146 two-bedroom units. The plan calls for 48% open space, more than double the 20% required.
According to the submitted narrative, “The Application is requested to establish a PAD for the Site to develop horizontal front load townhome cottage style multi-family community with single-story homes on an infill site along Pueblo Drive and Rodeo Road. The Site takes the surrounding uses into consideration to provide a transition of density between the uses off-site and on-site while placing residential uses in close proximity to future residential and non-residential uses that encourage multi-modal transportation options such as walking, bicycling, and scooters between commercial and residential uses to meet the goals of a growing Casa Grande.”
Construction of the 230 units will be in a single phase.
The Village
The plan for The Village calls for 432 multifamily units and four commercial parcels on 35.26 acres. The maximum allowable residential density is 25 units/acre, and the plan density is 17.64 units/acre. The location is next to a single-family development, but Innovation Communities has established increased setback requirements along Rodeo Road. As part of the original PAD, improvements to Rodeo will also include a frontage road in front of residences facing the street that will be separated by a new, median-divided Rodeo.
The multifamily portion is planned as three-story garden-style buildings that will provide 216 one-bedroom and 216 two-bedroom units. Open space is planned at 39%.
The multifamily portion will be built in a single phase. The four commercial parcels will be developed either individually or as a single phase, depending on market demand.
The Enclave
Innovation Communities’ vision for The Enclave’s 32.82-acre site consists of 10.94 acres of commercial in two parcels south of the planned collector road and 146 Build-to-Rent units on the remaining nearly 21 acres. As with Innovation Villas on Colorado, the original PAD planned for a single-family subdivision, but the site lacks CAWS.
Planned units at The Enclave will be two-story, three-bedroom structures with two-car garages. Open space is planned at 37%.
The residential portion will be built in a single phase. The commercial section will follow after and may be developed in a single phase as well, according to the submitted narrative.
Next Steps
A community meeting to introduce the project was held on Feb. 28 in Council chambers. Attendees asked about impacted views, traffic and circulation, density, crime, low-income/“Section 8” housing and building heights. Project representatives and City staff provided responses.
Since the application was submitted and published in advance of the Planning and Zoning meeting, three resident emails have been received. One sought additional information, while two expressed opposition for a variety of reasons, including density, crime, traffic, drainage impacts, area school crowding, and damage to neighborhood character.
Staff has determined the application requests meet the review criteria and have recommended approval with conditions.
The property owner is identified as Jodil Investments LLC. The developer is Innovation Communities. ABLA Studio is the project representative, planner and landscape architect. Kaeko is the civil engineer.
