Arizona Land Consulting’s master plan preparation and development spree continues, as the company is requesting a General Comprehensive Plan amendment and rezoning for an approximately 320-acre site at the NWC of 411th Avenue and Camelback Road near Tonopah.
ALC currently has four other master plan sites in process around the state, with two in Buckeye and two in Casa Grande.
The company’s proposal for the new Camelback Creek master plan is scheduled to go before the Maricopa County Planning and Zoning Commission Aug. 6. According to the staff summary, ALC “is requesting a General Comprehensive Plan Amendment (CPA) of the Tonopah/Arlington Area Plan to change the Rural Densities (0-1 du/ac) to Mixed Use with a zone change from Rural–43 to IND-2 IUPD to support mixed use development that may include residential, commercial, industrial, and entertainment uses.”
The project narrative justifies the Industrial Unit Plan Development overlay to give the site the maximum possible flexibility in terms of future development, most notably in raising the 40-foot permitted building height normally found in IND-2 areas to 85 feet and adjusting the parking requirements.
It says, “The increase in height will allow for the development of additional clearance, which is commonly sought by light industrial users. Additionally, we are requesting a reduction in the required parking for the Site. The Site will have a mix of warehouse and data center uses, both of which are subject to the same parking ratio. However, data centers typically contain only a small office space and fewer number of employees than warehouse uses and therefore, do not require as many employee parking spaces. Reducing the required parking for the Site reflects the current parking demand for warehouse and data center uses and provides flexibility in the design of future development of the Site.”
There are currently no end-users signed on, so the company wants to maintain as diverse a set of guidelines as possible.
Property Character and Infrastructure Details
The vacant site has never been developed and is largely surrounded by other vacant properties, some of which are entitled for large-lot residential uses. Some industrial and commercial uses are in place south of Interstate 10. ALC says the planned mix of uses will support existing residential, commercial and industrial uses and contribute to the region’s growth, including buildout of the area roadway network and infrastructure.
The property is bounded by Missouri Avenue to the north, 411th Avenue to the east, Camelback Road to the south and 419th Avenue to the west. Primary access is envisioned as coming from 411th Avenue, where there is an existing interchange at I-10. Since no users have been procured yet, there are no specific circulation and access plans. Once end users are identified, a traffic engineer will be brought on to plan the traffic flows.
Developer Examining Water and Power Needs
With water being a concern for any new development, and a constant source of concern with data centers, the submittal discusses water access at length. The property is located in a Global Water Resources service area, but there is no infrastructure within the site or the adjacent right-of-way that could connect. Global owns the nearest existing system, but it is small and currently serves a few homes northwest of the site.
Given the development vision, the site’s anticipated water needs “far exceed this existing water system, therefore it appears unlikely that interconnection to this system could serve the Site’s water needs.” There is an existing groundwater well in the site area that “may have been previously equipped with substantial capacity including municipal/domestic use. This existing well and potential new wells will need to be evaluated for current suitability. We anticipate that a facility will be constructed onsite to provide potable water storage, pumping capacity and any needed water quality treatment as determined by future well analyses,” the submittal says.
The property is in an Arizona Public Service service area, and APS has lower-voltage service in the immediate vicinity. ALC stipulates in its submittal it will take time to extend higher-voltage service to the site to provide for eventual end-user needs. The company plans to work with APS on a feasibility study to determine available options and is also considering other power service options, including natural gas and other “behind the meter” solutions.
County planning staff has recommended approval of the plan amendment and rezoning requests.
Arizona Land Consulting is the project owner. The law firm of Berry Riddell LLC is the project representative and applicant.
