The Casa Grande Planning and Zoning Commission has voted to approve two major projects despite opposition.
In the first project – known as Post Ranch – City staff recommended against approval. Applicant Scapegoat Design Studio requested a rezoning from Planned Area Development to R-2 on a 567-acre parcel to allow the development of more than 2,000 attached multifamily dwelling units near the SWC of Florence Blvd. and Toltec Buttes Road.
Planning staff feared the zone change was not in keeping with Casa Grande’s General Plan, since developments on the west, south and east sides of the planned site are PADs with larger lot requirements.
Representatives for owner Post Ranch 589 LLC explained the project has obtained the necessary Certificates of Assured Water Supply from the state for the project’s single-family units and has designed the community carefully. More dense zoning enables more efficient use of water per state guidelines.
Altogether, Post Ranch will have 2,135 single-family and 225 multifamily units.
The Commission voted 5-2 to recommend the project to the City Council for approval.
Cottonwood Ranch
The other project recommended for approval was Cottonwood Ranch Apartments, a 300-unit low-income development proposed for a roughly 16-acre site north of Cottonwood Lane near Pueblo Drive.
Several residents – some of whom spoke at the meeting – expressed concerns about traffic impacts, overflow parking into the neighborhood, the site’s location relative to O’Neil Drive, building heights and privacy issues. Privacy concerns centered around the multi-story apartment buildings possibly permitting inhabitants to see into existing residents’ backyards. Obstructed views were another point of contention.
The major site plan was approved 4-3. (Source)
