By Roland Murphy for AZBEX
The Eloy Planning and Zoning Commission met to consider a major General Plan amendment and rezoning for 310 acres, roughly a quarter mile east of the NEC of Sunland Gin and Shedd roads, to allow for a new development area featuring light industrial and multifamily components.
The hearing was for discussion purposes only, and no action was taken.
Eloy’s General Plan currently lists the property as Community Commercial and Light Industrial. Owner RMG Real Estate Services III, L.L.C., which traces to real estate investment firm Vaulter (formerly known as McRae Gomez), is requesting an amendment to Mixed-Use. The owner is also requesting rezoning from Single-Family to Light Industrial and Multiple Family Residential under a separate application.
Eloy 310
The property, located in the designated Toltec-Robson Growth Area, is surrounded by undeveloped land on all sides. The land to the north, across Interstate 10, is zoned for single-family and both general and light industrial. The remaining surrounding properties are all zoned for single-family residential.
Currently, Eloy has 2.3% of its planning area designated for mixed-use purposes. The Eloy 310 request would increase that to 2.4%. The submitted narrative notes cities typically allocate between 2% and 10% of their land use areas for mixed-use.
According to the staff analysis, “The General Plan’s Future Land Use map provides a limited amount of Mixed-use land uses in this area of the city in general. Furthermore, most of the existing designated Mixed-use land use areas are located at the south end of the Sun Corridor Growth Area, near State Route 87 and I-10. The addition of the Mixed-use land use designation in the Toltec-Robson growth area will assist in promoting a broader balance of uses in the northeast quadrant of the city near the I-10 and Sunland Gin Road interchange.”
The submitted narrative shows the City of Eloy as the water and wastewater service provider, with Arizona Public Service as the power provider. Under the proposed vision, a system of eight-inch waterlines will connect to the City’s existing waterline west of the site, and eight- and 12-inch wastewater lines will connect to a planned lift station that will pump to the existing 12-inch line.
Regarding roadways and circulation, the narrative says, “The site will be served by internal roadways with two primary access points provided to the surrounding roadway network. Willow Peak Avenue, a Commercial Collector roadway, will be constructed approximately 1,500 feet south of Mountain View Avenue to provide access to Sunland Gin Road. Additionally, the alignment of Shedd Road will be improved as a Commercial Collector to provide access to Sunland Gin Road from the south side of the site. The I-10 is approximately 3,000 feet north of the closest access point to the site.”
The multifamily component is designated for the southwest portion of the site, which is closest to existing residential properties, and the narrative asserts the residential and industrial developments will be planned “with consideration for appropriate transitional buffering between uses of differing intensities.”
Project representatives land planner CVL Consultants held a neighborhood meeting Nov. 4 for property owners with land within 300 feet of the proposed site. None of the nearby owners attended, and the meeting was adjourned after an hour.
According to the presentation materials, the development fees paid for executing the master plan’s components will benefit Eloy by contributing to the City’s parks and recreation and police and fire operations, as well as to road improvements.
In addition to job creation through light industrial, office space and other business opportunities, based on Eloy’s current development impact fee schedule, the submission predicts the project will generate:
- ± $3.5M in roadway funding,
- ±$3M in parks funding and
- ±$2M in public safety funding.
As of press time on Dec. 1, no media or minutes from the Nov. 19 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting had been published to the City website. Additional hearings will follow before both the Commission and the City Council.
Vaulter is the owner. The land planner and civil engineering firm is CVL Consultants.
