By Roland Murphy for AZBEX
A collection of owners led by Emmerson Holdings has requested a rezoning of 880 acres in Surprise to allow the development of a new master-planned community called Desert Trails. The Surprise Planning and Zoning Commission will hear the requests March 21st.
The Desert Trails property lies on both sides of Deer Valley Road between 219th Avenue and the alignment of 211th Avenue. The northern boundary sits on the Pinnacle Peak alignment, and the southern is generally half-a-mile south of Deer Valley. The property is currently zoned Planned Area Development and Rural Residential. The current request asks for rezoning to Traditional Neighborhood Development so future plans for the property will align with the recently adopted Surprise Development Ordinance.
Under the 2035 General Plan Map, the property is designated as a mix of neighborhood uses and vacant land, and there are no currently functioning uses on the site.
According to the submitted narrative, “The property is currently zoned Planned Area Development (PAD) within the City of Surprise. With the City’s newly adopted Land Development Ordinance (LDO), PAD is no longer an applicable zoning district. While PADs still exist within the City, staff has urged developers to transition to the new LDO as amendments are considered to existing PADs. As such, the Desert Trails project is proposing to rezone to Traditional Neighborhood District (TND), which was recommended by staff as the most appropriate zoning district for this property.”
It goes on to say the TND designation is “ready-made” for master-planned communities and will allow for a combination of development types to deliver the appropriate mix of land uses and building densities for an attractive, walkable and sustainable community.
Like most large-scale master-planned communities, most of the planned area will be dedicated to single-family residential. According to the proposal documents, single-family will make up 521 acres of the site, with a planned volume of 1,854 units.
Multifamily residential is planned on a total of 80 acres, with all the parcels located adjacent to either Deer Valley Parkway or 219th Avenue. The estimated unit count will be approximately 812, with densities ranging from six units/acre up to 20 units/acre.
The community is also planned to include a K-8 school site on 16.6 acres in the northern portion of the property. Other components include a 25-acre park and a public trailhead.
With the 2,666 planned residential units, the development would generally be required to provide a commercial area of 33.3 acres under Surprise’s planning formula. Civic uses, however, allow for a reduction in that total. Because the school and trailhead are civic uses, the owners have noted their required commercial area can be reduced to 31.6 acres. They have designated two commercial parcels along 219th Avenue that total 32.4 acres.
The larger commercial parcel is located at the NEC of 219th Avenue and Deer Valley Road and is expected to provide retail and commercial services both for the development and the surrounding community. The smaller site is at 219th Avenue and the Pinnacle Peak and is expected to be more locally focused. The narrative says up to 300KSF of commercial services could be provided across the two locations.
While 80 acres of open space would be required under the TND designation, the developers are planning for up to 213, due largely to the presence of an existing convergence of two washes on the property. Along with a designated open space district, a 10-15-acre community park and several smaller park areas will be provided as neighborhoods are developed. Amenities will vary across the neighborhood parks but could include “shaded seating areas, limited turf areas, dog parks, sport courts, ramadas, BBQs, tot lots, trails, and walking paths,” according to the narrative.
Planning staff has reviewed the request and determined it is consistent with the City’s code and General Plan. The submittals were also reviewed by the Maricopa Water District, Maricopa County Department of Transportation and Luke Air Force Base, none of which offered objections.
The property owners/developers are Desert Trails Partners LLC, Bethany Holder LLC and HV Holder, LLC. According to the Arizona Corporation Commission, Desert Trails Partners connects to Emmerson Holdings, while Bethany Holder and HV Holder both connect with Nico Howard. Both Emmerson and Howard generally acquire properties and take them through the entitlement and pre-development processes, then sell to developers specializing in the appropriate project types.
The submitted narrative identifies the development team as the three owners/developers listed above, land planner RVi Planning + Landscape Architecture, civil engineer CVL Consultants, and traffic engineer United Civil Group.