By Roland Murphy for AZBEX
The City of Phoenix wants to transform the 19th Avenue and Dunlap Avenue light rail park & ride and associated City-owned properties into a walkable urban mixed-use development focused on multifamily residential.
As a first step, the City is planning a rezoning and General Plan amendment to establish the site for development. In a May 12 staff report, Phoenix planners detail the rezonings necessary to make the 12.37 acres ready. If approved, the entire site at the SWC of 19th and Dunlap will be converted to WU Code T5:5 (Walkable Urban Code, Transect 5:5).
According to the link provided in the report, this will allow for R-5 Multifamily Residence District—Restricted Commercialuses, which permit multifamily rental, condos and single or attached townhomes along with a variety of office and commercial operations.
Three rezonings will be required in total:
- 2.44 acres from C-1 (Neighborhood Retail),
- 9.9 acres from C-2 (Intermediate Commercial) and
- 0.03 acres from C-2 SP (Intermediate Commercial, Special Permit).
Along with the rezoning, a General Plan amendment will be required. The site currently has commercial land use on the east side and an industrial use on the west, which are not consistent with the proposed zoning. The amendment will change the site’s land use designation to mixed-use to support the proposed rezoning.
Surrounding uses include commercial, industrial and residential of varying density.
Justification and Stipulations for Redevelopment
The staff report says the site is underutilized since the light rail has been extended to the Thelda Williams Transit Center at the former Metrocenter Mall.
If the changes are approved, the City will issue a request for proposals for the site’s redevelopment under the Walkable Urban Code with recommended stipulations.
Staff has proposed a total of 22 stipulations to accompany the development stemming from the rezoning request. These include:
- Frontage treatments and uses;
- A minimum of 5KSF of non-residential uses at the NEC of the site;
- Bicycle facilities and electric vehicle infrastructure;
- An approved circulation plan and vehicle access points on both 19th and Dunlap avenues;
- Curb, turf and green stormwater infrastructure requirements, and
- At least 25% of parking areas are to be shaded.
The Redevelopment Vision
While no development plans have been set yet, the City has an extensive list of features and components it would like to see in any project resulting from the rezoning. Quoting the staff report, these are:
- Pedestrian paseo between the north building façade and light rail station, extending to west end of the site along Dunlap Avenue;
- Shaded sidewalks along 19th Avenue and Dunlap Avenue;
- Vertical mixed use for development along the light rail and Plaza19;
- Maximum height of 48 feet with an additional height bonus if affordable housing is provided at a certain level;
- Two access points to the site from Dunlap Avenue and one from 19th Avenue;
- Access easement from Dunlap Avenue serving the apartment complex to the south, and
- Retention of the existing bus stop on 19th Avenue and the existing transit station on Dunlap Avenue.
The staff report includes two statements of opposition from area residents, both of whom cite the current overall density of the area and their opposition to any potential increase. One opponent wrote, “As you are aware, this whole area is highly compressed with Section 8 housing and other multi-family dwellings and their attending services. As you are also likely aware, higher density housing is associated with significantly higher crime.”
Multiple studies conducted over the last several decades have shown this belief, while persistent, is largely false. According to information from Colliers, “A study conducted by the Arizona Multifamily Housing Association concluded that the perception of more crime around multifamily communities comes from the practice of reporting stats based on the count of police calls by address. An apartment property with 100+ units at the same address may be wrongly compared to a single-family residence. Per the Arizona Multifamily Housing’s study, when police data is analyzed on a per unit basis, the rate of police activity in apartment communities is no worse than single-family subdivisions, and in many cases, lower than single-family residential areas.”
The rezoning request is scheduled to go before the Phoenix Planning Commission on June 5.
