By Roland Murphy
This week, the Surprise Planning and Zoning Commission will consider a rezoning request from RVi Planning + Landscape Architecture on behalf of two property owners to rezone a pair of 40-acre parcels from rural residential to allow for more dense housing development.
Both sites were originally included in the planned area development for Surprise Foothills, a 1,040-acre master site roughly bounded by Pinnacle Peak Road/Deer Valley Parkway/Central Arizona Project Canal in the north, 243rd Avenue to the west and 235th Avenue to the east.
Since the PAD was created, however, the City of Surprise eliminated the creation of new PAD zoning districts and changed the requirements under a new land development ordinance.
The requests—Surprise Foothills Southwest 40 and Surprise Foothills Central 40—ask for rezoning under the new LDO so the sites can be developed.
Surprise Foothills Southwest 40
The Southwest 40 request is the slightly more detailed of the two submittals. According to project documents, the vacant 40-acre site is wrapped by State Trust Land to the south and west, a Rural Residential-zoned parcel to the north and the Surprise Foothills PAD to the north and east.
The request seeks to rezone the site from Rural Residential to Residential Medium Density. The project narrative says, “The Residential Medium Density (R-2) zoning district allows for a variety of housing opportunities including detached and attached buildings, single-family dwellings, two-family dwellings, and three-family dwellings. The proposed zoning will allow for the development of all R-2 lot categories.”
The Surprise 2035 Land Use Map designates the site as a Neighborhood Character Area, so no general plan amendment will be required with the rezoning.
The property owner is W Holdings. Land Planning is through RVi Planning + Landscape Architecture. Wood Patel is the civil engineer. The traffic engineer is United Civil Group. Gilbert Blilie, PLLC is the project law firm.
Surprise Foothills Central 40
Like the Southwest 40 site, the Central 40 location is vacant. In this instance, the property is surrounded by the existing Surprise Foothills PAD.
Owner Cowley Companies is requesting a rezoning from Rural Residential for 31.06 acres of Residential Low Density and 8.88 acres of Residential Medium Density. While medium density allows for a variety of housing types, low density is strictly for single-family homes, although lot sizes can vary.
Land Planning is through RVi Planning + Landscape Architecture. No other members of the planning and development team are identified in the project narrative.
Common Features and Actions
The entire Surprise Foothills development area is intended to enhance residential quality with extensive open space and access to recreational opportunities. According to both development narratives, “The overall Surprise Foothills development will include numerous opportunities for active and passive recreation through natural open space/wash corridors, the various power corridor easements, developed parks and trails throughout the community, and direct access to the CAP canal regional trail system and the regional paths as defined by the City of Surprise Parks and Recreation Master Plan.”
A neighborhood outreach meeting was held in May. No one attended.
Staff has recommended approval for both requests. Planning and Zoning is scheduled to hear the matters on July 18.
