By Roland Murphy for AZBEX
Pinal County officials are expected to consider a rezoning and San Tan Valley Special Area Plan amendment request that would rezone 7.7 gross acres at the NWC of Gary Road and Skyline Drive to allow development of a townhome and apartment community with supporting commercial uses.
According to the submitted narrative, “The parcels were created from farmland with the development of Morning Sun Farms back in 2008 and have been under the same ownership since. The original intent was to develop into a neighborhood shopping center with a grocery store anchor, some shops and pads. However, ownership has been unable to secure a grocery store or other big box anchor for the site, due mainly to the large concentration of retail at Gary (Road) & Hunt (Highway), less than a mile away, and the preference of commercial users to be located there, versus at our site. The site is simply too big for the amount of commercial use that can be supported at this location.”
The requests would redesignate 14 acres of the 16.4-acre site from Suburban Neighborhood to Community Center and rezone 7.7 acres from General Business to Multiple Residence.
Under the proposed plan, the residential components will be on the western side of the property, with the commercial portion located to the east fronting Gary Road.
The proposed unit mix for The Vine @ Skyline calls for 70 two-bedroom apartments, 20 one-bedroom apartments and 28 three-bedroom townhomes. The retail portion is tentatively planned for three restaurant spaces, a daycare with a play yard, a bank and a gas station/convenience store.
The narrative says owner The Cravath Whole Life Communities, LLC plans to retain ownership “for generations to come” and wants to invest in high quality buildings that will be easier to maintain over time.
Given the stated focus on quality and the desire to attract and retain long-term residents, “This includes a larger unit size (1 Bedroom units averaging 800 SF, 2 Bedroom units averaging 1,200 SF, and 3 bedroom townhomes averaging 1,850 SF), separate laundry and powder rooms, large balconies and patios. All the townhomes include a 2-car attached parking garage, and all of the apartments have individual private garages as well. In addition, well-appointed outdoor and indoor amenity areas will be provided, way beyond what is typically provided in projects of this size.”
Surrounding uses include single-family residential and commercial.
The project will be built in two phases. The commercial component will come first, as it is already appropriately zoned and was submitted for site plan review along with the overall project application. The residential portion will then follow in a single phase, ultimately creating 13 two-story buildings on the site.
A neighborhood meeting was held last summer with County planning staff and project representatives from architect and project planner K&I Homes in attendance. Thirty-six people attended. Points of opposition included a desire for commercial versus residential development, opposition to multifamily housing, density impacts and an increase in traffic.
K&I Homes’ report on the meeting was particularly direct, including the following exchange:
(Attendees expressed a) “Perception that renters are somehow a lower class of people, who will go around and vandalize their neighborhood, disrespect private property and impose on the HOA neighborhood parks. One attendee loudly and repeatedly proclaimed that the proposed multi-family would turn into a ghetto within 5 years.”
In response, the representative wrote, “We explained how the proposed multi-family is planned as a long-term hold, and by design would attract ‘good’ tenants that become long-term residents. But, no amount of explaining or arguing the opposite was going to change their mind on this issue.”
A local news outlet reported residents also expressed concerns at the Feb. 4 San Tan Valley Town Council meeting. Previous reporting described how San Tan Valley is pursuing a policy to provide input and recommendations to Pinal County as zoning and related cases transition from the County to the recently incorporated Town.
The requests are scheduled to be heard by the Pinal County Planning and Zoning Commission Feb. 19.
