By Roland Murphy for AZBEX
Owner LKY Development Company is requesting a zoning change for 1,120 acres in the 24,800-acre Belmont Mixed-Use plan area near Buckeye.
Specifically, according to the Maricopa County Planning and Zoning Commission report, “The site consists of 1,120 acres and is generally located at the southwest corner of 339th Ave. and Indian School Road in the Tonopah area. This site is in the southern portion of the Belmont master planned community with various commercial, residential, and industrial uses first approved in 1991 and encompasses approximately 24,800 acres. Since the approval of Belmont master planned community, markets have shifted, demanding more mixed uses and employment opportunities, especially sites located near a major freeway.”
The Belmont Development Master Plan was established in 1991 and has undergone several modifications over time, with the current master plan being approved in 2008. The submitted narrative says, “Although the Belmont DMP is primarily residential in nature, Mixed-Use Employment Center and Regional Retail Center land use designations were located around several existing and planned interchanges with the I-10 Freeway.”
It goes on to say market changes over time, along with other planning factors like the establishment of the preferred Interstate 11 alignment running through the area, have required more mixed-use and employment opportunities to factor in.
In 2023, 1,147 acres were carved out of the DMP, and a land use designation amendment was established for a total of 1,401 acres to mixed-use to allow the development of a movie studio and retail, industrial and hospitality uses near 339th Avenue and Indian School Road. As part of that change, 321 acres were rezoned from rural residential to industrial to allow for the movie studio’s first phase of development. The owner is now looking to rezone the remaining 1,080 acres, along with an additional 39 acres.
The overall site generally lies north of Interstate 10 between 355th and 339th avenues.
The specific request is for rezoning to Heavy Industrial with an Industrial Unit Plan of Development. IND-3 IUPD zoning would allow for commercial, industrial, hospitality and energy production uses.
According to the narrative, “Although a site plan for the Property has yet to be developed, it is envisioned to contain numerous uses. Key uses may include but are not limited to hospitality uses such as hotels, resorts and temporary rental housing facilities, a retail, restaurant and entertainment district, as well as industrial uses such as warehousing, manufacturing, data centers, and energy production facilities.”
The narrative also notes, “…any of the envisioned uses would be permitted by right.”
The requested zoning change does not include a specific plan of development.
The nearest large residential site is more than a quarter mile west, and the materials say there would be no negative impacts in terms of noise, odors or visibility. The planned movie studio site lies to the east.
The IUPD enables modifications to the standard zoning that the owner says will provide flexibility in future development. In addition to making specific mention of data centers, which are not currently a defined use in the Maricopa County zoning ordinance, the submittal establishes a variety of maximum building heights and lot coverage allowances.
The narrative says, “General commercial and retail will maintain the 40-foot maximum height. An increase to 60-feet is requested for hospitality, in alignment with a traditional limited-service hotel. Larger industrial uses require more flexibility therefore a maximum of height of 80-feet is requested. Lastly, in the event that an energy production facility is proposed on the Site, a maximum height of 150-feet is requested in order to allow for towers and cooling elements.”
The maximum lot coverage under the standard zoning is 60%, but the submittal requests 75% to allow for additional flexibility and to exempt possible future solar panels and battery storage from the lot coverage calculations.
The Maricopa County Planning and Zoning Commission recommended the request for approval last month, with standard conditions and stipulations. The Board of Supervisors is set to hear it Jan. 28.
LKY Development Company, Inc. is the owner. The engineering and planning firm is Colliers Engineering & Design. The project is represented by Gammage & Burnham.
