Council Corner
March 2008 - Frank Cavaliere, Councilmember
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The recent citizen
participation in the rezoning of Palm Valley 303 hearing is a fine example of
how interested citizens can truly make a difference in the outcome of
development. At our January 14th meeting, Council approved the rezoning of
the future Palm Valley 303 development from Agricultural Zoning to Planned
Area Development (PAD) within Palm Valley, between Charles Boulevard and Camelback Road.
The backyards of several Palm
Valley Phase V residential homes back up to Charles Boulevard. Many of those
neighbors attended the developer's Citizen Review meeting, the Planning and
Zoning meeting and the Council hearing on Palm Valley 303 because they had
not been informed by their builder or real estate agent that light
industrial, commercial and business park uses would eventually be developed
to the north of them. These are the only uses allowed by law on that land,
because most of Palm Valley 303 is within the 65 decibel noise contour area
or the Accident Potential Zones of Luke Air Force Base.
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Councilmember, Frank Cavaliere
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By making Palm Valley 303 a PAD, rather than just changing
it to Light Industrial zoning, we were able to "customize" the zoning
more to make it a better development. Because these neighbors expressed their
concerns, three key conditions were required of the developer that will result
in less impact on the residential areas:
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Lower allowable building heights and greater setbacks from the
street as buildings get taller.
·
Elimination of warehouse distribution and similar industrial uses
within 300 feet of Charles Boulevard or adjacent to a residential property.
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Truck travel routes into and out of the project will be closely
examined when specific development is proposed to lessen the impact on the nearby
residents.
Additionally, no bay doors will front on Charles Boulevard
and noise mitigation measures and outdoor lighting were addressed.
Zoning issues can be very complicated. Sometimes special use
permits are required. Not all parcel development requires public hearings. If
you want to better understand these issues and learn more about Planning and
Zoning, I highly recommend you attend the Planning and Zoning 101 Workshop (see
article below) being offered by our Community Development Director Harvey
Krauss. Harvey is known for presenting this complex subject in a very
understandable manner.
I hope you will attend.
Frank Cavaliere
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Last Updated: 5/11/2010