
The city of Phoenix is moving forward with plans to redevelop three area park and ride locations, including at 19th Avenue and Camelback Road (photo by Kathryn M. Miller).
If the city has its way, three park and ride locations along 19th Avenue will be rezoned to allow for mixed-use, commercial and residential uses.
At a June 5 Planning Commission briefing, the city of Phoenix began the rezoning application process for two additional city-owned park and ride locations. The 19th Avenue and Dunlap Park and Ride went through the process previously and was heard by the commission at its full meeting later that same day.
With unanimous approval, the commission voted to initiate applications to rezone the 19th Avenue and Montebello Avenue Park and Ride (on the southeast corner) and the 19th Avenue and Camelback Road Park and Ride (also on the southeast corner). Montebello is 12.39 gross acres and Camelback is 9.40 gross acres. The city wants to rezone both to Walkable Urban Code T5:6. The request at Dunlap was for T5:5, to be capped at 56 feet
City code Section 1302 (Transect districts) includes T5.6 with T5:5 and T5:7, which are defined as “A medium-high-intensity mixed-use fabric characterized by a broad mix of buildings that integrate retail, offices, live-work and residential units adjacent to the Light Rail Corridor, averaging 56 feet to 100 feet in height.”
The North Mountain Village Planning Committee heard the Dunlap case (Z-7-25-3) at its May 21 meeting and unanimously recommended approval with an additional stipulation to require the proposed development to provide a minimum of 20 percent of the units as affordable housing. In a June 4 memo to the Planning Commission, staff recommended deleting that stipulation.
“Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) § 9-461.16 prohibits the creation of a requirement that has the effect of establishing the sale or lease price of a housing unit as a condition of approval,” the memo read. “The A.R.S. does not prohibit implementing an incentive or density bonus for the purpose of supplying moderate or lower cost housing, which is already addressed in the stipulations.”
The staff-recommended stipulation reads, “The maximum building height shall not exceed 48 feet, except that the maximum building height may be increased to 56 feet, subject to a minimum of 30% of the dwelling units are provided as Affordable Housing, as approved by the Planning and Development Department and Housing Department.”
City staff previously stated that a percentage of public parking for transit riders would be maintained at this location; however, the only stipulation addressing parking is #8, “If public parking is provided, a minimum of 5% of the parking provided shall be EV Installed.”
In response to our request for clarification, a city spokesperson said, “Yes, this project will have dedicated park and ride spaces. However, the number of spots is still being finalized.”
The Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval per the June 4 memo. City council is expected to decide on the case at its July 2 meeting, scheduled to be held at 10 a.m. As far as the other two park and ride rezoning cases go, a spokesperson for the Community and Economic Development Department said that the rezoning process for the Montebello property will begin with a public meeting, which is planned to be held in the fall, aiming for September. The date and location have not been confirmed. The case will then head to a hearing at the Alhambra Village Planning Committee, also this fall.
Staff did not have a confirmed timeline for the Camelback location, but they said that the case will commence once the Montebello rezoning case was concluded.