[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6304533,"mediaKeyId","2459845-e3332e4ce08d5414d2747126713a0919","parentId",2459845,"title","Mesa planning board recommends approval of Park North 120‑unit apartments; neighbors raise traffic and safety concerns","audioSeconds",5167,"startMs",1890635,"endMs",7057685,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2459845-e3332e4ce08d5414d2747126713a0919&start=1890&end=7057","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2459845-e3332e4ce08d5414d2747126713a0919/thumbnail_1890635.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6304533/Mesa/Maricopa-County/Arizona/Mesa-planning-board-recommends-approval-of-Park-North-120unit-apartments-neighbors-raise-traffic-and-safety-concerns","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6304533-b58ec01c0bc5e20c6d03123a5a1f9c83/orig.mp4?Expires=1771159307&Signature=ckI6hGoA5ICGBDyLbRgzPso7AFYdNYeWYImGzmHDCoMmyXOXE4kTnJbBss4c5pt9rpwY0alW4AdK-UqVAWpYmlp-gSJGyep6Hhuizddlc7OJ0AkfijfwDuq9KgYzNVZUs-ftl77JPiOjq0nij7ksHysZVNTumeheQ89MW~rLE-kuj4W465w4CVIp60d9pjTTob~N4R74nJSocTnTl5Mt4NweU4mJrTB4JmKX6q-5CCF91Ugj9jxqKtgBTyuwjN6~QgFnuUEKBBHFx5-x1rLVrIZ7i-F2c7BE2P6SIeJiZeEX~i1a65FcslR0TOA9FqqLpegseo00mpFVD87vURDFVQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City Council of Mesa, AZ","date","2025-02-27T15:45:46Z","article","The Mesa Planning and Zoning Board on Feb. 26 voted 4-0 to recommend City Council approval of the Park North project, a proposed 120-unit multi-family development on the north side of Guadalupe Road east of Power Road. The recommendation covers a planned area development (PAD) overlay, a council use permit to allow multi-family without the ordinance’s ground-floor commercial requirement, and site plan review; the board’s action is a recommendation to council.

City staff described the site as designated Neighborhood (suburban) in the Mesa 2040 general plan and currently zoned Limited Commercial (LC) with an existing PAD. Staff and the applicant said the property’s physical constraints — including an 80-foot Maricopa County Flood Control District canal that limits bridge access and deed restrictions that affect retail uses — have repeatedly made commercial redevelopment infeasible. Staff said the proposal complies with applicable site plan and PAD regulations, and recommended approval with conditions.

The applicant, represented by John Gillespie of Rose Law Group, presented a site plan with four three-story apartment buildings (two with 36 units and two with 24 units, for a total of 120 units), a clubhouse/leasing office and pool, 252 parking spaces (including 122 covered spaces), and 18 electric vehicle charging stations. Access is proposed from Guadalupe via a single bridge across the flood-control canal; an emergency egress is shown through an access easement to the west. The applicant submitted a traffic analysis and an economic market study; the traffic consultant concluded the proposed multifamily use would generate 48% to 71% less traffic than the commercial/office option previously approved for the site.

City and consulting traffic engineers acknowledged community safety concerns. Paul Basha, the project traffic consultant, said the Arizona Department of Transportation collision database shows 26 collisions at Power and Guadalupe in 2023; he placed that intersection “kind of the midpoint of collisions in the area” after reviewing nearby intersections. The city traffic engineer, Ryan Hudson, told the board the city is conducting a comprehensive safety action plan and analyzes crash characteristics and trends beyond raw counts; he said the city will pursue mitigation strategies if analysis indicates needed improvements.

Neighbors from the adjacent Superstition Springs community spoke in force against the proposal, citing traffic volumes, school drop-off and pick-up at Highland Junior High, and recent serious collisions in the corridor. Andrew Clayton said no one at community meetings spoke in favor and that the project’s “luxury” branding will not address the safety concerns; April Lesher, who identified herself as a Gilbert School District teacher, said she has witnessed serious collisions at the intersection and asked the board to visit the site during school pick-up times.

Staff and the applicant said they held two neighborhood meetings and that the applicant has offered landscape and buffer improvements — including new trees along the park edge, additional landscaping adjacent to Guadalupe subject to flood-control-district approval, and a development agreement under which the developer would maintain trees on the park side for an initial period before turning them over to the city. Staff also said the applicant will coordinate with Maricopa County Flood Control District on the Guadalupe frontage landscaping and with the Parks and Recreation Department for tree plantings on adjacent park property.

After discussion the board voted to recommend City Council approval with the conditions in staff’s report. Board members noted that multifamily is an allowed use in LC zoning when a council use permit is granted to modify the commercial ground-floor requirement and that, according to the applicant’s analysis, the multifamily proposal generates fewer peak traffic trips than the previously approved commercial option. The recommendation advances the item to City Council for a final decision.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","lanning & Zoning Meeting - 2/26/2025","oneSentenceSummary","The Planning and Zoning Board on Feb. 26 recommended approval of the Park North project, a proposed 120‑unit apartment complex east of South Power Road and north of East Guadalupe Road, advancing the project to City Council with conditions.","taxTitle","Mesa, Maricopa County, Arizona","taxId",2210,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6304538,"Mesa planning board approves rezoning for Dixon flag-lot split; neighbors press for written irrigation access",1710,132005,1842220,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2459845-e3332e4ce08d5414d2747126713a0919&start=132&end=1842","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2459845-e3332e4ce08d5414d2747126713a0919/thumbnail_132005.jpg","/articles/6304538/Mesa/Maricopa-County/Arizona/Mesa-planning-board-approves-rezoning-for-Dixon-flag-lot-split-neighbors-press-for-written-irrigation-access","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6304538-d34a8da8757597881d39aca79c8bfda6/orig.mp4?Expires=1771159307&Signature=Qmetgorn86xpokTRo0yeZF~DPZ5skgI4zxFoEbwy6cbXV6bNTsVwesYw2d6FVa6bl23ZOEMdn8HW10aCwp~nv6dMVN3kg~P6aY8dgKrbhzqJFYttivu-b22pBCtC2QE45A0YKCpn6-3Yc5T91fxV-edKWpgRQzSQXmu1WiH65iEs78yHa8T3MBEXJ8GZQQy1kWMzpSX07CX5a764EyH5EkyVVpPlt-T02WSAWgyPkzZdBcVvbcPs21uCXpg0XzzeywCOJ4iZRzf7Q6ObXaozO8AEHfrMJwYOuulfTB6hVMhaLSpePakFl9ntgNOZgSeeyRrzqt5EYUk4uQTC6Gng-w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Mesa Planning and Zoning Board on Feb. 26 recommended approval of a rezoning for a 2.5-acre property on North Val Vista Drive that will create a flag lot to allow construction of a new single-family residence.

Staff said the request — rezoning from Single Residence 35 (RS-35) to RS-35 with a Bonus Intensity Zone (BIZ) overlay — would reconfigure a currently landlocked parcel so it meets the city’s frontage requirements. The board voted 4-0 to approve the case with conditions.

The zoning request includes specific BIZ deviations to accommodate the site’s existing conditions: a reduced minimum lot width for the flag “pole” portion of Lot 2 (proposed at about 20 feet instead of the RS-35 standard 30 feet), a one-foot setback for a detached accessory building on Lot 1, and a seven-foot fence along the existing front that exceeds the ordinance maximum. Staff recommended approval with conditions after finding the proposal complies with the Mesa 2040 general plan and applicable zoning code provisions. Staff said, “staff finds that the request complies with the Mesa 2040 general plan.”

Neighbors who spoke at the public hearing said their principal concern was continued access to flood irrigation infrastructure that serves multiple properties south of the site. Barbara Markoski, a long-time resident, told the board: “I’m requesting, as a condition of rezoning the property, that the board make irrigation access in writing, a condition for recommending or granting this rezoning.” Speakers said the irrigation system is served through a private drive that crosses the affected parcel and that the system is delivered on a rotating schedule by Roosevelt Water Conservation District.

The applicant’s representative said the owner, Eric Dixon, has agreed verbally to allow irrigation access and to relocate and repair a leaking valve at his own expense, and that he is willing to work with neighbors on a cross-access agreement. The applicant’s representative said, “We would object to using the city’s, exaction authority or power to require a property owner to dedicate an easement that is not has no nexus or connection to what is being asked,” while also noting condition number 1 calls for a cross-access easement between Lot 1 and Lot 2 and that the owner is willing to sign an agreement if the southern property owners also sign.

Staff clarified that the cross-access easement required by condition 1 applies to the two resulting lots (Lot 1 and Lot 2) and does not, by itself, compel an easement to the adjacent southern parcels; staff told the board the landlocked parcel was recorded with the county in the past without an administrative city review. Several neighbors asked that any agreement preserving irrigation access be recorded in writing so it would bind future owners.

The board member who made the motion described the item as consistent with the neighborhood character and noted that many access and irrigation concerns are private-property matters between owners; the motion passed unanimously 4-0.

The board’s approval was a recommendation; the item’s conditions require cross-access between the new lots and other standard conditions outlined in staff’s report. The applicant and neighbors were instructed to continue private negotiations about the irrigation access; the owner said he had offered to relocate the valve closer to the driveway and widen the curb cut and driveway approach as part of the project, but said he could not force a private neighboring property owner to sign an agreement.","The Mesa Planning and Zoning Board on Feb. 26 recommended approval of a rezoning and Bonus Intensity Zone overlay for a 2.5-acre property on North Val Vista Drive to allow a flag-lot split and construction of a single-family home.","actionData","errors"]

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Mesa planning board recommends approval of Park North 120‑unit apartments; neighbors raise traffic and safety concerns

Mesa planning board approves rezoning for Dixon flag-lot split; neighbors press for written irrigation access