Council conditionally approves rezoning for 383-unit multifamily project at Monte Vista and Pebble Creek Parkway

The Goodyear City Council on Aug. 25 voted 7-0 to adopt an ordinance conditionally rezoning roughly 17.55 acres at the northwest corner of Monte Vista Road and Pebble Creek Parkway to allow a 383-unit multifamily development with a planned area development (PAD) overlay.

Planning staff described the site as already designated for higher-density residential in earlier approvals and said the request would move the parcel from its existing Palm Valley Phase 8 PAD to a new PAD with an underlying MF24 designation. The new zoning allows up to 40-foot buildings and a proposed density of about 21.8 units per acre; staff contrasted that with the previously applicable MF18-equivalent zoning that would allow up to 315 units on the site.

Ann Dolmage, principal planner, reviewed the proposal and the PAD overlay provisions designed to address neighbor concerns, including: restricted locations for three-story buildings along the western and northern edges; reduced private open-space minimums that are offset by slightly higher shared open space; increased tree density along the western buffer (trees spaced on average no more than 20 feet apart instead of 30); anti-glare window treatments and clerestory windows on upper floors adjacent to single-family yards; and a deceleration lane on Monte Vista to reduce backups. The applicant also committed to increased perimeter walls, replacement of dead trees on the adjacent HOA property where agreed, and to funding an optional gate if the HOA wished to install it.

The project team, represented by attorney Taylor Earl, stressed that the site already carried multifamily zoning dating to earlier multi-parcel cases and that the family-owned applicant had committed to upgraded "level 25" finishes, additional landscaping and other protective measures. "We're asking for a modest increase in unit count but we're providing significant protections and design upgrades," Earl said during the presentation.

Several Portales residents spoke in opposition at the hearing and at prior neighborhood meetings, citing concerns about three-story buildings, privacy, traffic and impacts on property values. Rob Boswell, a Portales resident, said most homes immediately west of the site are single-story and said residents would prefer single-level rental units; Boswell said a three-story apartment complex behind his home would prompt him to move. The planning and zoning commission previously recommended approval, 4-2, after hearing public comments.

Council members questioned the project history and the extent to which existing zoning already allowed multifamily use. Staff confirmed the parcel's MF18-equivalent zoning would permit development of up to 315 units without the additional protections requested in the PAD overlay; the MF24/PAD rezoning will carry the added design stipulations forward with the land.

The ordinance adopting the conditional rezoning (ordinance number 2025-16-37) passed on a 7-0 vote. The site plan and final engineering must still be reviewed and approved through the city's development services process before construction can begin. Applicant representatives said there was no immediate construction start date and that market and financing conditions would determine timing.