The Goodyear Planning and Zoning Commission on Sept. 10 recommended that city council approve a rezoning ordinance to establish the Estrella 14 Planned Area Development (PAD) for a roughly 1,505-acre portion of the larger Australia community known as Community 14. Staff and the applicant described the proposal as a reformatting of an older PAD that reduces overall residential entitlement and provides layered land-use groups to concentrate higher-intensity uses near the intersection of Estrella Parkway and Willis Road.

Principal planner Anne Dolmage described the PAD as a layered system of land-use groups (LUGs) that orient higher-density multifamily and mixed use to a core at Estrella Parkway and Willis Road, while allowing single-family and open space and civic uses to locate elsewhere within the PAD. Dolmage said the PAD would allow up to 6,034 residential units total, including up to 864 multifamily units, and a minimum of 18% site-wide open space.

Andrew Yancey, an attorney representing Australia North LLC (the master developer team led by Harvard Investments), said the application is a "right-sizing" compared with the existing 1980-era entitlements. Yancey said the previous PAD permitted more intensive commercial and multifamily development tied to a former alignment of State Route 303; with that alignment moved, the large regional commercial center is no longer viable and the developer is proposing smaller commercial nodes and more open space. He described the proposal as a reduction from existing entitlements: current zoning allows up to 8,400 residential units overall and thousands more multifamily units in a former town-center allocation, while the new PAD caps units at 6,034 and limits multifamily to 864 units.

Staff and the applicant addressed infrastructure questions raised by commissioners and members of the public. Staff said a master traffic-impact analysis shows the project would function at full buildout with planned four-lane cross sections on Estrella Parkway and Cotton Lane and with needed collectors; the timing of road improvements will depend on phasing and the preliminary-plat/site-plan timetable. On water and sewer, staff and the applicant said Estrella participates in development agreements that assign water credits and that recent city action to expand the Rainbow Valley Wastewater Treatment Plant increased sewer capacity, enabling further buildout. The applicant said approximately 6,000 EDUs of potable water remain under an earlier credit allocation and that the recent wastewater plant expansion added roughly 8,000–9,000 EDUs of capacity.

The hearing drew significant public comment. Residents who oppose the rezoning cited concerns about increased traffic during a multi-year buildout, the scale or height of multifamily buildings, loss of mountain views and potential impacts to parks and habitat. Supporters and other residents said the proposal increases open space, reduces entitlements compared with the existing PAD, and would bring neighborhood-serving commercial and amenities to the southern end of Australia.

After public comment and applicant rebuttal, Commissioner Roberts moved to recommend approval of the draft ordinance establishing the Estrella 14 PAD; Vice Chair Sambito seconded. The commission approved the recommendation by voice vote (aye: Roberts, Booth, Higgins, Sambito, Chairman Clymer; nay: Nepomucino). The recommendation will be forwarded to city council for final action.