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Planning commission forwards Gateway District redevelopment-boundary expansion to Town Council
Summary
The Planning and Zoning Commission on Sept. 18 recommended that Town Council add the Gateway District — about 12.5 acres at the Highway 287 approach to downtown Florence — to the town’s redevelopment-plan boundary.
FLORENCE, Ariz. — The Town of Florence Planning and Zoning Commission on Sept. 18 forwarded a recommendation of compliance with the town general plan to Town Council to expand the redevelopment plan boundary to include the Gateway District at the Highway 287 approach to downtown.
Staff described the Gateway District as a roughly 12.5-acre area at the entry to the downtown with commercial uses that currently are zoned B1 or B2; staff said the change would bring those properties into the formal redevelopment plan area and make them eligible for redevelopment programs the town uses elsewhere, such as façade grants and other incentives tied to the redevelopment district.
The staff presentation noted the parcels already meet zoning standards for their uses; the proposed change is principally intended to make the Gateway parcels eligible for redevelopment programs and to align the redevelopment plan text with maps in the 2020 update. Staff emphasized that any change adopted by council would require public notice, that property owners would be notified in advance of a public hearing, and that Town Council must adopt such an amendment by a two‑thirds vote.
Commissioners asked what benefits property owners would receive and whether the amendment would impose new obligations; staff replied the amendment would not impose new code obligations beyond existing town codes but would make the properties eligible for redevelopment incentives. Staff said property owners would be formally notified by mail and by public notice in the local newspaper; a Town Council public hearing was tentatively scheduled for Oct. 21.
A motion to forward a recommendation of compliance to Town Council passed 4-0. Commission members said such an inclusion could support improvements to the town entry and make small grants or other redevelopment tools available to property owners who wish to participate.
The staff presentation referenced state statutory criteria and noted the amendment would be treated conservatively as a plan modification under Arizona Revised Statutes. The item now moves to Town Council for public hearing and final action.
