Mohave County planners approve Havasu Heights rezoning over residentsinfrastructure concerns

The Mohave County Planning and Zoning Commission voted to approve a general plan amendment and rezone that lets a 40-acre parcel near Havasu Heights be developed with about 28to 30 homes on roughly 1-acre lots. The decision came after residents raised questions about road paving, septic feasibility and emergency response.

Supporters of the change, including applicant representative Lainie Scholl, told commissioners the proposal calls for one-acre parcels "which is in conforming with all of the other properties surrounding, Havasu Heights." Scholl said the applicant is not proposing anything out of the ordinary for the area.

The item matters because the action amends the Mohave County General Plan designation from rural development to suburban development for the parcel and rezones the land from AR-36 (36-acre minimum) to AR (agricultural residential) to permit a residential subdivision. That shift carries infrastructure expectations the county enforces through the platting process.

County staff explained what must happen before lots can be sold or built on. A staff member said the change from rural to suburban means the subdivision will be required to provide paved roads and bring water and electricity to every lot. The countyenvironmental quality division will require a certificate of sanitary facilities at the final plat stage demonstrating that a standard three-bedroom, two-bath septic layout (the countyrequired design) will work on the most constrained lots. "If our environmental quality division says this is not gonna work, then they're gonna have to amend their final plat to show that it is gonna work," a staff member said.

Neighbors pressed commissioners on several points. Rick Johnson, who said he lives at 4177 Coronado Road, said he is "not opposed to the actual request or development other than the lot size," and asked where plans for emergency services, traffic and fire response are documented. Arlo Cox, a longtime resident who told the commission he has acquired surrounding parcels to "clean up some of the zoning problems," said most lots in that section are five acres and he worried a smaller-lot development "changes the character of the whole neighborhood."

Applicant contractor Garrett Scholl told the commission the usable portion of the site and local washes mean the developer expects to place about 28 to 30 lots, not 40. "We're not putting 40 lots," he said.

Staff also described nearby approvals the commission should consider. Staff noted that adjacent or nearby projects include the Deal (DL) Ranch project, where some lots will be 6,000 square feet and which will use centralized sewer, and a recently approved one-acre final plat immediately east of Deal Ranch. Those approvals, and existing paved roads extending near the area, were cited by staff as part of the rationale for recommending approval.

The commission and staff clarified sequencing: the item before the commission was the general plan amendment and rezone. If approved, the developer still must advance a preliminary plat and a final plat. The county requires the sanitary certificate at final plat; minor land divisions (five lots or fewer) can be handled differently under the Mohave County Land Division regulations, but staff said the standard condition on this rezone makes the rezone effective only upon recordation of the final plat or each phase's final plat, preventing early vesting of the new zoning.

Commissioners asked whether off-site improvements would be required. Staff said paved access from Heights Boulevard into the subdivision would be required and estimated roughly an additional one mile of pavement from the current turnoff would be needed. The commission also noted that lots under five acres carry a requirement for paved roads to the subdivision and within it.

After public comment and questions, a motion to approve the general plan amendment and rezone with staff recommendations passed; commissioners recorded the motion as carried.

The county's next steps are the developer's submission of a preliminary plat and later a final plat. If environmental quality staff determine the lots cannot meet septic certification on the most constrained parcels, the developer will be required to amend the plat (for example, by adjusting lot sizes or layouts) before final approval.

Lainie Scholl, Garrett Scholl and county staff were the primary speakers on the record during the Havasu Heights item; several residents spoke in opposition or with questions about services, roads and lot sizes. The commission's action changes the site's land-use designation and opens the path to subdivision platting but does not authorize building permits until the plat and related infrastructure approvals are complete.