Prescott Valley council rezones 19.23 acres for distribution center, limits larger rezone

Council members on May (meeting date not specified in transcript) approved a zoning map amendment limiting Project Links to 19.23 acres and authorizing a preliminary development plan for an approximately 86,800-square-foot delivery center.

The vote followed roughly three hours of staff presentation, applicant remarks and public comment about traffic, wildlife and long-term land use. Development Services principal planner Michael Ruby (presenter name in transcript) told the council staff no longer recommended rezoning the entire 100-acre parcel because the applicant had not provided site-specific design standards, some prospective users were industrial rather than the business-park uses staff preferred, and a recently passed state law (House Bill 2447) affected how certain approvals could proceed without hearings. Ruby recommended approval of the smaller, site-specific rezone with conditions covering water and sewer connections, traffic analyses, road construction and potential right-of-way dedication to ADOT.

The applicant’s agent, Shane Ross of BTRE Development LLC, and an Amazon representative, Humberto Quintana, described the proposed use as a delivery center-type facility rather than a large fulfillment warehouse. Quintana said Amazon’s rural expansion program would seek to store frequently ordered items locally and that the project could create about 350 jobs and involve roughly $40 million in investment. "We're looking to do what's called a rural super-plus...to house product most used by residents and ship it out sooner," Quintana said.

Residents and nearby property owners voiced mixed views during the public hearing. Supporters, including Chamber of Commerce president Steve Brisetti and business owners seeking industrial land, said the site could provide living-wage jobs and local employment options. Neighbors and conservation-minded speakers raised concerns about round-the-clock truck traffic, potential impacts to pronghorn migration and visual impacts on grasslands and mountain views. A member of the public asked for limits on engine braking, no unmuffled exhaust and protections for habitat; another speaker urged that building colors and landscaping be muted to blend with the grasslands.

Council discussion touched on transportation and long-term infrastructure costs. Town staff said ADOT has requested or will likely request additional right-of-way on the northern property boundary as part of a future realignment of State Route 89A and a Santa Fe Loop interchange; the town expects to coordinate ADOT review with updated traffic impact analyses. Ruby noted that one exhibit indicated ADOT might seek about 100 feet of frontage dedication for alignment, but that the town had not yet received a written requirement.

Councilmembers debated leftover conditions from the original 100-acre proposal. Vice Mayor (name not specified in transcript) asked staff to remove a condition (condition 11 in the draft) applying to the full 100 acres; staff and the applicant agreed remnants of the larger rezoning could be struck because the approval before council was limited to the 19.23-acre Phase 1. The council approved reading the ordinance by title and placed it on final passage; the clerk later read Ordinance No. 2025-954, which changes zoning for the described 19.23 acres from RU-70 to IG (Industrial General Limited). The clerk announced the ordinance would take effect 30 days after passage according to law.

No detailed roll-call vote tally of individual councilmembers was recorded in the public audio transcript; the clerk announced the motion as passing when called.

The ordinance and conditions require the developer to finalize engineering documents, extend or connect to 8-inch water and sewer mains as approved by the town utilities department, update and finalize the traffic impact analysis to address ADOT and town requirements, construct County Fair Trail to the town industrial-collector standard, and meet landscaping and screening requirements including a minimum 6-foot screen wall and evergreen plantings. Staff noted that future phases of the remaining acreage would need separate rezoning, neighborhood meetings, public hearings before the planning and zoning commission and a future council vote.

The council session closed without additional action on the item; staff said additional reviews, ADOT coordination and final engineer approvals will follow the entitlement step.