Buckeye commission approves Jackson Place park-model manufactured home park after public raised safety, ownership questions

The Buckeye Planning and Zoning Commission voted to approve a conditional use permit and site plan for Jackson Place, an eight-unit park-model manufactured home park at the northwest corner of Jackson Avenue and South Second Street.

Planner Jerrick Dunn, Planner I for the City of Buckeye, presented the application and said the 0.3-acre site would be developed with eight market-rate, long-term-lease park-model units that the applicant intends to offer to the general public. The commission voted to approve case PLZU25-0002 “subject to conditions A through I,” after a public hearing and discussion. The motion passed by voice vote.

The project drew public comment from J. Broadbent, a downtown business owner, who pressed the applicant and staff on whether the homes would be reserved for participants in a reentry program run by Hickman’s Egg Ranch. Broadbent said he had met with project representatives and contended there was a discrepancy in public materials about property ownership, stating, “Property is not owned by Hickman Aides according to Glenn Hickman and Ducky Zell.” He asked for a written commitment that the development would not be used for a reentry program and said he would seek permit revocation if that promise were violated.

City planning staff responded that the applicant’s narrative and staff outreach indicate the units will be offered as market-rate rentals to the general public. A planning staff member told the commission, “We are bound, as everybody in this country is bound, by the Fair Housing Act,” and said that while the owner had put commitments in writing, the city could not enforce a restriction excluding people on the basis of criminal history because that would run afoul of federal fair-housing rules.

Dunn told the commission the site’s general-plan designation is Activity Center and that the proposal is consistent with the Downtown Buckeye Specific Area Plan’s objectives for varied residential product types and pedestrian-oriented design. The mixed-residential (MR) zoning for the parcel allows a manufactured home park through a conditional use permit; staff found the site plan’s proposed height, setbacks, and design met development-code standards and reported no outstanding review-department issues.

Project details presented to the commission included 10 new 90-degree on-street parking spaces on Jackson Avenue, a private aisle of decorative open-cell pavers (intended for moves and deliveries, not parking), a concrete pad adjacent to Jackson Avenue for residential solid-waste container placement, synthetic turf and a shaded barbecue area along the frontage, and four pedestrian pathways connecting to the Jackson Avenue sidewalk. Each park-model dwelling was described as 399 square feet of interior space with a detached 100-square-foot storage shed; units will have nine-foot flat ceilings and traditional architectural detailing per the applicant’s narrative.

Staff said the developer met neighborhood-notification requirements; there were no attendees at the neighborhood meeting and staff had received one written public comment asking about circulation and unit size. At the prior Planning and Zoning hearing on Sept. 9, 2025, one resident had expressed reservations; staff met with that resident and a business partner on Oct. 1 to discuss concerns about employee safety tied to the perceived link to a reentry program. According to the staff report read into the record, the applicant revised its plans and the units will be available to the general public.

Commissioners who spoke during the item voiced no substantive objections and complimented the presentation. After discussion the commission approved PLZU25-0002 subject to conditions A–I. The conditions themselves were referenced in the staff recommendation but not read aloud in full during the hearing.

Votes at a glance - Approval of minutes from the Sept. 23, 2025 workshop and regular meeting: motion approved by voice vote. - Jackson Place manufactured home park, case PLZU25-0002: motion to approve subject to conditions A–I; motion seconded and approved by voice vote.

The commission’s approval allows the applicant to proceed with permitting and building-permit submittals required by the city; any required inspections or final sign-offs must still be completed before occupancy.