Mesa P&Z Board recommends approval of Haas Village plan contingent on moving Merritt Road, adding landscaping and an 8-foot wall

The City of Mesa Planning and Zoning Board on Sept. 24 recommended that the City Council adopt a general plan amendment and approve rezoning and a specific plan for the Haas Village development, provided the developer relocates Merritt Road and makes several site-plan changes before the case goes to council.

The board’s recommendation covers two linked agenda items: a major general plan amendment (referred to in the meeting as GPA 20 five-four 62, Haas Village 5) and a rezoning/specific plan request (referred to as ZON 24-00892, Haas Village 5). The motion approving the board recommendation passed 5–0 with two members absent.

Board members and staff said the stipulations were proposed to address noise and privacy concerns for lots adjacent to the eastern property line, which borders a private perimeter wall along the freeway. Chair Ayers read the stipulation language into the record and moved approval, saying the board recommends the specific plan be changed before it goes to council. The motion called for relocating Merritt Road to the east so that no lots are adjacent to the private wall; moving lots 128 through 139 and 174 through 178 to the west side of Merritt Road; providing 5 feet of landscaping next to the east perimeter wall; and adding an 8-foot theme wall along the eastern property line.

A planning staff speaker told the board the change would flip 17 lots so their backyards would face west, away from the freeway, and described the configuration as: an 8-foot theme wall, 5 feet of landscaping, then Merritt Road, with homes to the west of Merritt. That staff member said the applicant had agreed to work with staff on the site-plan revision. Board members indicated that if the specific plan and preliminary plat are updated to reflect those changes before the case goes to city council, the item would not need to return to the Planning and Zoning Board.

Board member Pitcher said the stipulation was a “good solution.” No public commenters spoke on the item during the hearing portion recorded in the transcript. The motion passed with the following board vote as recorded in the meeting: Chair Ayers — yes; Vice Chair Peterson — yes; Board member Pitcher — yes; Board Member Blakeman — yes; Board Member Carpenter — yes. Board members Montez and Farnsworth were absent.

The board’s recommendation deviates from two condition numbers in the staff report as written but was presented as an amendment that would be incorporated into the final specific plan and preliminary plat before council review. The staff speaker confirmed the PAD (planned area development) standards would be modified to allow the 8-foot wall in the residential area as part of the PAD deviations.

What happens next: the board recommended approval to city council with the stipulation that the specific plan and preliminary plat be updated to show the road relocation, lot shifts, landscaping and 8-foot wall prior to council consideration. If those changes are completed before council, staff said the item would not return to Planning and Zoning.

Speakers noted or quoted in this report spoke during the agenda item on the Haas Village specific plan and rezoning and are listed in the article’s speaker roster and provenance.