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Applicant seeks zone change for Highway 89 self-storage; staff flags access easement and legal access issues
Summary
Staff previewed ZC2504, a proposed zone change on a 1.87-acre mixed-zoned Highway 89 parcel in Doney Park that would convert an undersized residential half into commercial general to allow self-storage development; staff raised access easement issues.
Coconino County staff presented ZC2504, a request to rezone a 1.87-acre, mixed-zoned property on Highway 89 in Doney Park from a split of commercial general (northern half) and AR-2.5 (southern half) to full commercial general. Staff noted the lot is undersized for AR-2.5 and that the parcel historically contained a church on the residential portion that has been vacant for more than a decade.
"Currently, yes, residents in the area are trespassing across the subject property to access their properties," staff said, describing an informal dirt track that currently provides access from the north but is not a recorded legal easement. Staff said the applicant proposes to resolve the issue by relocating access onto a recorded northern easement and has submitted a traffic statement to ADOT; ADOT confirmed it could issue an encroachment permit for the proposed access on the north end.
Staff also noted the northern portion of the lot is contiguous with a rural activity center and adjacent to existing commercial uses including RV and self-storage to the northeast, suggesting commercial development would be contextually consistent in the northern panhandle. The applicant's proposed site plan shows long, narrow storage buildings accessed from a recorded easement that connects to Highway 89.
Neighbors raised access concerns at the applicant's neighborhood meeting; staff reported mixed responses but said several neighbors supported resolving the longstanding informal access by shifting travel onto the recorded easement. The parcel will require design-review and additional permitting if the zone change is approved.
Why it matters: The proposal resolves a longstanding informal access pattern that some neighbors use but which is not formalized in recorded easements. A zone change would allow a commercial development on a parcel partially surrounded by residential lots and would require further design review and permits if approved.
Next steps: Staff will conduct a full analysis of zoning standards, setbacks, landscaping, drainage and ADOT encroachment conditions and present findings in a staff report. If the commission forwards a recommendation in favor, the final decision would go to the board of supervisors.
