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Mesa staff propose changes to Employment Opportunity zoning to enable ASU partnership
Summary
Planning staff told the council they want to repeal and replace Chapter 14 of the zoning ordinance and amend Section 1186.1A to make the Employment Opportunity (EO) district more flexible for mixed-use projects and political subdivisions; staff said the change would clear the way for an ASU Innovation Zone plan.
Mesa planning staff presented text amendments to the Employment Opportunity (EO) zoning district as a preliminary step to upcoming development agreements with Arizona State University. Rachel Phillips, assistant planning director, said the proposal would repeal and replace Chapter 14 of the zoning ordinance and update use-type definitions in Section 1186.1A to better accommodate mixed-use projects involving political subdivisions.
"It's only been used twice within the city so far," Phillips said, noting existing EO districts include the Pecos EO district and a Red Hawk/Google example. She told council the amendments are intended to "enhance the utility of the EO district" and add flexibility to development standards so an applicant can tailor land uses and review processes to a specific project.
City staff and council discussed the minimum area requirement for political-subdivision use of an EO district. Phillips said staff modified the minimum area to 140 contiguous acres for the tool as proposed; she told council the city currently has "a handful" of parcels at that size and that more could appear through annexation. Councilmember Adams asked whether the 140-acre requirement would be unduly limiting; Phillips replied that fewer than five such parcels exist in the city today.
Butler (city staff) framed the change as groundwork for an ASU partnership. "This is part of our partnership with ASU to unlock the potential of the ASU Innovation Zone at the Polytechnic campus," he said, adding that the EO zoning was needed before finalizing agreements with ASU.
Staff emphasized that use of the EO district for political subdivisions would typically be accompanied by a development agreement or intergovernmental agreement that would set specific parameters (for example, the balance of commercial and residential uses) when an applicant submits an EO development plan.
Council did not take a formal vote on the zoning amendments at the study session; staff requested direction to proceed to follow-up materials and to prepare the ordinance language and supporting agreements for future council action.
