The Maricopa County Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of a rezoning request for the Sonoran Serenity site (Z250023), a 97-acre parcel in the Whitman area, by a roll-call vote of 8 to 0.

Staff reported the site is constrained by a wash, floodway and floodplain and said the rezoning to R1-35 RUPD would allow slightly smaller lots and flexibility that can enable engineering the wash (channelization), adding open-space retention basins and protecting neighbors from flooding. Staff also disclosed a mapping error discovered after the staff report was published that affected a parcel to the north.

Applicant representative Michael Ripson said the rezoning "doesn't add density. It simply restores our rights under the area plan," and argued that channelizing the wash is the only practical, privately funded way to reduce local flood risk and restore the original entitlement for 97 lots. Ripson said the change would allow creation of shared retention basins, preserve a rural lot character and be funded by private development rather than county dollars.

Neighbors had submitted nine letters of opposition raising concerns about density, water supply, flooding and traffic. Commissioners questioned gross versus net density, septic on sub‑acre lots, and how much of the 97 acres will remain undevelopable as open space. Staff said detailed subnetting and FEMA coordination would be required in the preliminary plat and flood-control process.

The commission voted to recommend approval subject to conditions listed in the staff report; the project must still proceed through the preliminary plat process and required coordination with FEMA and the county flood control district.