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Council approves rezoning for 19 homes near 11th and Michigan despite neighbor objections
Summary
The council approved a rezoning to allow 19 detached homes on an infill site after a public hearing; neighbors said the plan converts a terminating cul‑de‑sac into an active access point and lacks required sight‑specific safety analysis.
The Phoenix City Council approved a rezoning to permit construction of 19 detached single‑family homes on an infill property near 11th Avenue and Michigan Avenue after a public hearing that drew multiple neighbors objecting to the site design.
Bill Allison, representing Arcadia Communities, told councilmembers the project was redesigned to meet R2 standards and to complete as much of a partially built cul‑de‑sac as possible on the site. The applicant said the plan reduces units from an earlier 23 to 19, adds traffic calming measures (stop signs, speed humps and stamped pavement) and includes sidewalk and landscape improvements on 13th Avenue.
Neighbors said the changes are insufficient and that the proposal would eliminate a 19‑year terminating cul‑de‑sac, forcing residents to back into an active traffic pattern and exposing driveways to new conflict points. "This proposal removes every single one of those protections," said Kimberly Cisk, a Michigan Avenue resident, who argued the traffic impact study lacks sight‑distance and driveway‑conflict analysis she said city guidelines require. She also told the council the neighborhood would shoulder the burden of altered access and potential property‑value losses.
Other speakers raised concerns about two‑story homes placed immediately behind existing single‑story houses, potential loss of mountain views, reduced privacy and removal of mature trees.
City staff and the applicant said the street transportation department required completion of the cul‑de‑sac to improve emergency access and that the development includes mitigation measures to slow traffic and discourage cut‑throughs. Staff noted the planning commission recommended approval (7–0) and the Deer Valley Village planning committee recommended approval (7–3).
After the hearing and council questions about public‑safety and property‑value issues, councilmembers voted to adopt the planning director’s recommendation and related ordinance. The rezoning passed on a roll call vote.
The project record will proceed through required permitting and site reviews; neighbors who spoke urged the council and staff to ensure any future construction documents include the sight‑specific engineering analyses they say are missing from the current record.
