Summary:
The City of Peoria is initiating a request on behalf of the property owner, Dane Hill. The request is to apply initial zoning ("translational zoning") on 0.15-acres of newly-annexed area. The site is located north of Pinnacle Peak Road between 68th Drive and 70th Avenue.
SITE LOCATION AND AREA CONTEXT:
The subject site, referred to as the Hill Family Residence is located north of Pinnacle Peak Road between 68th Drive and 70th Avenue. The overall Hill Family Residence includes two properties, totaling approximately 1.28-acres. The majority of the Hill Family property is located the City of Peoria and includes the family home. The subject 0.15 acre site is located within Maricopa County's jurisdiction, and consists of the southern 40 feet of the estate between the Hill's front yard fence and Pinnacle Peak Road. Through a separate action on October 1, 2024, City Council will consider approval of ORD 2024-12, to annex the subject site into the City of Peoria.
BACKGROUND:
Pursuant to ARS §9-462.04E and ARS §9-471.M, the City must assign City zoning to the annexed property within six (6) months following the effective date of adoption of the annexation. Typically, city staff would either process applications to establish initial zoning concurrently with the annexation request or shortly thereafter annexation has occurred, based on discussions with the owner. In this instance, the Hill Family is seeking to establish initial zoning concurrently with the annexation request for City Council's consideration.
INITIAL ZONING:
Establishment of initial corresponding zoning is often considered a perfunctory action given statutory requirements. More specifically, establishment of initial zoning regulated by Arizona Revised State Statues, and such, does not permit densities and uses to be assigned to a property that are more intense than those permitted by Maricopa County prior to the annexation.
Currently zoned as Rural-43 (RU-43) within unincorporated Maricopa County, the district’s principal purpose is to “conserve and protect farms and other open land uses, foster orderly growth in rural and agricultural areas…” among its objectives. As a result, the RU-43 designation typically promotes a semi-rural, minimum one-acre lot development pattern in these types of areas. In this regard, the City's Suburban Ranch (SR-43) zoning district is the most consistent with the RU-43 characteristics as it provides for and conserves existing rural and low-density residential uses in their present or desired character, thereby fostering orderly growth in rural areas.
Given the characteristics of the property and the existing zoning granted within Maricopa County, the most analogous City of Peoria zoning is the Peoria Suburban Ranch (SR-43) Zoning District. Additionally, the Hill's 1.13 acre property which contains the family home is currently in the City of Peoria and zoned SR-43 as well. As such, the proposed zoning will aid in unifying the overall Hill family estate into a single zoning district. Therefore, staff believes the proposed zoning district is in keeping with the criteria as outlined by applicable regulations, consistent with the State Statutes, and will provide a unified zoning classification over the Hill Family Residence in its entirety.
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROCESS:
Public Noticing:
The application was properly noticed pursuant to Section 21-315 of the Peoria Zoning Ordinance, which includes notification to all property owners within 600 feet of the site and registered HOAs within one (1) mile, posting of a sign on the site, and placing an ad in the Peoria Times at least 15 days prior to the Public Hearing.
A neighborhood meeting is not required for an Initial Zoning application.
Support / Opposition:
At the time of this writing, Staff has received one (1) letter of support and one (1) verbal inquiry.