Summary:
Cibola Vista Resort & Spa LLC is requesting approval of a Minor General Plan Amendment and a Major PAD Amendment to facilitate the development of a multi-family residential development on a 17-acre site generally located east of the southeast corner of Lake Pleasant Parkway and Pinnacle Vista Drive.
Site Location and Area Context:
Cibola Vista is a 242.8-acre master-planned community located in north Peoria. Anchored by the Cibola Vista Resort & Spa, the community is predominantly built out and includes a mix of existing uses, including resort and specialty commercial, along with low and medium density residential areas. The Cibola Vista community is generally located north and east of the intersections of Lake Pleasant Parkway, Jomax Road, and Pinnacle Vista Drive, respectively.
The proposed development is located on a 17-acre infill site located within the larger Cibola Vista master-planned community. The site is approximately 160 feet east of the signalized intersection of Lake Pleasant Parkway and Pinnacle Vista Drive. The property is a triangular shape with a 75-foot-wide wash corridor located on the south and east side of the property. The existing wash serves as a natural barrier separating existing single-family residential homes from the proposed development. The western side of the property is currently undeveloped land with frontage along Lake Pleasant Parkway. The northern boundary is Pinnacle Vista Drive, followed by the Cibola Vista Resort and Spa.
From a larger contextual perspective, a mixture of residential and non-residential uses surrounds the community. The “Four Corners” commercial area is located to the south along Lake Pleasant Parkway. To the north is the City of Peoria Paloma Community Park and the emerging Peoria Innovation Core (PIC). There are a number of existing residential communities in the vicinity including Cibola Vista, Tierra Del Rio, Pleasant Valley Estates, WestWing Mountain, and Querencia.
Development Proposal:
The applicant is seeking a Major Planned Area Development Amendment to modify the land use allowance of a 17-acre property multi-family development. The specific request would involve a General Plan Land Use designation from Traditional Residential (2-5 dwelling units per acre) to Urban Residential (12+ dwelling units per acre) and a Major PAD amendment to modify the zoning within the Cibola Vista Planned Area Development (PAD) from Resort Commercial to Multi-Family Residential. The purpose of the request is to develop a 302-unit multi-family development featuring 2-, 3- and 4-story buildings.
As originally conceived, the proposal was for 265 units on 12.43 acres; however, after a series of neighborhood meetings, the proposal was refined to remove future development uncertainty in the “expansion area”. The conceptual site plan now includes an increased project area that reallocates density to the northwest portion of the site. The proposed layout provides a step-down design so buildings are shorter when located in proximity to existing single-family residential. As a result, buildings are limited to 3 stories (40 feet) within 125 of the south or east property line, and no building extends up to the permitted 48 feet until it is at least 275 feet away from the south or east property line.
Entitlement History:
The subject site was annexed into the city in 1989 and assigned General Agriculture (AG) zoning upon annexation. In 2001, the Cibola Vista Planned Area Development (PAD) was approved as a mixed-use master planned community with low and medium density residential, resort, and specialty commercial uses. At its inception, the underlying General Plan land use designation for the entire Cibola Vista community was Resort Development (RD), which allowed a residential density up to 3.5 dwelling units per acre. Within the initial PAD, the subject site was zoned for multi-family residential with the intention to build 105, 2-story cluster homes.
In 2004, a major amendment to the Peoria General Plan was approved by City Council. As part of those adopted revisions, the Resort Development classification was removed from the list of recognized land use categories in part because it was deemed too prescriptive and did not allow for fluctuations in the market needs. The land use classification of the PAD was reclassified as Low-Density Residential. This designation was largely reflective of the overall 241-acre Cibola Vista residential development falling between 2-5 dwelling units per acre, in alignment with the Low-Density Residential land use classification.
The following year in 2005, the PAD was modified on the subject site to replace the previously approved multi-family residential zoning allowance with a zoning allowance to build a commercial product to support the existing resort. The proposal at the time was to build timeshare units supported by the resort, however the selected zoning classification allowed for a range of commercial uses. Justifications for approving the zoning allowances were in part based on the similarities between time shares and the previously approved multi-family residential allowance. The site's land-use and zoning has substantially remained unchanged for the last 20 years, however the site has remained vacant.
Minor General Plan Amendment:
Given the extended history of the site, it is also important to note that previous provisions within the Peoria General Plan allowed for some commercial use on limited acreage without the need to amend the land use classification for the property. Because of the limited acreage of the change, no general plan amendment was necessary when the 2005 Major PAD amendment was approved converting the property from RM-1 multi-family to commercial / resort on the subject site.
After the comprehensive General Plan update was approved by voters in 2020, the priority of City Council along the Lake Pleasant corridor has been to maximize commercial, retail and employment opportunities where appropriate. Directly west of the site there is undeveloped land located between Lake Pleasant Parkway and the subject site maintains an Urban Residential (12+ dwelling units per acre) land use designation, along with Office / Local Commercial land use designation. Contextually, given the available street frontage along Lake Pleasant Parkway and regional visibility, the suitability for a commercial use is more attractive on the property to the west than on the subject site. The subject site as previously noted is currently commercially zoned, and can be developed commercially, however it has not been developed as such over the past 20 years. Contributing factors towards the lack of development is likely due in part to the sites location away from the Lake Pleasant Parkway and Pinnacle Vista Drive intersection, limited street frontage, and irregular shape due to the wash along the southeastern boundary. For a land use classification change to be deemed appropriate for this location, it should be able to work within the physical constraints of the site and provide a balanced transition between existing and potential uses within the area.
The applicant’s proposal to change the land use of the site to Urban Residential (12+ dwelling units per acre) land use designation is to provide a transition between traditional residential and commercial. The Urban Residential classification is traditionally located along transportation corridors and serves to buffer suburban residential areas from non-residential areas or mixed-use areas. The conceptual layout and elevations of the proposed apartment complex would provide an appropriate blend of two, three, and four-story buildings that provide for a better contextual transition compared to the existing four-story buildings allowed today. At 17.7 du/ac, the proposed density exceeds previously contemplated multi-family residential units envisioned at 6.0 du/ac at its original conception. However, the resulting overall density for Cibola Vista would then be 3.3 du/ac, which remains in compliance with the overall density allowance.
The applicant states they are seeking to “meet the housing demand with highly amenitized luxury apartments” given the site’s proximity to existing commercial, retail and employment areas within surrounding area. Staff agree there are number of goals and policies aimed at promoting a diversity of housing types to meet the needs of residents of all income levels, ages, and lifestyles within the Peoria General. In specifically looking at the proposal, staff find sufficient justification within several of these goals and policies. With that said, there is one critical distinction with the staff analysis. While diversification of housing product can be considered, it is important to note that the General Plan does not and cannot distinguish between “for-sale” versus “for-rent” product. As such, the status of home ownership cannot be used in determining the merits of the application. Setting aside this factor, staff believes the proposed land use coupled with the conceptual layout and differing heights provides a more context appropriate transition for the area. As such, staff find that the requested land use in compliance with the goals and policies of the General Plan.
Major Planned Area Amendment:
As previously noted, the site was initially intended for multi-family residential. As a result of the 2005 PAD Amendment the development standards and permitted land-uses on the site were modified to reflect a version of the City’s Intermediate Commercial District. More specifically, the maximum height for development on the site increased to four (4) stories, or forty-eight (48) feet in height. Given recent changes in market demand, the property owner is seeking to revert the zoning to allow multi-story multi-family and forfeit their 20-year-old goal of expanding the resort use to construct timeshares on the property.
In staff’s analysis of the proposed land use and development standard appropriateness, the Zoning Ordinance review and decision criteria is similar to the General Plan criteria in that ownership status, and the specific housing product type cannot factor into the determination. As a result, the proposed regulations and their impact on the surrounding area has the most weight in staffs analysis. When comparing the existing Commercial / Resort C-2 sub zoning on the property and the proposed new Multi-Family Residential sub zoning development standards, the development there are no distinguishable differences between the maximum building height, lot coverage, and setback requirements. The PAD has however been crafted to result in less of a direct impact to adjacent parcels through reduced building heights, added landscaping and open space, and strategic building placement.
Through an extended public engagement process, the development team enacted refinements that appropriately redistributed their density, further enhancing building orientation and separation from nearby residences, and advanced a context design solution that would be less intrusive than a 4-story commercial or timeshare use. As such, the refined layout and development standards result in a development pattern that is more compatible with the area.
Infrastructure:
As proposed, the associated site improvements will meet the City of Peoria Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) and Access Management Guidelines. Water and sewer facilities exist adjacent to the site and are sized appropriately with available capacity to serve the property as proposed. Any modification to access and utilities will be reviewed in accordance with city standards through a Site Plan application.
Public Engagement Process:
The application was properly noticed pursuant to 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 no less than 15 days prior to the Public Hearing.
School Information:
This property is within the Deer Valley Unified District (DVUSD) boundary. Students residing within Cibola Vista would attend West Wing Elementary School and Mountain Ridge High School, respectively. DVUSD provided a letter in support for the application which was shared with the Planning and Zoning Commission at the 11/06/2025 meeting and included in Exhibit 3. The letter indicates that the proposed development would generate approximately "30 school-aged students for DVUSD, which would be easily dispersed across our locations at different campuses."
Public Outreach:
A minimum of one (1) neighborhood meeting is required for the subject applications. The applicant opted to host a total of three (3) neighborhood meetings inviting all property owners within 600 feet of the site and registered HOAs within one (1) mile over the span of seven (7) months. Each meeting was held at Sunset Heights Elementary School.
Meeting attendance ranged from approximately eighty-two (82) members of the public in September 2024 to approximately ten (10) members at the last meeting held in April 2025. Several attendees identified concerns with the proposed General Plan Amendment and Rezoning request. Topics of concern included income level of future residents, increased student generation, impact on crime, noise, and impact to water supply. Additionally, attendees also identified concerns with the proposed layout related to the four (4) story heights in apartment buildings and the location of residents’ balcony in proximity to existing residential home back yards. Additionally, residents also brought up concerns related to price of rent, perceived loss of property values, and oversaturation of multi-family residential homes coming to north Peoria. As a result of public engagement, the applicant team modified their project design as noted in Staff’s Analysis.
Support / Opposition:
At the time of this writing, staff received letters of opposition from two hundred and sixty (260) individuals, letters of support from one hundred and sixty-one (161) individuals, and letters of inquiry from two (2) individuals.
The letters of support include those directly emailed to staff and the one-hundred and fifty-two (152) letters of support the applicant team received through door-to-door outreach efforts. In review of the letters provided, twenty (20) individuals were reclassified as opposition, and four (4) were identified as duplicate letters of support.
In addition to the letters received by staff, staff was made aware of a “Stop the Approval of Build-to-Rent Homes and Apartments” petition in the Cibola Vista area. At the time of this report, the petition contained approximately 1,523 signatures. Although ownership status cannot be a criterion in staffs review, the subject application had not contemplated a Build-to-Rent housing product. The petition appears to have been created for the Prestige Homes rezoning application (Z21-08) which was withdrawn approximately one year ago. The petition also references Cibola Vista Mini-Storage application (CU22-08) and the Resort Residences application at Cibola Vista (GPA24-06 and Z00-10A.6). As a result of the number of cases identified, staff is unable to decipher which letters of opposition are directly attributed to the subject case.
This petition was also housed on an online platform with unrestricted access for signature. Approximately 41% of the signatures self-identified as individuals located within zip codes 85383. Approximately 8% identified that they lived out of state. The self-identified information of individuals cannot be validated.
The written comment can be read in Exhibit 3 (Planning and Zoning Staff Report) and comments provided after the Planning and Zoning Staff Report and received by 3pm on November 24, 2025 can be located in Exhibit 4 (Correspondence Received After Planning and Zoning Commission). In the event additional comments are provided and received prior to 12pm on December 16, 2025 staff will provide a printed copy for council to read at the meeting.