By Richard Dyer
Twitter: @RHDyer

The Apache Junction City Council should not approve a four-story apartment building near the roundabout, the planning and zoning commission decided recently.

Applicant WCG Partners LLC, represented by Paul Poteet and Marco Diaz of Summa Terra Ventures, is requesting a rezoning of three parcels of approximately 4.5 acres for a 152-unit leased Superstition Ridge Apartments at the southeast corner of Superstition Boulevard and North Apache Trail/State Route 88.

“Looking at this project ... I don’t think it fits with Apache Junction and I don’t think that the design fits right. I don’t think that it fits at the site correctly. The amount of traffic we’re potentially bringing in, the views we’re blocking,” Commissioner Dave Hantzsche said at the May 12 meeting.

“The location of this site: This doesn’t ... seem to lend itself very well to this product and the reason I’m saying that is this is too near the roundabout,” Commissioner Shirley Ooley said.

The Apache Junction Planning and Zoning Commission on May 12 voted unanimously to recommend that the City Council deny the rezoning request. In attendance was Chair Theresa Nesser. Attending by phone were Vice Chair Peter Heck and Commissioners Mr. Hantzsche, Ms. Ooley and Michael McGraw. Commissioner Steve Kridler was absent. The seventh member, Commissioner Willie Howard, recently died, it was announced.

The Apache Junction City Council is slated to discuss the rezoning at a meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 2, in the City Council chambers, according to a public notice.

Due to concerns over COVID-19 exposure and in accordance with the recommendations from the CDC, the City of Apache Junction asks that residents view meetings by means of Mediacom channel 11, CenturyLink Prism TV channel 8017 or by livestream at ajcity.net/livestream. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. and is to be held in the City Council chambers, 300 E. Superstition Blvd.

Two four-story buildings

The apartments are a project of Summa Terra Ventures, a regional real estate development company out of Springville, Utah, that specializes in multi-family entitlement and development, Tanner Hiatt, senior project manager, said in a project narrative.

There will be two, four-story buildings and 267 parking stalls. The unit mix includes 24 studio units, 84 one-bedroom/one-bath units and 44 two-bedroom/one-bath units.

The complex will also have a pool, eight pickleball courts, a leasing office, game room and workout space, he said.

“As for access for the entry and exit, we will be using the current curb cut at the very northeast portion of the property as far away from the roundabout as possible. We will be coordinating with ADOT to get their feedback and recommendations,” Mr. Hiatt said in the narrative.

The proposed project is east of government offices and surrounded by low-density residential along its eastern and southern boundaries, Sidney Urias, senior planner, said in a memo to the planning and zoning commission.

“The proposed buildings have been set along the west side of the property lines to minimize the impact on the existing low-density residential located directly east of the proposed development. The applicant is proposing a density of 36 dwelling units an acre,” Mr. Urias said.

The community will not be age-restricted, internal driveways will be private and an entrance is proposed to be located along Superstition Boulevard, he said in the memo.

The property is in the recently approved downtown-redevelopment area, Mr. Urias said to the commission at the May 12 meeting.

“Two of the neighbors on the east side are in support of the project; the developer has offered to purchase their properties. According to the developer, the property to the north is the only property that is not in support of the project,” Mr. Urias said.

Planned development

City staff members recommended a planned area development overlay to go with the rezoning as documents that normally are submitted with a rezoning were not included, he said.

“The reasoning why staff is recommending a planned development is to guarantee that the city will acquire these documents at a later phase,” Mr. Urias said, adding that they include a limit of height of 48 feet, a traffic study, monument sign and trash-enclosure exhibits, and that covered parking elevations be reviewed and approved administratively by staff.

If the rezoning to very high density multiple-family residential, or RM-3, was approved without the planned development, a future developer could construct the building to 60-feet high, Mr. Urias said.

“Let’s say this developer decided to sell this project to someone else --- another developer, another investor -- and there would not be a PD associated with this case, then that next person could develop potentially up to 60 feet outright by the zoning,” Mr. Urias said.

The PD also ensures it will be a quality project, Planning Manager Rudy Esquivias said to the commission.

“I think the PD also guarantees us that at the end of the day --- when this project gets built --- the city gets a project that is at least as qualitative as the project that is being presented tonight, not something lessor,” Mr. Esquivias said. “And being, basically, the foundation project for our downtown, being kitty-corner to City hall, being a very important site, we want to make sure we get a quality project constructed there when it does occur and the PD helps to achieve that.”

Commissioner Ooley asked why the applicant had not supplied the documents.

Mike Watson, president of Summa Terra Ventures, said the business provided all documents required for a rezoning.

“I’m not asking for approval of a subdivision. I’m asking for a zone change. I’m not asking if we need a deceleration lane or not. I’m asking for a zone change and then we’ll do the development. Then we’ll get to the site plan, the development and the parts and pieces,” Mr. Watson said.

“If you guys would work with us and see the project we would do, and we could ask for and receive set, clear, non-changing requirements, I think you’d love our product, you’d love our work and you’d have the same feeling about us as other ... cities have in the processes that we’ve done,” he said later.

“We believe there’s a need for this here. The line of multi-family developers --- I’m not talking about for-rent townhomes or for-rent homes --- that I am aware of, begins and end with me,” Mr. Watson said. “And I hope that’s not the case, but, again, it’s been almost 20 years and we aren’t afraid of a difficult situation. I honestly believe if we get one deal done, that we could come through and really do some great work together.”

Richard Dyer
Managing Editor | East Valley
@RHDyer

rdyer@iniusa.org

Richard Dyer has worked at Independent Newsmedia, Inc.. USA, since 1987. Since 2009, he has worked as a volunteer to design The Blue Guitar Magazine, Blue Guitar Jr. magazine and Unstrung magazine, which are projects of The Arizona Consortium for the Arts; and since 2014, has been overseeing the art submissions. He also is an artist of welded-steel sculptures, selling his artwork at juried and non-juried art shows