Chandler-area, county-island senior apartment plan heads to supers

By Jason W. Brooks
Mail | X: @JasonWBrooks2

Even with community opposition and without a full utility plan, a proposed zoning change for a county island in the Chandler area is up for approval.

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors will have, on their Dec. 11 meeting agenda, a proposed zoning change for Sonoran Landings. That’s because the Maricopa County Planning and Zoning Commission, at its Nov. 21 meeting, made a recommendation that the board approve a a zoning change application for IND-2 IUPD — a specific type of Maricopa County zone that allows for industrial and residential mixed use.

The plan calls for industrial use on slightly more than the northern half of the 25 acres, which is closer to Appleby Road. The southern half would be a Domnium 55-and-older, 272-unit senior apartment complex with 399 parking spaces, which wil be closer to Ocotillo Road.

The vacant site has ben cleared and is north-south-shaped, between a railroad line — which runs directly behind a Target-anchored shopping center — and the Chandler Unified School District Transportation Center and bus yard. Hamilton High School and other shopping centers are also close by.

There are many established homes in the area, especially along Ocotillo Road.

Some residents from those homes spoke during the Planning & Zoning Comission’s Nov. 21 meeting hearing, prior to the 5-1 vote of recommendation, on the case, known in the county’s application system as No. Z240019. Most were opposed to either the scale of the project, the fact it will have below-market-rate apartments, or both.

Attorney Ed Bull of Burch & Cracchiolo argued the case for Dominium’s permitting applications. Not only did he point out the 30-year plan to keep the senior apartment rates below the median income for the area, he also maintained the 55-and-older rules will be enforced in perpetuity.

“This is not some teenage gang halfway house we’re talking about,” Bull said in defending how well the 55-and-older requirements are implemented at Dominium builds.

Bull also talked about what he called the “800-pound gorilla” — sufficient water for the development. He pointed out that not only is the rezoning a separate process from the plan approval that involves the city of Chandler’s water service area, also, if Dominium doesn’t figure out the water and get its development plan approved, it doesn’t get to build on the site.

One of the first of many stipulations the Planning Commission recommended for approval is that the developer “will serve letters for water and sewer prior to plan of development approval.”

Spike Lawrence, one of the two District 1 Planning and Zoning commissioners and the only one at the Nov. 21 meeting, initially moved for the hearing and recommendation be scrapped entirely.

“Due to lack of support from the city of Chandler for water and sewer, I move for this case to be continued indefinitely to give the applicant more opportunities to work with the city,” Lawrence said.

None of the other five commissioners in attendance seconded Lawrence’s motion.
Lawrence was the lone “no” vote at the end of the meeting, when the 5-1 vote was made, recommending approval.

The Board of Supervisors isn’t obligated to follow the Commission’s recommendations but typically does so. The board will have the final vote on the application at its Wednesday, Dec. 11 meeting.

Dominium scaled back and modified its plan at least once. There was significant late-2022 public opposition to Dominium’s plan to place 518 apartments and 938 parking spaces on the site, with some designated as senior housing.

Not only did the Chandler City Council pass a symbolic resolution opposing the county-island project publicly, as the site is within Chandler’s general plan area and water planning area, it also sent a letter to the county opposing the project.

Derek Horn, who was Chandler’s development services director in January 2023, sent a letter to the Maricopa County Planning and Development Department, saying the city could only provide enough water to meet about one-fourth of the then-proposed apartment complex’s expected needs.

Mayor Kevin Hartke said the reason the previous proposal was for land on a county island is that it “wouldn’t pass the sniff test” of more stringent Chandler requirements.

Two people spoke at Chandler Councils Nov. 7 meeting in opposition to the recent county zoning proposal.

We invite our readers to submit their civil comments on this topic. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.

Email Jason W. Brooks at jbrooks@iniusa.org.

Jason W. Brooks
News Editor | Chandler Independent

Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.

Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.

Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.

Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.

Community: He supports animal shelters.