County supers postpone Sonoran Landings vote indefinitely

By Jason W. Brooks
Mail | X: @JasonWBrooks2

Despite community opposition and without a full utility plan, a proposed zoning change for a county island in the Chandler area could still be approved.

But it won’t happen soon — and it won’t happen before the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has three new members.

The outgoing board unanimously agreed Dec. 11 to continue a zoning application for a mixed-use plan called Sonoran Landings.

Even though the county island project isn’t technically inside the Chandler city limits, the land is within Chandler’s planning area, and its water planning area.

Jack Sellers, in one of his last acts as the outgoing District 1 Supervisor and this year’s chair of the board, urged his fellow board members to allow the developer, Domonium, to resolve other issues before a board vote.

“This has been an emotional issue,” Sellers, a former Chandler City Council member, told the board. “And I really feel that it should be dealt with at the city of Chandler, rather than Maricopa County, so that people on all sides of the issue can have a say in what ultimately happens with the property.”

Sellers said he’s encouraging Chandler to “annex the property” for planning and zoning approvals there, even though that’s a process land owners must initiate in Arizona.

Also, a Domnium attorney told the Chandler City Council two years ago there weren’t appropriate parcels left within Chandler limits.

Supervisor Thomas Galvin, though the project isn’t in his district, read a motion that sounded like the board and perhaps the city of Chandler oppose the senior housing aspect of the proposal.

“I move this item be continued indefinitely,” Galvin read. “It should be brought back before the board once revised documents have been prepared, clearly prohibiting multifamily uses from the proposed IND-2 IUPD zoning. This will bring zoning in concert with the city’s (Chandler’s) general plan and airpark area plan and will address the community opposition.”

The Maricopa County Planning and Zoning Commission, at its Nov. 21 meeting, made a 6-1 recommendation that the board approve a zoning change application for IND-2 IUPD — a specific type of Maricopa County zoning.

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, but no one seconded his motion.

Lawrence was the lone “no” vote at the end of the Nov. 21 meeting recommending approval.

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 , 272-unit age 55-plus senior apartment complex with 399 parking spaces, which would be closer to Ocotillo Road.

The vacant site has been leveled 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. There are many established homes in the area, especially along Ocotillo Road.

Some area residents spoke during the Planning & Zoning Commission’s hearing last month, prior to the 5-1 vote of recommendation, on the case. Most were opposed to either the project’s scale, that that it will have below-market-rate apartments, or both.

Attorney Ed Bull of Burch & Cracchiolo talked about what he called the “800-pound gorilla” — sufficient water for the development.

Bull pointed out not only is the rezoning a separate process from the plan approval that involves the city of Chandler’s water service area, if Dominium doesn’t determine the water and get its development plan approved, it doesn’t get to build on the site.

One of the 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.”

The Board of Supervisors isn’t obligated to follow the Commission’s recommendations but typically does so.

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.

Two people spoke at Chandler Council's Nov. 7 meeting in opposition to the recent county zoning proposal. Monday, Dec. 9, a group comprised mainly of Chandler-area religious leaders called for approval of the project at a news conference, while a handful of opponents brought “No” signs to that event.

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.