South Chandler Dominium parcels the subject of pre-annex contract

By Jason W. Brooks
Mail | X: @JasonWBrooks2

Two south Chandler land parcels that have been the source of passionate public discussions over the past three years are now one step closer to being officially within city limits.

A group calling itself Chandler Acquisition I LLC received approval Sept. 18 for a pre-annexation development agreement with the city. The Chandler City Council, by approving the agreement, clears the way for further annexation and industrial development permitting steps.

Dominium Properties tried to get Maricopa County development plan approval for apartments on nearly 25 acres of property along the north side of Ocotillo Road, between Arizona Avenue and McQueen Road, using multiple incarnations of plans — the more recent of which was called Sonoran Landings.

Met with strong community resistance both times, mainly over added traffic congestion and water issues, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors advised Dominium to pursue annexation of the county-island land by the city of Chandler.

Dominium announced earlier this year it’s selling the property, though that thought is apparently at least paused, as the company’s name is mentioned throughout a staff report on the agreement. 

Dominium submitted a revised land use entitlement application to Maricopa County Planning and Zoning in early 2025 that proposed an industrial-oriented project only with no residential component.

The staff report states Chandler Development Services Director Kevin Snyder sent a letter in April to Maricopa County Planning and Development Director Tom Ellsworth, responding to Dominium’s revised application for industrial use only. The letter called for a long list of tasks and steps Dominium would need to complete in order to have the property annexed by Chandler and considered for development permits.

Annexation into the City of Chandler is required for the city to add the developed property to its water and wastewater system, Snyder wrote, and a pre-annexation agreement is required and must be approved by the council and executed prior to any annexation application.

Also, land uses of the site must be consistent with Chandler’s General Plan and Airpark Area Plan.

Snyder wrote that Maricopa County “should specify additional land uses identified in the letter as prohibited for consistency with the city’s land use policies.” Data centers should be a prohibited land use by the county, Snyder wrote.

After Snyder sent the letter to Ellsworth, Dominium representatives requested a continuance of a hearing that had been scheduled before the county supervisors.

After that continuance, the staff report states, city staff and Dominium representatives met multiple times to discuss and negotiate elements of the pre-annexation development agreement.

The agreement not only includes the land use policies, building and safety standards, engineering regulations, transportation standards and prohibited Planned Industrial-1 (I-1) zoning uses, the city added a few more prohibitions.

At the Sept. 18 meeting, Council member Matt Orlando read into the record an amendment with a list of prohibited commercial-type uses. These included “third-party parcel distribution centers in excess of 400,000 square feet in aggregate, including no single parcel distribution building in excess of 200,000 square feet.”

The report states the city will have the ability to concurrently approve, alongside Maricopa County, during its review process, all specified land uses, building design, site design, parking area layouts and site access points.

“Further, this agreement requires that annexation occur prior to any construction at the project site,” the report states.

City staff contacted property management representatives for Pinelake Place and Kerby Estates — located across Ocotillo Road from the parcels — to notify them of the process, but had not heard back from them as of Sept. 18, the report states.

Jason W. Brooks can be reached at jbrooks@iniusa.org.

 Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our  Civility Guidelines.

INDEPENDENT NEWSMEDIA

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.