Goodyear braces legally for tough commercial development decisions

Goodyear City Council is slated to discuss legal implications revolving around general commercial development and a proposed Circle K truck stop permit near the Pebble Creek retirement community.

According to Goodyear’s website, they will consult with the city attorney Friday for a private executive session. The session comes two weeks before the council is slated to vote on the final approval for a Circle K truck stop near Pebble Creek.

Previously, the Goodyear zoning and development board preliminary approved a Circle K truck stop slated to be built within 100 feet of the Pebble Creek retirement community recreational pickleball area.

During that zoning meeting, a local church and a Pebble Creek community rep voiced written grievances to the city before the board unanimously approved the motion.

According to Pebble Creek resident Yvonne Rodrigues, hundreds of community members were outraged when they heard of the approval during a May 17 community presentation. Many privately airing their grievances to their elected officials.

One resident, Vic Knight, made public comments during a May 22 city council regular session.

“One commission member made a comment about Pebble Creek in reference to the Circle K permit during the P and Z April 12 meeting,” he said. “He said ‘Pebble Creek, where were you?’ And then there was laughter among the people there. Well, I can say, we're not laughing about it at Pebble Creek.”

Rodrigues said the community would likely show up en masse at the June 26 Goodyear council meeting in response to the approval to pressure the city into a denial. The council also faces opposition to a proposed self-storage development application in the Montecito community in rural southern Goodyear.

The current landowner applied through EAPC Architects and Engineers, requesting a use permit to allow a self-storage facility on the property. The property is already zoned for business use.

According to the application, the self-storage facility will not be materially detrimental and does not increase the traffic on nearby Willis Road.

However, area residents have taken to Facebook to rally in opposition to the proposed facility in their “backyard.”

“I did some research, and each AC unit can be around 85 decibels or more,” wrote Neal Wilson, a nearby resident. “Maricopa County has a strict noise ordinance.”

Another poster wrote they were sick of seeing the aesthetic of warehouses pop up in Goodyear.

Councilmember Bill Stipp alluded to the pressure the council has received in recent weeks during a Monday work session.

“When we talk about community design, and we look at the almost now 400 emails we've received about a project that's coming up. We're hearing from a lot of the residents about how they feel about our design choices,” he said. “I think it's something that we're really going to have to look at going forward as a community and how we approach these things.”

The Goodyear Planning and Zoning commission is slated to hear the application for the facility June 14. Residents on the Montecito community page said they have circled the date on their calendars.