Commercial, industrial proposed for Eastmark at Elliot and Ellsworth
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Community Facilities Districts
The city of Mesa has three community facilities districts — Eastmark CFD No. 1, Eastmark CFD No. 2 and Cadence, all in ZIP code 85212.
The Eastmark and Cadence community facility districts were formed at the request of property developers through the city of Mesa as a means of obtaining community funding for property development.
Funding is used to build parks, roads, sewers, water storm drain, signs, street light, landscape and related improvements.
Bonds are issued and assessed to the property owners within a community facility district.
Learn more at https://www.mesaaz.gov/residents/eastmark-and-cadence-cfd.
A major amendment for the Eastmark community plan that adds space for large-scale, non-residential uses among other requests should be approved, the Mesa Planning and Zoning Board recommended recently.
The board voted unanimously Jan. 27 to recommend the City Council approve modifying the character descriptions for development units 1 and 2. They are on 325 acres on the south of Elliot Road and north of Warner Road between Ellsworth Road and Signal Butte Road.
Jill Hegardt of Phoenix-based developer DMB Associated Inc. is the applicant and DMB Mesa Proving Grounds LLC is the owner.
The request includes multiple modifications to allow for development of large areas with large-scale, non-residential uses and to allow residential within areas not authorized within approved development unit plans, according to a project narrative.
The changes will allow the flexibility to respond to the market for development units 1 and 2, which are adjacent or close to the Elliot technology corridor, Mesa Principal Planner Tom Ellsworth said at a study session prior to the meeting.
“It’s allowing the ability for development unit 1 to be developed as a high-intensity, mixed-use community with a mixture of uses — both commercial and industrial, employment and higher-intensity residential, or it could be developed as a large campus-type employment user,” he said. “The change to development unit 2 is to either what it’s planned to be today ... which is predominately residential with some non-residential uses clustered along the intersections of Ellsworth Road — the arterials, or it could be a higher-intensity mixed-use transitioning up into what could be a high-intensity use or it allows it to be a single-campus-type of user, a large employment-type user.”
In previously approved plans, development unit 1 has commercial and employment uses, primarily in the form of professional offices, employment, commercial retail, main-street retail, entertainment, mixed-use and multifamily residential.
Development unit 2 presently includes a mix of uses including commercial, employment and varying types of residential as they transition and merge together, according to city documents.
Planning Board member Shelly Allen asked if the uses that would be replaced are available elsewhere in the project.
“I guess I’m a little bit concerned. If you take this large area and change it to an industrial use or a single employment district, where on the site ... are we exchanging that anywhere or is there additional space available for the mixed-use people are watching and looking for?” she asked during the study session. “(T)hat was one of the things that could have gone there, right, which was the mixed-use type of entertainment, restaurants that type of thing?”
There is a mixed-use activity area planned around Ellsworth and Ray and a smaller activity area in an existing shopping center at Point 22 and Signal Butte Road, Mr. Ellsworth said.
“And as a clarification, we’re not removing the possibility of the mixture of uses. We’re adding the possibility and the flexibility. That’s still in the plan,” he said.
The seven-member Mesa Planning and Zoning Board conducts hearings and makes recommendations to the Mesa City Council on requests for changes in zoning and on required site plans. The board also considers and recommends changes in the city’s long-range plans and in the municipal code concerning planning and zoning matters, according to the city’s website.
Richard Dyer Managing Editor | East Valley @RHDyer
Meet Richard Richard Dyer has worked at Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA since 1987, starting his career in Apache Junction as a copy editor and being promoted over the years to work as the editor of the Mesa Independent, news services editor for the East Valley office in Apache Junction, managing editor for the East Valley office, news services editor for the East Valley office and eventually also for the newspapers at INI’s then-Chandler office, managing editor again and as a news editor covering Apache Junction/Gold Canyon and Queen Creek. He helped start the Florence Independent while the news editor covering Apache Junction and Mesa news. In January 2023, he became associate managing editor for the East Valley newspapers and in August 2023 became managing editor for the East Valley newspapers of Chandler/Tempe, Gilbert, Queen Creek, Florence, Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon, while also reporting on Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon.
Community: 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.
Education: University of Arizona with a master of arts in journalism and a bachelor of science in agricultural communication. Also continuing education at Mesa Community College in welding in a metal art sculpture class.
Random fact: Saw his first tornado on May 31, 2010, which was classified as an EF-2, as part of a stormchasing tour group.
Hobbies: He is an artist of welded-steel sculptures, selling his artwork at juried and non-juried art shows.
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