A request to rezone more than 5 acres to allow for a 78-lot, two-story, attached single residence town home development was unanimously approved by the Mesa City Council.
At its Monday meeting, the council also unanimously approved entering into a development agreement with the land’s owners that will provide the city with landscaping and irrigation at an adjacent city park.
The vote took place after a public hearing in which five residents voiced approval for the project.
Excolo Management, through ExDev Park North LLC, plans to build Park North at the northeast corner of South Power and East Guadalupe roads in District 6.
Under council approval, the land was rezoned from light commercial to multiple residence.
Some of the residents who spoke said that they had worked with the developers to have the project evolve from apartments to town homes.
“We absolutely 10,000% did not want the apartments, but we’ve worked with the different people responsible for the newest development of the town homes and that’s definitely 100% much better than it started out a long time ago,” Cheryl Kirby said.
The project consists of two types of buildings for a total of 39 buildings with two single residences attached.
Along with a double-car garage, each residence building will have private open space. The overall development will contain 15,358 square feet of common open space throughout with a ramada, seating areas, barbecue equipment, cornhole boards, shade trees and a tot lot, according to a staff report.
Primary access will be from Guadalupe Road via a new bridge across the Maricopa County Flood Control District canal.
The bridge is covered in the development agreement, which “establishes obligations of the owner to ensure high-quality design and compatibility of the development with surrounding public amenities and related infrastructure improvements,” the report stated.
The owners will install shrubs and groundcover between the canal and Guadalupe Road along the length of the site’s south property line, as well as irrigation systems. The owner must obtain approvals from the flood control district and will be responsible for all maintenance.
Under the agreement, Park North’s owners also will install landscaping and an irrigation system along the northern and eastern boundaries of the property within the Christopher J. Brady Park. The improvements must comply with city standards, be coordinated with the Parks and Recreation Department, and include a one-year warranty. Once the warranty expires the city will take over maintenance of the improvements.
In addition, ExDev Park North will construct two pedestrian pathways and two gates to provide access between the development and the park.
“The paths will match existing park sidewalks and be accessible to both residents and the public. The city will take over maintenance of the paths following completion and approval,” according to the staff report.
The owners must inform residents and their guests that they cannot use the park’s parking lot for residential parking. Residents of the development must also be informed of potential for noise and light intrusion from activities at the park.
The bridge will be built by the development’s owners and the city “will not own or maintain this structure and will not be liable for any related issues,” the report stated. The same applies to the pedestrian gates.
On Aug. 26, the Mesa Planning and Zoning Board voted unanimously to recommend approval of the rezoning.
“We are grateful for those that came and spoke in support,” the developer’s representative Brennan Ray of the Ray Law Firm told the council. “It has been a very long and arduous process, one of which I was not involved when the apartments were presented before you. But since I’ve come on board, working with ... the neighbors that spoke in support, it’s been a wonderful collaboration and process to get to something that we can stand and say we have the support of the community as we appear before you.”
Janet Perez can be reached at jperez@iniusa.org. Please send your comments about this article to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.
Janet Perez News Editor | Queen Creek &
San Tan Valley
Meet Janet Janet Perez joined Independent Newsmedia as editor of the Queen Creek Independent and Florence Independent in 2020. She started her career in 1989 with the Gannett-owned El Paso Times. In 1992, she moved to Tempe and has worked in newspapers, magazines, radio and television. She left Arizona for three years to work at New Mexico State University and Baylor University before returning to work at Arizona State University. Missing the business, she went back to journalism in 2017.
Community: A long-time pet owner, she supports animal welfare causes.
Education: University of Texas at El Paso with a BA in journalism and a minor in political science.
Random Fact: She had a head full of random facts.
Hobbies: Reading, watching documentaries, cooking and playing with her dogs.
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