Buckeye Council hears arguments for, against annexation

Some annexations of unincorporated county land are simple. Some aren’t.
The Buckeye City Council handled both of those kinds of annexations at Tuesday’s meeting.

After a relatively quick discussion and approval of annexing into the city and rezoning 2 acres that are within the planned Vista Bonita subdivision, the council moved on to a more complicated request.

Jackencanto LLC is requesting annexation of two parcels of land for a multiuse project known as Encanto 38.
While Tuesday’s meeting included only a staff presentation and a public hearing on annexation of 38.5 acres, a lively and lengthy discussion about several area residents’ concerns took place as well.

The second hearing and a council vote on annexation of the 38.5 acres are set to be on the council’s April 19 agenda. The developer’s exact planned-area development specifications will be submitted for recommendations from Buckeye’s Planning and Zoning Commission at its March 22 meeting.

The property is an east-west rectangle that stretches from Jackrabbit Trail to 191st Avenue, with Monte Vista Road along the southern edge and a developed residential tract to the north.

Kathleen Tamaiko, a resident of 193rd Avenue and a horse owner, said block walls, high density and traffic are among her concerns for the mixed-use plans of the now-vacant land to the north of her neighborhood.

“I understand that this is only an annexation hearing, but that annexation has a purpose,” Tamaiko told the council. “And that purpose is for the developers of Arroyo Seco to, in addition to building 1,028 homes on the (west) side of Jackrabbit Trail, add 100 homes over here.”

Sean Banda, a senior planner for the city, clarified the 2.4 dwelling units per acre density is calculated across the entire 38.5 acres. In its proposal, Banda said, the developer plans to only use the middle four-fifths of the property for the 99 homes, with commercial development along Jackrabbit Trail and a rural area along the 191st Avenue edge of the property.

Arizona properties can be annexed by adjacent municipalities at land owner’s requests following a lengthy approval procedure that involves the city that’s annexing it. The Encanto property is zoned RU-43 as a Maricopa County unincorporated pair of parcels; state law requires incoming similar designation that would initially make the land SF-43 in city of Buckeye zoning.

The “43” refers to one dwelling per acre, as one acre equals about 43,000 square feet.

Developers such as Jackencanto LLC must pursue rezoning plans separately from annexation into a municipality.
Annexations require consideration at two council meetings.

Tuesday’s meeting will be the first of those two for the purpose of holding a public hearing to allow affected parties the opportunity to comment on the request, with council voting on April 19 of approval by ordinance.

The intersection of Jackrabbit Trail and Monte Vista Road is about one-half mile north of Interstate 10 and about 2 miles south of Indian School Road. Council, city staff and the public have all mentioned the need to widen and/or improve Jackrabbit Trail to handle more traffic to and from the new businesses and housing in the area.

Also Tuesday, council approved a consent agenda that included a final plat approval for the 293-lot phase of the Mystic Vista development, a $150,000 alternative alignment study for the Apache/Baseline roads and Union Pacific Railroad tracks.