The Goodyear City Council approved a rezoning Monday that will bring more than 400 single-family homes, half a school site, and amenities such as pickleball courts to a development site called Amber Meadows at West Goodyear.
The approval, by a 7-0 council vote, rezones approximately 109.93 gross acres at the northeast corner of Perryville Road and Lilac Street.
The developer, listed as Hinton Amber Meadows LLP of Scottsdale, wants to install 402 residential units with a new elementary school site or 437 residential units if no school is constructed. Liberty Elementary District is vying for a bond to help bring funding to that proposed school site, according to Goodyear principal planner Christian Williams
That 7.5-acre school site does not have the correct zoning or easements, which will bring a notable cost.
The master-planned community will have a 5-acre centralized park and amenity center concept.
That concept will include a community pool, a restroom facility, two pickleball courts, one large group ramada with barbecue grills, and picnic areas. The common area will also include a high-end dry tot lot, a turf area large enough for the high-end soccer field, and an 8-foot-wide trail that will connect the park to the overall site.
Liberty Elementary School District and the Buckeye Union High School District have been notified of the rezoning request, according to Williams. The developer intends to donate 7.5 acres of land to the Liberty Elementary School District, which, combined with the 7.5 acres immediately adjacent to it within the La Privada community, would create one cohesive elementary school site.
According to the Liberty Elementary District staff in April, the two proposed 7.5-acre sites are next to each other and are divided by an irrigation line that doubles as a natural border. Any building would have to consider a water diversion plan.
Liberty Elementary District officials estimate an 18-month construction schedule to build a new school. Construction must start by February 2024 for the new elementary school to be open when the two schools mentioned earlier reach critical capacity in 2026.
According to Curtis Chipman, attorney for the district via Udall Shumway PLC, construction is based on the timing of growth in these housing developments for roads, adjacent ways, off-site utilities, and infrastructure.
In April, the district considered partnering with the city instead of waiting for developers to build toward the potential school parcels.
Liberty's eighth elementary school would alleviate Blue Horizon and Las Brisas, which will be at or over 100% in 2025 and capacity in 2026.
