Dove Valley Coalition

Home
Park Update
News
Make a Difference
DVC Q & A
Zoning
Links of Interest
Feedback
Search

In this update:

Attempt to rezone S-1 to commercial at 4150 Lone Mountain

Rezoning Alert!

Please plan to attend the Desert View Village Planning Committee meeting on Tuesday, July 1, 2008 6:30 pm at the Paradise Valley Community Center*, Multi-purpose Room, 17402 North 40th Street, Phoenix AZ 85032

Application #Z-46-08 will be presented to rezone 7.83 acres from S-1 (Desert Rural Residential) to CP/CPC (Commercial) at 41st St and Lone Mountain to accommodate a garage condo business called GarageTown. This is right in the middle of rural, equestrian properties!

As you can see from the staff report prepared by Phoenix Planning, a denial is being recommended to the Village. However, those of you who have lived here during the past few years, a denial by Planning doesn't necessarily stop the rezone. The developers can and usually do appeal to the Planning Commission. Then to the City Council who has the final say.

The following dates have been set for the rezoning case Z-46-08, the GarageTown project:

July 1, 2008 Desert View Village Planning Committee

August 13, 2008 Phoenix Planning Commission

September 3, 2008 Phoenix City Council

Mark your calendars today and get ready to fight. Even if the Village committee denies the rezoning, the developers will appeal to the Planning Commission on August 13, 2008. That meeting will be 6:00 pm at City Council Chambers downtown.

To be blunt, it is time to get all your friends, neighbors, etc. together to attend the July 1, 2008 meeting.

Summary of the Garagetown project to date:
A preliminary meeting with the immediate neighbors was held in February 2008 to discuss the project. At that point, the project was going to be more than 10 acres from Lone Mountain to Forest Pleasant.

ALL of the neighbors opposed the project and made it very clear to the developers that there would be a fight. The developers met with the Planning folks and the following was the result of the first meeting:

We met with the applicant and discussed that not only would a rezoning be required but a General Plan amendment.  We also addressed our concerns of compatibility with adjacent existing and future land uses as well as the neighborhood concerns.  They seemed fairly aware of the issues, except for processing the General Plan Amendment which is a significant process.

Thanks,
Megan H. Neal
Deer Valley/Desert View Planner II* Village Planner

The parcel originally planned in February was over 10 acres. That would have required a very costly, lengthy process for a General Plan Amendment required under the Arizona Revised Statutes and Phoenix zoning. The deadline for a GPA this year was in April and they couldn't file again until next year. Garagetown now plans for 7.81 acres - the balance of the original plan would be for "an estate-type" home which would retain the S-1 classification. Gotta love their creativity. But of course, the Garagetown folks sell it as a concession to the neighbors!

Another neighborhood meeting was held June 4, 2008 with the revised plan of 7.81 acres. The reduction was presented as a response to the neighbors concerns but everyone at the meeting knew better. The Lone Mountain Alliance has been very active!

Some points:

bulletwe all agree the GarageTown concept is a good one but the location is totally inappropriate.
bulleta similar type of garage condo project has already gone through the Planning process and is building in an area off of Cave Creek Rd at Peak View Rd.
bulletAllowing this rezoning could present a very serious precedent-setting problem for the future - especially as we try to keep Cave Creek Rd desert rural as designated in the General Plan.
The fight is on! Please send your opposition to this application Z-46-08 to Megan Neal (Megan. Neal@phoenix.gov). The time is NOW!! Please also copy your email to the following:
bulletPeggy Neely - Vice Mayor of PHX and our District 2 councilwoman - council.district.2@phoenix.gov
bulletPhil Gordon - Mayor of PHX - mayor.gordon@phoenix.gov
 

A final note:
We cannot begin to stress the importance of the "body count" at the July 1, 2008 meeting. Mike and I will present our opposition to the project on the land use issues; residents in the area should have a spokesperson who will articulate the reasons for neighborhood opposition. Other residents will want to make it clear they endorse the spokesperson's opposition.

Thank you for helping to keep our little corner of the world special!

Kathy Hulka & Mike Rich
480-595-5479

*The sign for the Community Center is a bit difficult to see from the road; the building is behind the Paradise Valley High School and south of the pool. There is plenty of parking but we urge you to car pool. Mike and I have a minivan which can seat 5 additional people. Let us know if you want to ride with us! As of today, Z-46-08 is the only rezoning item on the agenda.

When you arrive at the PV Community Center, you need to sign a comment card. Be sure volunteers can help newcomers. The comment cards are super critical and will be part of the public record. The comment cards are submitted to the committee which will then sort them into piles of supporters and opponents. We must ensure the opponent cards significantly outnumber the supporters.

Feedback

We appreciate the e-mails and copies of e-mails we have been receiving. We are all neighbors within this community and want to keep this area special. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, etc., please let us know!

Reminder

We will need to stay on top of these situations. We plan to use this site for news updates but we are also compiling email addresses of those who wish to be alerted to meetings, events, etc. and/or those who wish to volunteer to help.  If you wish to be added to our emailing list, please send an email to dovevalley@gmail.com Let us know if you wish to just be added to the mailing list, if you wish to volunteer, or if you have any questions/concerns that you would like addressed. Be assured we will keep the email addresses confidential and will not share them with any 3rd party. We hate Spam and have no intention of contributing to electronic blight.

While we are residents of the City of Phoenix, we share a lifestyle that is unique from the majority of Phoenix residents.  To maintain our special environment, the Dove Valley Coalition is charged with monitoring governmental and commercial activity that may affect the quality of life for residents in the Dove Valley area of North Phoenix.  

We provide feedback to affected residents and represent interests to appropriate city, county, state, etc. representatives.  The Coalition consists of Dove Valley Estates residents as well as residents from Dove Valley Ranch, Ventana,  and Colina del Norte. Parishioners from St. Gabriel's Catholic Church  also support us.

Among our activities are the researching and attending meetings, as necessary, of the Desert View Village Planning Committee, Phoenix Zoning, Phoenix City Council, Phoenix Developmental Services Project Teams, Cave Creek Unified School District Board, Cave Creek/Carefree Council, etc.

 Just a few of our recent projects:

bullet

Assisting in the location of high voltage lines away from Dove Valley Ranch/Estates;  

bullet

Helping to stop the rezoning of a residential parcel to commercial on Cave Creek Rd. and Westland

bullet

Helping to stop the rezoning of a residential parcel to commercial on Lone Mountain and 44th Street

bullet

Working with residents and commercial developers to reach consensus at the NE corner of Lone Mountain and Cave Creek Rd.;

bullet

Blocking the re-zoning of property from low density housing to high density or commercial office at Rancho Paloma and Cave Creek Rd.;

bullet

Working with the city on the neighborhood park at 48th Street and Rancho Paloma.

Contact Information

We welcome your support and your suggestions.  Just contact us at ...

Telephone
480-595-5479
Postal address
PO Box 4169
Cave Creek AZ 85327-4169
    
 
Electronic mail
General Information: dovevalley@gmail.com
 

 

Home

Send mail to dovevalley@gmail.com with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: June 30, 2008