With a call from nearly all corners for more accessible housing, the Buckeye Planning and Zoning Commission is set to vote Tuesday on an action that would be a small step toward easing the Valley’s housing crunch.
A site plan approval for the BTR Verrado is one of three action items on the agenda for Tuesday's commission meeting, set for 6 p.m. in City Council Chambers, 530 West Monroe St.
The proposed 211-unit bungalow apartment neighborhood would sit on 17 infill acres on the southeast corner of Verrado Way and Indian School Road.
The city of Buckeye approved the original Verrado comprehensive master plan in 1999, along with a maximum of 14,080 residential units spread across more than 8,800 acres. That came with a maximum overall residential density of 1.6 duplex units per acre, but individual projects within Verrado are permitted to have a residential density range between zero and 35 duplex units per acre.
The overall net density for the development — including open space — will be 12.19 duplex units per acre.
The site plan will be for bungalow-style rentals. The increasingly popular style, especially in the Southwest Valley, eliminates the headaches of taller apartment buildings, using slightly more real estate to limit buildings to one or two stories.
BTR Verrado buildings would have a height limit of 23 feet, 7 inches, and will be single-story, one-or two-bedroom apartments with on-site management.
Also on Tuesday’s agenda is a second hearing and a possible site plan approval for Thompson Thrift’s 252-unit apartment complex. That’s planned for a 10.6-acre L-shaped lot near the southwest corner of Yuma and Watson roads, south of Interstate 10.
The three-story, seven-building, 39-foot-tall complex would wrap behind the Buckeye Marketplace shopping center, on the side that includes a Fry’s grocery store.
The developer is also seeking a zone change from commercial center to residential/multifamily, Class 2. It will have a density of about 23 units per acre. At a recent Buckeye Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, the proposal drew strong reactions from one Buckeye resident concerned about water use and crime he believes goes with large apartment complexes.
Lastly, the other hearing and action item is a preliminary plat approval for Festival Ranch Planning Area 3. The 90-acre plat is southwest of Beardsley Parkway and Desert Oasis Boulevard with three lot sizes among the 229 age-restricted residential lots. The gross density is about 2.5 units per acre.
Residential property continues to be platted and built in the Sun City Festival area, located at the northeastern corner of Buckeye city limits. However, there have been no city announcements about retail or other commercial development or services in the Festival area.
Jason W. Brooks is a News editor for the Daily Independent and the Chandler Independent.
He covers the Chandler area for both yourvalley.net and the monthly print edition while writing for and assisting in the production of the Daily Independent.
Brooks is a well-traveled journalist who has documented life in small American communities in nearly all U.S. time zones.
Born in Washington, D.C. and raised there and in suburban Los Angeles, he has covered community news in California, New Mexico, Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska and northern Arizona.
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