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Despite resident objections, Buckeye P&Z recommends 275-home plat and rezone

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BUCKEYE —Sean Banda said he’s received more than 100 phone calls with concerns about a planned Buckeye housing development.

After he discussed some concerns, heard public input and took questions from the Buckeye Planning and Zoning Commission, the preliminary plat approval and rezoning were approved unanimously.

Nine area residents spoke during a public hearing about Shadow Canyon, a D.R. Horton development on about 92 acres along Watson Road north of Interstate 10 along the Van Buren Street alignment.

The residents spoke about some of same top-five concerns Bonda mentioned, and more. Those concerns didn’t stop the commission from voting to recommend to the city council approval of both the preliminary plat and a rezoning — from SF-43 to SF-6 — with a planned-area development overlay for 275 single-family residential lots.

The rezoning passed unanimously. The recommendation for preliminary plat approval passed by a 6-1 vote.

Bonnie Disbrow, a resident of La Vista Circle in the original Sundance subdivision to the project’s south, spoke about multiple concerns Tuesday. The concern she detailed the most was drainage.

“If there’s any way to put the entry road on the south side, that would help a lot,” Disbrow said.

Other speakers mentioned only a single water access point, concerns over how wastewater will work, concerns about lighting, taller trees and the proposed development’s residents being able to see downhill into backyards, school bus stop and child street safety and there only being one road in and out of a 275-home development.

There will be multiple exits from the development onto Van Buren Street, but Van Buren will only connect to Watson Road for the next few years. Buckeye road engineer John Willett said there are future plans to connect Van Buren with an extension of McDowell Road, as it meanders toward Miller Road and eventually Sun Valley Parkway, but that won’t happen soon.

Staff documents show the proposal has been submitted to the city of Buckeye three times since October of last year. Early proposals had 280 lots in Shadow Canyon.

Also Tuesday, the board approved a site plan for “OMP Yuma and 247th.” The proposal calls for two industrial buildings totaling about 585,000 square feet to be built on about 32 acres just south of I-10, near Jones Ford.

The board approved a preliminary plat for the San Madera mixed-use planned housing development. The item had been left on the agenda for whenever the developer and city staff have worked out all well and water arrangements which were recently resolved.

A proposed amendment to the North Star Ranch Community Master Plan, for an area at the north edge of developed Sun City Festival, was tabled.