The Buckeye City Council took up a big rewrite of the Monte Verde growth plan at an Oct. 6 public hearing. The amendment covers about 156 acres west of Miller Road between Lower Buckeye Road and Warner Street and would raise the most homes allowed there from 433 to 862, add a 21.3-acre apartment site along Miller Road and grow commercial land from about 15 acres to 51. City staff and the Planning and Zoning Commission back the plan, and the applicant cut the number of homes from an earlier 1,014 after neighbors raised concerns.

Mesa's City Council took up a rezone for the Park North project, 5 acres about 270 feet east of Power Road and Guadalupe Road where 78 attached homes would rise, with the Planning and Zoning Commission voting 7-0 to recommend approval; a companion development agreement pays for landscaping and two paths into the park next door. In Apache Junction, council members weighed a permit for the 210-unit Bella Norte apartments on 9.31 acres at Idaho Road and Junction Street after the planning commission split 3-3, and the developer asked on Sept. 30 to move the case to Nov. 17. Fountain Hills is set to hear a rezone that would turn 46 hotel rooms into apartments at the Fountain Park Hotel; in May 2023 the commission voted 5-1 to recommend denying a special use permit for a similar conversion.

Phoenix's Oct. 7 agenda carried a stack of land rules, including new zoning for 5 acres at 28th Street and Rose Garden Lane, an update to the growth numbers that guide city services, authority to accept state housing trust fund money, a zoning map change in District 2 and grants to protect two old homes — one at 330 N 18th Avenue and one at 927 North 8th Street, both in the city's program for threatened historic buildings. Flagstaff weighed a $1,650,000 loan to Lone Tree Ranch, LP to help build affordable units and a Planned Community zone for its zoning code, while Scottsdale considered $1,325,171 for rent help and case management and scheduled a closed session on a dispute over apartments at 13875 N. Northsight Boulevard under a state law that lets buildings convert to housing.

Other items rounded out the week: three development agreements in Surprise for District 1 projects, a Yuma rezone at Araby Road and the 26th Street alignment that would clear the way for a QuikTrip, Avondale's 2026 water and sewer capacity plan, a Fountain Hills pool-cover setback request and two small Mesa adjustment cases, one of them withdrawn. The through-line: cities spent the week deciding how much housing their land allows, where it can go and how much paperwork stands between an owner and a finished project.

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Buckeye City Council — October 06, 2026

  • Council to hold a public hearing and take action on Ordinance No. 27-26 approving a major: Buckeye took up Ordinance No. 27-26 at an Oct. 6 public hearing, a major amendment to the Monte Verde Community Master Plan covering about 156 acres west of Miller Road between Lower Buckeye Road and Warner Street. The change raises the maximum number of homes from 433 to 862, sets aside a 21.3-acre parcel for apartments along Miller Road and grows commercial land from about 15 to 51.2 acres; the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval after the applicant cut units from an earlier 1,014 and added a 30-foot landscape buffer and 6-foot wall on the west side. View item

Mesa City Council — October 05, 2026

  • ZON24-00708 "Park North" 5± acres located approximately 270± feet east of the northeast corner of South Power Road and East Guadalupe Road. Rezone from Limited Commercial with Planned Area Development Overlay (LC-PAD) to Multiple Residence-3 with a Planned Area Development Overlay (RM-3-PAD) and Site Plan Review. This request will allow for a 78-lot attached single residence development. EXDEV PARK NORTH LLC, Owner; Brennan Ray, Ray Law Firm applicant. (District 6) Ordinance No. 6033 Staff Recommendation: Approval with conditions P&Z Board Recommendation: Approval with conditions (Vote: 7-0): Mesa's council took up a rezone of 5 acres about 270 feet east of South Power Road and East Guadalupe Road from commercial to Multiple Residence-3, which would allow a 78-lot attached single-family project called Park North. City staff and the Planning and Zoning Commission both recommended approval with conditions, and the commission vote was 7-0. View item
  • Approving and authorizing the City Manager to enter into a development agreement relating to an attached, single residence development known as “Park North” located approximately 270 feet east of the northeast corner of South Power Road and East Guadalupe Road, requiring landscaping and construction of pathways in an adjacent public park and notice to residents of possible noise and light intrusion from the park. (District 6): The companion development agreement with ExDev Park North, LLC requires landscaping, irrigation and two walking paths with gates into Christopher J. Brady Park next to the site, plus a notice telling future residents the park may bring noise and light. The city report says the 5.05-acre site's shape makes standard street landscaping impossible, and that without the agreement the rezoning may not move forward and the project could be delayed. View item

Apache Junction City Council — October 06, 2026

  • P-25-46-CUP Bela Flor Conditional Use Permit for multi-family rental community: Apache Junction's council took up a conditional use permit for Bella Norte, a 210-unit, three-story rental community on 9.31 acres at the northeast corner of Idaho Road and Junction Street, with 60 one-bedroom, 126 two-bedroom and 24 three-bedroom units. The Planning and Zoning Commission deadlocked 3-3 on Aug. 25, so the case reached the council without a recommendation; the developer asked Sept. 30 to move it to Nov. 17, city staff support the project, and staff report 23 letters of support from local businesses and the Chamber of Commerce. View item

Fountain Hills Planning & Zoning Commission — October 12, 2026

  • PUBLIC HEARING, with CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: Regarding the REZONE of approximately 3.22 acres generally located at the northwest corner of N. Saguaro Boulevard and E. Paul Nordin Parkway (12800 N. Saguaro Blvd; APN 176-25-560) from C-2 – Intermediate Commercial Zoning District to TCCD – Town Center Commercial Zoning District with the intent to convert a portion of the hotel rooms to residential units.: The owner of the Fountain Park Hotel at 12800 N. Saguaro Blvd. wants to rezone 3.22 acres from Intermediate Commercial to Town Center Commercial so 46 top-floor hotel rooms can become apartments — 37 studios and 9 one-bedrooms — while the lower two floors stay a hotel. Town staff say the property was incorrectly shown as Town Center Commercial on a published zoning map in 2018, and note the commission voted 5-1 in May 2023 to recommend denying a special use permit for a similar conversion. View item