Vote — approved

Kate Brophy McGee	yes
Mark Stewart	yes
Debbie Lesko	yes
Thomas Galvin	abstain
Steve Gallardo	abstain

Ayes: Kate Brophy McGee, Mark Stewart, Debbie Lesko, Steve Gallardo Recused: Thomas Galvin

Item Text

7. HARQUAHALA ENERGY GENERATION & INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX Case #: Z250015 Supervisor District: 5 Applicant and Owner: Keith Nichter, Kimley-Horn / DL Landco, LLC; Ben Fatto, LP; Gluck, LP; GYP Harquahala Holdings, LLC; Klaus Jurgen Bolle Rainer, TR; David Marion, RT; Copia Land Holdings, LLC; Daniel Arredondo, RT; Stegner, FT; Schuetze FT; and CLB Partners, LLC Request: Zone change with overlay from IND-2 IUPD and Rural-43 to IND-2 IUPD Site Location: Generally located at the NWC of 499th Ave. and Camelback Rd. in the Harquahala Valley area Commission Recommendation: On 11/06/25, the Commission voted 8-0 (motion by Commissioner Hernandez D5, seconded by Commissioner Rochwalik D3) to adopt a motion recommending the Board of Supervisors approve Z250015 subject to conditions ‘a’ - ‘l’. a. Development of the site shall be in substantial conformance with the Zoning Exhibit entitled “Harquahala Energy Generation & Industrial Campus (HEGIC)“, consisting of two full-size sheets, dated September 16, 2025 , and stamped received October 6, 2025, except as modified by the following conditions. Staff may determine slight refinements to remain in substantial conformance with the approved site plan. Minor and major amendments to the site plan will be determined in accordance with Chapter 3 of the Maricopa County Zoning Ordinance. b. Development of the site shall be in substantial conformance with the Narrative Report entitled “Harquahala Energy Generation & Industrial Campus”, consisting of 11 pages, dated September 16, 2025, and stamped received October 6, 2025, except as modified by the following conditions. c. The following Planning Engineering conditions shall apply: 1. Without the submittal of a precise plan of development, no development approval is inferred by this review, including, but not limited to number of proposed building lots/units, drainage design, access and roadway alignments. These items will be addressed as development plans progress and are submitted to the County for further review and/or entitlement. 2. Each phase of development will require a plan of development and Traffic Impact Study. Each phase must be able to stand alone with respect to site infrastructure, including utilities, access and storm water management. 3. Salome Highway is classified as a principal arterial requiring fee dedication of a 65-foot half street from the center line, total 130-feet. With the submittal of a Plan of Development on this site the applicant shall provide, at applicant’s expense, an American Land Title Association(“ALTA”) Owner’s Policy of Title Insurance showing title vested in Maricopa County, a political subdivision of the State of Arizona. 4. Any additional dedication and offsite improvement requirements will be determined by MCDOT Traffic based on a submitted TIA/TIS to Permit Center at https://www.maricopa.gov/6003/Maricopa-Countys-New-Permit-Center and if a Traffic Impact Analysis/Traffic Impact Study has been previously submitted, the Traffic Impact Analysis/Traffic Impact Study must be less than one year old. 5. All perimeter section line and mid-section line alignments of the proposed development require the setback lines to start from a future half street Right-of-Way of 55’ for section lines and 40’ for mid-section lines (respectively) per the Maricopa County Zoning Ordinance Section 1105. 6. Applicant is to notify ADOT of proposed project through the Red Letter Process, RedLetter@azdot.gov , due to the proximity to the Interstate-10 Freeway. 7. The above comments do not include identification of utilities or underground facilities within or adjacent to the required right-of-way that may have prior rights and/or require relocation. 8. Engineering review of re-zone cases is conceptual in nature. All development and engineering design shall be in conformance with Section 1205 of the Maricopa County Zoning Ordinance; Drainage Policies and Standards; Floodplain Regulations for Maricopa County; MCDOT Roadway Design Manual; and current engineering policies, standards and best practices at the time of application for construction. d. With the submittal of any Plan of Development for a data storage facility, the applicant shall incorporate water efficient designs, which may include hybrid alternative cooling technologies, to reduce annual water usage. e. The IUPD overlay is applied to restrict the use of the site. The IUPD shall limit the use of the site exclusively to solar electric generating facilities, gas generation facility, battery energy storage system (BESS) and data storage facilities, including ancillary offices, ancillary uses, and existing agricultural uses. Any other uses of the site shall require a zone change major amendment. f. Unless waived or modified by the County, the applicant or developer shall implement the best practices and any recommendations by the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD). The Zoning Inspector and/or their designee shall review whether these best practices are being implemented in accordance with the letter following the issuance of relevant permits and periodically as needed through either the inspection process or communication with AZGFD. Should the Zoning Inspector and/or their designee decide that the owner or developer has not substantially undertaken these best practices in good faith, the owner or developer shall not receive final permits or certificate of occupancy until the best practices are implemented. g. Administrative approval of a plan of development will be required prior to approval and issuance of construction permits to develop and establish use of the site. h. Prior to issuance of a building permit, written confirmation will be required from the emergency fire protection jurisdiction having authority that the facility has been designed in accordance with their regulations and requirements, and that emergency fire protection service will be provided to the facility. Prior to issuance of the certificate of occupancy, local fire protection jurisdiction review and approval will be required. i. The developer must submit any project narrative to the Department of Defense Siting Clearinghouse for Energy, Installations, and Environmental for review at the following site: osd.dod-siting-clearinghouse@mail.mil prior to the submittal of any Plan of Development. j. The following IND-2 IUPD standards shall apply: 1. There shall be a maximum structure height of 103’. 2. There shall be no minimum setbacks for solar panel arrays and there shall be minimum setbacks of 100’ for battery electric storage systems. 3. Solar panel arrays shall not be calculated as lot coverage. 4. There shall be no parking required for solar generation facilities, gas generation facility, or battery storage facilities. 5. Data storage facilities shall provide one parking space for every 1,000 sq. ft. of floor area for the ground floor and one parking space for every 5,000 sq. ft. of floor area for each additional story. 6. Driveways and parking areas of solar generation, gas gereration, and battery storage facilities shall use decomposed granite with an approved dust control plan by MCAQ to minimize dust pollution from these surfaces. 7. There shall be a minimum of one loading/unloading space per building and none for solar energy generation, gas generation, and battery storage facilities. 8. There shall be no sight-visibility-triangles at any ingress/egress points along streets, or at the intersection of any section or mid-section line intersection alignments for solar generation, gas generation, and battery storage facilities. 9. All uses except for parking, loading, unloading, storage, electric generation, electric storage, electric transmission, and data center infrastructure shall be conducted within a completely enclosed building. 10. There shall be a minimum 6’ tall chain link fencing without attached screening materials along the perimeter of the site and outdoor industrial uses for screening. The fence shall provide 1’ of barbed wire atop of these 6’ tall fences and there shall be a maximum fence height of 12’ for any fence. If warranted by AZG&F Department these fences can be modified to allow wildlife to pass through these fences. 11. There shall be a maximum height of 196’ for structures that hold up electrical transmission lines, except with respect to structures that hold up electrical transmission lines, there shall be a maximum structure height of 103’. k. The property owner/s and their successors waive claim for diminution in value if the County takes action to rescind approval due to noncompliance with conditions. l. The granting of this change in use of the property has been at the request of the applicant, with the consent of the landowner. The granting of this approval allows the property to enjoy uses in excess of those permitted by the zoning existing on the date of application, subject to conditions. In the event of the failure to comply with any condition, the property may be considered for revocation to the zoning that existed on the date of application. It is, therefore, stipulated and agreed that either revocation due to the failure to comply with any conditions, does not reduce any rights that existed on the date of application to use, divide, sell or possess the property and that there would be no diminution in value of the property from the value it held on the date of application due to such revocation of the Zone Change. The Zone Change enhances the value of the property above its value as of the date the Zone Change is granted and reverting to the prior zoning results in the same value of the property as if the Zone Change had never been granted. (C-44-26-056-X-00)