Attachment C - VPC Summary - Z-36-22-4.pdf

City of Phoenix • Planning & Development Department 
200 West Washington Street, 3rd Floor • Phoenix, Arizona  85003-1611 • (602) 262-6882 
Village Planning Committee Meeting Summary 
Z-36-22-4
INFORMATION ONLY 
Date of VPC Meeting 
June 8, 2022 
Request From:  
R-5 SP and C-3 SP
Request To:  
R-5 and C-3
Proposed Use:  
Removal of a Special Permit to allow all underlying C-3 
and R-5 uses 
Location 
Southwest corner of 31st Avenue and McDowell Road
VPC DISCUSSION:
Applicant Presentation: 
Benjamin Graff, representing the applicant with Quarles & Brady, provided an overview 
of the proposed special permit removal case Z-36-22-4. Mr. Graff provided the zoning 
history of the site noting the underlying R-5 (Multifamily Residence District) and C-3 
(General Commercial) zoning districts, described the current use of the subject site as 
Bret Tarver Preschool owned by Isaac Elementary School District, and summarized the 
surrounding land uses and zoning designations. Mr. Graff summarized the Special 
Permit Case No. Z-SP-23-67-4 which allowed for a school for the handicapped and 
displayed the boundaries of the Special Permit. Mr. Graff stated that the Phoenix 
Planning Commission initiated the removal of the Special Permit on April 7, 2022, 
because the Special Permit is unenforceable and out of compliance with the Americans 
with Disabilities Act and the Fourteenth Amendment. Mr. Graff displayed the timeline of 
the subject property noting the original annexation, the initiation of the Special Permit, 
the expansion of the property boundary and the Special Permit, the United States 
Supreme Court decision that the requirement for a Special Permit for handicapped 
facilities violates the Equal Protection Clause, and the initiation to remove the Special 
Permit from the subject property. Mr. Graff concluded the presentation by stating that 
the request is to remove the Special Permit and that the City Attorney’s office has 
already deemed the Special Permit invalid and that the removal is a zoning map update 
to allow for the underlying land uses.  
Questions from the committee:  
Chair Gene Derie asked if there is a proposed development for the subject site. Mr. 
Graff stated that the property owners of the subject site have had numerous 
discussions with potential developers and that one of the proposed projects would be 
affordable housing. Mr. Graff added that the site did not have the tax credits needed 
Attachment C

City of Phoenix • Planning & Development Department 
200 West Washington Street, 3rd Floor • Phoenix, Arizona  85003-1611 • (602) 262-6882 
from the Arizona Department of Housing for the affordable housing development project 
but that that would still be a potential development option for the subject site.  
 
Chair Derie added that his late wife had teaching experience in Tolleson in the 1960s 
and as a result, his late wife worked at this school for the disabled between 1973 and 
1974 with her first husband. Chair Derie stated that the committee will not vote on this 
item as it was an information only presentation and concluded his statement by noting 
that the Special Permit is unenforceable and out of compliance with the Americans with 
Disability Act, thus making it unconstitutional.  
 
Public Comment:  
 
None.  
 
Applicant Response:  
 
None.  
 
Committee Discussion:  
 
None.  
 
Staff comments regarding VPC Recommendation:  
None.