PLZZ-25-0002-_Staff_Report_-_CC_05052026.docx

Case PLZZ-25-0002 Buckeye 83 Rezone 
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REZONE 
Report to the Mayor and City Council 
 
 
CASE NUMBER: 
PLZZ-25-0002 
TITLE: 
Buckeye 83 Rezone 
MEETING DATE: 
May 5, 2026 
 
Applicant/Owner: 
Wendy Riddell of Berry Riddell LLC, on behalf of property owner, VWP 
Buckeye Owner LLC 
 
Request: 
Rezone from Single Family Residential (R1-43) to Business Park 
(BP) 
 
District: 
3 
Location: 
Southeast corner of Interstate 10 and State Route 85 
 
Site size: 
Approximately 85 acres 
Density: 
Not applicable 
Public input: 
An advertised neighborhood meeting was held on February 19, 2026; 
in addition to the applicant, two persons attended. All required notices 
of this public hearing have been completed. To date, staff has not been 
made aware of any concerns from adjacent property owners related to 
this request. 
 
Recommendation: 
Conduct a Public Hearing and Adopt Ordinance No. 13-26

Case PLZZ-25-0002 Buckeye 83 Rezone 
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PROJECT DESCRIPTION: 
1. Wendy Riddell of Berry Riddell LLC, on behalf of property owner, VWP Buckeye Owner 
LLC, is requesting approval of a rezone of approximately 85 acres located at the southeast 
corner of Interstate 10 and State Route 85 (see Exhibit A). The applicant is requesting to 
rezone the property from Single Family Residential 43 (R1-43) to Business Park (BP) with 
the intention of developing a multi-building business park on the site.   
2. A concurrent request to annex the subject property is in process and requires Council’s 
approval before this rezoning can be considered. Upon annexation, the subject property 
will be assigned Single Family Residential 43 (R1-43) zoning, the equivalent of the 
property’s current Maricopa County’s RU-43 zoning.  
3. The rezoning application includes a concept site plan (Exhibits D and E) illustrating one 
potential configuration of seven (7) buildings on the site. Consistent with the BP zoning 
district, the buildings could accommodate a range of permitted uses, including warehouse 
and distribution (excluding cross-dock warehouses), office, limited light manufacturing, 
and retail or wholesale showroom uses. The Kentwood Verrado project containing the 
City’s Landing East facilities are comparable to the scale of buildings acceptable within 
the BP district.  
4. The concept site plan is provided for illustrative purposes only. A formal Site Plan 
application will be required prior to development and will undergo detailed staff review 
to ensure compliance with all applicable Development Code requirements.   
AREA CONTEXT: 
5. Table 1: Existing Land Use, General Plan Designation, and Zoning District: 
 
LAND USE 
GENERAL PLAN 
ZONING 
Subject 
Property 
Vacant 
Business Commerce 
Maricopa County 
Rural-43 (RU-43)  
North  
Vacant 
Business Commerce 
General Commerce (GC) 
South 
Future Westpark 
Community Master Plan 
(CMP)-Undeveloped 
Master Planned Community 
Planned Community (PC) 
East 
Westpark (CMP)  
Master Planned Community 
Planned Community (PC) 
West  
Undeveloped 
Business Commerce 
Commercial Center (CC) 
Maricopa County Rural-43  
(RU-43)

Case PLZZ-25-0002 Buckeye 83 Rezone 
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PUBLIC PARTICIPATION SUMMARY: 
6. A neighborhood meeting, providing an opportunity for interested parties to learn more 
about the request, was held on February 19, 2026 at 5:00 P.M. at the Holiday Inn Express 
at 445 S. Watson Road. As required by Buckeye Development Code, written notices to 
property owners within 500 feet of the subject site were mailed on March 27, 2026, 
fifteen (15) days prior to the date of the meeting.  
7. In addition to the applicant team, two persons attended the neighborhood meeting.  At 
the conclusion of the meeting, it did not appear that any attendees had any concern with 
the proposal.  
8. To date, no concerns have been received regarding the proposal. Eight (8) letters of 
support have been submitted and are included in the Citizen Participation Report (see 
Exhibit F). 
9. All required notifications of this public hearing were completed at least fifteen (15) days 
in advance of the meeting date, as follows:  
Notification Element 
Date 
Published in the Arizona Business Gazette 
March 28, 2026 
Site Posted 
March 30, 2026 
Mailing Notice to Property Owners Within 500 
Feet of Site 
March 27, 2026 
 
BACKGROUND: 
 
10. March 3, 2026: A public hearing was held at City Council to hear any for or opposed to 
the annexation of the property. There were no speakers during that hearing.  
 
11. April 7, 2026: City Council approved the ordinance annexing the subject property.  
 
12. April 14, 2026: Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of a Rezone for 
Buckeye 83 (Case PLZZ-25-0002) to the Mayor and City Council.  
ANALYSIS: 
Conformance with the General Plan:

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13. The property is designated Business Commerce by the General Plan Land Use Map. The 
Business Commerce designation is used for properties intended to develop with 
community and regional serving retail, office, service, and business park projects where 
developments have access to major roads and transit and provide connections to 
Neighborhood areas…” Within the General Plan text, the Business Park (BP) zoning district 
is specifically noted as compatible with the Business Commerce land use designation.   
14. The proposal will:  
a. Expand the contiguous area for development of employment generating uses 
in furtherance of General Plan (“GP”) Policy G-7.1: “The City of Buckeye 
should identify and protect areas suitable for large scale office park and 
industrial activities, such as distribution, logistics, manufacturing, and other 
employment type uses within the City’s MPA”; 
b. Further the City’s Economic Development related goals of attracting 
businesses in the logistics and advanced manufacturing sectors and meeting 
desired jobs to population ratios outlined in GP Policy G-1.8: “The City of 
Buckeye will encourage commerce and business employment centers that 
respond to the City’s economic needs and that correspond with Buckeye’s 
targeted economic sectors.” and GP Policy G-7.3 “The City of Buckeye will 
have an average of one to one jobs per household”.  
Zoning and Future Development:  
15. With Council’s approval of the annexation on April 7, 2026, the subject property is now 
located within Buckeye’s jurisdiction and zoned Single Family Residential 43 (R1-43). The 
R1-43 district permits development of large lot (1 acre) single-family residences and 
accessory uses typical for rural areas.   
16. The current R1-43 zoning is not consistent with the property’s Business Commerce 
General Plan designation. Rezoning the property to Business Park facilitates development 
of the site with a unified, master planned, multi-building business park. As noted 
previously, the BP zoning is in concert with the property’s Business Commerce General 
Plan land use designation.  
17. The BP district permits a range of commercial uses, office park and professional office 
uses as well as some indoor light industrial uses from warehousing to building materials 
sales. Development within the district is required to adhere to the dimensional standards 
outlined in Table 4.1-3 of the Buckeye Development Code.  
18. The Business Park district is intended to accommodate development of smaller, more 
neighborhood-compatible scale and operating characteristics than what is typically seen

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in the City’s I-1 (Light Industrial) district. Highlighting the differences between districts, 
cross-dock warehouses common in the I-1 district are not permitted within the BP district.  
19. The conceptual plan provided with this application has not been fully vetted by City staff 
for compliance with City development and design requirements, however, the plan does 
address orientation of the buildings and buffering to resolve staff’s concern with the site’s 
adjacency to future residential. Detailed impacts related to traffic circulation, drainage, 
noise, lighting, and building orientation will be fully evaluated during the required Site 
Plan review process 
20. Buffering between this site and planned residential uses to the east and south of the 
property will be a focus during the site planning stage of the project. Though 
Development Code does include requirements for buffering that would be applicable to 
this site, staff has included a recommended condition to ensure that buffers between 150 
and 400 feet – significantly deeper than standard code requirement - are provided where 
the site abuts planned single-family. This condition captures a critical design component 
shown on the applicant’s conceptual site plan and rezoning narrative. 
21. In addition to orienting buildings and providing a larger landscape buffer to reduce 
impacts on nearby residential buildings, the planned buildings will be separated from any 
planned residential use by drive aisles, working to supplement screening and landscaping 
to minimize impacts.  
22. The property will be serviced by City of Buckeye Police, City of Buckeye Fire, and will be 
within the City of Buckeye sewer and water service areas. 
23. The property is located within the Buckeye Union High School and Buckeye Elementary 
School Districts though business park development of the site, as proposed, will not result 
in any direct impacts on either district.  
RECOMMENDATION: 
24. Staff recommends approval of a Rezone for Buckeye 83 (Case PLZZ-25-0002) to the Mayor 
and City Council, subject to Conditions (a) through (k), for the following reasons: 
 The rezoning conforms to the property’s proposed General Plan designation of 
Business Commerce.  
 The rezoning conforms to all requirements of the Buckeye Development Code. 
 There are no outstanding issues for reviewing departments (Engineering, Fire, 
Public Works, Community Services, Police, Water Resources, and Development 
Services).

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a. 
The property owner/s and their successor waive any and all claims for diminution in 
value of the property with regard to any action taken by City of Buckeye as result of 
this approval. 
b. 
Based upon the conceptual site plan included as Exhibit E to this rezoning, the 
project’s site plan application shall provide for an average building floor area not to 
exceed 200,000 square feet.   
c. 
The project’s site plan application shall provide landscape buffering adjacent to 
planned single-family residential commensurate with the conceptual site plan 
provided with this rezoning submittal and attached as Exhibit E to the staff report.  
d. 
Prior to approval of a site plan or pre-plat, a Traffic Impact Analysis is required to be 
submitted and approved.  All requirements of the Traffic Impact Analysis shall be 
reflected on the approved construction drawings. 
e. 
Prior to the issuance of the first permit for the property, the Property 
Owner/Developer shall pay a pro rata share cost of up to nine (9) regional future 
traffic signals to be installed within this section of land.  The pro rata share is based 
on a ratio of the project acreage to the developable acreage within the section. The 
sectional contribution is to be based on the following allocation of costs: (i) 25 
percent share of four (4) possible signals at arterial street intersections; (ii) 50 
percent share of four (4) possible signals at half-mile collector street intersections 
or project entries; and (iii) 100 percent share of one (1) possible signal internal to 
this project.  The cost shall be based on an anticipated signal cost as determined by 
the City. 
f. 
All non-regional traffic signals that are required by this project shall be funded and 
constructed by this project prior to C of O. 
g. 
All regional traffic signals required by this project shall be constructed by this project 
prior to C of O. This may have a reimbursable component from the regional signal 
fees collected by the City from other parcels per City Engineer approval.  
h. 
All medians required for controlling site access shall be constructed with this 
development. 
i. 
In the event that access to and within the project is deemed a threat to public safety 
and security by the City, the City has broad authority to take such action as it deems 
necessary to address such a threat until such time as the Property Owner/Developer 
eliminates the safety concerns to the City’s satisfaction.  The Property 
Owner/Developer is responsible for revising the roadway and access layout to 
alleviate the City’s concerns with respect to public safety and security.  Any such 
changes will be considered a minor change to existing site plan approvals and shall 
be approved by the City.

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j. 
ITS conduits (2 7-way micro-ducts) must be installed along 266th Avenue per City 
standards, including any necessary splice boxes.  
k. 
Driveway spacing and storage requirements shall be per Table 1 of the COB 
Engineering Design Standards (EDS) Section 6-3. 
ATTACHMENTS: 
Exhibit A – Aerial Vicinity Map 
Exhibit B – Zoning Map 
Exhibit C – Existing General Plan Land Use Map 
Exhibit D – Rezoning Narrative  
Exhibit E – Concept Site Plan 
Exhibit F – Citizen Participation Report 
 
Prepared By: 
Sean Banda, Senior Planner 
 
Reviewed By: 
Ken Galica, Planning Manager