Project Narrative Minor General Plan

Cotton 303 Industrial 
Project Narrative  
NEC Olive & 173rd Avenues 
Minor General Plan Amendment 
(MGPA)
1st Submittal Date: April 29, 2022 
Resubmittal Date: September 1, 2022 
City of Glendale: SR#22-0240, AN-240, GPA22-03 and ZON22-12 
Applicant/Representative: 
2525 E. Camelback Road 
Phoenix, AZ 85016

Cotton 303 Industrial 
 
Project Narrative 
             
 1  
 
September 1, 2022 
George V. Gehlert, Senior Planning Project Manager 
City of Glendale, Development Services Division 
5850 West Glendale Avenue, Suite 212 
Glendale, Arizona 85301 
 
Re: Minor General Plan Amendment (GPA) Project Narrative for Olive 303 Industrial PAD  
 
INTRODUCTION  
The development team includes Tiffany & Bosco, P.A., Hunter Engineering, Ware Malcolm 
and Southwest Traffic. The proposed project will consist of developing approximately 
64.09 ± acres with one or two buildings which could be combined would equal 
approximately 1,100,000 square feet. The building(s) would be planned for uses such as 
warehouse, industrial distribution, manufacturing, and e-commerce. These uses would 
include associated truck parking, auto parking and other on-site and off-site infrastructure 
improvements. Please see the draft conceptual site plan attached to the PAD/MGPA 
application. 
 
REQUESTED CHANGES 
The site is located within Maricopa County and will seek to be annexed into the City of 
Glendale. The annexation is proposed to include the net area of the site without the right 
of ways that will remain in the County. The existing Maricopa County zoning designation 
is RU-43 and is proposed to be transferred to align with the closest similar zoning 
designation in the City of Glendale during the annexation, which is RR-45. The current 
General Plan Land Use designation is LDR 2.5, which allows Low Density Residential from 
1 to 2.5 du/ac. This project will seek a minor General Plan Amendment to modify the 
general plan to RMU (Regional Mixed Use) to Planned Commercial (PC). 
 
The developer will seek a Minor General Plan Amendment (MGPA) concurrently with a 
rezone with the related PAD application that will provide the unique development 
characteristics needed to meet the current demand for industrial warehouse and 
manufacturing space in the area, most specifically taller building heights to allow for state-
of-the-art warehouse and manufacturing equipment.

Cotton 303 Industrial 
 
Project Narrative 
             
 2  
 
SITE LOCATION & CHARACTERISTICS  
The Site is currently open farm land with active crop cultivation. The site is a half mile west 
of State Route Loop 303, and is bounded by Cotton Lane to the east, Olive Avenue to the 
south, 173rd Avenue to the west, and Mountain View Road to the north. Many of the 
properties in the vicinity have recently been annexed into Glendale and rezoned to a Light 
Industrial (M-1) PAD Overlay and have projects in various stages of development, 
including the site directly to the east of Cotton Lane. There is an industrial rail served site 
directly adjacent to the east, known as Fertizona. Other properties in the vicinity are large 
lot residential with a future subdivision located across 173rd Ave. to the west.  
 
PROJECT SCOPE 
The general plan designation allows for light industrial/manufacturing uses, so the 
requested PAD zoning with M-1 (light industrial) like land uses and would be consistent 
with the proposed general plan designation and would be the preferred zoning 
designation after the general plan is amended and the land is annexed into Glendale. The 
owner would like to run the Annexation, PAD and minor General Plan Amendment as 
close to concurrently as possible within the framework of the City submittal process. Upon 
successful approval of the Annexation, General Plan Amendment and Rezoning at the 
Planning Commission, the development team would like to submit at risk for Design 
Review and seek approval to submit construction documents. 
 
The buildings will be comprised of either one single building or two mid-sized warehouse 
or manufacturing spaces with associated office on the corners of the building. Loading 
docks will most likely face east and west due to the shape of the site, with the buildings 
covering a large portion (60%±) of the site. There will be screening, landscaping, parking 
areas, and internal drives to buffer these docking areas from nearby residential properties. 
The design intent of the architecture is to create an attractive, first class, high quality 
facility, incorporating a simple, clean, warehouse architectural style. The project materials 
include painted tilt-up panels with store front glass office spaces on the corners.  
 
Landscape design shall be developed to have a consistent look. The perimeter of the site 
shall incorporate the use of flowering desert shrubs, drought tolerant trees and 
groundcovers that will provide a sense of identity and be compatible with the 
environmental conditions of the area. Areas adjacent to the public right of way will be 
blended into the existing landscape edge treatment. Adequate site buffering between the 
adjacent residential uses and the proposed light industrial are provided in the site plan.

Cotton 303 Industrial 
 
Project Narrative 
             
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These buffers meet the requirements for separation as per the City of Glendale Zoning 
Ordinance and development standards. 
 
DRAINAGE & SITE ACCESS 
The drainage for the site flows primarily from the northwest to the southeast. Surface 
drainage will be used for retention of the 100-year, 2-hour event. Building down spouts 
will be directed/piped to retention basins and underground storage tanks. Primary access 
to the site will be from the Loop 303 at either the Northern or Peoria Avenue interchange. 
Segments of interior drive aisles and roadways will be most likely developed as private 
streets that will connect from both Olive and 173rd Avenues, to the site. This site is unique 
in that it can provide for mostly all Right Turns for access and egress, which is favored by 
truck drivers. However, limitations to truck traffic going north on 173rd Avenue including 
signage and driveway design are being proposed to alleviate issues with truck traffic to 
neighborhoods north of the subject site.  
 
Our team has provided updates to the MGPA narrative and related PAD documents based 
on review comments by the City of Glendale and other updates to the project since the 
first review. The developer is sincerely excited about this this property and looks forward 
to continuing working with City staff for the duration of the project. 
 
Thank you,  
 
Ray Banker 
Planner 
Tiffany & Bosco, P.A.