Attachment H - Planning & Zoning Commission Staff Report
Extracted text (via pymupdf)
7695 characters
AGENDA ITEM #: 2. DATE: July 1, 2026 CAR #: AI-3331 CASE #: P25-00277 Planning & Zoning Commission ACTION REPORT SUBJECT: USE PERMIT FOR CONVENIENCE STORE WITH GAS STATION AT COTTON LANE AND MC-85 STAFF PRESENTER(S): Ann Dolmage, Principal Planner OTHER PRESENTER(S): Frank Gawdun, Esencia LLC SUMMARY: Request for a Use Permit for a convenience use (convenience store including retail gasoline sales), on approximately 5.22 acres zoned as Planned Area Development (PAD) with an underlying flexible zoning that permits industrial, commercial, and public facilities uses (Flex Zone), located at the southwest corner of Cotton Lane and MC-85. RECOMMENDATION: Conduct a public hearing to consider a Use Permit for a convenience use (convenience store including retail gasoline sales), on approximately 5.22 acres zoned as Planned Area Development (PAD) with underlying flexible zoning that permits industrial, commercial, and public facilities uses, located at the southwest corner of Cotton Lane and MC-85. 1. Recommend approval of a Use Permit for a convenience use (convenience store including retail gasoline sales), on approximately 5.22 acres zoned as Planned Area Development (PAD) with underlying flexible zoning that permits industrial, commercial, and public facilities uses, located at the southwest corner of Cotton Lane and MC-85 (Ann Dolmage, Principal Planner). 2. FISCAL IMPACT: Although a fiscal impact analysis has not been conducted on this specific project, all new development will have an ongoing fiscal impact on the city. The development is responsible for construction of all infrastructure necessary to serve the site and will generate one-time revenue for the city through payment of permits, construction sales tax, and development impact fees. Longer term fiscal impacts include increased demands for municipal services, the costs of which may or may not be offset by increased property values/tax levies, city sales tax, state shared revenues, and the increased demand for commercial and retail development. Any areas that will be maintained by the city are constructed by the developer and then conveyed to the city two years after construction. BACKGROUND AND PREVIOUS ACTIONS: Attachment H - Planning & Zoning Commission Staff Report A rezone for CP Lakin Park (commonly referred to as “Lakin Park”) was approved by City Council on October 28, 2019. The rezone changed the zoning of approximately 696 acres from Agricultural Urban (AU) to Planned Area Development (PAD) with multiple underlying zoning districts, including 644.9 acres of General Industrial Park (I-2); 35.3 acres of Flex Zone which permits I-2, General Commercial (C-2), and Public Facilities District (PFD); and 15.4 acres of Multi-Family Residential (MF-24). The PAD also modified the permitted uses and development standards for the underlying zoning. On September 27, 2021, a new rezone was approved to add approximately 4.8 acres to the multi-family component of Lakin Park, increasing the overall Multi-Family area to 20.2 acres and establishing a new PAD (known as CP Lakin Park Bungalows) for that area. The proposed convenience use with gas station (“Project”) will be located at the southwest corner of MC-85 and Cotton Lane, as shown in the attached Aerial Photo (Attachment B), and is within Lakin Park’s Commercial/Industrial Flex Zone. Per the CP Lakin Park PAD Book dated October 2019, the Flex Zone may be developed under the I-2, C-2, or PFD standards. Once a particular use within the Flex Zone is vested with a Site Plan or subdivision approval, the selected zoning district is activated for that use, and the established underlying zoning district cannot be amended without a rezone. Since the current proposal is for a convenience store with gasoline sales, the proposal will utilize C-2, and the permitted uses and development standards for C-2 will apply (except as amended by the PAD). A Use Permit for a convenience store with gasoline sales was approved for this Property by City Council on September 25, 2023, under Case Number P23-300-00002 which included a conceptual site plan. The administratively approved Site Plan was subsequently approved in February 2024 and was in substantial conformance with the City Council approved Use Permit. The originally approved Site Plan included one access point from MC-85, via a private road located on the adjacent industrial property to the west of the site. After the Site Plan was approved by the city, the developer of the convenience store was unable to obtain access from the private road, which required the approved site plan to be modified to include a new access point. Following the redesign of the site to accommodate new access, the proposed Site Plan is no longer in conformance with the previously approved Use Permit; therefore, a new Use Permit is requested to establish direct access to the convenience store and gas station from MC-85, via a new driveway to the Project site. If approved, the new Use Permit will also modify the layout of the store building, fuel pumps, landscaping, and traffic circulation within the Project site. More details about the proposal can be found in Attachment C - Project Narrative and Attachment D - Details of Request. STAFF ANALYSIS Current Policy: A convenience store with retail gasoline sales is a convenience use as defined in Section 2-2 of the Zoning Ordinance and requires a Use Permit in the C-2 district per Section 3-3-3-C-3. It is also subject to the convenience use standards in Section 4-2-2. A Use Permit requires review by the Planning and Zoning Commission and approval by the City Council following required public hearings. The process for the review of a Use Permit is set forth in Section 1-3-2 of the Goodyear Zoning Ordinance and in the City of Goodyear Administrative Process Manual. Summary of Use Permit Request: See Attachment D – Details of Request, Attachment E – Conceptual Site Plan, and Attachment F – Conceptual Building & Wall Elevations. Summary of Compliance with Use Permit Evaluation Criteria See Attachment G – Evaluation Criteria. Public Participation Since no residential uses are located within five hundred (500) feet of the Project, an Alternative Citizen Review process was conducted in lieu of a neighborhood meeting, as allowed per Article 1-3-8 of the Zoning Ordinance. Under this process, notifications were mailed to nine (9) addresses on June 3, 2026, including parcels within a 500-foot buffer of the Property and other interested parties. Notifications for the public hearing before Planning & Zoning Commission were mailed to the same address list on June 10, 2026. Additionally, signs were posted to the site on June 9, 2026; a legal advertisement was published in the Arizona Business Gazette- Republic Edition on June 12, 2026; and hearing details were posted to the Current Development Applications map on the city’s website on June 5, 2026. Staff Findings As outlined herein, staff finds that the proposed Use Permit request is not materially detrimental to persons residing or working in the vicinity adjacent to the Property, to the neighborhood, or to the public welfare, and that the proposed use is reasonably compatible with uses permitted in the surrounding area. Staff further finds the request for Use Permit will meet the additional evaluation criteria for convenience uses as established in Section 4-2-2 of the Zoning Ordinance. Attachments Attachment A - Conditions of Approval Attachment B - Aerial Photo Attachment C - Project Narrative Attachment D - Details of Request Attachment E - Conceptual Site Plan Attachment F - Conceptual Building & Wall Elevations Attachment G - Evaluation Criteria