Attachment B - VPC Rec Form -PHO-3-20_Z-122-03-7.pdf

Village Planning Committee Meeting Summary 
PHO-3-20—Z-122-03-7 
Date of VPC Meeting 
August 10, 2020 
Planning Hearing Officer 
Hearing Date 
August 19, 2020 
Request  
1) Modification of Stipulation 1 regarding general
conformance with the site plan dated March 10,
2006;
2) Deletion of Stipulation 6 regarding landscaped
fingers;
3) Deletion of Stipulation 10 regarding equestrian
amenities;
4) Modification to Stipulation 13 regarding general
conformance to the elevations dated March 10,
2006 and specific design requirements;
5) Modification of Stipulation 20 regarding
presentation of final landscape plan to Laveen
Village for review;
6) Modification of Stipulation 23 regarding general
conformance to sign designs dated April 28,
2004;
7) Technical corrections to Stipulations 3, 4, 5, 11,
12, and 16.
Location 
Approximately 430 feet west of the northwest corner of 
51st Avenue and Southern Avenue 
VPC Recommendation 
Denied as filed, approved with modifications and 
additional stipulations 
VPC Vote 
8-0 
VPC DISCUSSION & RECOMMENDED STIPULATIONS:
Ms. Sofia Mastikhina, staff, provided a brief overview of the request, noting the 
location of the project, describing its surrounding areas, and presented the requested 
modifications to stipulations of entitlement as well as the proposed site plan and 
elevations. 
Mr. Mike March, the architect for this project, presented an aerial view of the overall 
corner of 51st Avenue and Southern Avenue, pointing out where the Hitching Post 
commercial development is slated to the built, just west of the subject site. He noted 
Attachment B

that the vacant land on the immediate corner will remain vacant and is not a part of their 
proposal. He explained that the approximately nine-acre remainder of the site is where 
they plan on developing a ninety-unit multifamily residential community, which is less 
than the density that the underlying zoning district allows by right. He stated that this 
plan was presented to the Laveen Citizens for Responsible Development (LCRD) and 
that it has since been refined to address concerns brought up by residents. He 
presented a colored site plan of the proposed project, noting that although there will be 
a single point of entry to the property from Southern Avenue, there will be separate 
gates for vehicles entering and exiting the site. He outlined the shared amenities on the 
site, which include a pool area, shaded pavilion, fire pit, and dog park, and explained 
that the intent of this project is to provide an environment more akin to a single-family 
development, where each unit has its own private back yard. He then presented 
conceptual renderings of the project, highlighting the modern design of the units, the 
inclusion of accent post-fencing along the streetscape, and the enhanced landscaping 
which will help screen the two-story units from the public street. He noted that the 
developer has also committed to adding eight additional fifty-eight-inch box trees along 
Southern Avenue, which will provide even more privacy for the units. He addressed the 
eastern edge of the property where the project abuts the Hitching Post commercial 
development, showing a proposed view fence along the perimeter property line to 
provide more openness and pedestrian scale between the two developments. 
 
Ms. Cinthia Estela asked how the Fire Department will be able to access the 
development in the event of an emergency, and if the applicant has developed this plan 
in any other communities other than Laveen. Mr. March replied that a fire truck would 
access the site through the main gated entry. He added that this development has gone 
through a pre-application process with the city, which included a review by the Fire 
Department, which did not have any issues with the proposed layout and access points 
of the site. He also replied that this exact plan is unique to Laveen, but that they have a 
similar design being proposed in north Phoenix. Additionally, the developer has several 
projects in other communities around the valley, including Scottsdale. Ms. Estela asked 
what the unit sizes will be. Mr. March replied that the single-story units are 
approximately 1,000 square feet, while the two-story units range up to 1,400 square 
feet. 
 
Ms. Jennifer Rouse pointed out that the communities to the north and west of the site 
were planned to connect to any future development on this site. She stated that, since 
this site will be walled off and gated, the inner streets will be private, which beg the 
question of how this will impact lighting standards and speed regulation within the 
development. Mr. March stated that part of the design process will be to produce a 
photometric lighting plan that addressed adequate lighting throughout the site. Ms. 
Rouse asked if there will be any direct pedestrian access to the commercial 
development to the east, or if residents will have to walk out onto Southern Avenue to 
get there. Mr. March replied that the area along the eastern property line that contains 
the view fencing will also have pedestrian access points for residents to access the 
Hitching Post. Additionally, there will be a fifteen-foot-wide landscape area along the 
northeastern edge of the property which will connect pedestrians back to the residential

development to the north on 51st Lane. Ms. Rouse asked what the proposed density 
will be, and what percentage of the development will be dedicated to park space. Mr. 
March replied that the proposed density is about ten units per acre, whereas the zoning 
allows up to fifteen units per acre. The development will have approximately twenty 
thousand square feet of open space, which is seven percent of the total area. 
 
Mr. Carlos Ortega stated that there is very little open space being provided for the 
community, and asked if, given the layout of this community, it would be possible to 
provide minimum 22-foot driveways for all units. Mr. March replied that the facades of 
the units have been staggered, and that the driveways lengths vary from 18 to 26 feet. 
Mr. Ortega asked if an additional vehicular access point can be built to connect to the 
residential development to the north for emergency purposes. Mr. March explained that 
the Fire Department did not express a need for an additional access point, and that the 
LCRD had suggested maintaining pedestrian-only access to the neighboring residential 
communities to reduce vehicular cut-through traffic. 
 
Mr. Gary Flunoy asked what the price for the units will be, praised the presentation, 
and expressed his hope that the community will be well-maintained. Mr. March replied 
that this will be a rental community and, as such, ownership will be able to maintain it. 
 
Ms. Linda Abegg stated that the proposed amount of open space is the bare minimum, 
and that developments in Laveen are usually stipulated to a minimum of twenty percent 
of open space, with ten percent of that being improved. Mr. March replied that 
increasing the amount of public open space areas will require the removal of the 
individual private back yards, which would greatly diminish the quality of the project. Ms. 
Abegg addressed the entry gate, stating that its location along a major arterial street 
warrants it being pushed back as far back from the street as possible to prevent cars 
stacking all the way to the street, waiting to enter the community. She also asked if 
there will be a deceleration lane. Mr. March stated that the current configurations allows 
a stacking length of four cars, and that the city did not want a deceleration lane at this 
location. Ms. Abegg stated that speed mitigation features should be incorporated to 
help reduce any possibility of speeding through the community, that all elevations 
should incorporate a minimum of three building materials other than stucco, and that all 
street-facing sides should have additional architectural embellishments. She explained 
that the main area of concern is typically on side elevations of buildings which are 
usually the blandest, especially if they’re at the end of a row and face a street or public 
space, which leads to a very unappealing façade. She then praised the addition of more 
trees along Southern Avenue and suggested that they be included in a stipulation to 
ensure that they actually get planted and that the overall final landscape plan come 
back to the Committee for review prior to final site plan approval. Further, the trees 
along the street should be planted before the development gets built to ensure an 
attractive streetscape, street trees should be minimum 3-inch caliper, and the trees 
along the other property lines should be minimum 2-inch caliper. She also addressed 
the request to delete the stipulation regarding the site plan, expressing her concern over 
removing any requirement to come back through a legislative process for approval since 
no sign plan is currently being proposed.

Vice Chair Tonya Glass agreed with the concerns voiced by all the other committee 
members, especially regarding the density and lack of open space, and added that the 
renderings presented are inconsistent with what was included in the application 
package. She stated that all driveways should be a minimum of 22 feet in depth, and 
that the architecture requires additional styling. Mr. March addressed the Vice Chair’s 
comment regarding the architecture and explained that a lot of thought went into 
creating a multifamily development that looks to have a more single-family residential 
scale and feel, so that the division between units is more apparent than in a typical 
apartment development. He also explained that the application was filed prior to any 
community outreach, so the renderings that were presented were the result of modifying 
the elevations based on comments and concerns voiced by the community and the 
LCRD. 
 
Chairman Branscomb presented the applicant’s website to the committee and asked 
which of the projects listed on the website is closest in concept to what is being 
proposed in Laveen. Mr. March pointed to the “Northern Residences” project, which is 
planned to be developed in the north Phoenix area. Chairman Branscomb asked if the 
Northern Residences are similar to what will be built in Laveen. Mr. March replied that 
the Laveen development has a different architectural style, and that the north Phoenix 
project is comprised of single-family residences while the Laveen one is multifamily. 
They are most similar in the layout of the motorcourts and amenity area. Further, the 
architecture of the Laveen project was developed to reflect the agricultural heritage of 
the area, incorporating a modern farmhouse style throughout.  
 
Public comment 
 
Mr. Phil Hertel stated that the LCRD met with the applicant several times to discuss 
this project. Regarding the deceleration lane, the city had stated that it would not be 
possible to place on at the entrance of this development due to the close proximity to 
the adjacent commercial property’s driveway. He listed the concerns that were brought 
up at the LCRD, which include the small side yard setbacks, the density, and the interior 
architectural elevations. He stated that the applicant has since then dressed up the 
elevations and the LCRD approved this request with the following stipulations: 
1. Approve the site plan and elevations with specific regard to the location of the 
single-story units and the perimeter building elevations’ design features; 
2. Retain Stipulation No. 20 and require that landscape, lighting, and sign plans 
come back for review and comment prior to final site plan approval; 
3. Southern Avenue landscaping shall blend with current landscaping to the 
west; 
4. Perimeter tree sizes shall consist of an equal mixture of 24-, 36-, and 48-inch 
box trees; 
5. Trees shall be added to both sides of the main driveway; 
6. Maximum 90 units and density of no more than 10 dwelling units per acre; 
7. Minimum 20-foot driveways.

He asked that the Committee consider the LCRD’s support and comments in making a 
decision and a motion for this case.  
 
Mr. March stated that he is happy to continue working with the Committee and with 
members of the public on the design of this community as the project goes through the 
Site Planning approval process. 
 
Ms. Abegg asked what set of elevations or renderings the Committee should reference, 
as the design has changed considerably since the first submittal, yet there is no new 
date stamped set of plans. Mr. March explained the changes made to the elevations 
since the first submittal, which include lower, pedestrian-scale balconies, overhangs, 
and more single-story units – features that are shown in the renderings presented. Ms. 
Mastikhina explained that the Committee should not stipulate to the renderings 
presented as they are not architectural elevations, but that they can point to specific 
design features from the renderings that they would like to see incorporated into the 
elevations. 
 
 
MOTION & DISCUSSION 
Ms. Abegg made a motion to deny the request as filed and approve it with 
modifications and additional stipulations. Mr. Ortega seconded the motion. 
 
VOTE 
8-0 Motion passed, with committee members Abegg, Estela, Flunoy, Hurd, Ortega, 
Rouse, Glass, and Branscomb in favor. 
 
STAFF COMMENTS REGARDING VPC RECOMMENDATION & STIPULATIONS: 
 
The Committee approved the deletion of Stipulations No. 6 and 10, and approved the 
following stipulations with modifications: 
 
Modified Stipulations: 
 
1. That the development shall be in general conformance with the site plan dated 
March 10, 2006 JUNE 19, 2020, as approved or modified by the PLANNING 
AND Development Services Department, with specific regard to size, location 
and number of pad buildings A MAXIMUM OF 90 UNITS OR TEN DWELLING 
UNITS PER ACRE, AND AS MODIFIED BY THE FOLLOWING STIPULATIONS: 
a. A MINIMUM OF 20 PERCENT OPEN SPACE (10 PERCENT 
IMPROVED, 10 PERCENT GENERAL) SHALL BE PROVIDED; 
b. THE ENTRY GATE SHALL BE LOCATED FARTHER BACK FROM 
SOUTHERN AVENUE; 
c. A DECELERATION LANE SHALL BE INCLUDED, AS APPROVED BY 
THE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT AND STREET 
TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT;

d. INDIVIDUAL UNIT DRIVEWAYS SHALL BE A MINIMUM OF 22 FEET IN 
DEPTH; 
e. SPEED MITIGATION TO BE INCORPORATED ALONG THE MAIN 
DRIVE OF THE DEVELOPMENT. 
 
Staff comment: The Committee did not specify the distance that they’d like the entry 
gates to be from Southern Avenue but expressed that they would like to see it pushed 
farther north as much as possible. Further, they suggested speed bumps for speed 
mitigation along the main drive of the development. 
 
13. That the major buildings on site shall be in general conformance to the 
conceptual elevations (Exhibits 4-6, dated March 10, 2006,) DATED JUNE 26, 
2020, including the following elements, all as approved or modified by the 
Development Services Department:  
 
Four-sided architecture, per the conceptual elevations.  A variety of building 
materials, including a minimum of two (2) THREE (3) of the following materials: 
native stone, burnt adobe, textured brick, site made textured concrete, split face 
block, wood (wen sanded), slump block, simulated wood siding, exposed 
aggregate, corrugated metal or rusted metal roofing, STUCCO, 
ARCHITECTURAL ASPHALT SHINGLES, STONE VENEER, SIMULATED 
STONE FLAT TILE ROOFING.  
• Natural and subdued color tones 
• Exposed scuppers 
• Pitched roof elements 
 
A minimum ten-foot covered walkway which can create a staggered front façade. 
Patios, trellises and recesses may also be used to provide shading and break up 
building mass. 
 
THE FOLLOWING ELEMENTS FROM THE RENDERINGS PRESENTED TO 
THE LAVEEN VILLAGE PLANNING COMMITTEE ON AUGUST 10, 2020 
SHALL BE INCORPORATED INTO THE ELEVATION DESIGN: 
A. BALCONIES AND PEDESTRIAN SCALE ELEMENTS IN REAR 
ELEVATIONS; 
B. VARIATION IN SECOND FLOOR ROOFLINES; 
C. OVERHANGS. 
 
 
20. That the developer presents a final landscape plan to the Laveen Village for 
review. THAT THE DEVELOPER PRESENT THE FINAL LANDSCAPE PLAN 
TO THE LAVEEN VILLAGE PLANNING COMMITTEE THROUGH THE 
PLANNING HEARING OFFICER PROCESS, WITH SPECIFIC REGARD TO 
THE FOLLOWING: 
A. EIGHT (8) ADDITIONAL BOX TREES ALONG SOUTHERN AVENUE;

B. THE LANDSCAPE SETBACK ALONG SOUTHERN AVENUE SHALL 
CONTAIN MINIMUM 50 PERCENT 3-INCH CALIPER TREES THAT 
WILL BLEND WITH THE DEVELOPMENT TO THE WEST; 
C. THE LANDSCAPE SETBACK ALONG THE EASTERN PROPERTY LINE 
SHALL BE PLANTED WITH MINIMUM 2-INCH CALIPER TREES. 
 
Staff comment: None. 
 
The Committee denied the requested modification to Stipulation No. 23 and approved 
the following: 
 
23.  That the signage on the property shall be in general conformance to the 
conceptual designs (three sheets dated April 28, 2004) including the following 
elements as approved or modified by the Development Services Department:  
 
Ground/monument signs shall incorporate the materials and colors used for the 
major buildings on site. 
  
Size and height of ground/monument signs shall not exceed those indicated in 
the above referenced conceptual designs.  
 
In conformance to the Phoenix Sign Code, one additional ground sign is allowed 
on each street frontage to identify the user(s) of the pad building at the 
immediate corner of the intersection of 51s t and Southern Avenues. Wall signs 
shall use individual, halo illuminated letters and numbers. 
 
A DETAILED SIGN PACKAGE, LIGHTING PLAN, AND PERIMETER FENCE 
PLAN SHALL BE APPROVED BY THE PLANNING HEARING OFFICER 
THROUGH THE PUBLIC HEARING PROCESS AND SHALL BE PRESENTED 
TO THE LAVEEN VILLAGE PLANNING COMMITTEE FOR A VOTE. 
 
THE PERIMETER FENCE PLAN SHALL PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO 
MATERIAL AND TEXTURAL DIFFERENCES, SUCH AS STUCCO AND/OR 
SPLIT FACE BLOCK WITH A DECORATIVE ELEMENT, SUCH AS TILE, TILE 
INSETS, OR STAMPED DESIGNS, AS APPROVED BY THE PLANNING AND 
DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT. 
 
Additional Stipulations: 
 
25. ALL ELEVATIONS OF THE BUILDINGS SHALL CONTAIN A MINIMUM OF 
THREE (3) OF THE FOLLOWING ARCHITECTURAL EMBELLISHMENTS AND 
DETAILING ON EVERY STREET FACING SIDE: TEXTURAL CHANGES, 
PILASTERS, OFFSETS, RECESSES, VARIATION IN WINDOW SIZE AND 
LOCATION, AND OVERHANG CANOPIES, AS APPROVED BY THE 
PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.

26. ALL GARAGE DOORS SHALL HAVE DECORATIVE EMBELLISHMENTS 
SUCH AS WINDOW PANELS, ADDED MATERIALS SURROUNDING THE 
DOOR, OR TRELLISES, AS APPROVED BY THE PLANNING AND 
DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT. 
27. ALL REQUIRED TREES ALONG SOUTHERN AVENUE SHALL BE PLANTED 
PRIOR TO ISSUANCE OF A CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY.