Gateway plans focus on flexibility, creativity

Flexibility, creativity and non-rigid guidelines. Those were the key points hammered out as part of a presentation Thursday updating Mesa leaders about future planning documents that will guide development for a 32-square-mile area around the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport.

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In the latest proposed Mesa Gateway Strategic Development Plan, four key uses have been identified for the area - each of which specify the types of allowed uses for office, housing or retail development.

This kind of broad outline is a departure from the usual hard-zoning earmarked for different areas in the city. To that effect, Mesa is moving toward form-based zoning, which pins down building development on characteristics such as height rather than laying out a distinction between, say, a housing or office complex.

City Planning director John Wesley said this planning document would not just sit on a shelf someplace. Instead, it's a "living, breathing" document.

"It'll be out there in the public," Wesley said.

That means developers would need to be familiarized with the "goals and guidelines" for each area, he noted.

Mayor Scott Smith said for individual property owners this kind of planning marks a significant change in thinking. Rather than taking a property in consideration in a vacuum, he said, the approach would be to put each property in context of the overall district plan for that area.

City officials also acknowledged that starting off, the approval process for each individual parcel could be a challenge, given that the proposed development there would have to be kept in the context of the planned use.

The goal is not to dictate development, but set a stage, Smith said. He added that he wanted to balance the goals and objectives of the area, with property rights, which could be a challenge as the city and property owners deal with this new approach.

Among the outlined areas, an inner loop district northwest of the airport, will have largely employment-oriented buildings. The previous mayor, Keno Hawker, was opposed to the housing that's slated for the area. That's because the area falls under the airport flight path, which means there can be a high noise level, considered incompatible in residential areas.

Wesley said some housing is possible, if accompanied by strict guidelines to have developers use noise-deadening materials in construction. That means no single-family homes but high-rises instead.

To the east, a mixed-use community district is planned, which would include the General Motors Desert Proving Ground property near Elliot and Ellsworth roads. An airport and campus district that includes Arizona State University Polytechnic on the west side and a logistics and commerce district south of the airport. It will largely have warehouses and industrial development.

A version of the plan, which has been in the works for months, met strong opposition from landowners earlier this year when housing was kept off the proposed planning document in that inner loop district. Since then, the City Council has held joint meetings with the planning board to discuss the plan.

Mesa's goal for the area is to harness the economic advantage of having an airport in the mix as well as proximity to ASU Polytechnic to attract highly trained workers to the area and maintain a healthy jobs-to-housing balance.

Among the next steps before adoption of the plan is a public meeting, which is Tuesday. The planning and zoning board will vote on its recommendation Nov. 20 and the council is expected to vote on the plan Dec. 1.

If you go

What: Mesa Gateway Strategic Development Plan public meeting

When: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29

Where: Fire Station 217, 10434 E. Baseline Road

Info: Jodi Sorrell at (480) 644 5541 or jodi.sorrell@mesaaz.gov