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Posted Apr 21, 2020, 10:21 PM
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Mesa will annex dairy farms and county land for Hawes Crossing development
Better info on the AZ Central article
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news...nt/4835516002/
Quote:
Mesa will annex dairy farms and county land to make way for a planned mixed-use project called Hawes Crossing in the southeast corner of the city.
After four years, numerous studies and dozens of plan iterations, the City Council voted Monday to approve Hawes Crossing — but not without significant debate.
Council members faced the option to annex the land and rezone more than 1,200 acres for redevelopment or stick with the status quo, in which case the dairies would likely try to expand to stay financially viable.
The council voted 6-1 to approve the Hawes Crossing annexation, rezoning and redevelopment plans. Kevin Thompson, whose district covers this area, cast the lone "no" vote.
Approval means Mesa will annex nearly 1,000 acres of what is currently Maricopa County land. The plan is for the dairy farm families and the state land department to then sell their properties to a developer to build the massive, master-planned Hawes Crossing.
Jim Boyle Jr., the lead dairy farmer, praised the plan. "We should all be proud of it as landowners and I think the city of Mesa should be proud to have worked with us to create something that I think is going to have a really long-lasting legacy," he said.
‘A very controversial vote’
Hawes Crossing has stirred strong opinions since it was first presented in March 2016.
The dairy farmers want to sell their land to move to more rural areas or retire. After locating to Mesa in the 1970s, they say their equipment is aging and they need to invest in upgrades and more cows or rezone their land to sell and move.
Many homeowners who live near the dairies supported the change. They said, in emails and comments, that they're tired of the smells and flies and eager to have more employment and activity in the neighborhood.
But other neighbors worry about building more homes instead of just commercial, employment and entertainment options.
Mesa's Economic Development Advisory Board and the Mesa Chamber of Commerce opposed the project because of concerns about residential growth near Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport and in a corridor flagged for employment, industrial and commercial growth.
But airport officials have maintained the development does not contradict their plans.
“Barbecues and jet fields don’t mix,” Thompson previously told The Arizona Republic.
Thompson said housing encroachment ultimately will hurt the airport, one of Mesa’s biggest assets, as future residents will complain about flights over their homes. The project falls within the Elliot Road Technology Corridor, which the city has sought to develop as a tech-focused jobs hub.
“It’ll be a very controversial vote,” Councilman David Luna said beforehand. He said he weighed economic development, concerns about the employment corridor, access to power, airport encroachment and residents' feedback.
The city received more than 125 "blue cards" in advance of the council vote, where Mesa residents recorded their support or opposition to the development. Support far outweighed opposition with 102 residents submitting comments or registering their support of the project and 25 opposed.
The council vote initially was scheduled for late February but was postponed so that Jordan Rose, the attorney representing the dairy farms, had more time to get all 52 parties to sign off on the development agreement. She said she thinks the development involves the most parties of any in Arizona history, with collaboration from 17 family landowners, 52 individual stakeholders and the state land department.
‘The definition of opportunity’
Supporters view Hawes Crossing as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to do something great with the land, and a chance for the dairies to sell and move on.
Rose called the council vote "historic."
All of the county land, currently home to dairy farms and junk storage, will now be city land for economic development activity, she said. "This is the definition of opportunity for Mesa."
The plan went through 29 iterations to appease as many concerns as possible, Rose said, and the stakeholders remained committed and involved throughout.
"I doubt there have been any other development projects in state history where 52 property owners stayed together, listened to the community and changed land-use plans to allow for airport and community support," she said.
Three recent tweaks reflect feedback from the Planning and Zoning Board and Thompson. They include:
- No houses will be allowed within 200 feet of Elliot Road (except for apartment buildings with living higher than the first floor) to provide only commercial frontage to the corridor.
- An easement for utility and power.
- More airport disclosures for future residents via street signs within the development and in homeowner documents and leasing offices.
'Merely paperbacks instead of really great novels'
Not all were satisfied. The main concern remained the airport just two miles away.
"I still have an ominous worry about the whole thing," said Tim Boyle, a Planning and Zoning Board member, explaining that adding more houses inevitably will impact the airport's growth. He worries Mesa isn't thinking big enough or far enough into the future.
"This could be the second Sky Harbor. Are we thinking of the city in those terms? Are we thinking of Mesa being similar in prestige to Phoenix in 50 years?" he questioned.
Rose said the plans provide for an "unprecedented amount of disclosure" to protect the airport.
Mayor John Giles said the airport is adequately protected and that it would not be good city planning to prohibit housing on a swath of more than 1,000 acres. Giles "enthusiastically supported" the case.
Thompson said one of his main responsibilities on the council is to protect the biggest asset in his district — and one of the city and region's biggest assets: Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport.
"I see nothing but complaints being created," he said.
Thompson described parents grilling in the backyard with their children in the pool when suddenly a huge aircraft is 1,000 feet above their heads. As time goes on, they'll complain and the airport may have to limit its carriers, flight paths or flight times. He wished the area could be all jobs and no homes.
With an Apple facility at one end of the Elliot Road Technology Corridor and Google set to open down the road, Thompson said the entire corridor could have been fully tech-oriented and a "thriving employment corridor" with manufacturing, hotels, restaurants and entertainment. He envisioned a jobs hub with people commuting to Mesa to work there.
"Mayor, in your State of the City (address), you touted the fact that Elliot Road was now 'bookended' with Apple and Google. So why now would we want the books in between to be merely paperbacks instead of really great novels?" Thompson said during Monday's public hearing.
Project partners donated to council
The Republic's review of campaign finance reports shows that key players in the Hawes Crossing project contributed to several council members' reelection campaigns when the development was under consideration in 2018 and 2019.
Three dairy farmers contributed a total of $2,250 to Luna's 2018 campaign.
Rose gave council members Luna, Thompson, Jen Duff and Mark Freeman a combined $3,050 in 2018 and 2019, according to campaign finance reports.
Councilman Jeremy Whittaker, who has criticized developer campaign donations in the past, said this showed the project would easily pass. "They've paid off the whole council," he told The Republic before the vote.
Rose, in response to The Republic's query, said her donations were unrelated to the project. "You can look at any city in the state and you'll see I'm very supportive of council members throughout the state and have been for 20 years," she said.
Luna and Thompson told The Republic that campaign contributions do not sway their votes. Both said many see donating as a way to guarantee access to council members.
Luna said people for and against the project have donated to his campaign and it doesn't impact his vote. "I'm listening to them as well, I want to make sure I make the right decision," he said.
"I think it's bad all the way around if you allow campaign donations to start influencing your votes," Thompson said, adding that he hopes that's not the case in Mesa.
What will Hawes Crossing look like?
The development eventually will sit west of Ellsworth Road from the north side of Elliot Road to the south of Warner Road. Rose has said it'll be "Mesa's first true mixed-use master plan."
Plans for Hawes Crossing allow for the following land uses:
- 493 acres for residential use.
- 389 acres for employment use.
- 204 acres for mixed-use.
- 183 acres for commercial use.
- 8 acres for offices.
The council-approved zoning changes allow for residential in an area that was zoned for light industrial, agriculture and mixed-use.
Early plans in 2016 called for 83% residential and 17% nonresidential. In response to concerns, it was eventually lowered to the current ratio of approximately 44% residential and 56% nonresidential or employment, Rose said.
City planners have said the project will provide more than 12,000 housing units and more than 55,000 jobs, a jobs to housing ratio supporters say will benefit the area.
The land falls within one of Mesa’s opportunity zones, meaning investors and builders could obtain significant tax breaks for investing in the project.
The next step is for the property owners to accept bids from developers, commercial, industrial and home builders interested in purchasing the land and building Hawes Crossing. The developers would have to comply with the approved zoning plan.
Sketches of the development show a theme of “milk and metal” to pay tribute to the land’s dairy history. The color scheme would be largely white with steel and aluminum features.
Plans depict templates for office buildings, stores, industrial buildings and mixed-use structures with shops on the bottom and apartments above. The development calls for open space, parks and trails.
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