Petition to Stop the Amendment to the Vistancia Planned Community District’s 442 Acres known as Five North 

The Proposed Amendment

In 2001, 7,100 acres known as Vistancia was rezoned to a Planned Community District (PCD), which approved customized land uses and development standards for the entire master planned community.  Approximately 442 acres of this PCD, which borders Lone Mountain Road and El Mirage Road is called the “Commercial Core” and “Five North”.

Currently the Five North area is zoned for two potential golf courses within the land north of the Central Arizona Project (CAP) area as part of its “environmentally sensitive community building practices”.  It is also zoned to include 400 multi-family units. In addition, the overall maximum number of dwelling units for the Vistancia PCD is set at 10,500.

The applicant has proposed a major amendment (Rezoning (Z01-10A, 16) to the Vistancia PCD which consists of the following requests:

• Remove the above mentioned two potential golf courses, which are reserved within the community for future development 
• Increase the overall maximum dwelling units from 10,500 to 12,000, and allocating these additional units to the “Five North” area.
• Increase the number of multi-family units already allowed within the Five North area by 1,500 units. (i.e., from 400 units to 1,900 units).  

The representative for the applicant is:
Kurt Jones
Tiffany & Bosco P.A.
Camelback Esplanade II, Seventh Floor
2525 E. Camelback Road, Phoenix
602-452-2729, 
kajones@tblaw.com

Our Petition

We, the undersigned, vehemently oppose this proposed amendment to rezone the Vistancia PCD. 

We respectfully request that the City of Peoria not agree to the proposed amendment to the Vistancia PCD and the area of Five North.  

We believe that the City of Peoria Planning & Zoning Commission and Common Council should continue to limit the use of the Vistancia PCD and the Five North area to its current use.  Doing so, preserves the intended use of the property as per the original zoning and the Vistancia PCD and better aligns it with the Vistancia neighborhoods while also remaining committed to orderly development and maintaining a high quality of life in Peoria and Vistancia.  Adding to the density and the number of apartments will take away from the community feel of Vistancia and will have a negative impact on existing home owners.  Developers of higher end homes would shy away from the area if massive muti-family apartment projects are allowed.

This amendment is in direct opposition to the Vistancia PCD which assures that homes will increase in value due, in part, to the requirements of the various HOAs that they be well maintained.

Should the City of Peoria approve the proposed amendment and rezoning, it will have a negative impact on homes, schools and businesses within the area.  It will lead to lack of water, crowded public parks, recreational sites and schools.  It will lead to more crime and congested traffic.  There is currently no public transportation in the area to support another 1,500 multi-family units or the 400 units that have already been approved.

Large apartment buildings impact the privacy, noise and overall quality of life of residential and commercial properties near them.  The Five North area already is approved for 400 multi-family units.  Another 1,500 apartments would have an adverse impact on the streets, intersections and roadways, leading to more accidents and travel on side roads.

This project would also detract from the suburban character of Vistancia, which is one that many people seek out when looking to purchase a home in the area, and increase noise and light pollution. 

There needs to be sensitivity to surrounding neighborhoods and other Vistancia residents when development occurs. The current proposal is not in line with this requirement.  The people who live in Vistancia must have a voice in what happens to this area since it affects community, lifestyle, traffic flow and property values. Developers who do NOT live in the area should not have the definitive say or sway in what happens.

There are currently only two golf courses in Vistancia, Blackstone Country Club and Trilogy.  Blackstone is a private club that serves a very limited number of citizens.  Trilogy, which is a public-private club, already gets a lot of use.  There are not enough golf courses to serve the Vistancia community and another two would be welcome and needed. This amendment would eliminate the possibility for these additional golf courses. 

We hope that the City of Peoria Planning & Zoning Commission and the Common Council will agree with our petition and help preserve Vistancia and ensure that its citizens continue to live a high-quality of life within the great City or Peoria. 

We respectfully request that the City of Peoria not agree to the proposed amendment to the Vistancia PCD and the area of Five North.