By Melissa St. Aude | Casa Grande Dispatch
With plans for PhoenixMart moving forward, some developers are positioning themselves for the anticipated growth spurt the wholesale sourcing center could bring.
The Casa Grande Planning and Zoning Commission on Thursday gave a favorable recommendation to a major general plan amendment request to change the land use for 175 acres south of Kortsen Road and east of Interstate 10.
Although a final development plan for the area hasn’t been submitted to the city, the general plan change, if approved by the City Council, allows for greater flexibility for land uses as the area grows and expands.
“This project lies in a regionally significant growth and commerce corridor — with the recently completed widening of the interstate, the new interchange planned for Kortsen, the progressing development of PhoenixMart and the success of the Casa Grande Promenade, the corridor’s prominence is expanding,” a report from Rose Law Group and Walton International Group said.
In 2005, the property was approved as the proposed Casa Grande Regional Shopping Center project, establishing the framework for commercial and residential uses. That development never occurred and in 2011, the land was acquired by Walton International Group along with 46.8 acres to the west of the interstate. Future plans call for unifying both sides of the highway with a cohesive development project.
A planned new interstate exit at Kortsen Road could bring increased traffic and commerce to that area, according to the report.
“Kortsen will carry significant traffic counts, thereby making the intersection of Kortsen and Mission Parkway … positioned for commercial and office development and to serve as the main entry point to the Casa Grande Commons project,” the report said.
Also approved by the commission Thursday was a request for a major general plan amendment by United Engineering Group to change land use from commerce and business to neighborhoods for 27 acres south of McCartney Road and west of Interstate 10.
A proposal to add a section to the city’s general plan addressing aggregate resources also was approved by the commission. The proposed amendment brings the city into compliance with a state law that went into effect last year.
Municipalities must identify aggregate resources and protect them from encroachment by potentially incompatible land uses. Cities are required to establish policies regarding aggregates and address that in the general plan. Aggregate materials are crushed rock or stone, decomposed granite, gravel, pumice and sand, which are generally used in construction, said city Senior Planner Leila DeMaree.
Aggregates are generally found in washes and riverbeds, bedrock, floodplains and near mountain fronts.
In Casa Grande, there are an estimated 38,485 acres of potential aggregate mine sites, according to staff reports.
Of the aggregates believed to be in Casa Grande, 27 percent are in areas zoned for neighborhoods. Another 23 percent are found in rural land use areas and 29 percent are found on land zoned for agriculture.
The proposed amendments to the plan are now forwarded to the City Council for action.
