By Mike Sunnucks | Rose Law Group Reporter
Lucid Motors planned $700 million electric car manufacturing plant took a huge step forward Thursday with site plan and conditional use permit approvals from the Casa Grande Planning and Zoning Commission.
The approval sets the stage for Lucid Motors to start construction on the first phase of the project by the end of the year.
Lucid, which has financial backing from Saudi Arabia and aims to compete with Elon Musk’s Tesla Motors, is building the plant on 496 acres owned by Pinal County.
The first phase of the project entails two buildings totaling 820,000 square feet along with support structures.
The project could create more than 3,200 permanent and construction jobs in Casa Grande.
Lucid and Casa Grande still need to finalize some public works and infrastructure details but that will be addressed when the California electric car maker submits for building permits.
Lucid Motors is requesting approval of a Major Site Plan to build a world-class luxury electric vehicle factory. The first phase of the project will include 2 buildings comprised of 820,000 sf and associated support structures for utilities, waste management, security, and storage. Future phases will expand all uses and add a Customer Experience Center.
Lucid motors is also requesting approval of a Conditional Use Permit for a special purpose fence as required by the City Code (17.52.180) to construct a 10 foot block. The City Code (17.52.170) allows for a fence/wall to have a maximum height of 6 feet when adjoining residentially zoned properties. Staff and the applicant wanted to provide a larger wall to mitigate any adverse effect on abutting residential properties.
