Buckeye Planning Commission unanimously approves 130,000 sq ft storage facility and 394-unit mixed-use complex

Buckeye Planning Commission Approves Two Major Verrado Corridor Projects; Emphasizes Urban Walkability Over Suburban Sprawl

The Buckeye Planning & Zoning Commission unanimously approved two significant developments on October 23, 2024, reshaping the Verrado/Landing corridor with a 130,000-square-foot Class A storage facility and a 394-unit mixed-use apartment-and-retail project. The approvals came during a meeting that also saw the election of Vice Chair Burton to the chair position, elevating the night's administrative tone with an emphasis on cohesive urban vision.

The twin approvals spotlight an emerging philosophical divide in Buckeye's commercial development: a departure from conventionally scattered, auto-dependent retail toward concentrated, pedestrian-oriented neighborhoods. The Mixon Roosevelt rezoning in particular imposed architectural and use-based restrictions—minimum 30-foot commercial building heights, elimination of gas stations and self-storage as permitted uses, and mandatory internal pedestrian connectivity—that staff characterized as "baby steps" toward urban density rivaling established regional centers.

Key Speeches

"We are very selective about our sites and the City of Buckeye and this site checks all boxes from a population growth standpoint being one of the fastest growing cities in the country as well as a lack of supply of Class A uh storage units." — Wells Stanwick, PSC Buckeye

"We will have a dumpster and we'll have an internal dumpster so that if you know our patrons wanted to come into the building and dispose their trash they could." — Wells Stanwick, PSC Buckeye

"The uses actually didn't talk about them um but we do eliminate a handful of uses in this a proposed pad or at least heavily restrict them Auto oriented uses auto repair car washes um gas stations not permitted within this pad." — Staff Planner Ken

"I don't think there's a lot of demand for that type of product yet in the valley um outside of very you know very established areas we'll get there eventually I think I hope um but you just don't see it happening all that often." — Staff Planner Ken, on vertical mixed-use development

Timeline

Storage and Retail Site Plan (PLZSP-D23-000034)

• Applicant presentation: Wells Stanwick of PSC Buckeye, joined by engineering team Ron Crump and Ken Harrell of Continuo Group, presented the 130,000-square-foot Class A climate-controlled self-storage facility with future commercial retail out-parcels at the southeast corner of Yuma Road and Verrado Way. Emphasized low-impact operations (two employees, 6 a.m.–10 p.m. patron access, internal trash management), Class A construction quality, and minimal traffic generation relative to other commercial uses.
• Staff recommendation: Andrea Marquez, senior planner, reported no public opposition. Staff recommended approval subject to conditions A–Z, noting compliance with code landscaping requirements (20% minimum for commercial), 25-foot and 30-foot landscape setbacks, and architectural review ensuring mixed materials (stucco, lap siding, aluminum, glass) across four elevations.
• Public comment: Zero speakers; no opposition received.
• Council discussion: Commissioner Belile questioned landscaping concentration on the north side and parking access logic for doors distributed throughout the building. Stanwick clarified main access flows through elevators at centralized entry points; fire department will approve final elevator and staircase configuration during building permit. Commissioner Cupak raised similar access concerns. Commissioner Ragdale noted right-in/right-out restrictions were city-mandated for arterial safety and consistent with future median construction. Commissioner Damasio asked about separation between facility and adjacent school; staff confirmed 30-foot landscape buffer plus additional buffering on school property. Commissioner Best inquired about landscape coverage on the east side facing Desert Hill Baptist Church; staff noted no residential buffer requirement applies between two commercial-zoned parcels and referenced the adjacent church's own landscape treatment. Commissioner Triano expressed skepticism about internal-only trash management, noting exterior enclosures attract unpermitted dumping. Stanwick committed to interior dumpster placement with regular hauling service and exterior site maintenance to prevent trash accumulation.
• Vote: Unanimous approval.

Mixon Roosevelt Rezoning to Planned Area Development (PLZZ-23-0018)

• Applicant presentation: Carol and Overholtzer of Bergen Frank's made themselves available for questions but declined a formal presentation, deferring to staff.
• Staff recommendation: Ken presented a comprehensive rezoning from Planned Residential (an "obsolete zone district" allowing only single-family homes) to Planned Area Development, enabling a 394-unit apartment complex (22.7 dwelling units per acre) and specialty grocery-anchored commercial center. Staff emphasized the project's alignment with the Landing Specific Area Plan vision for "higher intensity, higher density residential, commercial and office types of uses" and detailed design modifications including 8-foot setbacks from Roosevelt, Verrado, and Filmore streets; minimum 30-foot commercial building heights; maximum 80-foot residential height; elimination of the code-mandated 50-foot two-story "street-facing" requirement; doubled landscaping (20% vs. 10%); and strict use restrictions prohibiting gas stations (except grocery-integrated), pawn shops, car washes, auto repair, and self-storage facilities.
• Public comment: Zero speakers. A neighborhood meeting was held with minimal attendance (staff, applicant, council member Craig Heustis). Elementary and high school districts notified; Liberty Elementary anticipates adequate capacity; developer negotiating a donation agreement with the high school district.
• Council discussion: Commissioner Cupak questioned the 30-foot minimum commercial building height, noting "there's no residential component above that so it's just straight commercial—is there truly a need for the commercial to be that tall?" Ken acknowledged it was "a desire" for "vertical feel" to distinguish the Landing from "more traditional Suburban commercial areas" rather than a functional requirement. Cupak then asked whether the residential and commercial were developed by the same entity; Ken confirmed they are "two separate entities," prompting Cupak to wonder "why we're not doing horizontal or vertical mixed use instead." Ken explained limited market demand outside established areas and expressed hope the valley would eventually embrace such product. Cupak remained concerned about height-related resident objections to view impacts. Ken reiterated no existing residential in close proximity, positioning the height as primarily architectural. No other commissioners raised objections.
• Vote: Unanimous approval, with conditions as stated in a memorandum dated October 21, 2024 (technical clarifications to conditions language).

Opposition

• Number of speakers: 0
• Main concerns: None formally raised; however, Commissioner Cupak's questions during the Mixon Roosevelt discussion surfaced an implicit concern:
  1. Necessity of 30-foot minimum commercial heights absent vertical mixed-use (residential above commercial) development
  2. Resident concern regarding building heights and view impacts
  3. Market demand uncertainty for multi-family apartment product in suburban Buckeye
  4. Architectural justification for height when functional density gains are absent
• Most compelling arguments: Cupak's observation that staff was prioritizing aesthetic/urban-design objectives (vertical form, Landing district distinctiveness) over demand-driven development, a tension that staff acknowledged but framed as aspirational city-building.
• Organized groups: None identified.

Support

Staff and the applicants received no formal public support during the hearing, though the unanimous votes and lack of public opposition suggest tacit acceptance. Commissioner Belile praised the storage project as "a beautiful building" and acknowledged the applicant's night-sky ordinance compliance. Commissioner Ragdale described the Mixon Roosevelt presentation as "very nice" and noted enthusiasm for its pedestrian orientation and walkability design.

Project Details

Storage and Retail Development (PLZSP-D23-000034)

• Case number: PLZSP-D23-000034
• Applicant / developer: PSC Buckeye LLC (property owner and developer); Wells Stanwick (PSC Buckeye)
• Engineering team: Ron Crump and Ken Harrell, Continuo Group
• Location / address: Southeast corner of Yuma Road and Verrado Way, Buckeye
• Current zoning: Commercial
• General plan: Neighborhood
• Acreage: Approximately 5 acres
• Proposed use: 130,000-square-foot four-story indoor climate-controlled self-service storage facility, plus two future commercial out-parcels (Lots B and C)
• Parking: 11 spaces (code requires 10) plus two loading spaces
• Access: Right-in/right-out only from both Verrado Way and Yuma Road; internal access to southern storage building
• Hours of operation: Employees 9:30 a.m.–6 p.m.; patron card access 6 a.m.–10 p.m.
• Key design features: Multi-material facade (stucco, lap siding, aluminum, glass); 25-foot landscape setback along Verrado; 30-foot landscape buffer on south boundary; internal underground detention; zero-footcandle site lighting at property line; internal trash management with dumpster and hauling service

Mixon Roosevelt Rezoning to Planned Area Development (PLZZ-23-0018)

• Case number: PLZZ-23-0018
• Applicant / developer: Bergen Frank's (via Carol and Overholtzer); separate developers for commercial and residential components
• Location / address: Southeast corner of Verrado Way and Roosevelt Street, Buckeye
• Current zoning: Planned Residential (obsolete district)
• Proposed zoning: Planned Area Development (PAD)
• General plan: Buckeye Gateway Activity Center (Landing)
• Total acreage: Approximately 30 acres
  • Commercial sub-area: ~13 acres
  • Residential sub-area: ~17 acres
• Proposed use - Commercial: Shopping center anchored by specialty grocery store (not yet publicly identified); curated commercial uses from tailored list; expressly excludes gas stations (except grocery-integrated), pawn shops (thrift stores limited to 5,000 sq ft), car washes, auto repair, and self-storage
• Proposed use - Residential: 394-unit apartment complex (multifamily district uses)
• Density: 22.7 dwelling units per acre (residential only)
• Access: Commercial accessed via Roosevelt (northbound); roundabout or signalized intersection under development; residential accessed via Verrado Way (shared) or Filmore Street (primary)
• Key design modifications:
  • Streetside building setback: 0 ft (code) → 8 ft (modified) on Roosevelt, Verrado, Filmore
  • Internal setback (east side, adjacent to Summit Church): reduced to 0 ft for urban form
  • Maximum height: 80 ft residential (no prior cap in MF2 district)
  • Minimum height: 30 ft commercial (primary buildings, grocery store); 20 ft pad buildings
  • Eliminated 50-foot two-story street-facing requirement for residential to allow full three-story vertical form
  • Landscaping: increased from 10% to 20%
  • Internal pedestrian connections: two primary shade-covered sidewalk corridors connecting residential to commercial, avoiding loading/service areas
• Infrastructure: City water/sewer; developer completion of system improvements as needed; adjacent half-street improvements on Roosevelt, Verrado, Filmore
• Prohibited/restricted uses: Gas stations (standalone), pawn shops, car washes, auto repair, self-storage, lower-intensity retail
• School impacts: Liberty Elementary District has adequate capacity; developer negotiating donation agreement with high school district

Vote Breakdown

Election of Chair

• Final: Unanimous
• Result: Vice Chair Burton elected chair

Minutes Approval

• Final: Unanimous
• Result: Approved as presented

PLZSP-D23-000034 (Storage and Retail Site Plan)

• Final: Unanimous
• Result: Approved subject to conditions A–Z

PLZZ-23-0018 (Mixon Roosevelt Rezoning to PAD)

• Final: Unanimous
• Result: Approved subject to conditions A–Z as stated in memorandum dated October 21, 2024

Individual vote breakdown: Not individually named in the transcript; all items passed with "all in favor" affirmed with "I" responses and no opposing votes.

Outcome & Next Steps

Both projects received unanimous approval with no conditions imposed during the hearing itself. The storage facility is now cleared for architectural and engineering refinement leading to building permit submission, at which point the fire department and other reviewing agencies will provide final approval on egress, elevator configuration, and utility service details.

The Mixon Roosevelt rezoning is final subject to the October 21 memorandum conditions, which staff characterized as technical clarifications (trigger language for infrastructure obligations) rather than substantive modifications. The developer will now proceed with final site plan design, water/sewer coordination, and school donation agreements with the Buckeye Union High School District. The separate commercial and residential developers can now move independently toward their respective entitlements.

Administrative next steps: The Planning & Zoning Commission will elect a vice chair at its November meeting. A community meeting for the Landing Specific Area Plan is scheduled for November 6, 2024, at 5:30 p.m. at the city's new downtown facility.

Controversies & Context

The Mixon Roosevelt rezoning exemplifies a strategic tension in suburban growth management: staff and council leadership have embraced a "Landing" vision of walkable, mixed-use urban density at the city's regional commercial center, but market conditions and developer incentives have not yet aligned with vertical integration (residential above commercial). Commissioner Cupak's questioning surfaced a legitimate concern—that the imposition of 30-foot minimum commercial heights without corresponding residential density above may constitute form-based code enforcement unmoored from functional demand, potentially inflating construction costs without corresponding economic benefit.

Staff acknowledged this candidly: Ken stated, "There's not a lot of demand for that type of product yet in the valley um outside of very you know very established areas we'll get there eventually I think I hope um but you just don't see it happening all that often." This admission reveals Buckeye is using design regulations as a tool to shape aspirational urbanism ahead of market proof—a reasonable strategy for long-term placemaking but one that may impose economic friction on developers in the near term.

The storage facility approval proceeded with minimal friction, though Commissioner Triano's trash-management skepticism—grounded in observed behavior at existing facilities—underscores an ongoing operations-vs.-design tension in self-storage development. Applicant assurances of internal dumpsters and hauling services are contingent on management discipline and may not withstand patron behavior over time.

Neither project generated organized community opposition, a notably quiet approval process for developments of this scale and urban-design consequence in a rapidly growing city.

Duration

• Storage and Retail Site Plan: Approximately 40 minutes (presentation, applicant statement, commissioner questions, vote)
• Mixon Roosevelt Rezoning: Approximately 60 minutes (detailed staff presentation, design standards review, commissioner discussion, vote)
• Total meeting: Approximately 2 hours (including chair election, minutes, other administrative items, and public comments period)

Other Notable Items

Chair Election: Vice Chair Burton was unanimously elected to fill the chair vacancy left by the resignation of the previous chair earlier in 2024. No vice chair election was held, per Burton's request; nominations for vice chair will occur at the November meeting. The completion of this administrative matter restores full leadership to the commission.

Community Events: City staff announced the annual Halloween Carnival (90th annual, occurring downtown this weekend), Buckeye Rocks community awards dinner (Friday, 320 attendees in the Rodeo Arena), Buckeye Night Market, and Buckeye First Friday (both scheduled for November 8 at Sixth Street Plaza and near Hobo Joe Park, featuring local art and food vendors).