Apartment fears not based on current zoning map for Corona/So. Tempe Character Area, notes planner

Editor’s note: Nancy Ryan, project management coordinator overseeing the development of Tempe’s Character Area Plan, has issued a response to residents opposing what they feared could be the possibility of apartments being built in their area. Her comments follow.

We recently received emails from residents of the Corona/South Tempe Character Area voicing their opposition to the possibility of construction of apartments in Corona/South Tempe. All emails and comments throughout the Character Area Plan process, including these, have been shared with our elected officials as they meet to review the Character Area Plans. We want to ease your concerns about construction of multi-family housing within the Corona/South Tempe Character Area. According to Tempe’s Zoning Map, there are currently no properties in Corona/South Tempe Character Area that are approved for multi-family housing or even multi-family housing within mixed use areas. The City of Tempe is required to follow U.S. government, State of Arizona and Tempe laws. The City of Tempe General Plan 2040 identifies future projected land use. It is our policy guide on preferable future development, but that development may or may not be achieved by the market influences and landowners decisions. The Zoning and Development Code establishes the zoning for land within the city. Character Area Plans provide resident and business stakeholders input and guidance on an area’s design, aesthetics, activities and desired facilities and services. Discovery Business Campus — At Discovery Business Campus, a Planned Area Development was approved for office, retail/restaurant and hotel uses only. The current owners, Wentworth Properties, have indicated that they plan to move forward with the development of their property as approved in the PAD. If they follow their PAD, no multi-family housing will occur at the Discovery Business Campus. If they wanted to add multifamily housing at some future date, they would have to get approval through the City of Tempe Planning Office, the Development Review Commission and the Tempe City Council to get an amendment to their plan. This would require neighborhood notification and many public meetings. The Character Area Plan would be evaluated as a point of reference for all of these groups. At this time there are current plans at the NW corner of Price Rd/101 at Elliott, and future hearings for a proposed hotel development at this corner of Discovery Business Campus. ASU Research Park — The City of Tempe has no authority for zoning and development at the ASU Research Park because ASU Research Park is state-owned land under the control of ASU Board of Regents. The Research Park has a covenant that no residential will be built at the Park. It would take a change to the covenants by ASU Board of Regents to make that change. The property manager for the site has indicated that ASU will not request a change to allow for any residential to be built at ASU Research Park. If they follow their current plans, no mixed-use will occur at the ASU Research Park.