Phoenix City Council unanimously removed the only legal roadblock to the massive Upper Canyon development in Ahwatukee by approving a General Plan amendment that changes the classifications of a portion of Chandler Boulevard and 27th Avenue.
And while the Oct. 12 vote clears the way for homebuilders Blandford Homes, D.R. Horton and Reserve 100 LLC to start construction, it’s unclear when that might begin because the housing market has radically changed since the beginning of the process that culminated with last week’s vote.
Council’s vote brought to an end a contentious process that never directly threatened construction of Ahwatukee’s biggest housing development in years.
Blandford paid $175.5 million in an auction last year for the 373-acre tract along Chandler Boulevard between 19th and 27th avenues with the intent of building 1,050 single-family houses, 150 townhouses, 329 apartments and 10 acres of some still undefined commercial development.
The land was rezoned for residential development nearly two decades ago.
The homebuilder had originally asked for a street reclassification of the South Chandler Boulevard – as well as the two roadway bids Council approved – so that it would not have to widen the three-lane thoroughfare to five lanes.
But despite the backing of the city Planning Department and the Ahwatukee Foothills Village Planning Committee, some city Planning Commission members in August signaled concern about the builder’s request to keep South Chandler Boulevard three lanes.
The Village Planning Committee narrowly recommended city approval of the builders’ request in a 5-4 vote during a meeting attended by the bare minimum number of panel members necessary for a vote.
The Planning Commission noted numerous homeowners and others in Ahwatukee’s western end, especially those in Promontory, Calabria and Foothills Reserve, were concerned about the impact of more traffic on response times for emergency vehicles.
Documents submitted to City Council prior to the vote show scores of people had lobbied the commission to reject the request and require the developer to widen South Chandler Boulevard.
Their concerns were underscored at a different City Council meeting last week where Fire Department officials said the average response time for fire engines and ambulances citywide is nearly twice the recommended national standard.
Opponents of the request to keep Chandler Boulevard three lanes accused Blandford of trying to save money while preserving more land for homes.
In a surprising turn of events, Norris Design, the builders’ zoning consultant, announced last month prior to the Planning Commission’s consideration of its street reclassification bids that it was withdrawing the request to keep South Chandler Boulevard at three lanes.
It said the homebuilders would widen the thoroughfare even though they still feel it is not justified by the amount of traffic their consultants estimate will be generated by the new homes and apartments.
Prior to last week’s vote, City Councilman Sal DiCiccio thanked residents, the builders and city staff for reaching a compromise.
“I want to thank everybody, especially the staff that worked on this,” DiCiccio said. “They did an amazing job. I don’t know how many meetings we’ve had on it. It involved quite a bit of public input for going on for probably two years. And a lot of it has to deal with the width and the structure of Chandler Boulevard on the southern end of my district.
“And I think that the staff did an amazing job of keeping it to where the public has wanted to stay there. But then as you go further west, it narrows because there was a lot less traffic there.
“There was a lot of concern regarding the emergency vehicles being able to get along get by there if there was ever an accident. And I just think we put together a really good compromise here.
“I want to thank the neighborhood. I want to thank the Village Planning Committee members that were involved in it, and particularly staff and we also want to thank Blandford Homes for the work that they did on this. It really kind of came together at the end.”
Blandford and Reserve 100 originally indicated in planning documents that they hoped to begin construction late this year or next with an eye to hitting the market with the first homes in 2014.
But that was before the housing market dramatically changed.
Market analysts both in the Valley and across the country are reporting that builders are seeking fewer permits for new single-family home construction
as mortgage rates rise and turn off
more buyers.
At the same time, single-family housing permits are trending downward in Valley municipalities, permits for apartment complexes are climbing.
During the same meeting in which the Upper Canyon requests were approved, Council okayed zoning and General Plan requests that pave the way for 2,187 primarily multifamily units in Phoenix.
Analysts also report builders are slashing prices and adding incentives to entice new-home buyers, although homes prices are still at a level that many find unaffordable.
For example, Blandford cut the price of what it said are the last two houses in its 197-home Palma Brisa community at Frye Road and Desert Foothills Parkway, reducing the price of one home from $1.09 million to $948,000 and the other from $954,000 to $859,905.
Blandford did not return a request for comment.
