by Sadie Jo Smokey – Jul. 18, 2011
Arizona Republic
Phoenix is amending the city’s general plan for land-use planning near light-rail stations and is asking residents for input.
A public meeting to discuss the station at Central Avenue and Camelback Road is at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Days Inn, 502 W. Camelback Road.
The general plan is a blueprint that outlines land-use and policy guidelines on how the city should grow and redevelop for decades into the future.
State law
requires cities, towns and counties to update the plan every 10 years.
But legislation the state passed last year extended the deadline to 2015 to give budget-constricted local governments short on planning staff more time to update their general plans.
Because light rail did not exist during the creation of the existing general plan, Phoenix staff is hosting station-specific meetings to get an idea of what residents, business owners and others envision.
Attendees will discuss a general range of appropriate building heights for future real-estate redevelopment.
By having stakeholders identify what they want to preserve, promote and will accept in advance, the general plan can better guide future real-estate development.
The meetings are not about property ownership, existing zoning or uses, city officials have said.
Properties along the light-rail route are in a transit-overlay district, which means less space is dedicated for parking due to the proximity to the train.
The Alhambra Village Planning Committee has discussed possible recommendations for how its light-rail-station areas should look and feel.
The committee is slated to make a recommendation at its monthly meeting, 6 p.m. July 26 at the Washington Adult Center, 2240 W. Citrus Way.