Phoenix North Black Canyon Corridor Plan: Building on Planning Foundations
Jim Mathien	© & Author Info

Abstract

Figure 1: North Black Canyon Corridor Vicinity Map.

Introduction

The City of Phoenix is currently planning a 43,000 acre area in the far northern portion of the city approximately 20 miles from the central business district. This region adjacent to the Interstate 17 (Black Canyon) Freeway is primarily undeveloped desert and currently not served by infrastructure. Topography of the area includes flat and mountainous lands featuring principal natural drainage ways. Vegetative coverage includes creosote bush and bursage, ironwood and foothill paloverde and columnar saguaro cacti (Burke et. al. 1998). This area of the city, for planning purposes, has been identified as the North Black Canyon Corridor. The planning effort is being guided by a series of planning documents, guidelines, and policies developed over the last 5 years. The culmination of these past efforts has been a proposal for growth in this corridor that is different than how Phoenix has managed growth in the past.

Background

In October 1987, the City adopted the General Plan for Peripheral Areas C and D. This established general land uses for an 110 square mile area north of the developed city, portions of which had been recently annexed. Approximately 67 percent of the land in this area is owned by the Arizona State Land Department in trust for identified public beneficiaries. Development which occurred in the eastern portion of the area on private land after the adoption of the plan raised community concern as to the density and form of development within a desert environment containing significant ecological resources.

In September 1995, a North Sonoran Land Use Character Charrette was held that culminated a year of discussion about development options for the 110 square-mile portion of north Phoenix. An outcome of the charrette identified four scenarios to guide future development that would provide for continuity of desert ecosystems, diversity of development density and the creation of neighborhood and community in future development. The four scenarios are Desert Preservation Character, Rural Desert Character, Suburban Desert Character, and Growth Character (McCarthy et al. 1995).

Figure 2: Development Intensity

The charrette recognized that the strong employment and population growth occurring in metropolitan Phoenix would pressure the conversion of Sonoran desert into developable land. It recommended planned growth that would assist in preserving the ecological health and visual character of the Sonoran desert. It focused on the geographic area to identify the most suitable locations for intense development. Subsequently, areas located along major limited access highways such as Interstate 17 were envisioned for higher intensity development. The charrette recommended that this development would provide two forms of desert growth cores--regional centers and village centers. The remainder of the 110 square mile area was reviewed and subsequently identified for the other development characteristics of desert preservation, rural or suburban desert characters.

The charrette team developed growth character guidelines for regional and village centers. The regional centers were recommended to be developed along the major limited-access highways. These recommendations stated that high intensities/densities should be concentrated in the middle of these centers declining gradually toward the outer edges. The regional centers should be anchored by one or two tall towers of 20 stories or more and a number of smaller towers of 8 stories surrounding them. Open space should surround the high density core. Land uses should range from industrial to residential to mixed commercial/retail. Alternative modes of transportation should be available.

Figure 3: Regional Service Area

Figure 4: Village Center.

The village centers should be developed on neo-traditional principles with a center delineated by a village commons. No structures should be higher than two stories. Village centers should be a hub of public and institutional uses (schools, civic center, libraries, churches), and include mixed-use retail. Transit nodes should be designed and the village centers should be oriented to the pedestrian.

Initial North Black Canyon Corridor Planning

In the mid 1990s, private property owners with large land holdings adjacent to the Interstate 17 Freeway began to approach the City to discuss future development within the freeway corridor. At that time, the City began to guide its growth and redevelopment efforts under a set of common growth concepts called the Strategic View of Growth (City of Phoenix 1995a). This Strategic View suggested that Phoenix was becoming a family of sub-regional communities, each with a unique redevelopment and/or growth issues and role in the expanding economy. Within this changing environment, for Phoenix to maintain and enhance the quality of life for all its residents, it had to ensure each community, central and fringe, could successfully tap into the region's economy. The City further undertook a study of the urban growth patterns that were occurring in other major metropolitan areas (City of Phoenix 1995b). This study assisted the City in understanding the dynamics of growth at the urban fringe and some of the market relationships between residential and employment uses.

Within the framework of the Strategic View and building upon the study of urban growth patterns and the more detailed information from the North Sonoran Land Use Charrette, the City adopted a Concept Plan for the North Black Canyon Corridor in 1997 (City of Phoenix 1997). The Concept Plan established these four goals to guide initial development and more detailed corridor planning.

• Promote the North Black Canyon Corridor as a regional employment center but not at the expense of growth within the existing city.
• Achieve a balance between employment and housing.
• Concentrate growth within a defined corridor.
• Preserve North Sonoran desert amenities and use these features to define community form and identity.

The intent of these goals is to enable the area to capture quality regional employment that is not available in the portions of the city adjacent to this area and, to regulate a jobs-to-housing ratio with a range of housing available to attract employment income ranges. Further, establish a regulatory infrastructure growth line for initial development, create a North Sonoran Desert Preserve, and provide for urban spaces desert public places that are defined by a combination of natural features with the man made buildings and streets.

Detailed Corridor Planning

In 1998, the City Council approved a Sonoran Preserve Master Plan (Burke et. al. 1998). The plan identifies approximately 20,000 acres in the northern area of the city that are desirable for preservation. The identified lands span the spectrum from creosote bush flats to saguaro studded hillsides. This diversity was identified in order to preserve the variety of vegetation communities to help the desert flora and fauna to survive and flourish. Approximately 15,000 acres of the identified land is held by the Arizona State Land Department. The City has applied with the state through the Arizona Preserve Initiative for designation of these lands for conservation purposes.

In 1998, the City Planning Department began more detailed planning for the North Black Canyon Corridor. Guided by the goals of the adopted Concept Plan (grounded in the information from the Strategic View of Growth, the study of urban growth patterns and the North Sonoran Land Use Charrette), staff is recommending a land use mix providing for a regional employment center with a range of housing densities that are consistent with the corridor's ecological resources; an infrastructure limit line to ensure that growth remains concentrated within a defined corridor until expansion is needed; and an ultimate goal that the number of jobs should equal 75 percent of the resident population to be phased in over development cycles with triggers linking the amount of residential development to the amount of employment development (City of Phoenix {draft} 1999). This recommended plan is being reviewed in the public hearing process during early spring 1999.

Figure 5: Land Use Plan

Land Use

The land use plan proposes staged development with the first phase encompassing about 9,000 acres. A linear employment core is proposed east of a major creek at the future intersection of a parkway and major arterial street. This core will connect to the creek and other the natural features such as a butte and stock tank. This location for the dense employment was chosen as it is one of the more degraded areas with few ecological resources. It had been heavily grazed over many years. The higher intensity employment center will support mid-rise office buildings with peripheral lower intensity campus offices. Higher density residential is proposed near the core with medium density surrounding it. Low density residential is proposed for areas adjacent to the proposed Sonoran Desert Preserve and the more sensitive desert areas. Commercial nodes are proposed at four locations within the corridor. These will serve community needs acting as village centers.

Jobs to Housing Linkage

To ensure that the high intensities and densities develop within the regional centers, the recommended plan calls for a long term goal that the number of jobs should equal 75 percent of the resident population for the entire 43,000 acre area. This goal is to be phased in over time. Initially, with development limited to within the infrastructure limit line, the goal is 15 percent in the early years, rising to 50 percent when about three-quarters of the area within the infrastructure limit line is developed. Triggers are called for to evaluate and review whether the goal is being achieved. A variety of regulatory mechanisms are proposed to facilitate goal implementation. These mechanisms included the spectrum of zoning, subdivision and building permit moratoriums.

Infrastructure Limit

In keeping with Phoenix' current policy of having growth pay for itself, two infrastructure related policy are being proposed for the corridor. First, impact fees for the corridor will be amended to reflect expanded facility needs, including freeway interchanges on Interstate 17 and desert preservation needs. Secondly, a infrastructure limit area is proposed. Approximately 34,000 acres of the area is recommended to be placed outside of an infrastructure limit line. The line is proposed to limit development outside the area until 65 percent of the land inside the line is in production. Within this area, new zoning would be discouraged and no major infrastructure would be built. The effect of this policy would be to concentrate growth into a defined corridor making the infrastructure more efficient and impact fees collected could be more effectively utilized to meet needs generated by growth. A more compact corridor may also encourage a development pattern that will support transit.

Desert Character and Integration

The plan calls for using the desert to define the character of the corridor. It hopes to accomplish this by integrating major desert features, such as Skunk Creek and Bronco Butte into major urban features such as the employment center. Major washes will be emphasized a major feature of the corridor with both a major trail system and having the major north south parkway border on major washes where possible. The Plan also calls for a high degree of integration with the surrounding desert, and hopefully a 15,000 acre desert preserve. This will include special design standards for residential development at the edge of the preserve and along the major washes. The plan calls for major washes to remain in a natural state and the use of a non-structural flood management policy which would keep development out of most of the 100 year floodplain.

Conclusions

The intent of the plan's land use and jobs-to-housing recommendations are that the high intensity corridor develop within the area of the desert with fewest ecological resources and adjacent to the limited access freeway. And that this development occur in relationship to the desert ecology with very low density adjacent to those areas identified for land preservation.

The initial zoning applications that have been filed for property within the corridor have been reviewed in response to the planning activity discussed above. Two applications have been approved by the City Council. In both instances, the charrette principles have guided the approvals. Ecologically strong areas have been identified for preservation with adjacent low density development recommended. Commercial or village centers have been identified to provide local services including public and institutional uses. Linkages have been identified between the commercial, park or common areas and institutional (school) uses within these centers.

The Growth Character principles identified in the North Sonoran Land Use Charrette have guided the conceptual and detailed planning for the North Black Canyon Corridor in north Phoenix. An intense regional center is identified with access to Interstate 17. Open space has been identified to surround this high density core. A variety of land uses are proposed along with a strong jobs-to-housing linkage. Village centers are identified to provide public uses. Implementation through initial zoning approvals are carrying out applicable plan and principle elements. Truly, the planning for the North Black Canyon Corridor builds on the foundations of earlier planning efforts for the north Phoenix area.

References

Burke, James and Joseph Ewan. 1998. The Sonoran Preserve Master Plan. Phoenix: Parks, Recreation and Library Department.

City of Phoenix. 1994. Phoenix Strategic View of growth. Phoenix, Arizona: Planning Department

City of Phoenix. 1995b. Growth in the '90s: A case study analysis. Phoenix, Arizona: Planning Department.

City of Phoenix. 1997. North Black Canyon Corridor Concept Plan. Phoenix: Planning Department.

City of Phoenix {draft}. 1999. North Black Canyon Corridor General Plan. Phoenix: Planning Department.

McCarthy, James, Kim Shetter, and Frederick Steiner, eds. 1995. Findings Of The North Sonoran Land Use Charrette. Tempe: Herberger Center for Design Excellence, Arizona State University.