Auto
mall up for approval Dec. 13
Opponents
want more time to inform public
by
Kathleen Stinson
NORTH
VALLEY – Phoenix City Council will decide next Wednesday whether
to allow an auto mall east of I‑17 south of Tramonto
in the /Sonoran Foothills area.
The
proposed auto mall developer, Westcor, needs council approval
of a special permit to allow auto sales on property north
of the Dove Valley Road alignment.
When
the auto mall was first proposed more than a year ago, nearby
residents organized to oppose the project. Westcor then moved
its mall proposal farther south of Carefree Highway. Now that
same group of residents has been working with Westcor on stipulations
related to the project. However, other area residents near
the new location are fighting the mall use.
The
whole thing will be aired and decided before city council
at 5 p.m. Dec. 13 at the council chambers, 200 W. Jefferson
Ave. in Phoenix.
According
to Phoenix planner Alan Stephenson, the group now working
with Westcor will have a voice in the public comment period,
but this is also an opportunity for any other group of residents
opposing the mall to voice their concerns.
Rick
Robinson, spokesman for an advisory committee working with
Westcor on stipulations to the proposed special permit, says
the group is trying to get consensus with the developer on
issues such as auto mall signage, noise, lighting, traffic
and landscaping.
According
to Robinson, his group represents Sonoran Foothills, Carefree
Crossing, Desert Hills, New River, Tramonto and Amber Hills.
However,
Carefree Crossing resident James Hughes stated in an e‑mail
to The Desert Advocate on Tuesday that many residents still
object to the auto mall. “Just recently, I found out that
Rick Robinson’s
group is compromising with Westcor to move the auto mall further
south and out of sight from Tramonto where he resides and
closer to where I live in Carefree Crossing,” he said.
Hughes
was originally a part of the Robinson group when it opposed
the auto mall, he said in the e‑mail, “so I feel as
though I’m starting all over with a huge uphill battle trying
to get the word to
residents down here in Carefree Crossing and Sonoran Foothills.”
He
continued, “We need to group together and show Westcor we
are not going to take this lying down and that we need more
time to let everyone know what the plans are for this piece
of land.” According to Westcor spokes‑woman Christine
Romero, “We’ve been continuing to have meetings with this
group (Robinson’s) and to share ideas, and the process is
going really well.”
