Southern Desert View Planning Issues

Concerns Related to Water Infrastructure in Southern Desert View

The area bounded by Jomax Road to the north, Scottsdale Road to the east, Central Arizona Project to the south, and Cave Creek to the west is part of Desert View Village (called “southern Desert View” from this point on) that is a targeted growth area specified in the City’s General Plan, and which will experience a significant amount of new residential and commercial development in the coming decade and beyond.   Although the City and developers have already constructed a great deal of infrastructure to serve existing development, some parts of the area will not be able to develop without additional and costly facilities.

Prior to the 1990s, development in the Southern Desert View area was extremely limited.  Development only began to take place as vacant State Trust Land was auctioned off by the Arizona State Land Department (ASLD) for the Desert Ridge Specific Plan area and the Paradise Ridge Planned Community Development.  Recently, some of the parcels in Southern Desert View have been returned to the State or are in a state of default because of the severity of the real estate downturn.  However, it is anticipated that once the market for residential and commercial properties stabilizes, the development process will resume and ASLD will begin to sell and lease parcels again.

Most recent development has occurred within Desert Ridge, but some planning and subsequent development has also taken place in Paradise Ridge, notably a portion south of Loop 101 as the Scottsdale 101 commercial development, and in Chauncey Ranch, one of the few privately-held properties in the area, which has been developed as multi-family housing, office space and an automotive retail complex.  North of the Loop 101, Westcor recently won an ASLD auction for an important commercial site within Paradise Ridge on Scottsdale Road called Palisene. 

The Water Service Department (WSD) has made significant investments in water and wastewater infrastructure in northern Phoenix over the past two decades, but residential and commercial development had been so strong that in some areas the demand for services was greater than what could be provided with existing facilities.  As a result, major new investments in water and wastewater infrastructure are needed before development can be allowed to proceed in parts of Phoenix north of the Central Arizona Project (CAP).  In Southern Desert View the primary constraint on new growth is the ability of WSD to provide potable water to specific areas that are currently of great interest to developers and homebuilders.   Although WSD has built a large part of the necessary backbone infrastructure to facilitate new growth, additional networks of water mains, reservoirs, pressure reducing valves and booster stations are still needed to serve various parts of southern Desert View.   As will be explained further below, these networks are sufficiently expensive and difficult to design and construct that new water infrastructure and associated development will need to be phased.

What the City has done in the Past to Address Water Infrastructure Issues in Southern Desert View

WSD has been investing heavily in the northeastern part of the City since the early 1990s, in an effort to facilitate the growth that was anticipated in this area.    One major investment was a large water transmission main and pumping stations that were constructed along Cave Creek Road north of CAP.   This transmission main is very important to water supplies for all of Desert View, and obtains water primarily from the Union Hills treatment plant and distributes it to a wide range of developments.   Much of the water delivered to customers in Desert View comes from this major transmission main and associated systems.   Since the main was constructed, projects initiated by WSD or privately for large developments have expanded the transmission and distribution systems that rely on this main, and portions of the ultimate network are now in place for water pressure zones 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9.

WSD has used both development impact fees and water rate revenue to make significant investments in infrastructure for Southern Desert View to facilitate new development.  Much of this investment has been in the form of joint projects with developers.  Since 2000, WSD has funded or provided impact fee credit in excess of $25 million for water projects in Desert View.  Projects have included a 5 million gallon reservoir to serve water pressure zone 6, and large transmission mains to serve zones 5, 6, 9 and 10.  Most recently, a joint project with homebuilders Pulte, Toll Brothers and Meritage led to the construction of a large portion of the main that will be the primary feed for zone 5; the City will complete most of the zone 5 main and an associated reservoir to serve the zone.  While a majority of the City’s expenditures in Desert View Village since 2000 have come from impact fees or development occupational fees, a large portion of the costs were funded from bonds paid for by water rate revenue.  Increasing demands for this revenue to fund programmed environmental and rehabilitation projects likely means that virtually all growth-related projects will have to be funded from development impact fees, development occupation fees, and developer contributions in the future.

WSD has also funded projects that reduce potable water demand by utilizing reclaimed water.  Located at the southwestern corner of southern Desert View, the Cave Creek Water Reclamation Plant treats wastewater collected from the Desert View area into non-potable water to irrigate golf courses, parks, schools and other users north of the CAP.  Substituting reclaimed, non-potable water for potable water to these facilities in effect “stretches” the potable water supply distributed through the network in this area.  The reclaimed water distribution system has two major branches, one running northeast along Cave Creek Road and the other running in an eastward direction to users such as Wildfire Golf Course at the Marriott Resort in Desert Ridge.  Long-term plans call for additional golf courses and other large turf users to be connected to the reclaimed water system in Desert Ridge, Paradise Ridge and Azara.

The Current Water Infrastructure Situation in Southern Desert View and what are the City’s Plans to Address Future Water Infrastructure Requirements in Desert View

Providing future potable water service in Southern Desert View ultimately involved analyzing water pressure zones and associated elevation contours of the area, and then developing zones necessary to maintain adequate pressure for residential and commercial uses, as well what is needed for emergency fire flows.   Six water pressure zones divide the area, with one zone (zone 10) covering only a small portion in the far northeast, while zones 5, 6 and 7 cover the vast majority of Southern Desert View.  Zones 5 and 6 already contain a number of regional water lines and with the recent construction of the Zone 5 main as far as Tatum Boulevard, these two zones have relatively good sources of water supply.  Major water facilities in zone 7 are limited to one large line and associated wells.  Zones 8 or 9 lack large water facilities, and the only reservoir in the area is one located in zone 6.  As a result, development in the zone 7, 8 and 9 portions of Desert View south of Jomax Road is contingent upon the construction of large and expensive water facilities, whereas most of zones 5 and 6 are developable with more manageable water transmission facility requirements and costs.

Currently, the two biggest challenges needed to be overcome serving zones 5 and 6 are the successful completion of the zone 5 main from Tatum Boulevard east and north to the future zone 5 reservoir, and the construction of zone 6 transmission mains to serve Paradise Ridge.   WSD has programmed funds for the completion of most of the remainder of the zone 5 main and reservoir, but future developers will need to complete the zone 6 mains in Desert Ridge and Paradise Ridge.  Recently WSD and ASLD have worked closely to ensure that right-of-way and easements are provided as needed for extending the zones 5 and 6 networks.  Major transmission mains will be required along Deer Valley Road east of 56th Street and along 64th Street north of Deer Valley, and developers, ASLD and WSD will have to continue to work together to ensure that the zone 6 transmission system is successfully extended to serve parcels in Paradise Ridge and eastern Desert Ridge.

Once major improvements are made to the zones 5 and 6 systems that serve most of Desert Ridge and the southern portion of Paradise Ridge, new facilities will be needed to allow development in the eastern portion of zone 7.  Costs to construct a network of large transmission mains in 56th, 64th, 65th, and 68th Sts., Cave Creek Road, Jomax Road, and Pinnacle Peak Road, a new booster station, a new pressure relief valve, and potentially a new reservoir could possibly exceed $20 million to serve a relatively small area – generally Paradise Ridge1N and Desert Ridge Super Blocks 1N, 4 NE, 4 N, and 4 NW.  Given that these Super Blocks will be dominated by relatively low-density housing, the high cost of providing necessary zone 7 water improvements in this area will likely prove to be a challenge, so it is possible that development in zone 7 in Desert View will take place first in the Azara PCD, which is located north of Pinnacle Peak Road.