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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 (see map below) 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.
Development only began to take place in southern Desert View village as vacant State Trust Land was auctioned off by the Arizona State Land Department (ASLD) for the Desert Ridge Specific Plan 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, including extensive commercial and residential construction initiated at City North, additional facilities at the Mayo Clinic, and residential and residential and long-term care facilities. 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 won an ASLD auction for an important commercial site within Paradise Ridge on Scottsdale Road called Palisene. While the Department has made significant investments in water and wastewater infrastructure in the Village over the past two decades, major new water and wastewater infrastructure is needed before development can be allowed to proceed for areas north of the Central Arizona Project (CAP). In southern Desert View Village, the primary constraint on new growth has been the ability of WSD to provide potable water to specific areas. The complexity and expense of the new infrastructure will require phased improvements. The City’s Recent Water Infrastructure Improvements in Southern Desert View Village WSD’s major investment in the early 1990s was a large water transmission main and pumping stations that were constructed along Cave Creek Road north of CAP. This main distributes water primarily from the Union Hills water treatment plant and much of the water delivered to developments in southern Desert View Village comes from this major main and associated systems. Providing for potable water service in southern Desert View Village required 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 Desert View Village, with zones 5, 6 and 7 cover the majority of southern Desert View Village. 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 - 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, usually through 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. A joint project 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. Addressing Future Water Infrastructure in Southern Desert View Village Major water facilities in Zones 7, 8 and 9 are fairly limited and as a result, development in the zones south of Jomax Road is contingent upon the construction of large and expensive water facilities. Zones 5 and 6 are developable with more manageable water transmission facility requirements and costs. 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 for extending the zones 5 and 6 networks. Once these major improvements are made to zones 5 and 6, new water facilities will be needed to allow development in the eastern portion of zone 7. Costs to construct a network of large transmission mains, a new booster station, a new pressure relief valve, and potentially a new reservoir could possibly exceed $20 million. This is a relatively small area – generally Paradise Ridge1N and Desert Ridge Super Blocks 1N, 4 NE, 4 N, and 4 NW - that will be dominated by relatively low-density housing. The high cost of providing zone 7 improvements in this area will likely be challenging. The final phase of water facility construction in southern Desert View Village will likely be in Zones 8 and 9 immediately south of Jomax Road and west of Scottsdale Road. The supply of water to this area will come indirectly from the Cave Creek Road transmission main, and as a result will depend on lines built in the earlier phases described above. Last modified on 05/25/2011 13:28:01 |
