It was much smoother sailing for the Park Place concept plan before the Planning and Zoning Commission on July 28, than it had back in May for consideration of a minor General Plan amendment.

In May the commission failed to recommend the General Plan amendment on an even split vote of 3-3.

Last week the commission unanimously approved the concept plan for the project on a vote of 6-0. Chairman Mike Archambault recused himself from the discussion due to a pending lawsuit.

Bob Rodgers, interim Development Services director for the town, said the concept plan is consistent with the development agreement for the project, already approved by the Town Council. The council also subsequently approved the General Plan amendment.

The council is to consider the commission’s recommendation on the concept plan later this month.

Bart Shea, with N-Shea Group, the developer of Park Place, told a public policy committee for the Chamber of Commerce that with council approval of the concept plan on Aug. 18, construction could begin as early as late August.

In response to a question from a commission member, Shea said he would not be using any “at risk” permits for the construction, something that proved controversial in the development of the MorningStar assisted living home built by N-Shea.

The concept plan includes both a parking study and traffic study by Kimley-Horn Engineers.

The existing town Zoning Ordinance would require 1,013 parking spaces for Phase I of the project. However, the development agreement provides for a 20 percent reduction from the 1,013, or 811 spaces. The plan allows for 955 spaces, exceeding the agreement by 144 spaces.

The parking calculations include off-site spaces along the Avenue of the Fountains as well as a new off-site parking lot on town-owned property just east of Town Hall.

Commission Vice Chairman Eugene Mikolajczyk asked whether the town could reclaim the property where the parking lot would be located for some other future use. The short answer from Town Attorney Andrew McGuire, who attended the meeting for a different discussion, was that it is technically possible but practically unlikely. That lot allows for 27 spaces.

The traffic study pointed to no significant changes needed to handle the projected traffic for the development. It did mention a potential build-out issue with the left turn facilities on Saguaro Boulevard at Paul Nordin Parkway. Town Engineer Randy Harrel provided a late memo regarding the issue and asked for a stipulation calling for reconstruction of the turn pocket to accommodate the peak hour traffic.

Shea said he initially sees potential issues with that request and would like more time to study the request. The commission included the stipulation in its motion to recommend the plan. There are a total of 12 stipulations to the plan, at least half of which are included in the development agreement, according to Shea.

Phase I for Park Place will consist of two groups of buildings on either side of Verde River Drive on the south side of Avenue of the Fountains. The initial construction will include 35,000 square-feet of commercial space and 230 apartments. Overall the three-phase project is to include 404 residential units and 43,000 square-feet of commercial.

The main driveways for residents and visitor parking access will be off of Verde River Drive. Two levels of parking are planned to the rear of the buildings along with streetscape improvements adjacent to the buildings, a pocket park, public Wi-Fi, two resident swimming pools and other site improvements.