By Teri Carnicelli

    Two rezoning cases set to come before the City Council at its July 7 meeting bring to mind the title of a popular 1980s fantasy movie: The NeverEnding Story.

    After numerous community meetings, hearings before the city’s zoning administrator, staff reports, and even two lawsuits over the last several years, the rezoning issues were to be decided at the City Council’s May 5 meeting. Then at it’s June 2 meeting. And now… July 7. Maybe.

    Under consideration, once again, will be a request by the ownership of Donovan’s Steak and Chop House, located at 3101 E. Camelback Road, to rezone a parcel of land that the business currently owns, from R1-6 (residential) to P-1 (surface parking lot). Prime Land Assets, which owns Donovan’s, acquired that property in 2005 for the purpose of expanding its parking area.

 

At the time, a home existed on the lot; Prime Land Assets ultimately had that home torn down. Since that time, Prime Land Assets has erected a 6-foot block wall on the property.

    An April city staff report relating to the latest rezoning request requires that, if approved, the owners would need to meet certain landscape and setback requirements.

    The plans met with the approval of leaders of the nearby Brentwood Estates neighborhood. However, the resident most directly affected by the zoning change, Angelo Sbrocca, who lives next door to the lot, was greatly upset that he wasn’t consulted or contacted by Donovan’s or its representatives when these plans were being drawn up. He spoke out at the June 2 council meeting, voicing his displeasure.

    He told City Council members that the first time he was contacted about the parking lot plans, he was told it was a “done deal” and had little say in the matter. But afterward, the representative for Donovan’s, attorney Michael Curley, apologized to Sbrocca, and offered to come by his home and look at his property and its proximity to the vacant lot. Sbrocca offered suggestions at to what he’d like to see, and says those suggestions have been incorporated into the latest plan, which includes shielded lighting with a downward angle and an increased wall height. They have even offered to reimburse him for the portion of the wall he constructed years ago, Sbrocca says.

    Still, he was unhappy with being left out of the process … a process that also involved Donovan’s now supporting the homeowners’ group’s efforts to rezone his property and that of his two neighbors.

    A zoning overlay placed on Sbrocca’s home on Mariposa and that of his two neighbors would have allowed for a two-story parking garage where the three homes currently sit. It was first put in place more than 20 years ago, and was specifically tied to zoning for an adjacent commercial office project. Ultimately, no developer came forward to complete this project, and in 1994 the commercial office zoning was re-zoned to C-2 for Harris’ Steakhouse, the predecessor of Donovan’s.

    Without the adjacent C-O, the P-2 zoning for the parking lot should have reverted back to residential for those three homes. However, despite staff recommendations and even a recent Phoenix General Plan that shows those homes to be zoned residential, the actual official reversion never took place.

    The owners of those three homes, including Sbrocca, have requested the P-2 zoning remain. The ownership of Donovan’s also supported keeping the P-2 zoning but the recent written agreement made with the leadership of the Brentwood Estates neighborhood states that Donovan’s will withdraw its support in return for the neighborhood’s support of its parking lot addition.

    Sbrocca contends that he, and he alone, should have a say in what happens to his property, and he’s unhappy with the effort of people in Brentwood Estates to remove his “property rights.”

    Neighborhood leaders point out that Sbrocca has received mailings from the city about hearings, that large wooden signs have been posted on the adjacent vacant lot alerting people about upcoming hearings, and during this many-years process, he has attended only two hearings—including the June 2 one.

    There is one thing both sides agree on: they want this never-ending story to finally come to some resolution. It has pitted neighbor against neighbor, and neither side likes that. “I really do want what is best for the neighborhood,” Sbrocca says. “This is where I live, this is where I want to be. I have friends here, and my parents live right across the way in the Biltmore area. This is my home, and I have no intention of leaving. I want us to be a neighborhood again.”

    Neighborhood leaders say they feel the same way, and that they bear no personal animosity toward Sbrocca or his fellow P2 neighbors. They say they are just trying to preserve the quality of life in the neighborhood, and after so many years of fighting, they are ready to have it be done so they, too, can move on with their lives.

    The City Council is scheduled to hold its recessed/zoning meeting 4 p.m. Wednesday, July 7, in the Council Chambers, 200 W. Jefferson. The agenda is available online under Public Meeting Notices/Agendas on www.Phoenix.gov.