H- Pike Oliver

Serenbe - 25 miles southwest of the Atlanta aiport /  by H. Pike Oliver

The settlement of Serenbe is found in the heart of Chattahoochee Hill Country about 25 miles southwest of the Atlanta airport and about 35 miles from downtown Atlanta.  According to their website (www.serenbecommunity.com), this 40,000 acres of rural Georgia is about the size of Napa Valley in California, and is one of the last undeveloped stretches of land in the Atlanta area. The founders of Serenbe realized that there was a short window of opportunity to create a community in a new and better way.  They used their largely untouched 900 acres to create an example--clustering development, preserving large tracts of open space and fostering a high level of design execution. [gallery link="file"]

Development commenced in 2004 and by April 2009 there were about 100 residences and some commercial space in place.  The non-residential uses are mostly art galleries, small specialty shops and restaurants.  The Inn at Serenbe is also on the property.  The Urban Land Institute sponsored a tour of Serenbe on April 22, 2009. About 50 photos taken during that tour are posted at http://bit.ly/EXWAF .

 
How?

Queen Creek Station General Plan Amendment Approved /  by H. Pike Oliver

Since the Spring of 2006, the staff of Tempe, Arizona based W HOLDINGS have conducted a land planning effort on behalf of several owners of a 1,140 acre site in the Town of Queen Creek, Arizona, about 35 miles southeast of downtown Phoenix.[1] The site location is depicted below.

[1] The landowners include: Roger and Sybil Ferguson; QCEL 160 (Maxwell Butcher); Queen Creek 10, Inc. (Jorde); Jorde Farms, Inc., The Thelander Family, and; Vanderbilt Farms, LLC

Location in East Valley

On December 5, 2007, the Queen Creek Town Council approved a general plan amendment for these properties. The approved plan calls for a variety of land uses, including a 200 acre mixed use core. The general plan land use exhibit is show below, followed by an illustration of how development might occur on the site.

Approved land use designations

Development Illustrative

The following is the text of the news article that appeared in the East Valley Tribune reporting on the approval of the general plan amendment.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

EAST VALLEY TRIBUNE

December 6, 2007

Queen Creek approves general plan amendment

Sarah J. Boggan, Tribune

The largest general plan amendment proposed in Queen Creek to date was approved by the Town Council on Wednesday night.

Tempe-based Vanderbilt Farms wants to build Queen Creek Station, a mixed-use project that includes higher-density residential, commercial areas, offices and warehouses at Queen Creek’s northern entrance. The 1,100 acre project has been two years in the making.

Some Queen Creek residents weighed in with concerns about residential densities and whether there would be an assurance that what they see is what they are going to get with the development.

“This is not a promise,” said Queen Creek resident Robin Benning as he addressed the Town Council. “This is purely text — words.”

Residents of two neighboring residential developments, Ellsworth Suburban Mini Farms and Queenland Manor, have influenced the developer to change an original proposal and said they plan to see the development through the process until it is constructed.

“We’ll continue to hold their feet to the fire,” said Cynthia Buffington, a resident of Queenland Manor who has participated in the project’s changes and supported the amendment.

Town Councilman Jon Wootten, the only council member to vote against the amendment, said he thought the amendment was so large that it needed to be brought to voters for a decision.

Councilman Gordon Mortenson, who supported the amendment, said the town has some assurances, such as through the zoning process, to get what Vanderbilt Farms has proposed. This general plan amendment is the largest in the town’s history in terms of size and impact on the town’s rural heritage. The project may not be built for more than 10 years.

Town consultant Wayne Balmer said town officials are concerned about the ability to build the roads needed to keep traffic flowing in and around the development — something Vanderbilt has proposed but said they could not pay for on their own.

Vanderbilt wants to extend Ellsworth Loop Road north through the property, widen and realign Queen Creek Road, improve Ellsworth Road and set aside land for a commuter rail station. Vanderbilt said it would work with the town to identify a way to fund those improvements.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Key contibutors to this effort included:

  • H. Pike Oliver and Carson Brown of W HOLDINGS

  • Ralph Pew and Tyler Wright from Pew and Lake, the lawyers who worked on the general plan process. Ralph was the key spokesman for the plan during the hearings before the Planning & Zoning Commission and the Town Council.

  • Ron Krater and Liz Lonetti of JZMK Partners, the firm that prepared the final land plan. In addition to his work on the plan, Ron was an articulate presenter of the planning vision to landowners, neighbors, the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Town Council.

  • Jack Camp, the urban designer who prepared the initial land use and circulation concepts

  • Scott Staman of Atwell-Hicks, the firm that provided engineering and surveying services.

  • Andrew Baque' of Atwell-Hicks, a very creative urban designer who helped with refinements to the plan.

  • Mario Mangliamele of IPlan who assembled and edited the submittal documents, including voluminous attachments.

  • Peter Reinhofer and Neil Byrne of Kimley-Horn, the firm that conducted the traffic impact analysis.

  • Stuart Goodman of Goodman Schwartz. Stuart helped with government and media relations throughout the process.

  • Dr. Marty Rozelle who facilitated input from neighboring residents.

At the Town of Queen Creek, Wayne Balmer, planning consultant, served as the case planner for the general plan amendment.

Last, and definitely not least, several neighbors played a key role in shaping and advancing the plan. They are:

  • Eric Kerr and Wendy Feldman-Kerr

  • Mike and Nancy Leonard

  • Dante Proto

  • John Scott

  • Don and Kathy Forbis

  • Roseann Sweet

  • Chris Clark

  • Cynthia Buffington

Of course, the work has just begun. Next steps include: drafting the zoning text; negotiating a development agreement, and; securing development partners.

Estimated Development Yield