Phoenix lifts CamelSquare's zoning restrictions

The Phoenix City Council has voted to strip zoning restrictions from the northwest corner of 44th Street and Camelback Road. It means a developer could build taller buildings on the CamelSquare site as early as February. Building heights, currently capped at two stories, or 36 feet, could increase to four stories, or 56 feet, thus increasing the density on the four parcels from 300,000 square feet to more than a million square feet. Paul Barnes, an Arcadia resident and neighborhood activist, said neighbors of the 17-acre property are disheartened by the vote, and others should pay attention. Compromises between property owners, developers and neighborhoods can be undone through the unusual stipulation modification process, Barnes said. In one vote, multiple stipulations that protected this Arcadia neighborhood for more than 40 years were erased, Barnes said.

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