Council approves Valeo rezoning to allow up to 655 homes after neighbor concessions

The Peoria City Council voted Jan. 27 to rezone roughly 280 acres of recently auctioned state land near Lone Mountain and 135th Avenue to a planned area development (item 16R) for a project the developer calls Valeo. The vote followed a presentation by Planning Director Chris Hawkes and a public comment period in which Trilogy residents described negotiated concessions.

Hawkes told the council the site's gross density would be about 2.34 units per acre and that the development could yield up to 655 single-family lots. The PAD proposal preserves about 35% of the site (approximately 90 acres) as open space, retains natural wash corridors, provides trails for internal connectivity and proposes landscape buffer zones along edges: a minimum 30-foot landscaped buffer in one area and a 40-foot buffer where the site meets Trilogy West, which, combined with existing buffers yields up to about 55–65 feet of separation. In addition, the applicant agreed to a one-story, 25-foot height restriction within 100 feet of certain adjacent neighborhoods.

Council member Bullock described months of outreach and negotiations between the developer, residents and the city, and said the outcome was a compromise that protected neighborhood edge conditions while allowing infill development. Linda Simpson, a Trilogy resident, commended the negotiation but urged the city to adopt broader empirical setback and wildlife-protection standards, arguing that standard 404 wash studies are insufficient to protect desert wildlife. Holly Hart, another Trilogy resident, pressed for clear written plans showing how the perimeter bordering Trilogy will remain gated and isolated from new access points.

The council moved and seconded the ordinance as recommended by the Planning & Zoning Commission and approved item 16R by voice vote; the chair announced there were no opponents. Planning staff said the commission recommended approval (4-0) and noted a subsequent petition from 113 Trilogy residents led to one-story restrictions being extended along parcels 1 and 2.