The Bullhead City Planning and Zoning Commission on Oct. 2 recommended approval of a zone change from C-2 (general commercial) to a Planned Area Development (PAD) with underlying residential zoning, and the preliminary plat for a project called the Dunes of Bullhead City, a 33.7-acre site generally located on the south side of Bullhead Parkway west of Mohave Crossroads.

Planning staff told commissioners the project follows a general-plan amendment the council approved roughly six months earlier to change the site’s designation from commercial to medium/high-density residential. The preliminary plat and PAD request would create 227 lots: 77 detached single-family residences and 150 attached units on individual lots (configured like duplexes with a property line between units). The developers also propose common-area standards, required parking, guest spaces and spaces for boats and recreational vehicles because many proposed lots are smaller than typical single-family lots.

Commissioners and members of the public raised access and traffic concerns. Catherine Watkins, a homeowner on Terra Loma, said the development’s 277 residential units (the applicant and staff described 227 lots; Watkins stated the project would result in 277 units in her remarks) could generate an additional 554 cars if projected at two cars per home and would worsen congestion on Highway 95. Watkins asked whether the road planned to serve the development — described in materials and by staff as an existing western driveway behind retail centers such as Ross and Boot Barn, to be dedicated to the city and improved — would lead to increased cut-throughs past nearby retail.

Don Anderson, the project engineer with Anderson Nelson, said the shopping-center owner is dedicating the existing roadway to the city and the applicants will add additional right-of-way so the corridor becomes a standard 50-foot right-of-way with 36 feet of pavement; the design will include two internal entrances into the subdivision. Anderson said a traffic study showed no major impact to surrounding areas and that access from Terra Loma Drive will be blocked so existing adjacent neighborhoods would not have a direct new connection into the subdivision.

Planning staff confirmed one condition discussed during prior review: no access from Terra Loma Drive to the new development. Commissioners also addressed the PAD process and variances: staff explained the PAD overlay (available for properties of five acres or more) allows applicants to request different standards for lot sizes, setbacks and landscaping as part of a negotiated development standard; those requests are discretionary and subject to commission and council review. One commissioner said he would not vote in favor of the request because of the number of deviations sought; staff and the commission’s legal/administrative advisor clarified that the commission’s action at this meeting is to recommend the zone change and preliminary plat and that final engineering, landscaping and detailed standards will be addressed during final plat and conditional-use/plan review stages.

After public comment and applicant responses, the commission voted 4-0 to recommend approval as submitted and forward the matter to City Council. Conditions noted in the hearing record include (as described by staff and the applicant) dedication and improvement of the access road to city standards and prohibition of Terra Loma Drive access; other detailed standards on landscaping, setbacks and parking will be considered during final plat and engineering review.