Prescott defers 120-acre-foot request for proposed health district

Prescott defers 120-acre-foot request for proposed health districtPrescott’s Water Issues Subcommittee voted unanimously to postpone consideration of IDDM LLC’s request for 120.29 acre-feet of water at Willow Creek Road and Haas Boulevard until January, or an earlier special meeting. Members said the request requires clearer project commitments, phasing and planning detail before a recommendation can go to City Council.

The subcommittee postponed WSA26-037 by a 3-0 vote; City Council, rather than the subcommittee, will ultimately decide whether to approve water service.

City staff estimated total demand of 120.29 acre-feet annually: about 57 acre-feet residential, 59 acre-feet non-residential and 4.5 acre-feet for landscaping.

The site already has a 60-acre-foot water-service application tied to the Whispering Rock development agreement, but that water-service application expires on February 2, 2027.

The applicant said it had no intention of building six-storey structures shown in submitted materials, instead describing a four-storey maximum, and said it could proceed initially with the hospital and senior-living components under the current allocation.

Prescott has delayed action on a proposed 120.29 acre-foot water allocation for a mixed-use health innovation district after Water Issues Subcommittee members questioned whether the scale and details of the scheme were sufficiently defined to support a water commitment. The subcommittee voted 3-0 on 6 October to postpone IDDM LLC’s Water Service Application 26-037 until its January meeting, unless a special meeting can be called earlier with a quorum. The body makes recommendations to City Council, which holds approval authority. Staff calculated annual demand for the approximately 50-acre site at Willow Creek Road and Haas Boulevard, opposite Embry-Riddle University, at 120.29 acre-feet. The estimate comprised 57.02 acre-feet for residential uses, nearly 59 acre-feet for non-residential uses and about 4.5 acre-feet for landscaping. The proposal is above the policy threshold under which no project is approved for more than 50% of the non-residential budget without an appeal. Prescott has set semiannual residential and non-residential water budgets of 25 acre-feet each for 1 July-31 December 2026. The chair said the city’s annual commercial and residential allocation combined is 100 acre-feet, describing the request as unprecedented in scale. The applicant’s proposal includes a community hospital, medical offices, senior housing, retail, hotel and wellness uses. However, members highlighted discrepancies between the site plan and the applicant’s oral presentation, notably references to six-storey senior-housing buildings. Dr Edward Johnson, president of the Arizona Public Health Innovation Foundation, told the meeting that the project had no intention of constructing six-storey buildings and was considering a four-storey maximum. The site is also subject to the existing Whispering Rock pre-annexation and development agreement. A water-service application associated with that agreement provides 60 acre-feet and expires on 2 February 2027, although city legal staff said the development agreement itself has no identified sunset clause and continues to encumber the land. Staff stressed that approving or denying the new water request would not amend, rescind or otherwise alter that agreement. IDDM does not yet own the land and therefore cannot renegotiate the agreement, staff said. Johnson said the applicant could start with the hospital and senior-living elements using the existing allocation, then return for water on a project-by-project basis. Members supported examining a phased approach, saying it could better fit the city’s water planning while preserving availability for smaller developments. They also called for greater clarity on site layout, parking, transport, infrastructure and written commitments from the project’s proposed partners before considering the full request.