Planning commission recommends approval for medical/general office at San Tan Blvd. and Ellsworth

The Queen Creek Planning & Zoning Commission voted to recommend approval of rezone and site plan applications P24-0101 and P24-0103 for a four‑building medical and general office development at the southwest corner of San Tan Boulevard and Ellsworth Road.

Sarah Clark, principal planner in the town’s Development Services Department, told commissioners the 30,644‑square‑foot project would be annexed from a Maricopa County island and rezoned from RU‑43 to C‑1 with a PAD overlay if council approves the concurrent annexation. "I am here tonight to present to you the San Tan Boulevard and Ellsworth rezone and site plan cases P24‑0101 and P24‑0103," Clark said, summarizing the request and noting the annexation will be heard by council on Nov. 19.

Clark outlined the project’s protections for neighboring residences: the applicant proposes 141 parking stalls where 127 are required, 32% of the site as landscaping versus 15% required, a 30‑foot landscape buffer on the west and a 40‑foot buffer on the south, a six‑foot perimeter wall, and double rows of evergreen trees designed to screen views. She said parking lot poles will be 15 feet high, use warmer‑colored fixtures and be dimmed 50 percent after 10 p.m., and that the nearest residential property lines are roughly 90 feet to the west and 118 feet to the south.

Applicant representative Sean Lake said the developer is local and that the use is appropriate for the arterial corner. "It's a great project, medical office. I think that's something we desperately need in this community," Lake said, stressing low traffic impact and building materials intended to fit the neighborhood.

No members of the public submitted speaker cards on the item. A commissioner moved to approve the applications with staff’s clarified Condition No. 4 (which clarifies waterline placement), the motion was seconded and the vote carried.

Next steps: the annexation will be considered by the Town Council on Nov. 19; if council approves annexation and adopts the zoning, the site plan and PAD will guide future building permits. The staff report included required conditions of approval; commissioners asked no substantive changes beyond adding the clarified Condition No. 4.