Mesa staff recommends approval of rezoning for expansion of boat and RV storage in county island

Evan, a city planning staff member, presented case ZON24525 at the Mesa City Council study session on Jan. 26, 2026, seeking rezoning and a new planned area development overlay to expand an existing boat and RV storage facility. The property sits inside a county island and staff recommended approval with conditions.

The project would reapply and carry forward deviations granted in 2017, including zero interior perimeter landscaping inside the fenced storage yard while maintaining street-facing landscaping along Main Street. Evan said the site lacks nearby city sewer and that a 2017 development agreement allowed septic tied to restroom counts in the office building; he said phase 3 will require an updated development agreement to address restroom needs and to allow eventual sewer connection if sewer is extended to the site. "This is case ZON24525," Evan said, and "we are recommending approval with conditions." The Planning and Zoning Board recommended approval 6-0, according to staff.

Councilmember Go Forth questioned the landscaping approach and asked for clearer explanations in staff reports about how projects meet conditional-use-permit criteria rather than a restatement of the criteria. "When you state the criteria, please give us the why. Why does it satisfy the criteria?" Go Forth said. He also said he is generally reluctant to expand storage uses but acknowledged the proposal expands an existing facility.

The staff presentation emphasized that the rezoning is primarily an expansion of an existing use and noted the project is consistent with the 2040 Mesa General Plan neighborhood/manufactured-home subtype designation under which it was reviewed. No final council action was taken at the study session; the item remains scheduled for formal action at a future council meeting with conditions recommended by staff and Planning and Zoning.

Next steps: the rezoning and associated development agreement will appear on the council agenda for formal introduction and action; staff and the Planning & Zoning recommendation were documented in the meeting record.