City planning staff on July 14 described a request from Sun Construction to change the land-use designation of 36.6 net acres along the U.S. 60 corridor from commercial to light industrial/business park and to rezone the property from RSGR (general rural, low-density single-family) to industrial by plan development to allow a construction manufacturing facility with office and training space. The city scheduled a public hearing on the item for July 15.

The request covers 36.6 net acres of largely undeveloped land; the applicant plans an initial phase of roughly 9 to 10 acres for a single industrial building that staff and the applicant say would include manufacturing, offices and training facilities. Planning staff told council the site is surrounded by industrial uses to the west and south (including a county industrial island and the Baseline Industrial Park), and by commercial uses and an RV park to the east. Staff said Horne Auto Center is the current owner and indicated it does not plan to develop the parcel itself.

Planning staff said they worked with the applicant on building massing and on landscape buffering. "We have worked with them and they've noted that they will not have outdoor storage," planning staff said, describing required screening and an eight‑foot wall on the north side. The staff report also notes architectural treatments to reduce the visual mass of a large industrial building and identifies the site as supporting the city’s economic development goals.

Ryan, the city’s economic development director, told council the industrial market shows strong demand locally and said the proposed building would be large for Apache Junction. "Our vacancy rate is 3 and a half percent," Ryan said, and he added that this would be among the largest industrial buildings in the city. Planning staff told council the applicant expects to provide about 100 jobs at the site.

The Planning and Zoning Commission heard the case twice, as required for a major general plan amendment, and on June 24 voted 5‑0 to recommend approval of P‑25‑10 GPA (the general plan amendment) and P‑25‑11 PZ (rezoning by plan development) subject to conditions in the staff report. Planning staff said the larger notification and agency review required for a major general plan amendment were completed and that one business owner attended the neighborhood meeting and expressed support.

Discussion at the July 14 work session touched on site landscaping, wall placement and screening along U.S. 60 and Auto Center Drive, and on coordinating nonaerial (off‑site) signage or speed limits with Public Works. Staff indicated some screening and landscape requirements are triggered by the city’s zoning ordinance and street frontage rules, which placed the required wall and trees along the north frontage.

No formal council action was taken at the work session. The item is scheduled for a public hearing on the council agenda for July 15, when council may accept public testimony and consider any changes to recommended conditions of approval.