Planning staff on Wednesday expressed concerns about vehicular and pedestrian circulation, the concentration of drive‑thru uses and landscape setbacks for a proposed shopping‑center update at the northwest corner of Val Vista and Queen Creek, and said the applicant provided a revised layout late last week that addresses several staff comments.

Project details: Planner Sal DeSanto reviewed Design Review case DR‑25‑54 for a site roughly 8.07 acres (12.95 acres master site) zoned Shopping Center. The earlier master site plan (approved Feb. 2023) showed six pads and two drive‑thrus; the latest applicant submittal proposes eight pads and an increased number of drive‑thrus, including a proposed quick‑lube Valvoline along Queen Creek Road.

Staff concerns: DeSanto said the concentration of auto‑oriented uses — “with a high quantity of auto oriented uses, this limits the amount of architecture facing the arterial streets,” and that the increased pads orient building facades inward rather than creating an engaging edge on Val Vista or Queen Creek. He also highlighted safety concerns: “We particularly see this…where those three proposed drive‑thrus all carry the same orientation with the drive‑thrus wrapping east to west and with the potential stacking into the interior drive aisles on‑site.” DeSanto said minimum landscape setbacks adjacent to existing single‑family neighborhoods (75‑foot building setback and 30‑ to 35‑foot landscape setbacks) must be met; the northwest strip currently thins below the 35‑foot landscape requirement.

Applicant response and revised plan: The applicant provided a revised plan late last week that, according to staff, reintroduces a more centralized parking area, reorients at least one drive‑thru to reduce stacking impacts and improves pedestrian connectivity. DeSanto said staff had not completed a full review of the revised plan but welcomed the changes: “We do appreciate the applicant’s willingness to add that centralized parking to help create a free flowing design, to help pedestrians navigate to other pads.”

Design comments: Staff asked that individual pad materials and color palettes better tie to the previously approved Walgreens and adjacent storage facility; DeSanto suggested pulling in cooler color tones and additional materials to provide continuity. Commissioners generally supported staff’s emphasis on pedestrian connectivity and minimizing queuing that could spill into public right of way. Vice Chair Fay said he would not be sympathetic to reducing setbacks adjacent to residences.

Next steps: Staff will complete formal review of the revised plan and continue working with the applicant to ensure minimum setbacks, landscape requirements and pedestrian circulation measures are met before any final action.