The Queen Creek Planning and Zoning Commission voted to recommend approval of the Carter Development rezoning and associated site plan and to forward the annexation to Town Council, adding conditions intended to reduce neighborhood impacts.

Nathan Warren of the Development Services Department presented the proposal (case P24-0113) for a roughly 2-acre office building at the northwest corner of Ellsworth and Happy Road. Warren said the site is currently in unincorporated Maricopa County and the developer intends to annex the parcel into Queen Creek; he summarized revisions to stipulations proposed during staff review, including a cost-share of 7% toward a future traffic signal at Ellsworth and Hatfield and a requirement to work with the town on traffic mitigations on Happy Road if necessary.

Chris Webb of Rose Law Group, representing Carter Development, described the project as roughly 17,000 square feet of single-story office space that will house Carter Development offices and leave about half the building leasable for other office tenants. Webb said the design was revised from an earlier two-story proposal to a single-story building to improve compatibility with adjacent homes. “We’ve changed that to a single story building,” Webb said, and noted the building is set back from neighboring properties and will include perimeter landscaping and a 10-foot multiuse trail along Ellsworth.

Residents raised concerns about traffic on Happy Road, road condition and safety for horses and children. Scott Hinman, who said he lives at 20715 East Watford and is kitty-corner to the project, showed photographs of narrow sections of Happy Road and the intersection at Ellsworth during a busy period and argued that added traffic would damage unpaved or chip-seal roads and pose safety risks. Jessica Dodabo, 20505 East Firestone Drive, told the commission she and neighbors maintain 206th Street, a private road, and said additional traffic could accelerate damage; she and other speakers asked whether the town or county would be responsible for road repairs.

The applicant and staff said the project would add a right-turn lane on Ellsworth at Happy as part of the site work, would pave and bring Happy Road from Ellsworth to the project boundary up to town standards, and that the project’s traffic study indicated a low peak-hour trip generation (the applicant cited roughly seven PM-peak hour exiting trips). Webb said the developer would install a “no right turn” sign at the site driveway as a deterrent to drivers trying to avoid waiting for a left onto Ellsworth.

Commissioners debated mitigating measures and view impacts. Several commissioners encouraged additional buffering. The commission added a condition requiring two rows of trees along the western (side) boundary and, following a motion, required two rows of trees along the northern property line planted in 24-inch box size with a minimum planting height of six feet. Commissioners and staff discussed wall height; staff noted existing walls along the site and recommended trees and additional landscaping to create a visual buffer rather than requiring replacement of an existing 6-foot wall with an 8-foot wall.

After a final motion to approve the rezoning and site plan (and forward the annexation to council) with the amended conditions, commissioners voted in favor and the chair announced the motion carried. Staff said the annexation and final approvals will move to Town Council next month for final action.