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Council delays vote on proposed Target-anchored retail center at Higgley & Okato after residents raise traffic, parking and scale concerns
Summary
Simon CR's plan for a Target-anchored center (rezoning from Shopping Center to General Commercial to permit a ~128,000 sq ft anchor) drew sustained resident opposition about scale, deliveries and neighborhood impacts; the council asked staff and the applicant for additional details and postponed the hearing two weeks (April 21, 2026).
A developer proposal to rezone a 16-acre parcel at Higgley Road and Okato from Shopping Center to General Commercial drew heavy public comment and detailed staff review on April 7. The applicant and its retail operator sought permission to place a single anchor store larger than the Shopping Center cap of 75,000 sq ft (the plan showed a ~128,000 sq ft anchor, two outparcels and surface parking).
Planning staff emphasized the site is already designated general commercial in the general-plan map and said the applicant intends to meet many Shopping Center-style standards despite requesting the GC district to permit the larger single-user anchor. The applicant's team and town engineers proposed traffic mitigation packages tied to the town's CIP at Higgley/Okato and other corridor improvements. The developer also requested a parking-count reduction (the submitted administrative parking study proposes 537 spaces vs. ~614 otherwise required) and a limited deviation for a canopy and a southern landscape setback.
Neighbors expressed multiple concerns during the public hearing: truck circulation and large-delivery vehicle routing through adjacent residential streets (Wilson), potential overflow parking, holiday-peak congestion, proximity of a loading/compactor area to residential access points, and whether the site can physically and safely fit a standard full-line anchor at the parcel size proposed. Urban-design commenters and at least one architect argued many full-line anchors in the region sit on substantially larger parcels. Supporters and economic-development analysis said the center would create jobs and generate sales-tax revenue captured in Gilbert.
Given the volume of questions and the number of residents in the chamber, the council voted to postpone the case for two weeks to allow staff and the applicant to produce additional information and address neighborhood questions (new hearing scheduled April 21, 2026). The council asked for a focused list of items — truck routes and weights, parking-projection detail, a clarified circulation plan, and demonstration that compactors/dump areas and loading will not direct trucks into residential streets.
Provenance: staff presentation, applicant response, public comment and council postponement: SEG 5763–SEG 7616.
