An event venue is coming to Hunt Highway in unincorporated San Tan Valley after the Pinal County Board of Supervisors approved a rezoning for the site on Aug. 26.

The board approved the request as presented, with 13 stipulations, changing the zoning on about 4.87 acres from CB-1 Local Business to C-3 General Commercial. The parcel sits along West Hunt Highway, west of North Ann's Way and just south of the Town of Queen Creek. The applicant describes the location as the southeast corner of Hunt Highway and Valley View Road.

Shaine Alleman of Tiffany & Bosco filed the application on behalf of the property owner, Edgewood Capital LLC. The Pinal County Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval 9-0 on July 16.

What Is Planned for the Site

The land is vacant today, sitting between a plant nursery to the west and rural and residential parcels to the north and south. Plans filed with the county show two event buildings on the property.

• The larger building, on the east side, would hold an assembly hall, a restaurant space, indoor and outdoor cocktail areas and an outdoor event lawn, plus office space for event planning and administration.
• A smaller building to the west would hold a second assembly hall, restaurant space and outdoor event space.
• The site plan shows 165 parking spaces, with the only entrance on Hunt Highway. The applicant says there would be no patron access from the neighborhood to the south.

Alleman told the board the venue would be open to the public for weddings, receptions and other private events, and said the closest comparable space is about two miles away in San Tan Heights and is private, for residents only.

Supervisor Rich Vitiello, whose district covers the site, spoke in support and said the county needs more venues like it, pointing to the shortage of places locally to hold weddings and graduations.

Limits That Come With the Approval

The 13 stipulations are conditions the developer has to meet. Several address the concerns that come with an event center next to homes.

• Noise: outdoor event activity, including music, may not exceed 60 decibels at the property line after 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, or after midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. Past those hours, the event has to move indoors.
• Screening: where the property meets rural or residential zoning, the developer must build a six-foot wall and plant a landscape buffer at least 10 feet wide, with trees 30 feet apart and mature trees next to existing homes.
• Lighting: the site must meet Lighting Zone 2 standards in the Pinal County Development Services Code.
• Roads: the county is requiring a 75-foot half-street right-of-way dedication along Hunt Highway, which is classified as a principal arterial. A traffic study is required before site plan approval, and any road work it calls for is at the developer's cost.
• Earth fissures: no buildings or permanent structures may be placed in the areas marked as earth fissures on the site plan.

The stipulations set no closing time for the venue itself and no cap on how many events it can hold. The noise limit is the only hour-based restriction.

How the Case Moved Through the Process

The applicant mailed notice to 86 property owners within 1,400 feet in February and held a neighborhood meeting at the Queen Creek library on March 17. Four residents attended, all of them neighbors to the west or on Sundance Drive, and none objected. The adjacent property owner to the west submitted a letter of support. No one spoke for or against the project during the public hearing on Aug. 26.

The site carries a Suburban Neighborhood designation under the San Tan Valley Special Area Plan, the county's long-range land use plan for the area. County staff found the event venue compatible with that designation, so no comprehensive plan amendment was needed.

What Happens Next

The rezoning sets what can be built on the land. The details still have to clear site plan review with the county, and that is where traffic, drainage and lighting get examined. More on projects moving through review in the area is on our What's Building page.