Eloy Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting – October 15, 2025

The Planning & Zoning Commission met on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, at 5:45 PM in the Eloy City Council Chambers. The meeting covered approval of minutes, a consent agenda item for a behavioral health facility, and a public hearing on a solar project expansion. Key actions included approval of the consent agenda with an address correction and a recommendation to the City Council on the Poblano Expansion Solar Project.

Consent Calendar

• Luke’s House for Behavioral Health: A request by Sonnette Cherry Federico for a General Plan Amendment (GPA2025-004), Rezone (RZ2025-001), and Conditional Use Permit (CUP2025-07) at 99 South E Street (corrected to 99 North E Street) to allow a healthcare/medical facility. The Commission approved the consent agenda with a correction to the address. The motion carried unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Kylie Maman (131 South Ottawa) spoke in support of the Luke’s House project, noting the severe lack of mental health services in rural communities and the impact on youth. She emphasized that the facility would reduce the burden on schools, which currently have one counselor for over 600 students.
• Belinda Sherwood (Eloy resident) also supported the project, sharing personal experiences with long wait times at Palo Verde and the need to travel to Tucson for youth mental health services. She stated that a local facility would benefit the community, especially given the high need in the area where the clinic would be located.

Discussion Items

• Poblano Expansion Solar Project (CUP2025-006): A request by Poblano Solar, LLC (Longroad Energy) for a Conditional Use Permit to allow a solar utility-scale generation and battery energy storage facility on approximately 80 acres south of West Milligan Road. The applicant, represented by Andrew Yancey, presented the project as a minor expansion connecting two previously approved out-parcels. Key points included:
  • The 80-acre parcel is surrounded by existing approved solar projects and has limited development potential.
  • The project would generate about 200 MW of electricity, employ approximately 300 construction workers and 5 permanent staff, and yield an estimated $20 million in local property taxes over 30 years.
  • The citywide acreage cap for solar (11,744 acres) had been exceeded due to another recently approved project, but the code allows the City Council to approve overages. The applicant requested that the Commission recommend approval subject to Council granting the acreage overage.
  • Commissioners debated whether approving the expansion would erode the city’s 16% solar acreage limit. Vice Chair Tolson expressed concern about “creeping along” and exceeding rules. The applicant noted the expansion would only be 0.7% of the city’s overall acreage.
• Commission Discussion: After the public hearing, a motion to deny the CUP (citing failure to meet criteria due to the acreage cap) failed. A subsequent motion to approve, conditional on the City Council separately approving the acreage overage, passed.

Key Outcomes

• Minutes Approval: The September 17, 2025, meeting minutes were approved (7-0, with Vice Chair Tolson abstaining).
• Luke’s House Consent Agenda: Approved unanimously with an address correction from 99 South E Street to 99 North E Street.
• Poblano Solar Expansion (CUP2025-006): The Commission voted to recommend approval with the condition that the City Council must first approve the request to exceed the cumulative acreage cap. The motion carried with 5 in favor (Commissioners Whitman, Nolan Deagle, Fresetto, Crawford, and Chairman Paulson) and 1 opposed (Vice Chair Tolson). Commissioner Lopez’s vote was not explicitly recorded in the transcript; the motion passed.

Informational Item

• Staff announced upcoming General Plan open houses: Saturday, October 18 at Roberson Ranch (10 AM) and Wednesday, October 22 (5-7 PM) at City Hall. The open houses will focus on simplifying land use categories. The Commission also participated in an earlier air park planning exercise.