Queen Creek Planning & Zoning Commission Regular Meeting – December 10, 2025
Queen Creek Planning & Zoning Commission Regular Meeting – December 10, 2025
The Queen Creek Planning and Zoning Commission held a regular meeting on December 10, 2025, at 6:00 PM in the Community Chambers. The meeting included a consent agenda, public hearings on two zoning text amendments, final action items, administrative updates, and a work study session on setbacks.
Consent Calendar
- The Commission approved the November 12, 2025 meeting minutes and the 2026 meeting schedule. Items C, D, and E on the consent agenda were continued to future meetings: P25-0155 (definitions) and P25-0153 (animal regulations) to January 14, 2026; P25-0156 (parking standards) to a future meeting.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comments were submitted or made during the public comment period for items not on the agenda or during the public hearings.
Discussion Items
Public Hearing: Wireless Communications Text Amendment (P25-0154)
- Planning Manager Erik Swanson presented a proposal to amend Section 6.9 to streamline wireless facility approvals, including allowing small cell antennas in the public right-of-way by building permit, administrative review for stealth infrastructure, and consolidating tower and monopole requirements. The amendment also changes the conditional use permit process for towers so that the Planning Commission is the deciding body rather than the Town Council. After no questions from commissioners and no public comment, the Commission unanimously approved the amendment.
Public Hearing: Outdoor Storage Text Amendment (P25-0152)
- Planner Zachary Presley presented an amendment to prohibit non-traditional building forms (e.g., storage containers, box trucks) as accessory structures unless they are transformed to blend with the primary residence, and to limit outdoor storage visible from property boundaries. Extensive discussion ensued regarding the subjective nature of "blight," visibility from ground level, impacts on large lots, and protection of property rights. Commissioners expressed concerns about neighbors' ability to view rear yards from upper stories and about potential unintended effects on properties with antique equipment or decorative items. The Commission voted to continue the item to the January 14, 2026 meeting to refine language, particularly adding "visible from ground level" and addressing antique vehicles and large-lot properties.
Final Action: Vineyard Plaza Comprehensive Sign Plan (P25-0166)
- Planner Nathan Duran presented a request for a monument sign at the Mountainside Fitness site with two deviations from code (height 18 ft vs. 8 ft; area 113 sq ft vs. 48 sq ft), consistent with the adjacent Vineyard Town Center sign. After presentation, no questions from commissioners, the Commission unanimously approved the sign plan.
Final Action: Annual Organizational Meeting Notification
- The Commission reappointed Chair Gillette and Vice Chair Ballard for the 2026 term by unanimous vote.
Administrative Items
- Erik Swanson provided a year-end update: 135 single-family permits issued in 2025, 176 applications reviewed, 11 text amendments processed. Notable projects included Mountainside Fitness, The Perch, The Switchyard, Bosma, Matheson Medical, and DD Mini Farms. He also noted the addition of two new commissioners and thanked the staff.
Key Outcomes
- P25-0154 (Wireless Communications Text Amendment): Unanimously approved.
- P25-0152 (Outdoor Storage Text Amendment): Continued to January 14, 2026, with direction to staff to add "visible from ground level" language and address antique vehicles and large-lot considerations.
- P25-0166 (Vineyard Plaza Sign Plan): Unanimously approved.
- Chair and Vice Chair: Reappointed for 2026 (Chair Gillette, Vice Chair Ballard).
- Work study session: Discussed a proposal to reduce front and rear setbacks from 40 ft to 30 ft for R1-35 and R1-43 districts; no action taken.
Meeting Transcript
All right, is everybody ready? All right, thank you. Once again, good evening, everyone. Thank you for being here with us tonight. The regular session of the Queen Creek Planning and Zoning will now come to order. Victoria, will you please call roll? Chair Gillette? Here. Vice Chair Ballard? Here. Commissioner Baldwin. Here. Commissioner Bordez? Here. Commissioner Hale. Here. Commissioner Matheson. Commissioner Young? Here. We have a quorum. Thank you, Victoria. Will everyone stand and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance? Thank you, everyone, for that. Members of the public may address the planning commission on items not on the printed agenda. Members of the commission may not discuss, consider, or act on any matter raised during public comment. Requests to speak must be submitted through the clerk. Please observe the time limit of three minutes. Are there any members of the public that wish to speak on items not printed on the agenda? Seeing that there are none, we will move to the consent agenda. Matters listed under the consent agenda are considered to be routine and will be enacted by one motion and one vote. Do we have a motion on the consent agenda? Thank you for that, Commissioner. Do I have a second? Evening, Les. Commissioners, happy holidays to you. Uh so has the need for uh wireless communications, not only in coverage but also in uh technology and the fact that more and more people are used utilizing wireless communication beyond just cell phones. Uh the uh town council in their 2025-2030 corporate strategic plan specifically identified uh the need for the town to work with uh technology providers and to provide uh services town wide to ensure that we have uh technology service throughout our community serving all of our residents and our businesses. Um our existing code was established uh excuse me about five years ago, and uh since then there have been a few uh legislative changes uh that need to be addressed in our code as well as the fact that technology has just evolved and uh again as I mentioned earlier, the service demand is increasing. So the service needs today for this this type of technology is even different than just a few years ago. So with our amendments, we're really looking at uh the main objective of trying to streamline the entitlement review process. Uh that is probably one of the key things that we hear repeatedly from folks is as they want to establish uh uh wireless communication facilities, primarily the larger towers in our community is is the process that they have to go through. Um as you're likely aware at this point in time uh the code requires a hearing before the commit uh the planning commission, and you're recommending body to town council uh for all conditional use permit uh related uh items. And in this instance, what we're proposing is that uh for those uh towers, those if the infrastructure items that do require conditional use permit, that the planning commission would be the side deciding body. It would not require council action. We are also uh proposing a number of other changes. Uh one having to do with small uh cell antennas. Uh you'll probably see if you haven't seen them popping up, you'll see a lot of those coming into our community uh in the near term. We have approximately 20 right now in the permit or our development process, and probably the latest one. If you haven't seen it, uh you'll see it after I tell you is right on Ellsworth Loop near Olive Garden. There's a brand new uh small cell antenna that just was installed that's in association with one of our street lights.
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