Planners Recommend Rezoning Nearly 28 Acres on Hunt Highway for a Warehouse Store and Gas Station
On Sept. 28 the Town of San Tan Valley Planning and Zoning Commission voted, by voice vote with no one opposed, to recommend that the Town Council rezone the land for regional commercial use, with 10 conditions. Commissioner Paul R. Bond Jr. was absent. The commission only recommends; the Council makes the final decision and no date has been set.
The Site and Proposal
The land is nearly 28 vacant acres along Hunt Highway on the north edge of the Solera neighborhood at Johnson Ranch, south of the southeast corner of Hunt Highway and Stone Creek Drive. An existing shopping center borders it to the west, vacant state land lies across Hunt Highway, and Solera homes back up to its southern edge. The staff report describes a large retail anchor, a wholesale retailer, a drive-thru and a gas station with multiple pumps. The developer is Diversified Partners, represented by attorney Brennan Ray, who said he could not say which company the retailer is.
Site History and Utilities
In 2023 Pinal County rezoned most of the land for a build-to-rent neighborhood with a smaller commercial lot along Hunt Highway. That project never broke ground. Town staff said a new owner has since secured the water rights needed to build, and the new request would make the whole site commercial. EPCOR would provide water and sewer; the developer estimates about 8 acre-feet per year.
Conditions: Traffic and Access
A traffic signal at the main entrance, about a quarter mile east of Stone Creek Drive, must be built and working before the first building can be occupied. Right-of-way is set at 70 feet from the road centerline (up from 50), plus space for turn lanes if the traffic study calls for them. Two more driveways onto Hunt Highway may be limited to right turns only, and a connection to the western shopping center would let shoppers move between the two without using the highway. A gated, emergency-only drive on Gary Road in the southwest corner would not be used by customers or deliveries. Signal timing, turn lanes and final driveway layout are set later, during site plan review after a traffic study for the actual store.
Conditions: Next to Solera Homes
Building height up to 45 feet; an 8-foot decorative masonry wall along the back and sides; the store and parking facing away from the homes; required landscaping along the Solera edge; and a sidewalk connection from Tumbleweed Lane to the site, subject to town approval.
Resident Input
Two Solera residents asked the town to open the Gary Road connection to everyday traffic. Town Engineer Chris Wanamaker said that would require a full public street at least 50 feet wide and would draw cut-through drivers; an emergency drive needs about 28 feet. Community Development Director Gilbert Olgin said the connection was never planned as a public road. Chair Karen A. Mooney asked about lighting, late deliveries and noise; Ray said those details come at site plan review and that he expects the town to require downward-facing, shielded lights. Mooney also said many Solera owners are part-time winter residents and the August neighborhood meeting notice gave them less than two weeks. The town mailed 138 notices July 29 to owners within 600 feet; 44 residents attended the Aug. 13 neighborhood meeting at the San Tan Valley Library; the town received 15 emails and one formal letter of protest.
Next Steps
The Town Council decides whether to rezone. If approved, detailed plans (traffic, lighting, landscaping) must pass site plan review before construction. Early-stage: no Council date is set and the retailer has not been named.
Source: SanTanValley.com and Hoodline, October 2026.
From Brian
This is the first warehouse-style retailer proposal I've covered in San Tan Valley. Who the retailer is hasn't been disclosed, and the Council hasn't set a vote.