Planners Recommend Denying Commercial Zoning for 3.3-Acre Gantzel Road Parcel
This is a follow-up to our earlier Gantzel Road coverage: Gantzel Road Commercial Parcel Moves Toward a Zoning Vote and Gantzel Road Annexation Moves to Signature-Gathering Phase, Queen Creek Fire Question Surfaces.
The Vote
On Sept. 28 the Town of San Tan Valley Planning and Zoning Commission voted 5-0 to recommend that the Town Council deny commercial zoning for the parcel. Commissioner Donna Hallman made the motion and Commissioner Mary Lokka seconded. Chair Karen A. Mooney, Vice Chair Adrien Litton and Commissioners Kennedy Terrill, Hallman and Lokka voted for denial; Commissioner Paul R. Bond Jr. was absent. Town staff made no recommendation, though its written analysis found the site suitable for commercial zoning.
The Parcel and Proposal
The 3.3-acre parcel is at the southwest corner of Gantzel Road and Lone Star Lane. It is still in unincorporated Pinal County and is going through annexation, which would be the town's first annexation case. The proposed Gantzel Commercial Center would have two single-story buildings of about 9,500 square feet each, both under 30 feet tall (an earlier preliminary plan showed two buildings of about 8,200 square feet). The requested zoning would allow retail, services, health care, restaurants and offices. Likely tenants include a dentist, an orthodontist and a sandwich or shipping store; no drive-thrus or gas station are planned. One of the owners, an oral surgeon, said he plans to move his practice into one building.
Access would be a right-in, right-out driveway on Gantzel Road about 430 feet south of Lone Star Lane, with a right-turn lane, plus a second entrance off Lone Star Lane. The owners asked to reduce the required 25-foot west landscaped buffer to 10 feet, offering denser planting and an 8-foot block wall. Attorney Adam Baugh said Gantzel Road carries about 40,000 trips a day and the center would add about 2 percent.
Neighbor Concerns
Lone Star Lane is a private dead-end lane serving four large-lot homes and is used to ride horses to the wash. Four neighbors spoke against the rezoning and one spoke for it. Concerns included existing traffic backups on Gantzel Road, horse trailers waiting behind shoppers, drivers turning around in driveways, and lights, deliveries and trash pickup near homes. Neighbors noted the access points are conceptual and lack engineering approval. Baugh said the owners would maintain Lone Star Lane to a commercial standard from Gantzel Road to the western edge of the property.
Next Steps
The Town Council votes on annexation first; staff expects this in October, though the article gives no specific date. Rezoning cannot be heard until annexation takes effect. If annexed without rezoning, the land would receive the town's Rural Development zoning, which matches its current county Suburban Ranch zoning. The owners' representative said they will proceed with annexation even if commercial zoning fails. If annexation passes, the Council would consider the rezoning with the commission's denial recommendation before it.
Source: SanTanValley.com, October 2026.