Maricopa City Hall

39700 W. Civic Center

Plaza

City of Maricopa

Maricopa, AZ 85138

Ph: (520) 568-9098

Fx: (520) 568-9120

www.maricopa-az.gov

Meeting Minutes - Final

Planning & Zoning Commission

Chair James Singleton

Commissioner Robert Klob

Commissioner Robert Brems

Commissioner William Robertson

Commissioner Maurice Thomas Jr.

Commissioner Chad Whittle

Commissioner Ted Yocum

Monday, December 8, 2025

6:00 PM

Council Chambers

Call To Order

Roll Call

Chair Singleton called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM. The invocation was given by

Commissioner Yocum, and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Commissioner Klob.

6 -

Present

Commissioner Robert Klob, Commissioner Maurice Thomas Jr.,

Commissioner Ted Yocum, Commissioner William Robertson , Chair James

Singleton, and Commissioner Chad Whittle

Call to the Public

No members of the public approached the podium during the call to the public.

No speaker cards were provided by the public.

Minutes

The Commission shall approve Minutes from the October 27, 2025 meeting.

4.1

MIN 25-73

The Commission reviewed the minutes from the October 27, 2025 meeting. No

questions or comments were raised.

Motion to approve the minutes was made by Commissioner Robertson and

seconded by Commissioner Brems. The motion passed unanimously.

Public Hearings

No members of the public approached the podium for public hearings.

Consent Agenda

No items were included on the consent agenda.

Regular Agenda

7.1

ZON25-05

PUBLIC HEARING: A request by Westwood Professional Services, applicant, on

behalf of Porter 20, LLC, owner, to rezone ±3.6 acres from General Business (CB-2)

zone to the General Commercial (GC) zoning district. The subject site is generally

located 0.13 miles (712 feet) east of the southeast corner of N. Porter Road and W.

Honeycutt Road. DISCUSSION AND ACTION.

LaRee Mason, Associate Planner, presented the request to rezone approximately 3.6

acres from the legacy county zoning district General Business (CB-2) to the municipal

zoning district General Commercial (GC). The purpose of the rezoning was to permit

the use of a car wash on the property located east of the southeast corner of West

Honeycutt Road and North Porter Road.

Mrs. Mason noted that the request met the general plan objective B1.4.6 to move all

county legacy zoning districts into current municipal zoning districts. Although this was

a rezone request only, she shared a preliminary site plan showing a proposed car wash

that would occupy approximately 1.25 acres of the 3.6-acre parcel, which would require

a lot split before any permits are issued.

Mrs. Mason in her staff analysis found that the request conforms with the general plan

by promoting commercial development along arterials near neighborhood nodes,

encouraging the location of neighborhood commercial uses adjacent to residential

communities, and transitioning zoning designations to city municipal zoning codes.

Mrs. Mason reported that the public outreach included mailed notifications, publishing

on the city website, and placement of signs with QR codes allowing the public to

access information. A neighborhood meeting was held where two members of the

public attended with general questions about the development and expressed concerns

about whether proposals are analyzed on a case-by-case basis or rubber-stamped.

Staff recommended approval because the request met the intent of the general plan as

well as the appropriate use and location.

Chair Singleton opened the public hearing. No one came forward to speak, and the

public hearing was closed.

Commissioner Yocum commented that while they were only deciding on zoning that

evening, there were issues that would need to be addressed at the next level, including

sound and noise buffers, hours of operation (reportedly planned to be 7 AM to 8 PM),

lighting, landscaping, and ingress/egress.

Commissioner Robertson asked about the fire lane shown on the plan and learned that

it was an existing access easement created in 2017 from Circle K to this site.

Commissioner Klob expressed concern that the site plan would not be returning to the

Commission for review, as the proposed building was under 5,000 square feet. He was

particularly concerned about the traffic flow pattern shown in the preliminary plan,

noting it would be difficult to navigate with a full-size truck.

Commissioner Whittle agreed with the concerns about traffic flow and navigation

difficulties.

Chair Singleton noted that the lack of a second point of ingress and egress was

concerning, and that the preliminary trash enclosure placement on the south side

bordered up against a church with no current road access. He also requested that the

preliminary site plan be added to Legistar since it was presented to the Commission.

Commissioner Robertson clarified that the project could not be built under existing

zoning, so the rezone was necessary for it to proceed, and urged staff to incorporate

commissioners' feedback about traffic flow when working with the developer.

A motion was made that this Rezoning be Approved. The motion carried by the

following vote:

6 -

Aye,

Brems,Commissioner Thomas,Commissioner Yocum,Commissioner

Robertson,Chair Singleton, and Commissioner Whittle

1 - Commissioner Klob

Nay,

7.2

DRP25-28

PLANNING COMMISSION UPDATE: Major Development Review Permit case #

DRP25-28, a request by Tim Rasnake of Archicon Architecture & Interiors, L.C., on

behalf of property owner Maricopa 30, LLC, for review of Site, Landscape, Elevation,

and Photometric Plans for a proposed convenience store and gas station on approx.

1.6-acres of land within Pinal County Parcel Nos. 510-71-001F and 510-71-001D, within

the City of Maricopa, generally located at the southwest corner of W. Honeycutt Rd.

and N. White and Parker Rd. DISCUSSION ONLY

Derek Scheerer, Senior Planner, presented an informational item regarding a major

development review permit for a 7-Eleven convenience store with a fuel canopy and fuel

service station. The project would be located at the southwest corner of West

Honeycutt Road and North White and Parker Road, on approximately 1.6 acres.

The proposal included a 5,400-square-foot convenience store with a 3,200 square foot

fuel canopy covering 6 dual-sided pumps (12 pumps total). The plan provided parking

for 46 vehicles, including spaces at the fuel pumps. Landscaping would cover

approximately 15,000 square feet, constituting 21% of the area, with 33 trees.

Mr. Scheerer outlined the site access points: one full access from West Honeycutt

Road, a second right-in/right-out entrance on Honeycutt, a three-quarter access on

North White and Parker Road (allowing right-in, right-out, left-in, but no left-out), and

another access point further south.

Commissioner Robertson expressed serious concerns about the intersection, noting it

was one of the poorest designed in the city, with school buses and trucks hitting the

guardrail due to tight turning constraints. He pointed out discrepancies in the package

regarding the existing conditions and questioned whether the technical advisory

committee had adequately addressed these concerns.

Mr. Scheerer confirmed that discussions between the applicant's team and city

engineers were ongoing regarding deficiencies and necessary improvements. He

explained that the road development happens piece by piece as property owners are

responsible for half-street improvements in front of their property, which sometimes

creates bottlenecks or unwanted situations temporarily.

Commissioner Klob suggested that three-dimensional renderings would better

showcase the building design than the flat elevations provided. He also recommended

that the city or applicants coordinate to show where road medians would be placed to

help visualize traffic flow restrictions and address public concerns about illegal left

turns.

Chair Singleton asked about light pollution from the canopies affecting nearby

residences and requested information about stormwater runoff containment and oil/gas

spill mitigation. Mr. Scheerer explained that regulations exist to keep on-site runoff

from mixing with off-site runoff, including subsurface drainage basins with systems

similar to grease traps to prevent contaminants from reaching the soil.

The presentation was heard.

7.3

PZ 25-03

Miscellaneous Item PZ25-03 - City of Maricopa "Non-residential Design Guidelines:

Rick Williams, Planning and Zoning Division Manager, will present the latest draft of

the Non-residential Design Guidelines to the Planning and Zoning Commission.

Discussion Only.

Rick Williams, Planning and Zoning Division Manager, presented the first draft of the

non-residential design guidelines. He explained that while the city had established

single-family and multi-family design guidelines, they lacked guidelines for commercial

development, which was becoming increasingly important as the city grows.

Mr. Williams explained that the document was developed by examining guidelines from

every city in the Phoenix valley and organizing them into categories covering site

design (layout, access, parking, landscaping, lighting, walls, and fences) and

architectural form (building mass, walls, roofs, storefront proportions, colors, and

materials). It also included sections on industrial buildings and specific developments

like gas stations, car washes, drive-through facilities, office complexes, and large

commercial buildings.

Mr. Williams requested commissioner feedback and outlined the next steps, which

included soliciting input from 6-10 developers currently doing business in Maricopa,

posting the draft on the city website around February 2nd, bringing it back to the

Planning Commission around March 9th, holding a City Council study session in

mid-March, and potentially having Council adoption on April 21st.

Commissioners provided initial feedback as follows: Commissioner Whittle asked how

Maricopa's proposed guidelines compared to other cities, and Mr. Williams

emphasized that they didn't create any new standards but incorporated best practices

from other municipalities.

Commissioner Yocum inquired about guidelines for multi-level parking structures,

which Mr. Williams confirmed were included.

Commissioner Klob emphasized that the guidelines were long overdue and shared his

experience with how design requirements in other cities had positive impacts on

property values and neighborhood quality. He requested a digital copy to provide

detailed feedback.

Commissioner Robertson asked how approvals were currently handled without

guidelines, and Mr. Williams acknowledged that it was largely through negotiation with

limited leverage. He confirmed that the guidelines would go into effect 30 days after

Council approval, and while previously approved projects would generally be

grandfathered, expired site plans (after 24 months) might be subject to the new

requirements.

Chair Singleton requested that the public be able to view and provide input on the

guidelines, which Mr. Williams confirmed would happen around February 2nd.

Mr. Williams concluded by stating that educational presentations for the Commission

would continue in 2026, with the goal of having at least one per quarter, and that they

would also be updating the existing residential and multifamily guidelines.

The presentation was heard.

Reports from Commission and/or Staff

Mr. Williams thanked the commissioners for their efforts throughout the year and

wished them a Merry Christmas. He mentioned that the January meeting would include

the election of chair and vice chair positions, as well as a roles and responsibilities

seminar provided by legal counsel. He outlined plans to update and eventually combine

all the design guidelines into a comprehensive document.