Chandler Council approves Costco plan, rezoning

By Jason W. Brooks
Mail | X: @JasonWBrooks2

After some discussion, mainly about traffic flow and where elements are located, the Chandler City Council advanced a plan it says East Valley businesses sorely need.

By approving its Feb. 6 consent agenda, council approved both a preliminary development plan and rezoning for a Costco Business Center on the southwest corner of Alma School and Pecos roads.

It will be the first Costco Business Center in East Valley, and one of only a handful in Arizona.

“I’ve heard from a number of businesses who are happy they’ll no longer have to go to I-17 and Indian School Road (in northwest Phoenix) anymore for certain supplies,” Mayor Kevin Hartke said just before the Feb. 6 vote

After Chandler’s Planning & Zoning Commission unanimously recommended approval at its Jan. 15 regular meeting, the rezoning and plan approval were presented to council at its Feb. 3 study session by associate planner Darsy Omer.

Council’s questions were answered by city traffic engineer Dana Alvidrez and by Bryan Wright of developer Kimley-Horn.

“We didn’t have any concerns about traffic backing up onto any adjacent arterials,” Alvidrez said. “Staff worked hard with the developer to minimize that.”

The plan shows both the gas station and loading docks located near the southeast corner of the property. While that corner’s very close to the Alma School / Loop 202 interchange, all in-out traffic at the Costco will be funneled through a pair of driveways along Alma School or another pair of driveways along Pecos.

Also, Alvidrez said, not only will Alma School be widened from two to three lanes, each driveway will have a “deceleration lane” for traffic turning right off of Pecos or Alma School into Costco.

The final motion that was approved Feb. 6 included the stipulation that the developer install a minimum of six electric-vehicle charging stations at the store.

Council member Matt Orlando pointed out that the widening will contribute to the “three lanes, two lanes, three lanes” inconsistency Alma School Road displays in a few places — a problem he’d like council to examine soon.

Wright said the Costco Business Center will be closed Sundays and will close at 4 p.m. on Saturdays.

The Business Center would be the second Costco location in Chandler, though the other is a Costco Wholesale. Business centers are more geared toward restaurants and supplies for other businesses, whereas the Wholesale model — the more common type of Costco — is aimed at families and has seasonal items.

The type built on South Galleria Way, near the Chandler Fashion Center, is a Costco Wholesale.

The plan includes a 144,000-square-foot, 34-foot-tall building and a gas station on the 18.6-acre site, which is just north of Loop 202 and is east of an apartment complex.

C-2 zoning in Chandler is defined as “Community Commercial,” where establishments “offer comparison shopper goods, convenience goods and services, specialty items, amusements and numerous other services catering to less than a citywide market.”

The vacant property is one of a dozen or so corners in Chandler where city staff and officials have dealt with numerous zone and plan changes through the decades — none of which resulted in anything built. Council first rezoned the site as commercial when it was annexed in 1983, then approved for at least three more major changes through the years.

In 2015, according to a staff report, the site was rezoned to allow for an office park with ancillary commercial uses. A three-year-time extension on that never-begun project was approved by council in 2019.

We invite our readers to submit their civil comments on this topic. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.   Email Jason W. Brooks at jbrooks@iniusa.org.

Jason W. Brooks
News Editor | Chandler Independent

Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.

Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.

Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.

Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.

Community: He supports animal shelters.