Commission recommends Apache Junction council approve rezoning land near Fourth, Cactus

By Richard Dyer
Mail | X: @RHDyer

A land owner is requesting 1.25 acres be rezoned near the northeast corner of Fourth Avenue and Cactus Road in Apache Junction.

The Apache Junction Planning and Zoning Commission on May 12 voted unanimously to recommend the city council approve a request by Kimberly Bergman to rezone 275 S. Cactus Road from medium-density single-family detached residential to general rural low-density single-family detached residential.

The single-family residential property was developed in 1997, according to the Pinal County Assessor’s Office. The property was designated medium-density single-family detached residential in 2014 when the zoning ordinance was updated, Associate Planner Hudson Meyer wrote in a memo to the commission.

“Unlike the neighboring properties however this parcel was never split any further than 1.25 acres. Provided the difference in zoning standards between ‘RS-10M’ and ‘RS-GR’ this rezoning request aims to bring the property under standards that are more applicable to the subject site,” she said.

City staff received three comments via email regarding the proposed rezoning, one expressing support and two noting concerns regarding the placement of a cargo container on the site, as well as potential use for business activities, she said.

Rezoning the land will allow for a better use of the full property, Kimberly, Eric and Hannah Bergman wrote in a project narrative.

“As it stands now with the current zoning, we are unable to use almost two-thirds of the property. We currently have a storage container that we seek to have permitted or possibly build a garage but we are unable to do either with the current zoning,” they said. “Provided that we are able to rezone and build a garage, it will not change the character of the existing neighborhood. Most if not all surrounding properties have garages while they are on smaller pieces of property.”

The primary duties of the planning and zoning commission include community contact regarding items including a zoning change request, to an application from a developer for a shopping center development or housing project. Also included are conditional use permits with the final decision being handled at the planning and zoning commission level, according to the city’s website.

Richard H. Dyer can be reached at rdyer@iniusa.org, or on X @rhdyer. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines, https://www.yourvalley.net/civility-checklist/.

Richard Dyer
Managing Editor | East Valley

rdyer@iniusa.org

Meet Richard
Richard Dyer has worked at Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA since 1987, starting his career in Apache Junction as a copy editor and being promoted over the years to work as the editor of the Mesa Independent, news services editor for the East Valley office in Apache Junction, managing editor for the East Valley office, news services editor for the East Valley office and eventually also for the newspapers at INI’s then-Chandler office, managing editor again and as a news editor covering Apache Junction/Gold Canyon and Queen Creek. He helped start the Florence Independent while the news editor covering Apache Junction and Mesa news. In January 2023, he became associate managing editor for the East Valley newspapers and in August 2023 became managing editor for the East Valley newspapers of Chandler/Tempe, Gilbert, Queen Creek, Florence, Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon, while also reporting on Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon.  

Community: Since 2009, he has worked as a volunteer to design The Blue Guitar Magazine, Blue Guitar Jr. magazine and Unstrung magazine, which are projects of The Arizona Consortium for the Arts; and since 2014, has been overseeing the art submissions. 

Education: University of Arizona with a master of arts in journalism and a bachelor of science in agricultural communication. Also continuing education at Mesa Community College in welding in a metal art sculpture class.

Random fact: Saw his first tornado on May 31, 2010, which was classified as an EF-2, as part of a stormchasing tour group.

Hobbies: He is an artist of welded-steel sculptures, selling his artwork at juried and non-juried art shows.