Freeway landmark signs sought at Williams Field, Signal Butte in Mesa

By Richard Dyer
Mail | X: @RHDyer

A permit is being sought for two freeway landmark signs along State Route 24 at East Williams Field Road and South Signal Butte Road in Mesa.

The Mesa Planning and Zoning Board on Jan. 14 voted 6-0 as part of a consent agenda with other items to recommend the Mesa City Council approve a council use permit for the freeway landmark signs. Board member Chase Farnsworth was absent.

The freeway landmark signs will help facilitate development within the Destination at Gateway center and attract customers, Planner Kellie Rorex said during a study session prior to the meeting

“So one of the freeway landmark signs will be at the corner of Signal Butte and the 24 Gateway Freeway offramp... and then the other one will be about 500 feet away from Mountain Road, also along the 24 Gateway Freeway,” she said.

Sean Lake of Pew & Lake PLC is the applicant. BCB Group Investments LLC is the owner.

In June 2024, the city council approved a planned area development on the property to allow for development of general commercial and light industrial uses, in addition to a council use permit to allow large-format retail in the light industrial zoning district. Pew & Lake wrote in a project narrative.

“(T)he property will be a destination shopping center anchored by a large-format commercial user. There will be inline retail shops on the Mountain Road and Gateway Auto Drive frontages, which will be punctuated by drive-thru uses. Signal Butte Road will have car dealerships on both sides of the street,” it states.

The seven-member Planning and Zoning Board conducts hearings and make recommendations to the City Council on requests for changes in zoning and on required site plans. It also considers and recommends changes in the city’s long-range plans and in the municipal code concerning planning and zoning matters. Members are appointed for staggered terms of three years.

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.