Mesa zoning board recommends approval of rezoning, site plan review for 45-unit development

The Mesa Planning and Zoning Board recently voted to recommend the City Council approve a rezoning request and site plan review that would pave the way for a 45-unit multiple residence development at the southwest corner of South Sossaman Road and East Main Street.

The board on April 9 voted 4-0 to recommend approval of the request for a site plan review and rezoning for the 3.5-acre site. Absent were board members Jamie Blakeman, Genessee Montes and Chase Farnsworth.

The applicant was requesting the site be rezoned from limited commercial to multiple residence 2 with a planned area overlay and to do a site plan review.

The request was made by applicant Jon Gillespie from Rose Law Group on behalf of site owners Yang Chin Sein and Mary Fong. The site plan is made up of 45 three-bedroom, two-story units. These are arranged into five four-unit buildings, one five-unit building, one eight-unit building and one 12-unit building. The development will also have 45 single-garage parking spaces and 60 surface parking spaces.

The units will cost $4,200 a month to rent, Gillespie told the board at the meeting.

According to a board presentation, property owners nearby were notified. An in-person neighborhood meeting was held Jan. 8 that was attended by approximately 30 community members who raised concerns such as traffic and compatibility with an adjacent single residence use to the south.

The board presentation also says staff received a petition in opposition signed by 453 members of the Mesa East Homeowners Association.

According to a board document, staff concluded that the petition meets the requirements of a legal protest, meaning that if the board recommends approval to the council, the council must approve the site plan review and rezone by a super majority. A super majority requires three-fourths of all city council members to approve the project.

The seven-member Planning and Zoning Board conducts hearings and makes 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.

Connor Van Ligten and Richard H. Dyer contributed to this story.