The Queen Creek Town Council has approved plans for a Taco Bell on a more than 1-acre site west of the southwest corner of Ellsworth Road and Empire Boulevard.
At its Wednesday meeting, the council voted 6-0 to approve requests for a conditional-use permit and site plan for the fast-food restaurant. Council Member Jeff Brown was absent from the meeting.
The requests were on the council’s public consent agenda in which all items are approved through one motion and vote following a public hearing. No members of the public spoke during the hearing.
The conditional-use permit is needed because of the Taco Bell’s proposed hours of operation and the drive-thru’s proximity to homes.
The 2,216-square-foot Taco Bell will be adjacent to a 7-Eleven convenience store and fuel canopy.
The site is surrounded on the east and south by commercial property and rural residential lots in Pinal County to the west, according to a staff report.
The property was annexed from Pinal County in 2018 and there are plans for a Cobblestone Carwash, Black Rock Coffee and a public storage facility on the west side of Ellsworth Road, south of the Taco Bell.
“To minimize light pollution, 6-foot-tall perimeter screen walls are planned along the western and southern boundaries of the subject property to shield vehicle headlights from both the subject property and adjacent commercial sites,” the staff report continued.
The proposed restaurant will be a single-story structure with a building height that does not exceed those of nearby commercial properties.
The applicant for Taco Bell held a neighborhood meeting on April 22. No members of the public attended. In addition, town staff have not received any inquiries or comments from the public.
At its May 13 meeting, the Queen Creek Planning & Zoning Commission unanimously approved recommending the requests for the site plan and conditional use permit to the council.
Janet Perez can be reached at jperez@iniusa.org. Please send your comments about this article to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.
Janet Perez News Editor | Queen Creek &
San Tan Valley
Meet Janet Janet Perez joined Independent Newsmedia as editor of the Queen Creek Independent and Florence Independent in 2020. She started her career in 1989 with the Gannett-owned El Paso Times. In 1992, she moved to Tempe and has worked in newspapers, magazines, radio and television. She left Arizona for three years to work at New Mexico State University and Baylor University before returning to work at Arizona State University. Missing the business, she went back to journalism in 2017.
Community: A long-time pet owner, she supports animal welfare causes.
Education: University of Texas at El Paso with a BA in journalism and a minor in political science.
Random Fact: She had a head full of random facts.
Hobbies: Reading, watching documentaries, cooking and playing with her dogs.
By 
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here