Queen Creek P&Z recommends permit extension for events venue

The Queen Creek Planning & Zoning Commission has forwarded a recommendation to the town council to approve a request to extend the conditional-use permit of an agrarian business noted as an events venue.

The planning commission made the recommendation regarding the application for The Knotty Barn during its Tuesday meeting on a 6-0 vote. Commissioner Jeff Nielson was absent. The issue will go before the Queen Creek Town Council on Wednesday, Feb. 25.

The owners of The Knotty Barn on the Southwest corner of 204th Street and Superstition are asking for a five-year extension of their conditional-use permit.

Nicholas and Ashley Baldwin purchased The Knotty Barn in April 2022, one month after the previous owners were granted a three-year conditional-use permit by the Queen Creek Town Council.

A condition for approval was added regarding the timing of the permit. If the extension is approved after the five-year extension expires, the owners will have to ask for another permit and a neighborhood meeting would be required as part of the review process. However, if there are no concerns or opposition to the business, the planning administrator has the flexibility to approve the new permit.

The former owners, Ray and Robyn Epps, drew the ire of some council members for operating the venue without proper permitting. At the time, some residents expressed concerns to the council about site parking and trash from events.

The Knotty Barn is within the Ellsworth Suburban Mini Farms community. According to a Planning & Zoning staff report, the “site is approximately 4 acres, with Superstition Drive running the length of the northern boundary, and 204th Street running the length of the eastern boundary. Residential acreage properties are adjacent to the site’s eastern and southern boundaries.”

The Knotty Barn provides a venue for weddings, baby showers, corporate events and more on weekends between mid-September through Memorial Day. All events end by 10 p.m.

Activities take place in the rear of the property inside a 3,600-square-foot barn, a 3,500-square-foot gathering area and a bride’s “getting ready” house at the northeast corner of the site, a staff report stated.

As part of the permit renewal process, a neighborhood meeting was held on Nov. 25, with nine residents from the Ellsworth Suburban Mini Farms community attending.

“Those in attendance expressed their appreciation for the operators’ transparency and success in their management of events, stating that they have not experienced trash, traffic or noise issues since the Baldwins assumed ownership,” the report continued.

We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org. Janet Perez can be reached at jperez@iniusa.org.