By Janet Perez
Mail | Twitter: @AzNewsmedia

At its meeting last night, the Florence Town Council unanimously voted to send back to the planning & zoning commission a request for a conditional use permit for a self-storage facility proposed at the southeast corner of State Route 79 and Florence Heights Drive.

At its last meeting on June 16, the town’s planning and zoning commission voted to recommend approval of the conditional use permit. However, town councilmembers said there were too many questions about the facility left unanswered.

Primarily, Councilmember Michelle Cordes was concerned about whether customers would be able to access the site after business hours. Owner Brian Baker said he would do whatever the council wanted but did not get into specifics.

Cordes also was concerned about what type of materials customers would store in the units. Baker said he did not allow hazardous materials to be stored and would immediately evict any customers who did so.

Cordes also was concerned because Baker did not have customers sign contracts as part of renting a storage unit. Baker countered that customers must sign a document that lists what is and what is not allowed in the storage units, adding that eviction is easier without a contract.

The site is zoned for Highway Business Commercial, which allows for a mini-storage or self-storage facility with a conditional use permit. Currently, the almost 3-acre site is vacant and owned by Baker, who also will be managing the development of the facility.

The proposed project will include approximately 443 self-storage units and an approximately 500-square-foot office building. The office will employ one to two people to assist customers Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

A planning and zoning commission staff report further stateed that the facility will include security cameras for surveillance during and after business hours.

The entire site will be enclosed with a 6-foot-high masonry block wall. Baker told the commission that he is willing to enhance the aesthetics of the wall fronting Florence Heights Drive.

The site will have three points of access. One will be on State Route 79B, and the other two will be from Florence Heights Drive.

Baker has met and worked with the Arizona Department of Transportation to make sure his site plan is compatible with the proposed roundabout improvements in the area. Baker is looking to develop the site concurrently with ADOT’s roundabout improvements.

At the planning and zoning meeting, Baker told the commission that he believed it would make more sense to construct the storage facility alongside the roundabout project as it would speed up completion of the facility and residents would not have to deal with two construction projects one after the other.

At the planning and zoning meeting and at the council meeting some residents said the storage facility would not be aesthetically pleasing to those entering the town.

Janet Perez
News Editor | Queen Creek & San Tan Valley
@AzNewsmedia

jperez@iniusa.org

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.