Gilbert Town Council will take up again one of its most closely watched zoning cases April 21, revisiting a proposed Target-anchored shopping center that drew hours of public testimony and prompted a delay earlier this month.
The item, scheduled for the council’s 6:30 p.m. meeting at Town Hall, involves a request to rezone about 16 acres at the southeast corner of Higley and Ocotillo roads to allow for a large-format retail anchor exceeding current size limits.
The proposal centers on a roughly 128,000-square-foot Target store, accompanied by two smaller commercial pads that could include a restaurant and a financial institution.
The site is part of the larger Marbella Vineyards planned area development and has long been designated for commercial use, though no detailed plan had previously been approved.
At issue is a shift from the site’s existing shopping center zoning to general commercial zoning, a change that would permit a single tenant larger than 75,000 square feet — a key threshold that has shaped the debate.
When the council last considered the case April 7, members opted to continue the hearing rather than vote, following extensive public comment dominated by nearby residents raising concerns about traffic, safety and neighborhood compatibility.
“I’ve given a lot of thought to this project, and I really hesitate that this project hits the area out there and there’s tremendous residential opposition to this,” Vice Mayor Bobbi Buchli said during that meeting.
Much of the opposition has focused on how the development could affect surrounding neighborhoods, particularly traffic patterns near the already busy intersection and potential spillover into residential streets.
Residents have also raised concerns about access points, including the potential for drivers to cut through nearby streets such as Wilson Way to avoid congestion.
Others questioned whether the scale of the project fits the surrounding area.
Town staff have indicated the overall scale of development is comparable to what current zoning would allow, with the primary difference being the ability to concentrate square footage into a single large user rather than multiple smaller tenants.
The proposal outlines a three-pad commercial development, with the large anchor tenant positioned along the eastern edge of the property and smaller commercial uses along Ocotillo Road.
Plans include multiple access points from Higley Road, Ocotillo Road and Wilson Way, along with traffic improvements such as additional turn lanes intended to ease congestion.
A traffic analysis for the project found the development is expected to generate a similar level of traffic as what is already permitted under existing zoning, with improvements designed to help traffic flow more smoothly through the intersection.
Even so, neighborhood concerns remain wide-ranging. Residents have cited issues including increased congestion, compatibility with nearby homes, potential noise and light impacts, and the possibility of parking overflow into residential streets.
Some have also questioned whether another large retailer is needed in the area, pointing to other nearby Target stores and arguing the project could shift — rather than create — retail demand.
The April 21 meeting will give council members a chance to revisit those concerns and determine whether to approve the rezoning, deny the request or seek further changes to the proposal.
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. Tom Blodgett can be reached by email at tblodgett@iniusa.org or follow him on X at @sp_blodgett.
Meet Tom Tom Blodgett joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2022, when the company acquired Community Impact Newspaper's Phoenix-area properties. Raised in Arizona, he has spent more than 35 years in journalism in the state.
Community: He has served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2005, and is editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet. He also is director of operations for an 18U girls fastpitch softball team from Gilbert.
Education: Arizona State University with a BS in Journalism.
Random Fact: He lived in Belgium during his freshman year of high school.
Hobbies: Tweeting enthusiastically about ASU softball (season-ticket holder) and grumpily about other local sports (pessimistic fan).
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