August 26, 2004
Gilbert wants to change its general plan to allow medical office, retail and residential developers to build in an area south of a future hospital and Loop 202.
The town is proposing a land-use designation amendment for a 160-acre area northeast of Val Vista Drive and Germann Road, just south of Catholic Healthcare West’s planned Mercy Gilbert Medical Center.
The town had an informal open house about the proposal last week and has another scheduled for Wednesday .
The Gilbert Planning and Zoning Commission will hold formal public hearings in September and October with a Town Council vote expected by the end of the year, Gilbert planning director Jerry Swanson said.
Swanson said the town initiated the amendment in the unincorporated area after receiving numerous calls from developers interested in building everything from offices to a drug store to a residential subdivision.
Landowners today are selling off to developers, and Swanson said the town preferred "a comprehensive, organized and systematic" process rather than handling developer requests at separate times.
The proposed amendment would not change today’s residential zoning of one home or less per acre, Gilbert planning manager Maria Cadavid said. The amendment would dictate what type of future projects would be allowed by the town and pave the way for future rezoning and annexation requests.
Chris Anderson, director of real estate for Steele Larson and Associates, has numerous properties listed for sale in the area that he said is attracting interest from medical office developers.
"Sales are going on all around there," Anderson said. "It’s crazy out there now."
Area resident Vickie Lindgren said residents of 2.5-acre lots just south of the hospital site are looking to sell.
"We want for it all to go commercial or none of it. We don’t want to be stuck here," Lindgren said.
Open house What: Gilbert general plan change When: 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday Where: Spectrum Elementary School, 2846 S. Spectrum Way Information: (480) 503-6700.
