The Casa Grande Planning and Zoning Commission has approved rezoning for 283 acres at the southeast corner of Bianco Road and Clayton Road, just a half mile south of the approved rezoning at Bianco and Illinois Road discussed in yesterday’s article. The rezoning is part of a broader annexation effort that includes approximately 525 acres, with about 240 acres under separate ownership are not included in this industrial rezoning request.
The commission’s approval changes the zoning designation from Pinal County General Rural to City of Casa Grande General Industrial (I-2), advancing another piece of the city’s expanding industrial corridor. The property, currently used for agricultural purposes with several large-lot single-family rural residential homes and agricultural structures, is owned by Vernon Barnes.
This latest expansion continues Casa Grande’s vision of becoming Pinal County’s premier industrial hub. The property lies within western Pinal County’s Arizona Innovation & Technology Corridor and offers proximity to two existing interstate highways, I-10 and I-8, as well as the future I-11 and Union Pacific Railroad line.
Resident Bob Kennedy voiced opposition to the rezoning during the public hearing. “Not a single one was for this,” Kennedy said of his neighbors, noting the area consists of acre-and-a-quarter to two-acre residential lots. “Nobody wants to have this right across the street from their house or behind their house. We’re a nice little community.”
To address compatibility concerns between industrial and residential uses, the commission attached conditions to the rezoning, including prohibiting conditional uses involving volatile or explosive materials. Additionally, any outdoor storage must be screened by decorative masonry block walls matching the site’s architecture along Clayton and Bianco roads.
Cindy Paddock from Colliers Engineering and Design addressed the commission about future plans: “There is no planned development for this site,” she explained. “It’s in preparation for future activity.”
The rezoning request will now move to the City Council for final consideration at their February 3rd meeting, alongside related General Plan amendments that would change the area’s designation from Phase 2 to Phase 1 Growth Area.
