There’s a project moving forward on Hunt Highway that I hadn’t heard a ton about, and this one is actually pretty different from most of what we’ve been seeing around San Tan Valley.

If you’re trying to picture where it is, this makes it easy:

It’s basically right next to Moon Valley Nurseries.

There’s about 4.87 acres immediately east of the nursery, near Hunt Highway and Valley View Road, that was just rezoned for an event venue with two separate buildings, restaurant space, outdoor event areas and 165 parking spaces.

And before everyone thinks this thing is breaking ground next week, it’s not.

The Pinal County Board of Supervisors approved the rezoning on August 26, after Planning & Zoning had recommended approval 9-0 in July.

So this isn’t just somebody floating an idea anymore.

But they still have more stuff to get through before they can actually build it.

I went through the plans because I wanted to see what they’re really trying to put here.

What they’re actually planning

This is way more than just a room you rent for a party.

The plans show two separate event buildings.

The larger building would have an assembly hall, restaurant space, indoor and outdoor cocktail areas, an outdoor event lawn and office space.

Then there’s a second building with another assembly hall, restaurant space and another outdoor event area.

The plans also show 165 parking spaces, with people coming in from Hunt Highway. The applicant has said there would be no guest access through the neighborhood behind the property.

They’ve specifically talked about using this for weddings, receptions and other private events.

So to me, this looks like they’re trying to build an actual wedding and event venue, not just another rentable event room.

And I like that.

San Tan Valley has enough drive-thrus and car washes.

Give me more places where someone can have a wedding, graduation party or big family event without automatically looking toward Queen Creek, Gilbert or somewhere else.

Apparently that need came up during the approval process too. Supervisor Rich Vitiello specifically mentioned the lack of local options for things like weddings and graduations.

The applicant said the closest comparable facility is about two miles away in San Tan Heights, but that one is private and limited to residents.

If you live around here, this is what I’d pay attention to

My first question was traffic.

The plans currently show one entrance from Hunt Highway and 165 parking spaces.

Think about everyone leaving a wedding at roughly the same time.

That’s a little different than 165 parking spaces at a grocery store where cars are constantly coming and going.

The good thing is they still have to complete a traffic study before the final site plan can be approved.

And if that study says the project requires road improvements, the developer would be responsible for making those improvements.

Because Hunt Highway is considered a principal arterial, they’re also being required to dedicate a 75-foot half-street right-of-way along the property.

So I’ll be curious to see what comes out of that traffic study.

And obviously, if you live behind this thing, you probably care just as much about the noise as the traffic.

The county put quite a few rules around that.

Where the property backs up to rural or residential zoning, they would need a six-foot wall and at least a 10-foot landscaped buffer, including trees spaced about 30 feet apart and mature trees near the existing homes.

They can’t just blast music outside all night either.

Outdoor event noise can’t exceed 60 decibels at the property line after 10 PM Sunday through Thursday or after midnight Friday and Saturday.

After that, the event basically has to move inside.

One interesting detail: those rules don’t actually set a closing time for the entire venue or limit how many events they can have. They’re mostly controlling what can happen outside late at night.

There’s also one slightly weird issue with the property.

There are mapped earth fissures on the site.

The county won’t allow buildings or other permanent structures inside those areas, so the final design has to work around them.

So far, the neighbors haven’t really fought this

This surprised me a little.

Notices went out to 86 property owners within 1,400 feet of the site.

They also held a neighborhood meeting at the Queen Creek Library back in March.

Only four residents attended, and according to the county records, none of them objected.

The property owner immediately west of the site actually submitted a letter supporting it.

Then when the project went before the Board of Supervisors on August 26, nobody spoke for or against it.

Obviously that could change.

A drawing on a piece of paper feels very different once construction starts or you have weddings happening next door every weekend.

But so far, this hasn’t had the kind of neighborhood pushback you might expect from an event venue going this close to homes.

So how real is this?

Pretty real. Just not ready to build yet.

The property has officially been rezoned from CB-1 Local Business to C-3 General Commercial, and that zoning allows them to move forward with what they’re proposing.

That’s a big hurdle to have behind them.

What they don’t have yet is everything needed to start construction.

They still have to get through the county’s detailed site-plan process, which is where things like traffic, drainage, lighting, access and the final design get worked out.

I also haven’t found a construction start date or opening date that I trust enough to give you.

So if I had to put a status on this one today:

Rezoning approved.

Plans are real.

No construction or opening date yet.

That’s the next thing I’m watching.

And I actually hope this one makes it through.

Not because San Tan Valley needs another “development.”

I just think this is the kind of stuff San Tan Valley needs more of.

For years, most of the growth out here was houses first and then trying to catch everything else up afterward.

Now we’re talking about parks. More restaurants are filling in. Retail is getting better. We’re starting to see more things for families to actually do.

And potentially having a real wedding and event venue right here instead of automatically leaving San Tan Valley is another little piece of that.

I’m much more interested in seeing San Tan Valley fill those gaps than I am in counting how many new drive-thrus are coming.