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Board of Adjustment Report Date April 1, 2026 Case No. BOA25-00927 Project Name AZ Motorsports SUP Request Special Use Permit for a parking reduction for an Automobile/Vehicle Sales and Leasing facility Project Location 25 South Val Vista Drive Parcel No(s) 140-29-004A 140-29-005 Project Area 2.0± acres Council District District 2 Existing Zoning General Commercial (GC) General Plan Designation Urban Center Applicant John C. Manross, Design Professionals, LLC Owner Wayne Wierzgacz Staff Planner Charlotte Bridges, Planner II Recommendation Staff finds that the request for a Special Use Permit (SUP) meets the required findings outlined in Mesa Zoning Ordinance (MZO) Section 11-70-5. Staff recommends approval with conditions. [2] Project Overview Request: The applicant is requesting a Special Use Permit (SUP) for a parking reduction to allow for an Automobile/Vehicle Sales and Leasing facility (Proposed Project). • Required: 40 spaces • Existing number of on-site parking spaces: 52 spaces • Proposed: 13 customer and employee on-site parking spaces with the remaining 39 onsite parking spaces to be used as vehicle display spaces. Concurrent Applications: • ADM25-00928: Administrative Review of a revised landscape plan to replace dead and missing plant material, to be approved by the Planning Director. Site Context General Plan: • The Placetype for the project site is Urban Center and the Growth Strategy is Evolve. • Convenience services, which includes Automobile/Vehicles Sales and Leasing, is a principal land use. Zoning: • The project site is zoned General Commercial (GC). • An Automobile/Vehicle Sales and Leasing use is a permitted use within the GC District. [3] Surrounding Zoning & Use Activity: The Automobile/Vehicle Sales and Leasing use is compatible with surrounding land uses, which includes service stations with convenience markets, commercial uses, a recreational vehicle park and single residences. Northwest (Across Val Vista Drive and Main Street) GC Service Station with Convenience Market North (Across Main Street) GC Commercial Northeast (Across Main Street) GC Commercial West (Across Val Vista Drive) GC Service Station with Convenience Market Project Site GC Automobile/Vehicle Sales and Leasing East GC Commercial Southwest (Across Val Vista Drive) RM-4 Recreational Vehicle Park South RS-9 Single Residences Southeast RS-9 Single Residences Site History: • May 6, 1972: City Council annexed 402.6± acres, including the project site, into the City of Mesa and subsequently zoned the project site C-2 (equivalent to Limited Commercial [LC]) (Ordinance No. 741). • October 20, 1975: City Council rezoned the project site from LC to C-3 (equivalent to General Commercial [GC]) (Case No. Z75-064; Ordinance No. 958). • April 2, 2003: The Design Review Board approved the site plan, landscape plan and elevations for a retail (drug) store (Case No. DR03-027). Project/Request Details Site Plan: • Building Design: The existing building contains a total of 14,823 square feet, including 11,045 square feet of interior automobile display area and 3,778 square feet of office, support, and storage space. The primary customer entrance is centrally located on the west elevation. • Access: The site is served by access drives from Val Vista Drive and Main Street. • Parking: Per Table 11-32-3.A of the Mesa Zoning Ordinance (MZO), Outdoor Sales and Service Areas (including car lots, plant nurseries, building supplies, etc.) require one parking space per 375 square feet of sales and service building area. Using this parking ratio, the required number of parking spaces for the existing 14,823 square feet building is 40 parking spaces. The applicant is requesting a parking reduction to allow a total of 13 required parking spaces to serve customers and employees. The remaining 39 on-site parking spaces will be used for vehicle display. [4] To substantiate the requested parking reduction, the applicant submitted a floor plan indicating 11,045 square feet of the existing building is used for interior automobile display and the remaining 3,778 square feet is used for office, support and storage. Applying the parking ratio of one parking space per 375 square feet of sales and service building area to the 3,778 square feet of building area not used for vehicle display, only 10 parking spaces are required. The applicant also provided customer and employee data to justify the requested parking reduction. Customer data for a one-month period between July 10, 2025, to August 10, 2025, indicates an average of three customers per day. In addition, employee information provided by applicant indicates there are two sales managers, five employees, two salesman and one parking attendant, for a total of 10 employees. Based on the floor plan submitted, an average of three customers per day and 10 employees, the request for a parking reduction to allow a total of 13 required parking spaces will be sufficient to serve the average number of customers per day and the employees for the Automobile/Vehicles Sales use. • Landscaping: Landscaped areas are located along the perimeter of the site within the parking area and in foundation base areas adjacent to the building. Special Use Permit: Per Section 11-32-6 of the City of Mesa Zoning Ordinance (MZO) a reduction in parking requires approval of a SUP. Per Section 11-70-5(E) of the MZO, the Board of Adjustment shall only grant an SUP if the following criteria are met for approval of a SUP: 1. Advance the Goals and Objectives of and Consistency with the General Plan and other Plan/Policies: The proposed parking reduction is consistent with the Urban Center Placetype, and furthers the implementation of, and is not contrary to, the Vision, Guiding Principles, Strategies, and applicable elements of the Mesa 2050 General Plan. 2. Consistency with the Zoning District Purposes: The subject property is zoned GC, the purpose of which is to provide for indoor retail, limited outdoor display and related service-oriented businesses that serve a large surrounding residential trade area within a 4- to 5-mile radius, such as automobile-oriented uses and similar support services related to automobiles, welding, and light assembly and fabrication related to an onsite commercial use. Other supportive uses may include, but are not limited to, commercial lodging, automotive, restaurant, and movie uses, as well as office uses and public- and semi-public uses. Information provided by the applicant indicates the majority of the building’s interior space is used for vehicle display with office and related uses occupying the remaining interior area. The MZO parking ratio for outdoor sales and service areas (including car lots, plant nurseries, building supplies, etc.) does not take into consideration the area of the building used for vehicle display, but requires parking spaces to be provided for the entire building area. In this case, the floor plan, and customer and employee information provided by the applicant supports the request to reduce the number of required parking spaces from 40 spaces to 13 spaces. The proposed parking reduction from 40 parking spaces to 13 parking spaces is consistent with the location, design and operating characteristics and conforms to the goals and purposes of the GC District. [5] 3. Project Impact: An Automobile/Vehicles Sales and Leasing use is permitted in the GC District. No parking is allowed on Val Vista Drive and Main Street adjacent to the Proposed Project, but the Parking Study and employee information provided by the applicant indicates a sufficient number of parking spaces are provided on-site to meet the needs of the use. Consequently, the Automobile/Vehicle Sales and Leasing use is compatible with surrounding commercial and residential uses and will not be injurious or detrimental to the neighborhood or the general welfare of the City . 4. Adequate Public Facilities: The Automobile/Vehicle Sales and Leasing use is occupying an existing structure and site that have been served by City of Mesa utilities, public infrastructure and services since 2003. In addition to the requirements of 11-70-5(E) of the MZO, Parking Reductions also shall comply with the following criteria per 11-32-6(A): 1. Special conditions exist on site that will reduce parking demand including, but not limited to, the nature of the proposed operation: The use at this location is Automobile/Vehicle Sales and Leasing. The unique nature of the sales operation, with 47% of the yearly sales being online sales, reduces the number of parking spaces needed for customers since on-line customers typically do not set foot on the property. In addition, the majority of the building is used for vehicle display. In this case, the floor plan, and customer and employee information provided by the applicant supports the request to reduce the number of required parking spaces from 40 spaces to 13 spaces. 2. The use will adequately be served by the proposed parking: Based on the documents provided, the proposed parking reduction will satisfy the needs of the user. The requested SUP for a parking reduction is for an Automobile/Vehicle Sales and Leasing use. The SUP will be void if the use of the site changes to a use other than an Automobile/Vehicle Sales and Leasing use (See Condition of Approval #6). 3. Parking demand generated by the project will not exceed the capacity of or have a detrimental impact on the supply of on-street parking in the surrounding area: There is no permitted on-street parking on Val Vista Drive or Main Street in this area, and the proposed off-site parking will not have detrimental impact to the existing developments in the area. Required Notification The applicant mailed letters to surrounding property owners within 500 feet of the project site, notifying them of the public hearing. Staff has not received any phone calls or emails with regarding the Proposed Project. Conditions of Approval Staff recommends approval of the SUP, subject to the following conditions: 1. Compliance with the final site plan as submitted. 2. Compliance with the landscape plan approved by ADM25-00928. 3. Compliance with all applicable City development codes and regulations. 4. No vehicle display parking is permitted in the parking spaces identified on the site plan as customer and employee parking spaces. [6] 5. Vehicle parking is only permitted in the customer, employee and display parking spaces identified on the site plan. 6. The Special Use Permit for a parking reduction is for an Automobile/Vehicles Sales and Leasing use only. The Special Use Permit will be void if the use of the site changes to one other than an Automobile/Vehicle Sales and Leasing use. Section 11-70-5 of the MZO allows for a revocation process if any condition, stipulation, or term of the approval of the SUP has been violated. In addition to the conditions of approval above, approval of the SUP is conditioned on the information provided by the applicant at the public hearing and in the application (including any accompanying narrative and other supplemental materials) not being false or materially misleading at the time of approval. Exhibits Exhibit 1 – Vicinity Map Exhibit 2 – Project Narrative / Justification Statement Exhibit 3 – Site Plan Exhibit 4 – Floor Plan Exhibit 5 – Landscape plan Exhibit 6 – Parking Study /Customer Information Exhibit 7 – Power Point Presentation