Popular food park to close soon after neighbors raise concerns

By Amy Cutler

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    MESA, Arizona (KPHO) — After a yearlong battle, a popular Mesa food park is closing. The owners had hoped to expand, but neighbors have fought that move. The owners of Power Food Park confirm they’ve pulled their application to rezone and plan to close on March 1.

“It’s been a challenge,” David Sloan, a neighbor, said. He couldn’t live any closer to the food park, and two sides of his property butt up to it. “The noise, especially on the busier nights, the noise and the traffic,” he explained. That’s why Sloan and other neighbors have appealed to the City Council, concerned about its plan to rezone the property and expand.

“The incompatibility of the food trucks, their location as well as the neighborhood,” Councilman David Luna said. He is well aware of the issues. The food park is in his district, and it first popped up in spring 2020.

The owners said the city was slated to hear their rezoning proposal back in October, and the City Council pushed it back to February. In the meantime, they passed an ordinance requiring food parks to be 250 feet from residential areas. That meant if rezoning didn’t go through, they’d be forced to close.

Co-owner Ray Johnson said he learned where the City Council stood during their January meeting. “It became very evident and very clear that there wasn’t going to be, there wasn’t going to be the support we needed from the City Council to be able to change the zoning and get the development agreement in place,” Johnson said. That’s why he said they were proactive, pulling their rezoning proposal.

We asked Johnson about the neighbor’s opposition. “We’ve really tried hard to try and find a balance for them as well,” he said. The City of Mesa declined our request for an interview but sent this statement:

“The withdrawal of this application to rezone 1439 North Power Road does not mean the owners will not be using the property in the future. We look forward to learning about any new proposals for the site and continuing to work toward a project that would serve the interest of the property owner and the community.”

“The landowners have the option to put something else in. So they are eventually going to have to work with them,” Councilman Luna said.

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