By Kathleen Stinson | Special for The Arizona Republic
The Queen Creek Town Council has unanimously given its first approvals for the 1,139-acre master-planned community called Queen Creek Station, which stalled last December by protests from nearby property owners before getting a General Plan amendment.
On Wednesday, the town council approved Fulton Homes’ request to rezone about 248 acres on the west side of Ellsworth Road north of Queen Creek Road from one home per acre to three homes per acre, according to Wayne Balmer, planning administrator for Queen Creek.
Queen Creek Station is located at the northeast and northwest corners of Ellsworth and Queen Creek roads.
Fulton Homes also won preliminary plat approval for 677 lots in its Queen Creek Station subdivision and design-review approval for eight different floor plans and three architectural styles.
The votes came three months after some citizens said they wanted the area next to the town center to retain higher-density housing and mixed-use zoning. Proponents of the original plan said they want the area to develop into a one-of-a-kind, upscale, urban mini-center.
Also opposing a zoning change for Queen Creek Station was a group of residents in the Ellsworth Suburban Mini-farms north of Ryan Road. They feared that a higher-density housing development would ultimately threaten the continuation of their rural lifestyle.
As it turned out, the proponents of the higher-density plan and the mini-farm owners got their way.
When Fulton Homes promised to place a deed restriction on every home constructed in the subdivision that acknowledged the farmers’ right to conduct agribusiness and other rural uses on their land, the mini-farm owners dropped their objections.
“We will be recording a deed restriction against the Fulton property to further notify future Fulton residents of the uses occurring and allowed at the mini-farm property,” Jordan Rose, of Rose Law Group and attorney for the applicant, said. “It is very important to Fulton to be good neighbors and this deed restriction is a powerful tool.”
The council approved the amendment to the Queen Creek Station General Plan in late February. Proponents of the higher-density development found support in the Planning and Zoning Commission, which recommended council approval of the high-density plan.
The plan includes a mixed-use area which will contain offices, retail, higher-density housing and some lower-density housing near the Ellsworth Suburban Mini-farms. After meeting several times with the Rose Law Group, the Ellsworth Suburban Mini-farm owners and Fulton Homes came to an agreement. The residents of the mini-farms dropped their objection to the General Plan and rezoning.
“We are not fighting the plan because they put it in writing that (Fulton Homes) will put a deed restriction on every home so the buyers have to observe our rights and tolerate dust and smells (etc.) caused by the farms,” Ray Epps, a mini-farm owner, said.
According to the notice and acknowledgment of restrictions and permitted uses provided to the town council, Fulton Home buyers agree that mini-farm owners have a right to conduct their agribusinesses, including green houses, and may maintain animals and livestock on their properties.
The acknowledgment also states these uses may cause dust, odors and traffic noise, along with attracting flies “in excess of those generally characteristic of residential master-planned communities.”
If you’d like to discuss real estate matters, contact RLG founder Jordan Rose, jrose@roselawgroup.com
