Joanna Dodder Nellans
The Daily Courier
The Prescott Planning and Zoning Commission narrowly recommended approval of a special use permit Thursday that allows a senior housing project to reach 80 feet in height.
The Touchmark at the Ranch property needs a special use permit for any buildings to exceed 50 feet in height.
“I love the development. I could see myself living there” someday, neighbor Dave Seelye said. “I just don’t want it so high. The 50-foot limit is there for a reason.”
The proposal includes approximately 35 homes, 11 four-plex homes and a clubhouse alongside a larger four-story building featuring independent living apartments, assisted living units and rooms for people with serious memory loss. Developers estimate about 570 residents would occupy the 375 units.
Only the larger building would exceed 50 feet. And only three percent of the 44-acre site above the Highway 69 Walmart would contain part of a building exceeding 50 feet in height, one planning commissioner calculated.
Property owner Jim Lee said dozens of older residents at The Ranch at Prescott have told him they’d like to downsize but stay in the same vicinity, so he sought out the best senior housing developer he could find.
