By Paul Maryniak | Ahwatukee Foothills News
A new court battle has emerged over the South Mountain Freeway that could threaten the state’s plan to complete the $1.7 billion project by late next year.
Foothills Reserve homeowner Dietmar Hanke has asked state Superior Court to allow him to challenge condemnation proceedings for an 11-acre parcel of common grounds owned by his homeowners association.
Hanke filed the request to intervene on Jan. 28 and two days later, the condemnation proceedings involving the 590-home Foothills Reserve HOA and the Arizona Department of Transportation were transferred to the court’s complex litigation division. Both ADOT and the HOA tried to stop that transfer.