Photo courtesy of Eric Miller Architect/Snell & Wilmer L.L.P.
By Roland Murphy | AZBEX
Developers, particularly multifamily developers, have been wary of Fountain Hills for several years, as the town has earned a reputation for difficulty in securing zoning and entitlements for new projects.
With the Town Council’s June 6 denial of a rezoning as part of an 80-unit proposal for Senderos at Fountain Hills, the town has declared itself effectively closed for business and given the development community a loud and clear signal that even the best proposal stands little-to-no chance of bearing fruit.
Even though Senderos at Fountain Hills is a smaller development than we would normally pay much attention to, it turned out to be a proposal representative of multiple issues all at once: Thoughtful development planning, organized opposition willing to use mis- and disinformation to stop a project, backroom pressure, failures of leadership and, ultimately, an active choice to maintain stagnation through adherence to the status quo.
