Citing the potential long-term economic benefits, the Town Council unanimously approved proposals for the development of Adero Canyon along the slopes of the McDowell Mountains in western Fountain Hills.

The council May 1 voted 6-0 on all five amendments and resolutions required to move an updated development plan forward. Vice Mayor Cassie Hansen, an employee of developer MCO Properties, did not participate in the discussion.

“This will add families with smaller, more affordable homes that will help business and the schools,” Mayor Linda Kavanagh said. “We want CopperWynd (resort) to survive and if this addition helps we need to consider that. We will do what is best for Fountain Hills.”

The proposed plan has a multi-family component that includes up to 120 units that could be made available to the resort or allow for the expansion.

Residents in the Cordabella neighborhood adjacent to the resort and down the street from the Adero Canyon site continued to voice their opposition and concerns for the project at the meeting.

Dean Wieber stated he represented 75 Cordabella residents and told the council it had tremendous power with its decision.

“Upzoning a parcel of land is the most significant concession that a developer can achieve to increase the value of their property,” Wieber said. “If this rezoning is approved there will be two clear winners and, unfortunately, a clear loser.

“MCO can back out of their previous plans and assurances and in return they are rewarded with this massive windfall, this despite the fact that hundreds of neighboring property owners relied on their representations.

“The Town of Fountain Hills can backtrack on their longstanding commitments and get their development fees from Adero five years earlier than was previously expected.

“Who will bear the burden of all of this backpedaling and broken promises?”

Concerns

Council members were diligent in asking staff to respond to numerous questions and concerns raised by the Cordabella residents.

After a resident brought up recent water main breaks that have closed roads and isolated some Fountain Hills residents, Councilman Tait Elkie asked for an explanation of Adero Canyon access.

Town Attorney Andrew McGuire said the three access points to the area have not changed from the original plan. He said there will be just the one main public access route in and out of the development.

However, the developer is still required to construct emergency access to Via Linda in Scottsdale via the Hidden Hills subdivision.

Also, another emergency access is to be developed across the Preserve along a portion of the Promenade Trail (the visible Jeep cut across the mountain) and into the Eagles Nest subdivision.

A request for a 40-foot building height for the multi-family units was also a concern. McGuire told the council that the original entitlement for the CopperWynd Resort was for a maximum 40-foot building height. He said most of what was constructed was between 30 and 40 feet.

It has also been noted that the steep slope on the multi-family property is a primary reason for the 40-foot height.

Traffic was another major concern expressed by Cordabella neighbors.

Development Services Director Paul Mood said MCO had presented correct numbers during its presentation -- the increase in traffic would be about 49 percent to about 3,000 vehicles per day.

MCO and Mood both noted that the road is constructed to accommodate between 5,000 and 15,000 vehicles per day, a capacity well beyond projections.

One speaker said the original plan was approved by a vote of the people and any change should go back to the people.

McGuire explained there was never a public election by voters on the development plan, as advisory votes are not permitted under state law.

However, there was a citizen vote on the use of bonds to purchase some Preserve land. That was the only community vote related to the mountain area.

All other voting was confined to previous Town Councils.

Council voices

Councilman Cecil Yates said the climate is changing and many cities and towns are doing whatever necessary to accommodate development plans.

“Fountain Hills is very conservative in this regard,” Yates said. “Some are allowing these major changes on administrative approval.”

Councilman Dennis Brown reminded Cordabella residents that the design of their community was approved by Scottsdale.

“You can’t blame us because your back yards are so close to the road,” Brown said.

“I don’t see that MCO is asking for very much they don’t have a right to.”

“I do think the town benefits from this,” Councilwoman Ginny Dickey said. “This project is not likely to happen without these changes.

“It will be better for the majority of Fountain Hills to move forward and help the town as a whole.”

MCO’s response

MCO Properties was obviously pleased with the outcome of the council discussion. Company President Jeremy Hall released a statement via email the morning after the vote.

“This is a great day for Fountain Hills and your Town Council should be commended for showing the vision and leadership to recognize the merits of the plan, the creativity that went into it and the hard work of their staff to bring it forward,” Hall said.

“Town Manager Ken Buchanan, the town staff and the town attorney should also be commended for months of very hard work and for the professionalism and open minds with which they approached consideration of creative ideas for the benefit of the community to make this happen.

“We should be particularly proud of how intently the council listened to the objections of those who expressed concerns regardless of where they came from and how thoroughly and sensitively they responded.

“The deliberations were empathetic and sincere to the interests of all, even in response to the most passionate among the naysayers.

“In the end, there was overwhelming support from Fountain Hills residents and businesses and a great deal of positive energy at the meeting.”