There was an air of optimism about the project as the Town Council last week approved a concept plan and development agreement for a downtown movie theater complex.

The vote was 6-1 to green light the project as Councilwoman Cassie Hansen preferred more definitive answers to concerns raised by residents of an adjoining condominium development.

Groundbreaking is expected to occur later in the spring.

“I’m most excited to see what happens after this project,” Mayor Jay Schlum. “We have the experience with what Target did (along the Shea corridor).”

Schlum said similar results can occur downtown with this development.

“It’s good to see you have your financing in line,” Schlum told developer George Kasnoff.

They did not discuss where the funding would come from, but it was a severe decline in the economy that scuttled the project after it was approved in 2008.

Kasnoff and his partners are bringing back just a portion of the previous plan that includes the 12-screen movie theater.

Area concerns

Jean Rollo, president of the Villages at Town Center homeowners association, led a group of about nine residents who express their concerns to the council.

Rollo said with entry points adjacent to their property they were concerned about traffic and the proximity of parking.

“We request a buffer with a wall and landscaping from the parking lot,” Rollo said. “Please don’t take action until serious consideration has been given to our concerns.”

Mike Wagner said more careful consideration should be given to the plan before it is approved.

“Many people want the theater, but there are a lot of issues to consider,” Wagner said. “There is a lot of asphalt and a huge structure. This should be moderated.”

The residents had a list of issues that included automobile lights in windows, storm water runoff, the need for the proposed amount of parking and air pollution.

Wendy Kelleher, an HOA board member, asked the council to slow down. She said the town may be asking the Villages residents to sacrifice too much in the urgency to jump starting the economy.

“Our property values and quality of life are at stake here,” Kelleher said. “Address the questions we have raised.”

There were about half a dozen people who spoke in support of the development plan.

Fountain Hills Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Frank Ferrara said the project is more than a movie theater, it is an entertainment center that will provide a gathering place to build on the future of the downtown.

Tim O’Roarke said his family loves to go to the movies and he is tired of driving out of town to spend money on dinner and a movie. He said he looks forward to being able to leave his money in town.

Al Donaldson’s construction company will be doing the site work for the project. He said he is very excited about the project and the construction jobs it will bring to benefit his employees.

Councilman Henry Leger did calculations that indicated the elimination of about 50 parking spaces would create about a 100-foot buffer to work with between the Villages and the parking lot.

This area at the south end of the parking lot had originally been planned as a landscaped walkway featuring public art.

Leger suggested that the elimination of the asphalt might provide enough savings to construct a wall between the parking lot and the condos.

Dave Flacker, one of the development partners, said the plans, which are based on a parking study, had provided a surplus of about 58 spaces, which they had included based on the possibility of additional restaurant space in the development.

“We have no problem eliminating the spaces conceptually, but until the traffic study is complete we are unsure,” Flacker said. “We don’t want to overbuild the parking either. This is what we will look at with town staff in the final mix.”

Other issues

Flacker also addressed some of the other concerns. He said the parking lot would be landscaped with about 90 trees where there currently are none.

Drainage will be held in an underground detention basin where it will slowly bleed off over a period of about 36 hours, which should eliminate sudden flooding concerns, according to Flacker.

“People are passionate about the theater,” Hansen said. “We really want that linear mall along the south side, to create a nice transition between the Centennial Circle and downtown.

“I’m hesitant about going forward until we approve a final traffic plan.”

Leger added, “If we can make the changes we discussed, we will have a buffer, we will have a view corridor and it will be a great project.”

Councilman Tait Elkie said, “We have a developer who wants to develop in our downtown to the tune of $18 million.

“Too often there is the perception that the council gets in the way. We need to move forward and avoid the delay. These are issues that can be worked out.”

The question came as to how to include the assurances desired in the motion for approval.

Town Attorney Andrew McGuire said it was relatively simple to include the proposed buffer in the motion for the concept plan. He said if there were additional items the council wants to address it may take a review of the agreement to include everything.

Council members indicated this was their key concern regarding the concept plan. The concept plan and the development agreement were approved on separate votes of 6-1.

Kasnoff told The Times he would be sitting down with the homeowners at the Villages to discuss their concerns and explain some misconceptions they appear to have.

“Nothing has changed from the original plan,” Kasnoff said. “There were no issues with that.”