The Planning and Zoning Commission has forwarded a recommendation on zoning for a proposed hospital site in Fountain Hills, but it was not the direction recommended by staff.

The commission voted 4-2 to recommend the council keep the zoning for the site at Trevino Drive and Saguaro Boulevard at C-1, neighborhood commercial. They also stipulated that the council allow a special use permit for 24-hour operation of the facility, specifically between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. when hours are restricted within the C-1 zoning.

The request to the commission was a straight rezone from C-1 to C-2.

The vote had Chairman Susan Dempster and commissioners Peter Gray, Christopher Jones and Scott Schlossberg supporting the recommendation. Vice Chairman Erik Hansen and Commissioner Mathew Boik voted no, without comment.

The vote culminated a two-hour discussion about the proposal with numerous residents opposed to the zoning change. There were no significant objections to the hospital plan.

The neighbors in the area, who previously protested and successfully resisted a plan for an assisted living facility on the same parcel, did not want the change in zoning. Several homes adjoin the parcel and residents are concerned that if the site were changed to C-2 the property could be used for any number of uses they would find objectionable in their back yard.

Jane Bell, who has lived in a home next to the parcel for four decades, said she hoped the commission would consider those who have lived there and that retaining the C-1 zoning was extremely important to them.

“C-2 would open a ‘Pandora’s Box’ of uses for the site,” Bell said.

Town Senior Planner Marissa Moore said staff had numerous discussions regarding the options for making the parcel work for the plan. She said those discussions included Interim Development Services Director John Wesley, Town Attorney Aaron Arnson and Town Engineer Randy Harrel.

Moore said the consensus was the straight rezoning would be the easiest and best option from a process perspective. She said it was she who recommended the rezoning request to the applicant.

Resident Larry Meyers said he does not think the proposal is about the hospital.

“The hospital is a great idea, but the location is suspect,” Meyers said. “[This] can be built on the C-1 zoning with a special use permit.

“Citizens have had enough misdirection from the property owner the last couple of years. We don’t want C-2; keep the hospital at C-1.”

The property owner, Dan Kauffman, had a plan for an assisted living facility he was going to build on the property. That was approved with a PAD, but that expired without the property being developed.

About a year ago another plan for assisted living was proposed by a Chicago based assisted living company. That plan faded under the protests of the neighbors.

Project manager for the

hospital, Pete Peters, indicated they had settled on this site without much consideration for other locations. Commissioner Peter Gray raised that later as a concern if they had not looked at other sites.

Andrea Davis, a Scottsdale Realtor, explained that the search for property had been rather exhaustive. She said most existing buildings did not meet the requirements for a hospital. In some cases, where they looked at vacant property, at least five acres was not available.

“We combed over many different locations and brought this one to the town to see how it would work,” Davis said.

When asked what they found to be the best feature of this location she said the ingress and egress.

Commissioner Christopher Jones said his concern was the C-2 zoning based on the parcels proximity to residential homes.

“I support the use and I appreciate the staff direction in relation to the General Plan, where this is identified as an area of significant impact,” Jones said. “The hospital is appropriate. I have reservations about the C-2.”

He suggested a continuance to allow the applicant to work with staff to meet their specific needs.

Peters said they were working with a time restriction and would need it to move on to the council.

Dempster called a recess to the meeting while she and Moore stepped out to consult with Arnson by phone. When they returned, Dempster made a motion to recommend the council approve a special use permit for the extended hours with the C-1 zoning.

The council will hold a public hearing and consider the proposal at its regular session on Tuesday, June 4.