The vote on Daybreak, the 400-unit apartments at Shea/Palisades, will have the mail-in ballot sent April 22; return by May 19. Here are my concerns with Daybreak.
First and foremost, it does not follow goals of the General Plan of Fountain Hills. This is what we, as voters, depend on to keep Fountain Hills the town we all love. There were 13 variances or waivers the developers asked for. The worst is levelling the hillside 30 feet to street level and dumping 57 feet of dirt into the beautiful arroyo with all the saguaros to build 23 buildings similar to Park Place at the western gateway to our community. The height and length of a three-story building (40’ high and 600’ long) is two football fields long. Again, against the General Plan.
Secondly, the proposed entrance/exits for this community could endanger lives and possibly cause fatalities in the way Palisades is designed. There is a blind corner where the 55-plus will be exiting onto Palisades. Daybreak will create even more traffic on an extremely busy street and intersection. Increasing traffic 40 percent during peak morning hours along with more cars from Adero and Copperwynd expansion.
Thirdly, the Economic Impact will not be worth the sacrifice of the significant change Daybreak would bring to the esthetics of our magnificent town. It will generate around $170,000 in rental tax per year. The developers’ numbers on consumer spending and employment taxes will be hard-pressed to get when renters go to Scottsdale for jobs, to eat and shop since there are few opportunities in Fountain Hills. Rezoning this property could change the complete feel of Fountain Hills for all those entering this beautiful town and for those living here on a daily basis. Vote no on PROP 427 and 428 and keep Fountain Hills our town.
