Dear Council, 

As residents in the Fountain Hills community, we are writing to express our vehement opposition to RZ22-002--the proposed rezoning for the apartment complex at the southeast corner of Palisades Blvd and Mountainside Dr. 

The Fountain Hills Strategic Plan documents state that “Fountain Hills has grounded the vision for its future on the input and aspirations of its citizens”.

We hope you take this to heart and consider the input and voices of us: the residents of this beloved community. 

Nearly all residents at Four Peaks (and others) are completely opposed to the development of the 80+ apartments that will destroy the local wildlife habitat, devastate the environment, increase unwanted traffic and noise, and strain the infrastructure resources in our small town.  

Please listen to the voices of the community and take into account the negative consequences that will arise from a development such as this as you consider the rezoning application: 

 

The Environmental Impact: 

Currently the 6+ acres that back up to the Four Peaks community and Trinity Lutheran Church supports extensive wildlife and biodiversity; it is also a network of wildlife movement between McDowell Mountain Park, the towns natural areas, and national forests to the east and south. 

It’s rare for a piece of land so large to be left to flourish by nature but that’s exactly what this land has done for the last 20+ years.

There is no doubt that the entire community is a more wonderful place because of it. 

This land gives our wildlife an avenue for shelter, food and a migration path—something that is continually rare in these days of constant overdevelopment and disregard for nature.

Developing this land into another high-density housing area will destroy the habitat of hundreds, maybe thousands, of animals. 

Our community constantly experiences the joy of seeing families of javelinas, coyotes, quail, rabbits, desert squirrels, and other native Arizona wildlife that call this land their home.

The proposal contained in this zoning application also makes no mention of the hundreds of shrubs, sacred cacti, wildflowers, abundance of native grasses, and other plant life that grows on this site.

It takes years upon years for desert flora to flourish but developing this site will wantonly destroy what has taken nature decades to create. 

The native plants and animals existing now in the delicate balance of our desert home are critical to the environmental health of the land and is an enormous part of what makes small pieces of remaining desert landscape in Fountain Hills so breathtaking.

 

Noise and Traffic: 

An equally important issue to be considered is the increased noise and vehicle traffic that 80 new apartments will deposit ungraciously into this quiet, residential part of town.

The small, hilly streets in this area are not the least bit conducive to adding hundreds of new cars into the daily flow of traffic. 

Additionally, the increase in traffic noise will be multiplied by the hilly location, inundating other nearby residents with unreasonable noise day and night. 

More people, more cars, more traffic, and more noise will be the negative byproducts in our community if we allow every remaining parcel of desert to be razed for apartment buildings to be simply heaped upon each other. 

None of these negative results will be welcome in the community and do nothing to add value to the spirt of the Fountain Hills. 

 

The Spirit of the Community: 

Perhaps the strongest argument to make against this development is to consider the constant efforts local residents have made over many years to maintain and campaign for the vision of the community. 

This proposed high-density development is in direct opposition to the Strategic Vision of Fountain Hills which encourages preservation of the environment and intentionally maintaining the cherished small town feel of this community. 

The mission statement of The Town of Fountain Hills includes the following direct quote: 

“To enrich and provide an active quality of life for all residents and visitors through proactive community engagement, resolute stewardship of amenities and open spaces, while enhancing the health and over well-being of our town.”

Results from a survey of over 900 Fountain Hills residents by the town council in 2022 showed that among the respondent’s primary community interests were:

• Town’s Condition
• The Environment
   

This proposed development would have a significant negative impact on both. 

We are a small but vibrant and active community, and our healthy lifestyle is positively impacted by the small town, quiet, nature-focused community that has been created here.

The proposed 80+ unit apartment building would significantly decrease that quality of life for residents everywhere in the town. We pride ourselves on a spirit of a small town and being surrounded by pristine, untouched natural areas.

The bottom line is this: Fountain Hills must not be allowed to be turned into an overdeveloped, heat-generating, noisy, overpopulated, urban disaster like so much of the rest of the Phoenix Valley has become. 

If the Fountain Hills Council approves this planning application, it will be a significant step towards undoing the fundamental things that our community stands for and will be a major detriment to the future of our town.

All of us who call Fountain Hills home, must oppose continued high-density development and strive to keep the spirit of our community alive. 

We urge you to make the right decision, the decision that will respect the harmony and balance of our community, and oppose this application.

Thank you for helping to protect the pristine beauty and peaceful ambiance of our local communities and for your support of our communities. 

Best regards,

Residents of Fountain Hills impacted by this development