By Lorraine Longhi | Arizona Republic
UPDATED 5:45 p.m. MT May 21, 2020: Early election results on (May 19) show Fountain Hills voters handily rejecting two propositions that would have allowed the Daybreak project, a controversial apartment complex planned near one of the town’s busiest intersections, to move forward. The proposition to amend zoning and allow for the project was failing by a large margin. A second proposition that would have amended the town’s general plan to allow for the project similarly was failing.
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Fountain Hills Fight Over Planned Apartments Boils Over
Original story published 12:55 p.m. MT April 23, 2020
A proposed apartment complex near one of Fountain Hills’ busiest intersections has led to heated rhetoric, a special election and stolen campaign signs ahead of next month’s public vote on the project.
Daybreak is a three-story, 400-unit luxury apartment complex planned on 60 acres near Shea and Palisades boulevards, one of the town’s main thoroughfares.
The project has faced intense pushback over the last year, with hundreds of people protesting at town meetings. Developer Jeremy Hall said the discourse surrounding the project is unlike anything he’s seen in 20 years working on projects in town.
Project opponents say that the apartments will destroy the undisturbed hillside and increase traffic to Fountain Hills, but officials say it would provide an economic boost for a town that has no municipal property tax.
The Town Council OK’d the apartment project in a 5-2 vote on Nov. 19.
Meanwhile, residents had already collected signatures to put the issue on the ballot. A referendum on the project goes to a public vote on May 19. Ballots were sent to voters this week for the all-mail election.
The land proposed for the Daybreak project was originally zoned for a five-story, 233-room resort, but developers could never make a hotel work on the property, Hall said.
Then, the land changed hands, and, about two years ago, Hall’s development firm began working to construct apartments on the land instead.
Daybreak would include 400 apartment units; 130 would be age-restricted for seniors. Most apartment complexes average 20-25 units per acre, Hall says, while his project averages six units per acre.
The project would contribute $19.6 million in local employment income, $42.7 million in resident spending and $2.2 million in sales tax for the town, according to Paul Gilbert, an attorney for the developer.
(Mayor Ginny Dickey, who voted against the project,) said that while more residents mean more revenue for local businesses, adding residents can also cost a municipality more in the long-run, with more resources needed for parks, roads and public safety.
Residents ultimately collected enough signatures to send it to the ballot as a referendum.
After town and the county officials verified the signatures, the project was scheduled for an all-mail special election on May 19.
Hall subsequently hired a public relations firm to help him campaign for the project ahead of the election. He spent approximately $5,000 on “vote yes” signs that were put up at major intersections throughout town last weekend.
Then Hall received a call last Tuesday.
The signs were gone.
Stealing campaign signs, while a misdemeanor offense, isn’t uncommon during election seasons.
But this was different. More than 170 signs went missing in a matter of 48 hours.
Dickey said that since the theft, signs encouraging residents to vote “no” on the project also have gone missing.
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Related stories:
Daybreak Project Unveiled – The Fountain Hills Times (Feb 28, 2019)
Council Approves Daybreak Agreement – Fountain Hills Times (Nov 20, 2019)