Fountain Hills puts more people behind town plan

The Fountain Hills Planning and Zoning Commission will assist in the creation of an updated town General Plan, members decided this week.

The plan, which guides development in town, is behind schedule, due, in part, to ongoing litigation involving the Ellman Cos. housing project on 1,276 acres of former state-trust land in the northeast corner of town.

WHAT HAPPENED
Five commissioners were appointed to help town staff and designers further update the general plan. They are: Planning Commission Chairman Dennis Brown and commissioners Lloyd Pew, Clark Summerfield, Jerry Caldwell and Cecil Yates.

BACKGROUND
Work on the general plan has been slow, town staff said. Fountain Hills began working with a design studio last year, and is now seeking input from planning commissioners. Voters approved the most recent general plan in 2002. A lot has changed since then, including the addition of former state-trust-land into the town's borders, which swelled its size by 11 percent. The property, owned by the Ellman Cos. of Phoenix, must be included in the plan, staff said. Staff is waiting for ongoing litigation involving the Ellman property's land use, said Planning and Zoning director Richard Turner.

WHAT'S NEXT
The developer is entwined in a lawsuit involving plans to build houses on the 2-square-mile property. A citizens group is seeking to reverse the plans approved by the Town Council in May.

Until the issue is settled, the general plan cannot be finalized, Turner said.