FLORENCE — Over county staff’s objections, the Pinal County Board of Supervisors granted a rezoning and other approvals on 10 acres for a new subdivision near Oasis Golf Club in San Tan Valley.
Pinal County planner Sangeeta Deokar told the board Wednesday that another medium-density subdivision is a lost opportunity for more diverse housing that is lacking in the area.
Board Chairman Steve Miller, R-Casa Grande, asked how she knew there was a demand for higher-density housing. Deokar replied that studies have shown it, even after the county’s San Tan Area Plan was done. It’s an ideal location for higher-density housing because it is adjacent to a commercial zone, she said.
More medium-density product contributes to “monotony” in the community, and access along Hunt Highway can be developed with higher-density housing nearby, according to a county staff report.
But Miller said the demand for new single-family housing remains “almost off the charts,” and it’s “not the county’s role” to tell developers otherwise. When apartments have been proposed in the past, “this place filled up with opposition,” Miller said. He continued that it’s market-driven; when people want it, developers will build it.
The subdivision, Reserve at Lookout Mountain, will have 3.7 homes per acre, with an average lot size of 5,175 square feet. The property is west of Hunt Highway, 4.5 miles from the intersection of Hunt and Bella Vista Road.
The board also granted rezoning and other approvals on approximately 28 acres for a planned area development known as Skyline Village, southwest of Skyline Drive and Quail Run Lane. The development is to provide a diverse home product with lot sizes ranging from 4,200 to 6,000 square feet. In all there will be 1,150 lots, or a density of four homes per acre. The development will include 26% open space.
In other business Wednesday, the board:
- Granted a rezoning and other approvals for a 10-acre medical marijuana off-site cultivation and processing center a mile north of San Manuel. The site is surrounded by inactive mine property and is at the end of a dead-end road. It will not serve retail customers. It is expected to employ 25 people initially and could eventually employ 100, the board was told.
- Proclaimed Peace Officers Memorial Week May 9-15 and Peace Officers Memorial Day on May 4.
- Recognized several county employees for service anniversaries: Annette G. Ortiz, administrative manager in the Assessor’s Office, 35 years; Beckie L. Jones, supply technician in Public Health, 30 years; Robert S. Monashefsky, sergeant, and Diana Montijo, administrative assistant, both in the Sheriff’s Office, 25 years; and Dynelle M. Provencher, deputy Superior Court clerk, 20 years.
