What a difference a couple of decades can make when it comes to development and preservation issues.

A battle cry of stop the “yellow armada” of bulldozers dominated local campaigns for mayor and Town Council back in the 1990s, but today town officials are willing to sit down with the original community developer, MCO Properties, and explore possible zoning options for at least starting some development anew in Fountain Hills.

New home construction came to a virtual standstill here during the Great Recession, and quite frankly Fountain Hills isn’t out of the woods yet. We’ve stopped the hemorrhaging from foreclosures and the like, but new construction has been slow to get off the ground.

Adero Canyon is the last major chunk of land owned by MCO in Fountain Hills. The firm was obviously leery of starting another project in light of the recession and slow lot sales in the custom-home subdivision of Eagles Nest. Quite frankly, things will never likely be the same, and the housing market may have permanently changed.

While virtually doubling the lot count in Adero Canyon may on the surface sound untenable, the proposal to soon come before town officials – as outlined in last week’s front page story by reporter Bob Burns – is worthy of a fair review. The proposed higher density is roughly in an area located near the Scottsdale subdivision of Hidden Hills and the CopperWynd development. The more sensitive areas higher up in the McDowells, and closer to the Fountain Hills McDowell Mountain Preserve, will remain large custom lots.

This proposed re-zoning also would speed up unfettered public access to the Preserve, something many in the Town of Fountain Hills have been wanting for many years.