The Town Council is scheduled to dive head first into a proposal for Adero Canyon development plans when it meets Thursday evening.

The agenda includes a last-minute discussion with attorneys behind closed doors prior to the meeting.

The public agenda includes consideration of a minor General Plan amendment, amendments to a 12-year-old settlement agreement, approval of an 80-acre Planned Area Development (PAD) and a preliminary plat for Adero Canyon Parcel 1.

The potential development plans for Adero Canyon come from MCO Properties.

The PAD plan calls for higher density cluster housing and a multi-family component adjacent to the CopperWynd Resort. The multi-family portion may become a part of the resort.

MCO has said the changes are more compatible with current market conditions, which are not conducive to large single-family custom home lots.

Town officials generally feel this is an opportunity to adjust to the changing real-estate market and spur new development in Fountain Hills. Town Manager Ken Buchanan has said staff is recommending approval of the request, with stipulations and compliance with amendments to the settlement agreement.

The settlement agreement provided for overall approval of land use for both Adero Canyon and Eagles Nest further north at the base of the McDowell Mountains.

The agreement also settled three separate lawsuits between the town and MCO Properties.

Town Attorney Andrew McGuire said the amendments to the settlement agreement have been a complex but necessary step to possibly change the development plans.

Citizens are split on the proposal with a group of residents living in the Cordabella subdivision opposing the plan, while those involved in Fountain Hills McDowell Mountain Preserve efforts supporting the plan.

The preserve advocates will get access for the development of a trailhead site at the southern edge of the Preserve. More than $1 million in development fees have been collected for the trailhead improvements that must be used in a timely manner.

Sonoran Conservancy of Fountain Hills officials Steve Fleming and Pam Cissik wrote in an opinion piece for The Times that the conservancy fully supports the Adero Canyon development plan primarily for the access issue.

“Currently the only legal, unguided access is from the Dixie Mine Trailhead at the end of Golden Eagle Boulevard,” they said.

“It requires a 7.5-mile round trip hike with a 1,700 foot elevation gain that takes hikers just to the edge of the Preserve; or a volunteer led drive-in to our Preserve.

“These access options are also not by right, but dependent upon an existing contractual arrangement with MCO.”

Dean Wieber, co-head of an informal group of Cordabella homeowners, wrote a similar column objecting to the proposal.

“Most concerning is MCO’s request to double the number of residential units in the canyon while changing the type of housing from single family to multi-family and hotel,” Wieber said.

“All of this despite the fact that Eagle Ridge Drive will be the only way in, and the only way out of the development.

“The development will make Eagle Ridge Drive the longest cul-de-sac in Fountain Hills (which Weiber deems as a violation of the town’s subdivision ordinance).

“Is it any wonder the neighborhoods are up in arms? Who would want 6,000 cars per day in their backyard?”

Cordabella is an 80-lot subdivision between Palisades Boulevard and CopperWynd Resort. It lies within the municipal boundaries of City of Scottsdale.

The Town Council will meet Thursday, May 1, at 6:30 p.m. in council chambers at Town Hall. The meeting is open to the public.