The voters in Fountain Hills have received a mail-in ballot to determine the fate of the Daybreak project, a 400-unit apartment project at the corner of Shea and Palisades. This project, as approved, will change the entrance of Fountain Hills from the current rolling hills to a flat pad with a 600-foot-long, 40-foot-tall apartment building, thereby altering the character of this exceptional community.

You are being asked to vote on two propositions: Prop 427 and 428. Prop 428 was a change to the General Plan, eliminating one of the few locations for hotel development in the town in favor of an apartment project. Prop 427 changes the zoning on the site to allow for apartments at a greater density rate than that typically seen in Fountain Hills.

The General Plan is a state mandated document that defines allowable land uses, while the zoning provides the specific requirements for development within those land uses. Both state law and the town’s own code require that zoning and the General Plan must be consistent for each site. The Daybreak project, as approved by the Town Council, violates this requirement and therefore should never have been approved.

As approved, the General Plan designation for the 60 acres affected by this project would allow up to 230 apartments. By contrast, the zoning approved for this project would permit 400 apartments on the very same 60 acres. This is obviously not consistent and, therefore, this project should not have been approved.

Vote no on Prop 427 and 428 and keep Fountain Hills what the General Plan mandated it to be.