As most folks in Fountain Hills should know by now, there is a Planned Area Development (PAD) for the intersection of Shea and Palisades. This development

(Daybreak) will consist of 400 apartments including 270 regular one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, 100 apartments for 55 and older individuals and 30 assisted living apartments. The PAD calls for 18 buildings to house the 400 apartments. Think about that for a moment.

To achieve their development, the developers have requested a number of waivers from the Fountain Hills Planning and Development department which include, but are not limited to, 40-feet building height versus 30-foot, 600-feet building length versus 200-feet, cut 30 feet off the existing hills and fill the two existing washes with up to 57 feet of fill. The existing city ordinance is 10 feet for both. There are numerous other wavier requests, but these are the most egregious.

Think about what the western entrance to Fountain Hills will be like; Park Place revisited. I am sure that if you do not travel Palisades Blvd. often, or at all, you are saying, “not my problem,” and you may be right. I felt the same way when the Park Place development was announced for the downtown area and thought it could help the city and I assumed the architecture and colors would fit with the rest of the surrounding buildings. Instead, we got a structure more suited for Scottsdale or Tempe. I can’t tell you how many times our visitors and relatives have commented that Park Place just does not fit into the community.

I am afraid Daybreak will be similar. If you agree with me, please contact the town council members to express your views on the Daybreak (Nightmare) development.