I would like to commend our Planning Commission for seeing through yet another development scam attempting to put a nursing home at an entrance to Fountain Hills. Make no mistake, that is exactly what Daybreak is, cleverly disguised as an apartment complex.

At its core is a 130-unit 55-plus section with a dining facility supplying two meals per day, open space entertainment area, hair salon and movie theater. Their parking is even based on the senior living nationwide standards, a dead giveaway. I encourage anyone who doubts this to visit Fountain View Village to see a replica of this model.

This comes in with the surrounding apartments, no age restriction being sold as affordable living in Fountain Hills, something desperately needed to attract younger families and millennials. If you believe that one! No younger family wants to live next to a senior complex. No millennial will move all the way to Fountain Hills to live next to a bunch of old people. More snowbirds growing old then moving into the assisted portion sounds more likely.

Daybreak, eerily similar to the Saguaro and Trevino attempt to change zoning. A landowner unable to sell the parcel under its existing zoning finds a slick attorney, Gilbert, a former MCO president, (when did they ever look out for Fountain Hills?), Hall and the friendly CopperWynd developer, Ginsberg. Mix ingredients, Fountain Hills’ last L3 land gone. Boom! Voila! Nursing home at the most beautiful entrance to town.

Everywhere in Fountain Hills future plans, it’s stated the need to attract a younger demographic. What is sad is that our new town services director, like our old one, recommends projects like these for approval. Ironically, neither resides in Fountain Hills. Go figure. Hopefully our council will smell it, and reject it as well.