The Planning and Zoning Commission is recommending the Town Council allow cantilever construction for single family homes on lots with a slope of 30 percent or more.

The work on the project has been lengthy and extensive with this being the second go around for such an ordinance.

The proposal is an amendment to the town’s Zoning Ordinance.

Senior Planner Marissa Moore said staff did considerable research, wanting to know how municipalities in other parts of the country handled the issue.

“A lot of municipalities don’t allow cantilever construction,” Moore said. “I would like some direction, ideas that we can present to the council.”

Specifically, Moore said she wanted the commissioner’s point of view on style and materials.

Aesthetics is an important part of the issue, according to Moore.

“We want to achieve a balance that allows creativity and at the same time preserves the aesthetics and character of the community.”

The amendment presented by staff allows for a one-to-one ratio for the building height to the open space underneath the cantilever. It proposes a maximum of 24-feet for each, or 48 feet total from ground below the cantilever to top of the building.

Moore said she was interested in how the change would impact the community and with the help of a number of agencies, including Maricopa Association of Governments, was able to produce a map indicating the slopes 30 percent and greater and the lots involved.

There are a total of 960 vacant single family home lots in Fountain Hills. Of those, 178 have a slope of 30 percent or greater. Moore said many of those already lie within subdivisions with strong HOAs that have their own regulations and design review. Those are FireRock Country Club, Crestview, Eagles Nest and along Sycamore and Greystone drives.

Also, the Neighborhood Property Owners Association (NPOA) has some jurisdiction over numerous lots scattered in various parts of town.

Commissioner Christopher Jones said he would prefer the town have review of the designs.

“These properties will have impact in the community,” Jones said. “I would prefer to have a board with the proper background review these plans.

“I like where this [proposal] is going, and if done carefully could elevate the design aesthetics for the community.”

Development Services Director Bob Rodgers said while all of these associations do have residential design review, the Town of Fountain Hills does not. The town does design review for commercial development, but not residential.

Rodgers called town design review for single family residential an “administrative nightmare.”

Commissioner Mathew Boik raised concerns about liability in the event a cantilever failed causing damage or worse on the slope below the cantilevered home.

Staff said all construction would be subject to building codes and inspection and they believe it would be safe.

Vice Mayor Dennis Brown, a local contractor who has served nearly a total of 18 years between the Planning and Zoning Commission and Town Council, addressed the issue as someone with a keen interest. In fact, he showed the commission a plan for a home he may be building on a 45 percent slope.

“As a builder I’ve been through just about every kind of review out there,” Brown said. “I’ve built in seven states and Fountain Hills is unique with the number of challenges that can be presented.”

He said the lot with a 45 percent slope may have been buildable under Maricopa County jurisdiction when the lot was purchased, but under town ordinances the lot cannot meet the building standards now in place.

Brown also said he has become aware that steps inside a home that would offset the slopes have become an issue with people simply not wanting to climb stairs.

“People want/need to build flat and this [cantilever] is a sensible solution,” Brown said.

“I like this approach,” Jones added. “But when you get to the point of 40 percent [slope] or more, some designs just don’t belong on certain lots. You get to a point where it is just not feasible.”

The commission voted 5-0 to recommend the council consider new regulations, with one vacant seat, and Commissioner N’Marie Crumbie was absent.