The Town Council split its vote and rejected a proposal to return a previous lot rezone to its original designation when it met on Feb. 19.

The council voted 4-3 to maintain the zoning on the .36-acre lot on the corner at Saguaro Boulevard and Desert Vista. The council had voted 5-2 in June 2018 to rezone the lot from C-1 to C-3 to allow for the development of a car lot on the property. There were additional stipulations and conditions applied to that rezone.

With no action taken to improve the lot after six months staff was asking that the property be returned to its original C-1 zoning designation.

While C-3 allows for more intense use such as a car lot, auto mechanics or storage lots, the C-1 designation is reserved for less intense office or professional use.

Vice Mayor Art Tolis argued that there is a glut of C-1 in the town that remains vacant in many cases. He said the C-3 should remain on the lot to allow someone to invest in the town with a different type of business.

Councilman Alan Magazine said he understands the need to increase the tax base, but noted that the benefit from changing this zoning would be infinitesimal compared to what is needed.

Councilman Mike Scharnow said he has mixed feelings about the issue.

“I encourage the retention of new business in town,” Scharnow said. “I have concerns that potential other C-3 uses for the site might not be as compatible.”

The property owner, Roger Kueshler, was at the meeting and asked the council to allow the parcel to remain C-3. The desires of the property owner would carry a lot of weight in zoning decisions.

Tolis made the motion that the property remain with the C-3 designation, but added that the stipulations on the property be stripped away.

Tolis, Councilmembers Dennis Brown, David Spelich and Sherry Leckrone voted to approve the motion to retain the zoning. Mayor Ginny Dickey, Magazine and Scharnow opposed.

The property has never been developed in the time since Fountain Hills was established. The nearest developed business adjacent is the Pal’s Inn Pet Resort, there is a mostly abandon gas station and auto shop across Desert Vista and multi-family residential across Saguaro Blvd.

The lot is also adjacent to Desert Vista Park, which was a concern of some council members when the vote to rezone was taken last year. That original change was approved on a 5-2 vote.