Board approves Goldhawk rezoning despite tribal and neighbor objections

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve a major comprehensive-plan amendment and a rezoning for a development called Goldhawk at the Preserve, allowing up to 696 dwelling units on roughly 1,900 acres and imposing extensive conditions aimed at limiting impacts and protecting cultural resources.

Planning staff told supervisors the requests were a combination of a major general-plan amendment and a rezone. Tom Ellsworth, director of planning and development, said the comprehensive-plan change would modify the Goldfield Area Plan for about 1,728 acres and the rezoning applies to about 1,940 acres. He said the new request caps the project at 696 dwelling units, down from earlier entitlements that could have allowed as many as roughly 996 units. "This new request is a maximum of 696 dwelling units on the site," Ellsworth said.

Supporters and opponents said the vote matters because the site lies near tribal lands and the Verde River watershed and has a long entitlement history dating to the 1990s. Opponents — including attorneys and representatives of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation and the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community — objected to water availability, the plan to use hundreds of on‑lot septic systems, wildfire protection and the risk of sedimentation affecting…