Fountain Hills council affirms permit extension for Park Place, directs attorney to negotiate revised development agreement

Fountain Hills — The Town Council voted unanimously to affirm a prior decision allowing renewal of Park Place building permits under the town's 2018 code and then directed the town attorney to provide a draft redline development agreement to the project's parties and negotiate a revised agreement for future council consideration.

The move on the project for the downtown Park Place development came after lengthy public comment and a staff timeline review showing the original development agreement (DA) was approved in June 2016 and that later extensions, permit submittals and approvals occurred through 2023. Town Manager John Wesley summarized the history for the council, saying, "From the beginning, 06/16/2016, the council approved [the] development agreement and land use plan for the development of the Park Place project." The council's actions were split into two formal votes: (1) a vote to affirm the council's Sept. 2 decision to allow permit renewals under the 2018 code (approved 6-0), and (2) a post-executive-session vote directing the town attorney to distribute the draft redline DA and negotiate a revised agreement with the owner/developer (approved 6-0).

Why it mattered: Developers and their partners argued that a 2023 estoppel certificate — a lender-facing, point-in-time document — confirmed the project was in compliance and that reinstating or relying on that certificate should allow construction of phases 2 and 3 to proceed. Developer Bart Shea read…