The Fountain Hills Planning & Zoning Commission on Nov. 10 recommended that Town Council adopt Ordinance 2512 to rezone the area bounded by La Montana Drive, Palisades Boulevard, Saguaro Boulevard and Avenue of the Fountains to the newly approved downtown overlay district.

Staff explained the overlay divides the area into three subdistricts (Avenue, Business, Innovation) and noted it was already approved by Town Council; tonight’s action was to apply the overlay zoning to the mapped parcels. The overlay allows retail and entertainment frontage within 50 feet of the street in the Avenue district, upper-floor residential (up to 35 units per acre) and low-intensity employment uses in the Innovation district that exclude hazardous or toxic materials. "The base zoning underneath would stay the same," staff said, "and lighting and noise remain controlled by existing town ordinances."

Two nearby residents asked who the ‘innovation’ users would be and voiced concerns about compatibility, scale and viewshed impacts if larger buildings or light manufacturing-type uses locate adjacent to residential neighborhoods. Beverly Strossa asked, "What companies are interested in moving in there and what are they planning on doing?" Staff replied there were no active users in the pipeline and that the overlay broadened allowable uses to better accommodate potential bioscience users that had not fit under the prior code.

Commissioner Gray moved to recommend adoption of Ordinance 2512; the motion passed on a roll call, 5–1. The recommendation will go to Town Council for final adoption.