INSIDE:
COMMUNITY
P. 23 | O P I N I O N
www.ahwatukee.com
BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
M
ore than 18 months after homeowners in the 185-home Foothills Paseo II subdivision launched an effort to derail a plan for QuikTrip on 40th Street, the gas station giant appears all but certain to win. The city Planning Department is only a few weeks from giving final approval to the controversial project, according to spokeswoman Angie Holdsworth. “It looks like the project is waiting final site review,” she said. “Everything is ready to go pending the approval. It will probably take a couple weeks for that to be completed give
.3 HAPPY NEWS
. 23
BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
DOC AT YOUR DOOR
E
. 33
P
REAL ESTATE INSIDE
REAL ESTATE
Real Estate Guide Experts: Area housing market will remain strong visors and Angela Tauscher, a Realtor with West USA Real Estate Chandler. A related discussion is in today’s business section. We still seem to be in a very strong seller’s market. How long do you think it will continue? Angela Tauscher: We’re putting consistently under contract every seven days 7,000 and 8,000 homes …and we’re closing between, I’d say, about 2,000 and 4,000. I think the highest I’ve seen honestly is the 4,000 and I’ve been tracking it ev-
see ROUNDTABLE page RE2
SPOTLIGHT TLIGHT home
Pristine & Classy Gated Calabrea Estate! On A Premium 2/3 Acre Hillside Lot
Listed for $1,950,000
See Page 6
Listed for $1,379,000
Geno Ross
Stunning panoramic views from privately gated luxury retreat, meticulously adorned with imported Montana stone accents.
Mike Mendoza
Bonny Holland
See Page 6
A Mediterranean-style home located in the prestigious Ahwatukee Custom Estates community.
See Page 6
Offered at $1,499,000
Ahwatukee’s #1 Team for Over 30 Years 480-706-7234
Tapestry Canyon - Front
Tapestry Canyon - Back
Magnificent mountain luxury retreat perched high on elevated hillside lot in exclusive gated Tapestry Canyon. 5 br, 5.5 ba with 5,002 sq. ft. This dramatic view home has endless entertaining possibilities. Fabulous custom build offering privacy with expansive mountain views plus city lights.
Listed for $1,510,000
|CLASSIFIED
@AhwatukeeFN |
or take.” Residents have fought the gas station since it first came before the Ahwatukee Foothills Village Planning Committee in April 2019, saying it not only posed a traffic menace and nuisance but also posed an even more serious danger in the event of a fire or gasoline spill. Those fears have been driven by the gas station’s location on the southeast corner of 40th Street and Cottonwood Way – the latter being the only way into and out of the Foothills Paseo II community. It also will be located within 300 feet of the 40th Street-South Mountain Freeway interchange and directly across a large park ‘n ride lot.
www.MendozaTeam.com
Tapestry Canyon - Front
Mike Mendoza
Tapestry Canyon - Back
Majestic Southwest contemporary estate on elevated 1.24-acre hillside lot with stunning mountain and city light views. 5 br, 4.5 ba with 4,924 sq. ft. Resort-style backyard with slate patio, built-in Viking grill, pool, spa, koi pond and ultimate privacy.
Listed for $1,325,000
P. 46
@AhwatukeeFN
“Most of the neighbors are not happy about it,” said Alvaro Diaz, president of the Paseo Foothills II HOA. “They still think it definitely is going to cause a lot of traffic issues. They already have a lot of questions about how this will work with the (freeway) ramp and everything.” But Diaz also was resigned to the impending city sign-off and draws some satisfaction in the fact that residents’ opposition prompted the city to force Quik Trip to scale down the size of its project to about half of what it had planned and include a right-turn lane on Cottonwood onto the site.
Foothills HOA reformers Back to school score major bylaws win
P
A
P. 39
QuikTrip nears city OK for 40th Street site
P
FN recently visited virtually with five experts to discuss the residential and commercial real estate market amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The experts included: Attorney Benjamin Gottlieb, of the real estate law firm MacQueen & Gottlieb; Kellie James, of Prime Lending Chandler; Lance Brace, of Bennett Property Management; Mary Nollenberger, a commercial real estate specialist for SVN/Desert Commercial Ad-
P. 33 | S P O RT S
Wednesday, August 5, 2020
FREEWAY HASSLES
BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
P. 28 | B U S I N E S S
arly last year, two Foothills Association homeowners got curious about their HOA board in the wake of a springtime vote to oust longtime board President Bill Fautsch. Though the recall bid failed when two corporate members with significant blocs of votes threw their weight in Fautsch’s favor, Ron Doherty and David Randolph began for the first time attending the HOA board’s monthly meetings. Together with several other residents, notably Vikki Glover and Rafael deLuna III, they began pushing for reforms in the way the board did business – contending that too often its seven members seemed inattentive to homeowners’ concerns and
were often less than transparent in their actions. So, the homeowners began pushing for reforms – some that the board acquiesced to but others – especially term limits for board members – it fiercely resisted. Last week, in a stunning rebuke to the board by the Foothills community, the reformers scored a major victory as property owners approved a series of HOA bylaw changes 1,271-411. The vote was an even bigger repudiation of the board when commercial property owners’ votes were subtracted, Doherty and Randolph said, stating that the margin of victory was 9-1. One commercial member is Belkorp, which owns the San Rivas Apartments and gets to cast
see FOOTHILLS page 14
see QUIKTRIP page 16
Kyrene Governing Board member Margaret Pratt’s three daughters - clockwise from left, Mary, Rachel and Becky - were on board as the district debuted its Digital Academy, kicking off its 2020-21 school year. Flex and, possibly, in-classroom learning begins Aug. 17. (Margaret Pratt/Facebook)