Split council rejects 150-home rental community on commercial land at Germann and Power roads

A rental neighborhood proposed for commercial land near the northeast corner of Germann and Power roads will not move forward after the Queen Creek Town Council denied the rezoning Wednesday night.

The council voted 3-2 against Summerwell Residences, which would have placed 150 detached and attached single-family rental homes on 16.8 acres zoned for commercial use, the Queen Creek Independent reported. Mayor Julia Wheatley and Council Members Robin Benning and Jeff Brown voted no. Vice Mayor Bryan McClure and Council Member Leah Martineau voted yes. Council Members Dawn Oliphant and Travis Padilla were absent.

The site sits between the Power Marketplace shopping center to the north and west and the Power Marketplace Business Park to the east, with the Cortina neighborhood across Germann Road. The town's general plan designates it commercial. A larger, 340-unit apartment proposal for the property was withdrawn in 2024 after residents objected.

Why the majority voted no

Members who opposed the request said Summerwell was an improvement over the 2024 plan and would bring less traffic than commercial development, but that the general plan should be followed, according to the Independent.

Brown said residents had signaled they were unhappy with the number of rezonings the council has approved, particularly for rental housing. "We're really setting ourselves up for the pitchfork-type town council meetings," he said.

Wheatley tied her vote to water. Because the project was a rental community, it would not have needed the state's 100-year assured water supply certificate, she said, which was hard to square with the town telling its customers it had secured a long-term water deal. She also said the town is trying to make such parcels marketable under whatever zoning they carry.

The case for approval

A staff report said interest in the land over the past five years has come only from residential developers. McClure argued that the parcel had gone years without a viable commercial use and that, absent evidence of harm, owners should decide what to build. "I feel like voting 'no' on this project would be government overreach," he said.

The town's Planning and Zoning Commission had recommended approval at its Sept. 9 meeting.

Sources

yourvalley.net