Residents rip 130-home rental project in Gilbert

Apr. 16—A proposal to build 130 rentals at the northeast corner of Val Vista Drive and Knox Road saw a big pushback last week from neighbors who complained about potential traffic, crime and property value impacts.

Over a dozen property owners attended a virtual neighborhood meeting hosted by the developer April 10 on the project pitched for 10.54 acres, west of Crossroads District Park.

"I probably speak for the whole neighborhood," said Liane Reid, who lives south of the site across Knox Road near 154th Street. "We are all against this and you'll probably have a fight on your hands."

However, Reid added that the residents would be more open to a proposal to build each home on a 1-acre lot.

Developer T.K. Stratton is seeking a minor General Plan amendment and rezone of the land, consisting of four parcels belonging to the Reber Family.

Plans call for twin-home-style development with one, two and three bedrooms in a mix of one- and two-story modern architectural buildings: 56 units would have one bed and one bathroom; 64 would have two bedrooms and two baths and 10 would have three bedrooms and two baths. Seventy-four units would be two stories.

Amenities included a clubhouse, swimming pool, walking path and a dog park, garages and 45% open space. A total of 250 parking spaces are proposed.

"We are very early in the process," land-use attorney Reese Anderson said. "We do want your feedback and get your input so we can move forward."

The development would be surrounded by a 6-foot-high solid wall with an emergency access gate for fire trucks on Knox at 154th. There are no pedestrian gates planned.

"We've lived here 27 years," said a woman named Bonnie, who added that Knox Road is a private road paid for by the residents and that she didn't like the idea of fire trucks using it. "If you want to use it, you have to pay for it."

Reese assured residents that the emergency access would only be used by fire trucks if Val Vista is blocked such as by an accident.

Douglas Reber said he's lived on the property for 61 years and that the family is selling because his mother died over a year ago and they were settling the estate.

"What is the benefit to us with large properties to allow a dense development in here?" asked a man going by the handle mrjc480. "Why should we allow it?"

Anderson said the developer was just sharing the idea for the site.

"I assume you don't like it?" Anderson added.

The man responded, "None of us here like it" and asked why not keep the zoning SF-43 and build 10 custom homes instead.

"It's certainly possible," Anderson said. "But this is what we are talking about tonight."

Anderson said the proposal made sense otherwise the developer would not be doing it.

Chris Bowman asked Reber if he approached any of his neighbors to ask if they were interested in buying the land. Reber responded that he did not.

"It's been on the market for some time," Reber said, noting it was at one time in escrow but fell through.

Anderson asked if Bowman was interested in buying the property.

"I work in real estate," Bowman said. "I wished I knew."

He said there are people who would have purchased the property and built large-acre homes.

"Multifamily units tend to bring more crime, more traffic," Bowman said, adding that there is a certain lifestyle enjoyed by the residents.

He said that lifestyle included raising farm animals and he didn't want that to come into conflict with the potential renters.

"These are not $1,000-a-month properties," said Reber, who said the rentals are targeted to professionals. "The community is fully self-contained.

"I don't think anyone would settle here if they didn't appreciate a rural environment."

Stratton said he has a similar project in the Arcadia neighborhood in Phoenix.

He said the project is "for people who don't want apartment-style living" but still want the amenities such as the Home Depot, SanTan Village mall and Top Golf nearby. He said a one-bedroom unit would rent for around $2,000.

Bowman said the developer presented the development as "high-end units," and asked what made them think that people would want to move into a community built next to railroad tracks and an SRP generating station.

"You'll make more money if you sold (the land as) 1-acre lots," suggested Joseph Goetz. "People are dying for property to build nice homes."

Goetz calculated 750 potential renters generated by the project based on the number of parking spots.

"That's a lot of people," Goetz said. "Please reconsider and sell the lots individually and make the neighborhood happy."

He said the area already has too much traffic and that the project would decrease the property values of homeowners.

"We have farm animals here," Reid said. "We have chickens that crow at 4 a.m. We have donkeys and sheep."

She said she doesn't want to face the possibility of the rental residents complaining about her animals and that it was hard enough trying to get out of her neighborhood with the existing traffic on Val Vista Drive, where a charter school and high school also are located.

Additionally, the two-story units would look into her backyard and back patio.

"I have a huge issue with that," Reid said.

Chad Hatch said the proposed development on the south side of the property is more intrusive as it has a "direct view of everything." His home is about 300 feet from the site.

"Lot of people have swimming pools," he said. "It makes it uncomfortable."

He said the big concern is traffic and that Gilbert already has an issue with congestion.

"We don't want to interfere with your lifestyle at all," Anderson said. "Your lifestyle and what you do on your property won't be affected."

Statton added, "People moving into our communities are looking for privacy."

Ryan Larson asked what process would be used to vet renters should the project be built and was assured that criminal background and credit checks would be done.

"I've seen too many apartments and condos go from high-end to Section 8 (low-income housing) because they can't get people in there," Larson said.

"It all happened in a year. I know no one wants to say that their product will go to government housing but I've seen it too many times in Phoenix — from fancy places to dumps in a matter of years."

Stratton said that's not the intention for the proposed project.

"The rent's too high for Section 8," he said. "It's just a nice product. It gives people the feeling they are in a home and not an apartment complex."

The next step in the process is to submit a formal application to Town planners for review before going to the Planning Commission for a recommendation to council.

The escrow on the property won't close until all the approvals are in place.