Sneak Peeks: Commercial Development Moving Into Desert Foothills Scenic Drive?

Posted By Cindy Lee on Apr 30, 2015

By Cindy Lee

Sproouts Shopping Center, N. Scottsdale Road and E. Pinnacle Peak Road.

In 2015 a new shopping center anchored by Sprouts opened on the east side of Scottsdale Road at the south corner of Pinnacle Peak Road. This shopping center represents 17 acres of new commercial development just 1 mile south of the entrance to the Scenic Drive in North Scottsdale.

cindy_SPROUTS CENTER-600_front angle view

Sprouts Shopping Center – Front

Sprouts Shopping Center – Rear

Monument, Desert Foothills Scenic Drive

Scottsdale’s Desert Foothills Scenic Drive is a 6.2 mile scenic stretch on N. Scottsdale Road from Happy Valley Road continuing north to Carefree Highway. On the east side between Happy Valley and Jomax Roads there is an Exhibit Area where visitors can come and walk this natural Sonoran desert land and learn about the many indigenous plants and animals. The McDowell Mountains provide a majestic scenic backdrop to this desert area that has been preserved, maintained and enhanced by local residents and local governments for 52 years.

Read About Scottsdale’s Scenic Drive

This state trust land east of Scottsdale Road between Happy Valley and Jomax Roads was zoned as rural neighborhood in the General Plan 2001 ratified by Scottsdale voters in 2002. The state now has a proposal to replace this rural area with 40 acres of commercial plus 26 acres of resort/tourism rezoning. This proposal, if approved, would eradicate more than 50 years of landmark preservation efforts, community fundraising and local human history in North Scottsdale.

The state’s rezoning proposal would invite 40 acres of commercial development into the Scenic Drive. This translates to 2.35 times the size of the 17-acre Sprouts shopping center. Then add another 26 acres of resort/tourism rezoning—or resort development 1.5 times the acreage of the Sprouts center.

Map of Proposed Rezoning Areas from ASLD 19-ZN-2014

This 66 acres of proposed rezoning into the Scenic Drive replaces the current rural neighborhood zoning with commercial and resort/tourism rezoning equal to nearly 4 times the acreage of the new Sprouts commercial shopping development nearby.

Quoting from the City of Scottsdale website: “The General Plan is the culmination of Scottsdale’s collective vision for how its citizens want the community to evolve over time.” http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/generalplan/generalplan2001

Read Scottsdale’s General Plan

Is this 66 acres of up-zoning and development what Scottsdale voters envisioned when they ratified the General Plan in 2002 to include this Scenic Drive rural neighborhood land within the Recommended Study Boundary of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve?

GPPA to State Land Department: Don’t Sacrifice, Squander, Scottsdale’s Scenic Drive – Published 04/13/2015