Rosina and Frank Melian have lived in San Tan Valley for 16 years now, drawn to the area's more rural feel and as a way to escape city life with its abundance of traffic and noise.
It's these very things they feel will be threatened with the addition of a proposed apartment complex located at Kenworthy and Ocotillo roads.
The new apartments have been presented by Snowdon Partners, a private equity firm based in Scottsdale, with the idea to build an apartment complex that would feature 269 apartments, with a mix of one- and two-bedroom units.
Residents of San Tan Valley are concerned what this will do to the quiet farming community they have come to love. Lack of infrastructure to accommodate high-density housing, increased crime and increased traffic are among the primary concerns voiced by residents.
“This is a twilight community right at the edge of farming communities which makes it unique and having a rental project built will not enhance this area and negatively impact it, “ Frank Melian said. “Once you open the door for one apartment complex to be built, it sets a precedent and this area will lose what makes it so nice to live in. It will become like other areas before it and lose its community sense and value."
Denise Peloquin is also a resident of San Tan Valley and expressed similar sentiments as Melian. She and her husband, Larry, own a home in the area and have put their love, sweat and tears into their house to create a place they can live in for years to come, building equity for their retirement or to pass on to their children. She's afraid that renters don't have the same kind of pride for their neighborhood, which could negatively affect the area.
“To be a homeowner is a commitment and takes a lot of hard work and a spirit of responsibility, and it helps to have like-minded neighbors that are all sharing the dream,” Peloquin said. “Renters do not have the same pride and thus do not take care of a neighborhood the same as homeowners."
She also expressed concerns about zoning, saying the area is full of houses and farms and the “addition of an entirely differently housing structure does not fit into the current zoning and the zoning should not be changed.” Peloquin and her husband also feel that there is more than enough raw land in the area that can be turned into apartment complexes, rather than encroaching on existing neighborhoods.
However, some residents of the area are hopeful for the future and see the new apartments as a sign of a growing, thriving community.
Susan Dahl has lived in San Tan Valley for five years and said she has no issues with upcoming building in the area.
“It's called progress ... new businesses, new homes, new apartment buildings,” Dahl explained, adding that the only issue she would have is if they didn't include stop lights at busy intersections as the area continues to expand.
Likewise, Martina Chione has lived in the area for three years and feels the addition of an apartment complex can bring in new set of people to the area who perhaps aren't ready to buy, but would love to live in the area.
“I do know that this area lacks apartment communities and I do believe that apartments are necessary for each community to have because they help communities grow,” Chione said. “They (apartments) bring in people who are new to the area and not ready to buy yet and help them transition into buying a home."
Then there are others who are on the fence about the issue, seeing the value of having apartments in the area but not wanting them to infringe on the relative quiet and calm that San Tan Valley has become known for.
Gabrielle Taylor has lived in San Tan Valley for five years and loves to start her day off drinking coffee and being able to hear the donkeys and cows that live nearby. She said it helps start her day off wonderfully and she would be sad if that was to disappear.
“I have only lived in San Tan for five years, but a couple things brought me out here. One, the housing prices. Two, I loved living away from the city and it had a more country feel. I wanted to move into Queen Creek years ago, but glad I didn’t because of how ‘city’ it's has become. Having an apartment complex next door, that will just drive up population, and I moved out here to get away from that,” Taylor said.
“I am not against apartments, I just don't want them so close. I prefer the farm animals over people,” she added.
When contacted, Michael Vucekovich of Snowdon Partners said in an email that they are a long way off yet in knowing if the project will take place. He added that there is much ongoing due diligence and neighborhood specifics that are currently taking place and they should know more in a few months.
