FLORENCE, AZ – The Florence Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously on Thursday to table the decision on the preliminary plat for the Anthem at Merrill Ranch development east of Felix Road. The project will be reconsidered at the March 20th meeting, giving developers time to address numerous concerns raised during the public hearing.
Vice-Chair Kathleen DeRosa cited several unanswered questions as the reason for her motion to table, including uncertainty about how the new development would be divided between active adult (55+) housing and standard single-family homes—a continuation of the Sun City and Parkside divisions that define the existing Anthem community west of Felix Road. DeRosa also noted the lack of specific amenity plans and questions about landscaping choices. “There were just too many ‘well, we’ll think about it’ or ‘well, we think we can do that responses,” she said during the meeting.
Commissioner Jeffrey Wooley supported the motion, stating he felt “the whole thing is being rushed” and that more information was needed before the commission could ensure the Town Council would be ready to approve the final plat. The commission hopes to receive more definitive answers after the HOA’s strategic planning committee completes its resident survey in the coming days.
Development Vision
The proposed development would expand Anthem at Merrill Ranch to the east side of Felix Road, encompassing approximately 983 acres at the northeast corner of West Hunt Highway and North Felix Road. The preliminary plat initially proposed 3,290 lots, though developers noted this has been revised to 3,137 lots with a gross residential density of approximately 3.37 dwelling units per acre according to Joshua Robinson from Colliers Engineering.
Pulte Group, the developer, envisions continuing the single-family residential subdivision that began on the west side of Felix Road. The development would feature lots ranging from 4,700 to 7,200 square feet.
The plan divides the community along Merrill Ranch Parkway, with active adult (55+) housing planned for the north side and standard single-family homes to the south. However, Todd Knape, Vice President at Pulte Group, acknowledged they don’t yet know the exact number of homes for each section, though the original community was planned at approximately a 50/50 split.
Integration with Existing Communities
The eastern expansion is designed to connect with the existing Anthem community to the west. A pedestrian underpass beneath Felix Road is planned to provide connectivity between the communities, similar to the existing pedestrian crossing under Hunt Highway. This underpass would be large enough to accommodate golf carts and would provide access to existing amenities on the west side of Felix Road.
The development will integrate with the broader master-planned community. The eastern development would stop at the railroad tracks, with the El Dorado Holdings development (which is not part of Anthem at Merrill Ranch) continuing east of the railroad towards Florence Gardens.
Housing Market Context
When questioned about the timing of the project, Knape stated that Pulte has approximately 300 lots left on the Parkside portion of the current community. “Rather than trying to plan them in the anthem active adult area, we need to move across the street,” Knape explained, indicating a current focus on developing more family-oriented housing rather than additional 55+ homes.
A local resident, questioned the urgency, noting, “I think we have something like at least a thousand homes to go and at the current rate of sales… we’re talking a lot more than five years probably 8 to 10 years even if things pick up.” In contrast, Todd Knape from Pulte Group stated they have approximately 300 lots remaining on the Parkside portion of the community, which creates the need to expand across Felix Road.
Why This Development Now?
Knape explained that water availability has been a key factor in driving the eastward expansion. “We would be much further along honestly on the west side of Felix if there was adequate water supplies,” he stated.
He emphasized that water limitations from EPCOR have significantly slowed development on the west side over the past three years. “We actually see that going east of Felix is a gateway to uninterrupted growth that we’ve experienced in the last several years via the utility providers.”
By working with the Town of Florence for water utilities instead of EPCOR, Pulte hopes to avoid the constraints that have hampered development on the west side.
Amenities and Open Spaces
The development proposes approximately 340 acres of open space with over four miles of trails. Joshua Robinson from Colliers Engineering emphasized the “paseo” design concept. Instead of homes having backyards that directly back onto one another, they will feature 30-50 foot-wide open spaces between them, aligning with the paseo-style design.
Several commissioners and residents raised concerns about the lack of specific amenities planned for the east side, particularly given the current capacity issues at facilities on the west side. Steve Engel, representing pickleball enthusiasts, noted they have “over 400 members” and are “really struggling” with just eight courts.
Knape acknowledged there are approximately 16 acres set aside within Anthem Merrill Ranch for amenity expansion, but specifics haven’t been determined. “We don’t know what those amenities are today… through the HOA and Pulte and the community [we’ll] try to find the best programming for the balance of that space,” he said.
Felix Road Improvements
The developers committed to expanding Felix Road to its ultimate roadway section of 135 feet right-of-way with three lanes of traffic in each direction, though initially in phases. After commissioner pressure, Knape ultimately committed: “You have our commitment to our obligation on Felix road which is the East half adjacent to our property. We will build the East half of Felix Road in its entirety in the first phases of the project.”
The design will include a landscaped median similar to Merrill Ranch Parkway, though Felix will be six lanes compared to Merrill Ranch Parkway’s four lanes. The right-of-way for this expansion has already been dedicated to the town.
Traffic and Transportation
Traffic signals are planned at Felix Road and Merrill Ranch Parkway, Felix Road and Hunt Highway, and a third location on Felix Road. These signals are warranted with the completion of phase one, though the timeline depends on home sales and the rate at which homes are purchased and occupied.
Commissioners expressed concerns about the timing of these improvements, particularly given increased traffic during the planned two-year construction of Hunt Highway, which would divert traffic to Felix Road.
The North-South Corridor was discussed, with developers noting its alignment is still uncertain. They purposely excluded it from the preliminary plat as the Arizona Department of Transportation’s tier two report currently stops the corridor alignment north of the community and remains in design.
Density Considerations
The approved Planned Unit Development (PUD) from 2008 allows for an overall density of 3.5 dwelling units per acre. The current proposal reflects a density of approximately 3.37 dwelling units per acre according to developers. Jared Baxter emphasized that they’re “well below” the approved densities, noting the community will ultimately have about 1,000 fewer lots than originally authorized in the PUD.
Commissioner Jeffrey Wooley expressed concern that “the density that you guys are proposing east of Felix road is not the density that we all moved to Anthem for,” suggesting the proposal resembled communities “jamming as many houses into a small area as they can.”
Changes from Original Plan
The original Anthem at Merrill Ranch PUD was approved in 2005 and amended in 2008. Several commissioners questioned whether the current proposal remains true to the original vision.
The 2008 PUD allows for lots as small as 4,600 square feet compared to the town’s standard 6,000 square feet requirement. This special allowance exists because the Planned Unit Development agreement, which was approved by previous town officials, grants exceptions to standard zoning requirements. The PUD also permits reduced minimum lot widths (from the town’s standard 60 feet to 40 feet) and smaller rear yards (15 feet in the PUD compared to the town’s standard 25 feet requirement).
During the meeting, Jared Baxter clarified that regarding rear yard setbacks specifically, the change was from 20 feet in the original 2005 PUD to 15 feet in the 2008 amendment. When Vice-Chair DeRosa asked if the town was “okay with that” reduction, Community Development Director A.J. Monroe confirmed it had been approved in 2008. DeRosa responded with “shame on us,” suggesting she felt the town should not have permitted such reductions in the original agreement.
Some commissioners expressed concerns that these smaller lots represent a departure from the spacious character that initially attracted residents to Anthem, though developers maintained these changes were all within the approved PUD guidelines.
New Water Facilities
A significant part of the discussion centered on water and wastewater infrastructure. Pulte plans to construct new water and wastewater facilities to serve the eastern development, with a Water Reclamation Facility planned south of Hunt Highway and a water campus on the eastern portion of the site.
Knape described these as “some of the largest facilities that the town has ever seen” and emphasized that this infrastructure would be funded initially by Pulte but would be “expandable” to serve future development. Vice-Chair DeRosa clarified that while Pulte would pay upfront, the new homeowners in the eastern development would ultimately bear much of the cost through a Community Facilities District (CFD) tax on their property taxes.
The development plan designates Felix Road as the dividing line between utility service areas, with EPCOR serving the west side and Town of Florence water serving the east side. However, during public comments, former Mayor Tom Rankin pointed out, “There is no town of Florence Water at this time out there,” highlighting that the infrastructure for town water service doesn’t currently exist in this area.
Jared Baxter expressed a preference for municipal water service, stating: “Town services are much cleaner and much more responsive to the citizenry more than private Utility Systems themselves.” Ultimately, he explained that “the town wants its own service area and that’s where we designated where the brake line would be between the two service areas was Felix road.”
The move to town-provided water instead of EPCOR (the utility serving the western portion of Anthem) was presented as a strategic advantage. “We only want to go East with the single family homes so we are embarking on providing some significant infrastructure on behalf of the town of Florence in water and wastewater facilities that we have been crippled by quite honestly on the west side of Felix through the Johnson Utilities and EPCOR challenges,” Knape explained.
He added that water limitations from EPCOR have significantly slowed development on the west side over the past three years. “We would be much further along honestly on the west side of Felix if there was adequate water supplies,” Knape stated, noting that the new infrastructure would help avoid similar constraints for the eastern expansion.
Looking Ahead
With the planning commission’s decision to table the preliminary plat until March 20th, Pulte will need to address the numerous questions and concerns raised during the public hearing. The commission expects more definitive answers about housing types, amenities, and infrastructure timing when the project returns for consideration.
If approved in March, the preliminary plat would mark the beginning of a multi-phase development expected to take many years to complete. The final plat would require Town Council approval before construction could begin.
