SAN TAN VALLEY, AZ – During public comments at the February 4, 2026, San Tan Valley Council meeting, resident Jerry Carter voiced concerns about a proposed development at W Skyline Drive and N Gary Road. The project, known as The Vine @ Skyline, would bring apartments, townhomes, and commercial buildings to a 16-acre site surrounded by established single-family neighborhoods.
Proposed Changes at the Skyline and Gary Road Site
The development would reshape a currently vacant parcel at the northwest corner of W Skyline Drive and N Gary Road. Developer K&I Homes, on behalf of property owner Cravath Whole Life Communities, is requesting a rezoning of approximately 7.7 acres of the 16-acre site from General Business to Multiple Residence. Additionally, the applicant seeks a comprehensive plan amendment to change the land use designation from Suburban Neighborhood to Community Center.
If approved, the project would include several retail pads along the eastern portion of the site near Gary Road, including a gas station, restaurants, a daycare facility, and a bank. West of the commercial area, 90 apartment units are planned, with 28 townhomes furthest west along the boundary with Morning Sun Farms. All residential buildings would be limited to two stories.
Resident Concerns About Population and Infrastructure
Carter, who lives in the nearby Morning Sun Farms neighborhood, told the council that he attended a community meeting at Ridgeview school several months earlier. There, the developer presented plans to rezone the property. However, Carter said the proposed shift from commercial to residential use is not appropriate for the area.
“I don’t feel this is appropriate since this is in a central location between single home developments, including Morning Sun Farms and Skyland Ranch,” he said. “The population saturation would be a hardship on the area, including the infrastructure, roads.”
He also raised specific concerns about parking and amenities. Carter recalled that the developer said at the earlier meeting that only resident parking would be provided, with no visitor parking available. He also said the developer indicated no playground would be provided for children living in the complex.
“We found that a concern because obviously they would have to be parking in residential areas or other business areas,” Carter said.
The developer’s current project narrative, filed after the community meeting, describes visitor parking distributed in small groups throughout the site.
Road Improvements a Key Sticking Point
Carter emphasized that road improvements should happen before construction begins. He argued that building first and addressing roads afterward would be counterproductive.
“I think the road improvements should be done before the building, not afterward,” he said. “That’s kind of putting the cart in front of the horse.”
Community Feedback at Earlier Open House
A neighborhood open house meeting was held on August 15, 2025, at Ridgeview College Prep in San Tan Valley. According to the developer’s citizen review report, 36 people attended. All attendees were neighbors from surrounding residential subdivisions.
The report noted that a majority of attendees opposed multifamily housing in their neighborhood. Many preferred commercial uses that would bring neighborhood services to the area. Residents also expressed frustration with existing traffic congestion and questioned whether nearby roads could handle additional volume.
The developer responded that years of marketing efforts failed to attract a major commercial tenant. Most commercial users prefer the larger retail center at Gary Road and Hunt Highway, less than a mile away. According to the developer’s traffic analysis, the residential component would generate only about 15 percent of the traffic volume that the commercial component would produce.
Pinal County Hearing Scheduled for February
The Pinal County Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the rezoning and comprehensive plan amendment on February 19, 2026. That hearing will take place at 9:00 a.m. at the Pinal County Emergency Operations Center, 301 E. 11th St., Florence, Arizona.
Meanwhile, Mayor Daren Schnepf asked that an update on the Gary Road and Skyline area be placed on a future council agenda.
Other Topics Raised During Public Comment
The Skyline and Gary Road development was not the only topic residents brought before the council. Harold Hawken submitted a comment card also expressing concern about the rezoning but did not speak.
Donna Hallman, who was also appointed to the town’s new Interim Planning Advisory Committee earlier in the meeting, asked whether the town could reduce the 1,000-signature requirement for council candidates, particularly if pending state legislation shortens the timeline. She said it would be a loss if only one or two candidates made it onto the ballot.
Jeanne Stockton raised several questions. She asked whether members of the interim Planning and Zoning committee can actively advocate for or against rezoning projects in their neighborhoods. She also asked whether the town could implement an online process for filing opposition to zoning changes. She said that when she went through Pinal County’s process, several opposition letters were lost or ended up in spam folders before reaching the intended recipients. In addition, Stockton asked whether the town could implement a tax on electric vehicles to contribute to road maintenance funds, since those vehicles do not pay into the Highway User Revenue Fund.
Karen Mooney, a fellow appointee to the Interim Planning Advisory Committee, suggested the town develop a color-coded map showing existing land entitlements across San Tan Valley. Mooney currently serves on Pinal County’s Planning and Zoning Commission and said the county lacks an accessible way to view entitlement information. She built on Vice-Mayor Tyler Hudgins’ earlier comments about an interactive map, adding that some entitlements date back to 1998. She said residents may not understand which developments were already approved before incorporation. Some properties carry existing entitlements that allow development to move forward without new council action. Mooney noted that during incorporation, there was significant opposition to growth. Without transparency about pre-existing entitlements, she said, residents may assume the council is approving new projects when the decisions were made years ago. She drew a distinction between those existing entitlements and new zoning change requests, like the one at Skyline and Gary Road, which do require a separate approval process.
Following public comment, Councilmember Brian Tyler asked for a review of options related to the candidate signature timeline. Councilmember Rupert Wolfert requested that the town explore offering candidate trainings ahead of the election.
