Supervisors Approve 560-Home Fieldstone Development Near San Tan Valley

Editor’s note (April 24, 2026): The Fieldstone submittals reference a neighboring industrial site labeled “Project Ranger” in Pinal County. A separate site in New Mexico shares the same name. The Pinal site was reported by the Phoenix Business Journal in October 2025 to be a planned Castelion Corporation hypersonic missile facility. Castelion announced in November 2025 that it had selected the New Mexico Project Ranger site, and broke ground there in January 2026. The Pinal County Project Ranger entitlements remain in place. The Pinal Post is seeking confirmation from Pinal County on the current status of the Pinal site.

Key Points

• Pinal County supervisors unanimously approved up to 560 single-family homes on 141 acres near Cooper and Bella Vista.
• Homes will range from roughly 1,800 square feet on the small end up to nearly 4,000 square feet on the large end, targeted at around $420,000.
• All homes will be for sale, not rental.
• No date was given for when home construction will begin. Subdivision maps could be finalized by the end of 2026, but more likely in early 2027, according to applicant attorney Carolyn Oberholtzer.
• Density rose from 3.5 to 3.96 homes per acre compared with the older 2003 plan. Open space grew from 15% to 21%.
• The plan allows smaller, tighter lots than the county’s standard single-family zoning would require.
• Senior Planner Valentyn Panchenko said Fieldstone would be the first higher-density project east of the future SR 505 corridor, which staff called a potential policy shift for the area. Nearby property owners could seek similar density next.
• The site sits inside Florence’s planning area, but Panchenko said both Florence and San Tan Valley could eventually consider it for annexation. He noted no such decision has been made.
• Vice-Chair Jeff Serdy raised concerns about train noise from the Magma Arizona Railroad, which is expected to grow busier with traffic from Resolution Copper and Project Ranger, an entitled 1,105-acre industrial site north of Florence. See editor’s note above regarding Project Ranger’s status.
• No sound wall or formal railroad-disclosure requirement was added to the project. Supervisor Stephen Miller said Arizona’s standard public report at closing already discloses nearby railroads, and the developer offered to add extra disclosures on top of that.
• Drivers can expect road construction on Bella Vista and Cooper as part of the project.
• Supervisor Mike Goodman warned current impact fees may not cover the road capacity needed to serve Fieldstone and future nearby development. Development Services Managing Director Joe Ortiz said the county’s impact fee study is targeted for a May 5 milestone.
• The concern follows earlier reporting that Pinal County has historically charged impact fees at roughly half of what they should have been, and that some developer agreements exempted projects from fees entirely.
• No members of the public spoke at the hearing. No letters of support or opposition were submitted.

The Fieldstone development near San Tan Valley moved a major step closer to construction Wednesday. On April 22, 2026, the Pinal County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a minor comprehensive plan amendment, rezoning and Planned Area Development overlay clearing the way for up to 560 single-family homes on roughly 141 acres near the northwest corner of Cooper Road and Bella Vista Road. Although the site sits inside the Town of Florence’s planning area, staff noted both Florence and San Tan Valley could eventually consider it for annexation.

Fieldstone homes will range from roughly 1,800 square feet on the small end up to nearly 4,000 square feet on the large end, applicant attorney Carolyn Oberholtzer told supervisors, with some two-story designs. Michael Kern, president of developer Community Southwest, said the project’s finances are built around a home price of about $420,000. Kern confirmed to Supervisor Rich Vitiello that all homes will be for sale, not rental. Construction will roll out in two phases, with the central pool and amenity area built in the first phase. Oberholtzer said the detailed subdivision maps could be finalized by the end of 2026, but more likely in early 2027. No date was given at the hearing for when home construction itself would begin.

Lot Sizes, Density and How the Design Compares

The community will feature only single-family homes with typical lots of 45 by 120 feet and 50 by 120 feet. The approved plan puts just under 4 homes per acre on the site, 3.96 to be exact. Technically the new land-use designation would allow up to 8 homes per acre, which would work out to roughly 1,128 units on the site. However, the developer’s custom zoning package caps Fieldstone at 560 homes total.

Measured against the older 2003 entitlement the new plan replaces, known as the Ocotillo Verde PAD, Fieldstone is denser, raising the total from 508 lots to 560 and nudging density from 3.5 homes per acre to 3.96. However, it also increases minimum lot depth from 115 feet to 120 feet and expands open space from 15% to 21% of the site.

Applicant attorney Carolyn Oberholtzer used that comparison to describe the change as an improvement. “The lot size currently is 45 by 115. We’re increasing that 45 by 120 to have a more meaningful backyard,” she told the board.

Compared with the county’s standard single-family zoning, rather than the older entitlement, the plan relaxes several requirements. The developer’s custom package lets homes be built on smaller, tighter lots than the code would otherwise require. Lots can be 5,200 square feet instead of the usual 7,000, and 45 feet wide instead of 50. Homes can also sit closer to the side and back property lines, with 5 feet from the side instead of 10, and 15 feet from the back instead of 25.

Surrounding Land and the Path of Growth

The site sits south of the Magma Arizona Railroad and directly north of the existing Magma Ranch master-planned community. Magma Ranch is primarily residential, with a school site and a small commercial area built in under older county zoning codes. Fieldstone itself includes no commercial parcels, and Senior Planner Valentyn Panchenko said future residents would use the school and commercial services already planned in Magma Ranch.

To the east, most land belongs to the Arizona State Land Department, which did not oppose the project. In a March 5 letter, ASLD Assistant Director Karen Dada noted the developer will be required to build road improvements along the entire property frontage on both Bella Vista Road and Cooper Road, meaning drivers in the area can expect construction on those arterials as part of the project.

Panchenko also noted the same agent is bringing a separate project called San Tan 288 across the railroad to the north. That proposal seeks similar single-family zoning with about 1,150 homes and remains under staff review.

Regional Corridor, SR 505 and Planning Jurisdiction

Panchenko explained the site’s jurisdictional position. “This site, located within the planned area for the Town of Florence, but it’s also close to the Town of San Tan Valley and maybe that will be considered by both towns as prospective future annexation areas,” he told the board. “No one knows at this point of time. But currently, that’s within the planning areas for the Town of Florence.”

He added the property sits approximately one mile east of the San Tan Valley Special Area Plan boundary. The special area plan’s suburban neighborhood designation allows one to four dwelling units per acre. “That’s compatible with at least a special area plan designation for the San Tan Valley nearby locations,” he said.

Panchenko also tied the density request to the future State Route 505 corridor planned west of the site. The corridor would connect the area to San Tan Valley and the East Valley of Phoenix. “That’s more or less compatible with what the Town of Florence and San Tan Valley special area plan planning to the future for those nearby locations,” he said.

A Precedent for More Density East of SR 505

Panchenko said the approval could affect planning across the broader area. If approved, he said, it “will open the discussion for the broader policy within this area, because that will be the first area with such density.” As a result, properties to the north and south could seek similar entitlements and request increased density.

Impact Fees and Funding the Roads

Supervisor Mike Goodman tied Fieldstone to a broader concern about whether the county’s impact fees will keep pace with growth. “We have a big need to look at, really, at our impact fees on these,” he told staff. He noted that much of the area’s future traffic capacity is expected to depend on the planned SR 505 corridor to the west, which has not been built.

“This is just gonna be a beginning of what’s gonna happen over in that area,” Goodman said. “What about the future of the congestion and everything on the roads already that are congested already?”

Later in the exchange, he added: “We’re already behind. We don’t need to get behind anymore.”

Panchenko acknowledged the concern but said he did not know whether the county plans to increase impact fees. Joe Ortiz, Development Services Managing Director, then told the board the county’s development impact fee study has been underway for some time. The department is aiming for May 5 as a target date to move the fee update forward.

The impact fee discussion follows statements made earlier this month in San Tan Valley. Former Pinal County Engineer Chris Wanamaker, now the town’s Public Works Director, told the San Tan Valley Town Council on April 1 that county impact fees have historically been collected at roughly half of what they should have been, and that some development agreements have exempted developers from paying them entirely. Read more in the Pinal Post’s April 2 report on San Tan Valley road funding.

The Train Question

Vice-Chair Jeff Serdy raised sustained concern about rail traffic. The Magma Arizona Railroad runs along the project’s northern edge, and traffic on that line is expected to grow. Project Ranger, an entitled 1,105-acre industrial site north of Florence, and Resolution Copper’s planned filter plant are both anticipated to move materials through the corridor. (See editor’s note regarding Project Ranger’s current status.)

“The Magma Arizona Railroad is about to spring to life and my office will have to field the complaints of all these people that, ‘There are trains going by my house,'” Serdy said. He questioned whether future residents would grasp what’s coming. “Do they realize that there’s gonna be a train going right through there several times a day?”

Serdy went further on the trade-off. “We need the industry more than we need these houses,” he said. He asked whether conditions of approval could require a sound wall similar to those shielding neighborhoods along US-60 in Mesa.

Sound Walls, Disclosures and the Public Report

Kern told the board he had never seen a sound wall along a railroad. He said he was reluctant to agree to an undefined noise mitigation study, citing limited cooperation from Resolution Copper, which he said manages the Magma Arizona Railroad. However, he offered a stipulation requiring notification to homebuyers.

Supervisor Stephen Miller, who said he has written Arizona public reports himself, told the board those disclosures already cover the issue. “They sign that at the closing. It’s called a public report. And I’ve written those public reports, and you have to put down everything, and that railroad will be in that public report,” he said. Miller noted he lives in Casa Grande, where rail lines run through the center of town.

Supervisor Mike Goodman offered a similar perspective based on the rail line near his home, which he said runs through Queen Creek. He said trains run through neighborhoods there several times a day without walls and with few complaints from residents who bought homes knowing the tracks were present. He said a clear disclosure at purchase, combined with possible price adjustments on rail-adjacent lots, was a reasonable approach.

Oberholtzer said: “We could have a requirement of the final plat disclosure, which is also something that the county will approve. And then also, individual notice at home closings. So we have to provide the public report, but we can do an additional one as well.” However, the board did not formally add a railroad-disclosure stipulation to the final motion; the project was approved with the 20 conditions staff originally presented. The nearest home will sit roughly 350 to 400 feet from the tracks, Supervisor Miller estimated at the hearing.

Support, Opposition and Public Comment

No members of the public spoke during the April 22 hearing. Additionally, no letters of support or opposition were submitted. The applicant’s January 29 neighborhood meeting at Central Arizona College’s San Tan Campus drew no attendees, and no written comments were filed afterward.

Vote and Conditions of Approval

The board approved all three cases unanimously.

As conditions of approval, the developer must build road improvements along Bella Vista and Cooper, complete a traffic study, build trail segments along the Magma Arizona Railroad corridor, and consult with an archaeologist before breaking ground to check for cultural or historic sites, consistent with Arizona State Museum guidance.

Topics Covered at the March 19 Planning Hearing

Some topics received more detailed treatment at the March 19 Planning and Zoning Commission hearing than at the April 22 Board meeting.

County Engineer Chris Wanamaker confirmed at the March 19 hearing that a second access point is being worked out. Cooper Road will serve as the primary entrance, with a secondary connection planned via Felix Road to Bella Vista. That secondary route requires crossing a separately owned property, and the county is helping the developer negotiate easements.

Commissioners also raised a practical design concern: whether driveways in Fieldstone will be long enough for today’s larger pickup trucks without blocking the sidewalk. Oberholtzer said the 20-foot setback between the sidewalk and garage face meets that test, and noted 20 feet has become a common standard across Arizona for that reason.

Read the Pinal Post’s prior coverage of the March 19 Planning and Zoning Commission hearing on Fieldstone for full details.

When Construction Begins

With entitlements now secured, Community Southwest plans to begin the detailed subdivision design process this summer. Oberholtzer told supervisors the final lot-by-lot maps could be recorded by the end of 2026, though more likely in early 2027. According to the applicant’s phasing plan, infrastructure tied to each phase, including roadway improvements and traffic mitigation, will be built before homes in that phase are occupied.