The Maricopa Planning and Zoning Commission approved a general plan amendment for the Hartman Ranch development but continued the main rezoning request after receiving last-minute concerns from neighboring property owners during their June 23, 2025 meeting.
Development Details
CVL Consultants, representing Cole Maricopa 193 LLC, requested approval for a 193-acre residential development at the southeast corner of West Steen Road and North Anderson Road. The conceptual plan allows for up to 826 single-family residential lots across six parcels surrounding a centrally located park, with a maximum residential density of 4.27 dwelling units per acre.
Developer representative Julie Vermillion told commissioners the project “maintains the original intent for single family residential use” while updating a planned area development originally approved in 2006.
Community Connections and Design
Vermillion described several connectivity features planned for the development, including access points to the adjacent Hartman Trails development to the west and connections to remaining Hartman Ranch parcels. The project includes “multi-modal transportation and an attractive, landscaped streetscape with trails or sidewalk.”
The development proposes walls with “stone accent columns and partial and full view fencing” around individual lots. “We won’t be fencing along the perimeter [of the community]. It’s going to be around the lots for privacy. So, you can see those walls are outlining the lots directly,” Vermillion explained as shown below.
Developer Benefits
According to the developer, the project promises several community improvements, including a centrally located park with amenities like ramadas, tot lots, fitness stations, and sport courts. Infrastructure improvements include upgrades to Steen Road and Anderson Road frontages, plus potential contributions for turn lanes or traffic signalization as warranted by traffic analysis.
Last-Minute Property Owner Concerns
Staff received a letter of opposition about an hour before the meeting. At the hearing, Mary Hartman, daughter-in-law to longtime property owners from the Hartman family, presented the family’s requests for several accommodations for the family homestead, including:
- Designating the eastern border drainage ditch as a road or legal access point to the homestead property
- Written confirmation that neither the current owner nor any future buyer will interfere with or cut off access to their domestic well located on the development property
- Preserving existing MSIDD irrigation infrastructure
- Continued use of the existing entrance to the homestead property from the west
- Keeping the access point at Anderson Road and Peterson Knoll private until a formal agreement is reached
- Restricting two-story homes directly next to the homestead property line to preserve privacy and visual compatibility
Property owner Scott Cole said he received the letter approximately an hour before the meeting while in a traffic jam coming to the meeting. “Several of the things are things we’ve agreed on from 17 years ago when together we zoned the whole 600 acres,” Cole told commissioners. He added that while some requests were reasonable, others “may create some headaches for me, but we can work that out.”
Another family member requested a continuance, saying “We do have some concerns about what is being proposed. We have not come to an agreement. All family members are not present tonight.”
Density Concerns in Rural Areas
Commissioner Robert Klob raised concerns about potential future density increases, particularly regarding “creative lot design.” “As we get into Z lots and motor courts and zero lot lines and so on, in most communities we typically see them in the commercial zones,” Klob said. “This is, for the foreseeable future of Maricopa, still relatively rural. And if you’re bringing in some of those higher density designs so far out, I think, for me, it’s a little bit problematic.”
Senior Planner Derek Scheerer explained that developers could request changes but staff would analyze them for compliance with ordinances and the general plan, and significant changes would require public hearings.
Project Status
The commission approved the general plan amendment (GPA24-03) but voted to continue the PAD rezoning request (PAD23-07) due to the unresolved issues raised by the Hartman family. Commissioner Bill Robertson made the motion to continue, noting the concerns sounded like “conditions and things they’d like to make sure protect their investment in their property” rather than outright opposition.
The item will return to the commission once staff determines the parties are ready to proceed, potentially allowing the project to move forward to City Council for final approval.
