Queen Creek council allows rentals in townhome community

The developers of a proposed townhome community at the northeast corner of Sossaman and Rittenhouse roads have received approval to allow rental properties.

After a spirited discussion, the Queen Creek Town Council voted 6-1 to allow Arcus Private Capital Solutions to develop Rittenhouse Commons 2, a 166-lot, single-family townhome community “with the residential units being available for either ownership or rental occupancy,” according to a staff report.

Council Member Jeff Brown voted against the measure, citing more than 100 emails the town received from residents opposed to having a rental community in the area.

Surrounding the proposed development’s site is the Cortina subdivision to the west, the Union Pacific Railroad and several industrial sites to the north and east, rural residential lots within Maricopa County to the south and the Mayberry multifamily residential development to the southeast.

In June 2023, the council unanimously voted to rezone the 16.5-acre site from commercial to medium-density residential to allow for the development of Rittenhouse Commons 2.

In December 2024, representatives for the owner asked for an indefinite continuance “to evaluate ongoing water restrictions for the development,” the staff report stated.

During the council’s June 18 meeting, the owner’s representative, Sean Lake of the law firm Pew & Lake, told councilors the project has been sidelined since Gov. Katie Hobbs announced in 2023 that state officials would no longer issue 100-year water assurance certificates to new developments that rely on groundwater.

The measure has affected outlying Valley cities and towns such as Queen Creek and Buckeye.

Lake said the owner of Rittenhouse Commons 2 could not file a final plat for a residential subdivision because it could not obtain a water certificate and, as a result, had to file a site plan instead.

“Downtown changed the goalposts, or changed the rules on us, and since that time we were notified that we can’t have water for this,” Lake said. “That put a big, old stop sign on this project for the last two years … and we spent an extensive amount of time working with the town staff. What do we do? How do we proceed forward? In June of 2024, a year ago, we filed an amendment to the zoning application to remove the words for sale so that we could proceed forward with both a ‘for rent’ or a ‘for sale.’”

Lake told councilors nothing changed about the plan except the addition of the “for rent” language. He added once the water issue is resolved the owner will start selling the townhomes.

By June 9, the town had received just one email in opposition to the development. But in the days leading up to the council meeting, dozens of other emails were sent opposing the project because of concerns about traffic and converting the development to a rental community, a position Brown supported.

“I take my role as a representative of the constituents of the people who live here, both those who buy and those who rent, very seriously and there is a very strong sentiment in this community that they prefer that there not be as many rentals as we have approved, whether they’re built now or soon to come.” Brown said during the June 18 council meeting.

Council Members Robin Benning and Dawn Oliphant supported the project saying the town needed affordable housing and townhome rentals could provide.

“The project will offer 166 new homes at a time when there is growing demand for compact and affordable housing solutions. The project is attractive, dense, well landscaped and will result in taking a vacant parcel which could be seen as being blighted today and converting it to something that is no longer an eyesore,” Benning said.

Council Members Bryan McClure and Travis Padilla, along with Vice Mayor Leah Martineau, said council had approved the project already and they did not want to impinge on the owner’s right to develop his property.

Padilla called on Travis Wright, director of real estate for Arcus Private Capital Solutions, to outline the challenges and costs that Hobbs’ order had created for Rittenhouse Commons 2. Wright said Arcus had invested between $300,000 and $500,000 in the property.

“I wanted to give you the opportunity to tell your story as a matter of public record, not just in this argument about the water certificate, but also to the public so they understand the position that you’re in,” Padilla said.

Mayor Julia Wheatley said the town was “doing everything” to solve the water issue.

“What’s so frustrating to me today is I still support what we unanimously approved (in June 2023). There were changes outside of this council’s purview, and we’re doing everything we can to (find a) solution," she said. "At the end of the day, I have to come back to the property rights of this owner.”

The same day as the council meeting, Republican lawmakers struck a deal with Hobbs that will allow homebuilders to buy water rights from farmers who retire their agricultural land.

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