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ITEM 8.c. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS STAFF REPORT Meeting Date: 2/3/2026 Meeting Type: Town Council Regular Meeting Submitting Department: Development Services Prepared by: John Wesley, Development Services Director Staff Contact Information: Phone: 480-816-5138 Email: jwesley@fountainhillsaz.gov Request to Town Council Regular Meeting (Agenda Language) CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: Regarding a request for a CUT/FILL waiver for property located at 14050 E. Diamondback Ct. to allow fill in excess of 10' on a portion of the property. Staff Summary (background) The owner of the property at 14050 E. Diamondback Ct. is preparing plans to build a new single-family home on this lot. The plans submitted for this 58,703 sq. ft. lot show a developed area of 9,000 sq. ft. and a building footprint under roof of 6,907 sq. ft. The proposed home is located on the lot to take as much advantage as possible of the less steep portion of the lot. The area of the excess fill is on the north side of the house and is about 1,880 sq. ft. in size. The ordinance allows up to 5% exemption on the excess cut or fill which, in this case, would be 290 sq. ft. The maximum fill is a little over 15'. The portion of the lot nearest the street is a ridge line with slopes generally under 10%. From about the middle of the lot going north, the slopes begin to increase to 20% and then 30%. There is a ravine that runs along the northern portion of the lot. The home has been pushed to the south as close to the street as setbacks allow to take advantage of the flatter ground. Staff has identified three objectives in reviewing cut and fill waiver requests. Those objectives are: 1. To reduce the visual impact of the proposed development as viewed from the adjacent properties and rights of ways. The property owner to the east will have the closest view of the new home and the area which will be filled to create the level building pad. The elevation on this side of the house is proposed to use two retaining walls. The area in and around the walls will be landscaped. 2. To review the measures applied by the designer to minimize the amount of cut and fill on the lot. The designer has several options that could be used to minimize the amount of fill. One would be to lower the finish floor elevation of the home a couple of feet. This would reduce the excess fill area to a little over 1,000 sq. ft. The retaining walls on the north side would be lowered, but the ones on the south and west would be increased in height. Another option would be to have the northern portion of the house step down to follow the contours rather than building it up to a level pad. The proposed house is already a two- story home so stairs do not seem to be an issue. If the northern portion of the home were lowered by two feet, the excess fill area would be cut approximately in half and the maximum fill depth reduced to a little over 13'. While this might lower the roofline a corresponding two feet, given the slopes involved, it will result in little change to the retaining walls for this visible portion of the property. 3. To consider possible alternatives to the proposed plan that would conform to the ten- foot maximum cut or fill. As noted above, it may be possible to design the home such that the northern portion of the home steps down a couple of feet. This will not make a significant difference in the overall appearance. The home has already received approval from the HOA. Given the minimal change in the amount of fill needed, the cost of the redesign may not be worth the benefits. Related Ordinance, Policy or Guiding Principle Subdivision Ordinance, Article 5, Seciton 5.03. D Subdivision Ordinance, Article 5, Section 5.06 D Risk Analysis If this cut/fill waiver request is denied, the property owner would have to redesign the building. If it is approved, the property owner can secure a building permit tht includes fill that exceeds the maximum allowed by ordinance per the conditions of this approval. Recommendation(s) by Board(s) or Commission(s) N/A Staff Recommendation(s) Staff recommends approval of the requested cut/fill waiver as requested. Suggested Motion MOVE TO APPROVE a CUT/FILL waiver for property located at 14050 E. Diamondback Ct. (CFW26-000001) FISCAL IMPACT Fiscal Impact: N/A Budget Reference: N/A Funding Source: N/A ATTACHMENTS 1. Case Details Maps