From 85 homes could grow 1,000

No signs welcome visitors to Goldfield Ranch. The entrances from state Route 87, east of Fountain Hills, are unmarked. No lights illuminate the washboarded dirt roads leading to 85 homes on huge lots.

This tiny, well-to-do community is hard to find — exactly how residents like it.

But if a big-time developer follows through on announced plans, Goldfield Ranch’s 5,000 acres of isolation and unhurried pace may be forever changed.

“This is scary for me,” retiree Doug Reiner said during a recent meeting of the homeowners association. “And if it isn’t scary for everybody else, then I question their sanity.”

The Preserve at Goldfield Ranch, to be built by Steve Ellman, would bring 1,000 homes to the area. Construction might begin in two years but starting in 2010 is more realistic, said an attorney representing the developer.

Ellman, former owner of the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes, is involved in the Westgate project near University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale.

Surrounded on all sides by federal land, Goldfield Ranch is the last outpost of privately owned open space between the Valley and Payson. The open space is quite open, too — Maricopa County zoning requires the homes to be sited on a minimum of 4.36 acres.

From the hilltops and ridgelines at an elevation of 2,000 feet, it’s possible to take in a majestic view stretching from the nearby Mazatzal Mountains to the Sierra Estrellas, 45 miles to the southwest. Look lower to see aged saguaros towering over stubby chollas, and horses in residents’ corrals.

Just as remarkable as the scenery is the solitude. The nearest grocery store is a 20-minute drive into Fountain Hills, and the homes are closer to the top of Four Peaks than to the downtowns of Mesa and Scottsdale.

Considering that many Valley residents think of Fountain Hills as the end of the Phoenix metropolis, what does that make Goldfield Ranch?

The head of the homeowners association believes it makes Goldfield Ranch a desirable place to live.

“(The Preserve) will validate everything that’s out here,” Tom Bruckman said. “It’ll bring a lot of people, but that’s part of life.”

Actually, past plans could have brought more people.

In 1995, the previous owner of The Preserve received county approval for a developmental master plan that included 2,032 residential units, a golf course and commercial space.

After Ellman bought the 2,200 acres for $133 million last year, planners soon decided to halve the residential density. In place of the golf course and commercial space would be two equestrian centers and, possibly, a boutique hotel and spa.

With fewer homes come trade-offs. The most controversial would be a rezoning of Preserve land. Ellman’s proposal could result in a density increase of almost 22 times — five homes per acre.

Why the “high-density urbanization?” Reiner asked the Ellman representative.

Wendy Riddell began her reply, “We had to pay a lot of money for this property...”

Bob Waldo, vice chairman of the homeowners association, wonders what will happen if Ellman successfully lobbies to change the zoning at Goldfield Ranch. Would current residents sitting atop large properties give in to the temptation of speculation, selling off their land sliver by sliver? As Bruckman noted, a sliver could be as large as an acre.

Another concern is traffic. The Preserve would create thousands of vehicle trips every day, but the Beeline Highway can’t handle the load and neither can the property’s dirt roads. Even if improvements are made, the current residents fear a spillover.

“Most people out here have kind of thought, through the years, this place would eventually get developed, especially after the ’95 (development master plan),” Waldo said. “Ellman’s plan of going down from 2,000 to 1,000 units is an improvement, but we want to make sure it’s going to be done in the right way.”

Near the end of Riddell’s presentation to the homeowners association, she began to make a list of critical issues of concern to the residents. Traffic, aesthetics, water, lights, she named. Said a voice from the back: “All the things we came here to get away from.”