Tempe neighbors just bought themselves some time in the long-running Shalimar fight, after a developer pulled a bid to rezone the shuttered Shalimar Golf Club and replace the fairways with new housing. For now, the 44-acre property sits in limbo, with the company saying it plans to come back with a proposal that fits within the site’s existing zoning.
Developers pull proposal after sustained opposition
BB Living and Cachet Homes rescinded the development application they had submitted to the city, a move that prompted the neighborhood group Save Shalimar to treat the pause as a hard-earned break in the action, as reported by Phoenix New Times. Save Shalimar president Carl Streiff told the outlet that blocking the rezoning was the group’s primary objective and called the withdrawal “a big win.”
What the developers had filed
The withdrawn application, filed in October 2024, laid out a plan to rezone about 44 acres north of the northeast corner of Country Club Way and East Southern Avenue and to build up to 277 single-family homes, along with a greenbelt and shared amenities. The proposal sought rezoning to R1-PAD and a planned-area development overlay that would allow higher density than the current agricultural zoning, according to project documents on ShalimarFacts.com.
Neighbors rallied at public meetings
Organizers and local coverage describe standing-room-only meetings earlier this year, as hundreds of residents showed up to grill the development team over traffic, tree loss and the disappearance of open space. Tensions rose further after the owner shut off water and electricity in April 2025, leaving ponds to dry out and leading to grim footage of dead fish and dying trees captured by local reporters and nearby residents. AZFamily covered the community meetings, while FOX 10 Phoenix focused on the environmental fallout. Hoodline had already spotlighted the neighborhood’s earlier backlash in 2025.
Legal and policy context
The property had been covered by an implied restrictive covenant that limited its use to a golf course, but project materials note that restriction expired in January 2025, reducing one of the legal hurdles to redevelopment. At the same time, recent state and local changes on accessory dwelling units, approved at the state level in 2024 and implemented by Tempe later that year, now allow developers to consider multiple ADUs on large parcels, including up to three ADUs on lots of one acre or more. Neighbors worry that path could be used to increase housing density without going through a full rezoning process. Details on the new ADU rules are laid out in Tempe’s guide on Tempe.gov, while background on the covenant appears in project filings on ShalimarFacts.com.
What's next
BB Living has said it intends to return with a plan that stays within the existing zoning framework, but any new proposal will still have to navigate Tempe’s public review gauntlet, including Development Review Commission hearings and City Council votes, according to Phoenix New Times and city meeting notices. Save Shalimar points to its protest petition, which would require a super-majority vote for any rezoning, and to an elected body that has already signaled skepticism, as reasons the group plans to stay closely involved while the future of the old course gets hammered out (Save Shalimar).
