Host Hotels & Resorts wants to turn roughly 72 acres of the Westin Kierland Resort's nine-hole Mesquite Golf Course near the Scottsdale-Phoenix border into a housing development called Copper Residences, and the fight over it heads to a Phoenix planning panel next week. The current plan allows up to 494 units, a mix of condominiums, detached homes, townhomes and duplex-style residences, while the resort's Acacia and Ironwood courses would stay open for golf.
The proposal, which requires Planned Unit Development rezoning and a general-plan amendment from the City of Phoenix, according to azbex.com, goes before the Paradise Valley Village Planning Committee on November 2, per Axios. If it clears that hurdle, the project would still need a recommendation from the Phoenix Planning Commission and a final vote from the Phoenix City Council, as abc15.com reports.
Host submitted an updated hearing draft of the Copper Residences PUD on September 22, according to the project's own community-engagement site, kierlandcommunity.org. Under that draft, up to 180 units would go into a section called DU1, envisioned for resort-style condominiums and possibly condo-hotel uses, while up to 314 units would fall under DU2, planned for a mix of for-sale single-family detached homes, townhomes and duplex-style residences, the site states.
Parks, Trails and a Taller Skyline
The updated plan also includes a two-acre pocket park, a five-acre linear park and roughly 12,900 linear feet of trails and pathways, according to kierlandcommunity.org. Buildings could rise as high as 54 feet, or four stories, with a 160-foot setback required next to residential uses on the west side, per the Kierland Community Alliance, a group organizing opposition to the rezoning.
That alliance says the revised proposal reduced the housing count from nearly 800 homes down to about 500, according to Axios. The group is pressing the planning committee to reject the project outright, citing a developer traffic study that estimates the development would generate approximately 2,914 new daily vehicle trips. We're organizing neighbors to oppose this rezoning because it threatens traffic safety, quality of life, neighborhood character, and infrastructure capacity, the alliance says on its site.
A State Lawmaker Joins the Opposition
Republican state Representative Matt Gress has also asked the committee to reject the proposal, according to Axios, arguing that it packs in too many homes, adds traffic, raises drainage concerns and removes the fairway. Host Hotels & Resorts, for its part, has said the revision includes more parks and public trails and that the plan would result in a limited, high-quality, residential development with a focus on water conservation, trails, open space, and compatibility with the surrounding community, while retaining 18 holes of resort golf, the company told abc15.com.
Water savings compared with the current golf course have become a central selling point in Host's pitch, according to Axios. The Copper Residences project site argues that shrinking the resort's footprint from 27 holes to 18 enables more efficient operations with reduced maintenance, management, and water requirements, though a federal water-use study notes that a single golf course can consume between 400 and 500 or more acre-feet of water annually, according to a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation report.
A Statewide Debate Over Golf and Water
The Kierland fight is unfolding against a broader statewide argument over golf courses and water use in Arizona, which is facing broader water challenges, according to Axios. Attorney General Kris Mayes, who is up for reelection, said earlier that Arizona probably has too many golf courses, touching off backlash, according to Fox News. Mayes said she has no plans to actually close any courses, telling critics, relax, nobody's closing golf courses, and said she instead wants incentives to swap out thirsty grass and catch rainwater, adding that the state could do a hell of a lot more when it comes to conservation.
Arizona Chamber Executive Vice President Courtney Coolidge pushed back on Mayes's framing, writing that closing golf courses would do little to address Arizona's broader water challenges while sacrificing economic benefits, according to the same Fox News report. Coolidge cited figures showing Arizona golf has a $6 billion economic impact, supports 66,000 jobs, generates $2.3 billion in wages and produces $520 million in tax revenue, while golf courses collectively use 2% or less of the state's water resources.
The Copper Residences proposal mirrors a similar move Host made at its Phoenician Resort, where golf-course acreage was redeveloped into residential units while 18 holes remained in play, according to azbex.com. Whether Copper Residences follows that same path now rests with the Paradise Valley Village Planning Committee, and ultimately the Phoenix Planning Commission and City Council.
