Large housing project approved near State Route 347, south of Maricopa [Video]

PINAL COUNTY, Ariz — The Pinal County Board of Supervisors voted Wednesday to approve proposed plans to develop over 1,500 housing units on 374 acres located south of Maricopa. 

The Sunset Canyon project proposes turning a lot of undeveloped land in the southwest corner of Val Vista Road and John Wayne Parkway into a new housing community that would include commercial space, a school and parks.

Several residents living in the nearby communities of Hidden Valley and Thunderbird Farms spoke out in opposition to the development, fearing Sunset Canyon would disrupt the rural lifestyle they sought out when moving to this region of Pinal County.

“The message that is being sent to the residents of Hidden Valley and Thunderbird Farms is that we are irrelevant and expendable,” one resident told …