‘Agritopia’-inspired development in works for StoneRidge?

The Poway resident now guiding the future of the closed StoneRidge Country Club says he is looking at a unique planned community in Gilbert, Arizona for inspiration.

Kevin McNamara, who last month signed an option to purchase the 117-acre Espola Road property, says certain features of the 166-acre Agritopia community might would work well in “The City in the Country.”

The upscale mixed-use community was built in the 2000s on family farmland and includes housing options for families and adults 55 years and over. Homes are in the Midwestern architectural style, with porches and low fences between neighbors. Agritopia has a small retail center with a restaurant and coffee shop, an artisan workshop area and community gardens.

The Agritopia.com website bills the community as having “A slower pace. A shared life. A connected existence.”

Picking up on the theme, McNamara said he’s thinking about using vineyards or orchards as buffer zones around existing homes and having a community garden, farmers market, wine shop, microbrewery and barn-shaped community room on site. An undetermined number of single-story, single-family homes might be in the rage of 1,600 to 2,000 square feet each. Housing options might also include condominiums for older adults looking to downsize their living space. He said he is thinking about calling the development “The Farm.”

The process of interviewing architectural firms began this week, McNamara said.

In the past month, McNamara has held two informal meetings with neighbors living around the Poway golf property, which owner Michael Schlesinger closed last November after Measure A was soundly defeated by voters. McNamara, a 21-year Poway resident and semi-retired real estate broker and manager, said the meetings attracted a total of 35-to-40 neighbors, who he said seemed generally receptive to the “agri” concept. Concerns were raised about traffic and access by fire crews, issues McNamara said will be addressed as plans for the acreage progress. He said fact that perhaps as many as 60 or 70 acres would be designated permanent open space, which was appealing to those attending the meetings. There are no plans to re-open the 18-hole golf course, he stressed.

More neighborhood meeting are planned, he said. Anyone in the city interested in hosting one is asked to email yourpoway@gmail.com.

McNamara said he intends on going through a complete Specific Plan process – including the preparation of all required engineering, traffic and environmental documents, prior to submitting the project to the City Council for hopeful approval and placement on a ballot. From there, McNamara envisions the project being placed on the November 2020 ballot for voter approval under the provisions of Proposition FF.

Under terms of his option with Schlesinger, all plans and related documents must be submitted to City Hall within five months.

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