Desert Foothills Character Area homes for sale in Scottsdale

Scottsdale's Desert Foothills Character Area: about eight square miles between Jomax Rd and Dixileta Dr, from Scottsdale's western city limit (56th St south of Dynamite Blvd, roughly 64th St north of it) east to 96th St.

Boundary traced along streets from the official plan description.

Before annexation the area fell under Maricopa County's Desert Foothills Plan, and Scottsdale adopted a Tonto Foothills General Plan for its north area in 1986. A down zoning from one home per acre to one per two acres was later reversed in a settlement of the Bent Tree Estates lawsuit.

The Desert Foothills Scenic Drive, designated by Maricopa County and local residents in the early 1960s, runs through the area. Scottsdale adopted the Desert Foothills Character Area Plan in June 1999 to protect the area's rural desert character, and in 2003 applied a Foothills Overlay zoning district to the plan area plus a half section of State Trust land.

Rural desert living: custom and semi custom homes on one to five acre parcels, equestrian properties and desert retreats, built piecemeal over decades.

When homes were built

Scattered homes from the 1970s and 1980s; most building from the late 1980s through the 2000s; ongoing custom infill.

Home styles

Ranch, territorial, Santa Fe and contemporary desert customs; some manufactured and older ranch homes on unsubdivided parcels.

Lots

Mostly one to five acres; many roughly 2.5 acre Government Land Office (GLO) lots; one home per one to five acres is the planned density.

Home types

Custom and semi custom single family homes, horse properties, vacant acreage.

HOAs and gates

Mixed: many unsubdivided parcels with no HOA, plus some HOA subdivisions; the plan discourages walled and gated enclaves.

Neighborhoods inside

Monterra, Bent Tree Desert Estates, Saguaro Highlands, Saguaro Estates, Pinnacle Peak Paradise, Scottsdale Heights, Carriage Trails, Monte de Paz, Turquesa Equestrian Estates, Scottsdale Vista Estates

School districts (county records)

Cave Creek Unified School District (100%)

Inside Desert Foothills Character Area: Desert Foothills Scenic Drive along Scottsdale Rd, trails and open desert, equestrian properties.

Nearby: Troon North and Pinnacle Peak to the east, the Town of Carefree and Cave Creek to the north, shopping at Scottsdale Rd and Pinnacle Peak Rd and at Pima Rd and Happy Valley Rd.