State is Pinal’s biggest landowner

Massive amounts of State Land Department holdings in Pinal County will dictate much about the county’s future growth and development, officials say.

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As the county’s single largest landowner, the department accounts for 35 percent, or 1,900 square miles, of land in the county.

A 2007 report on the future of Pinal County developed by the Morrison Institute for Public Policy at Arizona State University states, “The State Land Department is arguably Pinal County’s most important land owner.”

County officials couldn’t agree more.

“They have profound influence on any future land development,” assistant county manager for development services Ken Buchanan said. “State land looms very, very large with the future development with Pinal County.”

The fast-growing county, seen as Arizona’s future megalopolis between Phoenix and Tucson, covers 5,386 total square miles.

Issues arise when state land is sold to help fund 14 state beneficiaries, including kindergarten through- eighth-grade public schools, state universities and the corrections department, officials said.

“State land can be sold, and that’s about a third of our land,” said Pinal County Supervisor Sandie Smith, D-District 2. “That accounts for over 70 percent of buildable land — that’s huge. There’s a lot of pressure (to plan) because of the massive amounts of state land.”

Buchanan said the county’s role is to make sure good regional planning is done while working with both private and public land owners. He said there needs to be cohesiveness.

“They’re going to be a big partner. They are going to play a large role in the development of Pinal County,” he said. “The process is probably going to be a curse and a blessing — they are constrained by constitutional requirements that are lengthy and time-consuming, but, on the other hand, it really will be an orderly growth scenario.”

Jamie Hogue, deputy land commissioner for the department, said having so much state land in Pinal County presents the opportunity for such planning.

“It’s a responsibility and an opportunity,” Hogue said. “This is an opportunity to look at all the state trust land and all of the land-use issues and take a large-scale approach to the planning process.”

She said that planning can be done comprehensively to help reserve rights-of-way and put in place infrastructure before the parcels of state land fall behind — a problem the department has experienced in the past.

“It’s a one-of-a-kind opportunity for Arizona and the nation, at this point, to promote the type of development we want to see in the future,” she said.

Hogue said the department sells about 3,000 acres a year statewide. The state currently holds about 9 million acres.

Pinal Planning and Development director David Kuhl said the county is also coordinating efforts with cities adjacent to state trust land and the land department. When state land is released for sale, Kuhl said, one challenge will be the inventory of available lots for development.

Hogue said there are no specific plans for selling state land in Pinal County in the near future.

“We don’t want to flood the market, and we want to make sure the land is keeping up with the infrastructure needed,” Hogue said. “Given our current resources we wouldn’t have the resources to bring large amounts of land to market in the near term.”

Pinal land

Of the 5,386 square miles of land in Pinal County:

• 35 percent is state trust land

• 25 percent is private land

• 20 percent is owned by American Indian communities

• 11 percent is federal land

• 6.5 percent is national forest land

• 2.5 percent is dedicated for parks and monuments

SOURCE: Pinal County