E.V. leaders exploring regional planning group

There's no highfalutin name yet. But East Valley leaders are in early stages of forming a new group focusing on regional planning issues, especially transportation and economic development east of Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport.

Mayors: Valley needs to unify economic efforts

The need arises with key developments being planned, including Superstition Vistas, a 275-square-mile area of state trust land south of U.S. 60, as well as a planned freeway to the east. Neighboring municipalities have some common planning areas, creating the potential for conflict.

Mesa Mayor Scott Smith said he recently met John Insalaco, his counterpart in Apache Junction, and Pinal County District 2 Supervisor Sandie Smith, among others, and all agreed that they'd benefit from having a platform to talk through any potential planning hurdles.

Other East Valley leaders, including Queen Creek Mayor Art Sanders, are being roped in to create the somewhat informal group. "We don't live in a vacuum," Sandie Smith said. "We need to know what others' thought processes and challenges are, especially in these tough economic times."

Scott Smith concurred, saying that with so many entities interested in the area's development, communication gaps were likely to occur. Being able to thrash out concerns before being formally discussed would help remove any possible negativity toward each other, he said.

"While we have separate cities and counties, we all have the same interest," the Mesa mayor said. "It will be better accomplished as a unified group rather than individually."

In May, then-Mayor Keno Hawker and the previous Mesa City Council approved working with neighbors Queen Creek and Apache Junction to craft a memorandum of understanding for the burgeoning Superstition Vistas region. Pinal County's population is expected to hit the 1million mark in the next 30 years.

Hawker had also suggested working out an agreement with Queen Creek and Apache Junction on how each benefits from retail development rather than fighting over sales tax dollars.

It isn't clear who will be part of the new group, but Mesa, Apache Junction, Queen Creek and Pinal County have expressed definite interest. Sandie Smith plans to take the lead in putting together all vested interests.

Despite existing regional groups such as the Maricopa Association of Governments, Scott Smith said the need was felt for a separate entity to have the time to discuss regional matters. "We're not trying to replicate existing groups," Scott Smith said.

Scott Smith has known Sandie Smith through their ties to the Superstition Vistas Steering Committee.

Insalaco said Apache Junction's main interest is in the Superstition Vistas project and the proposed 802 freeway.

About the Superstition project, he said: "This is not going to happen in my lifetime, but it's up to us to start thinking about it."

Insalaco added that he felt comfortable with the idea of everyone getting a platform to talk. The feeling in the past has been that Mesa has been a bully of sorts.

"I did feel that way with the earlier Mesa leaders, and I don't feel that way now," Insalaco said.

Sanders said that Maricopa Association of Governments meetings help, but sometimes come too late.

One recent example: Hawker sent a letter to Sanders when Queen Creek's proposed general-plan amendment still allowed residential development near Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, something Hawker had tried to prevent.

Scott Smith said that's the kind of thing he wants to avoid.

"We'd rather have face-to-face conversations in advance," he said.