News updates are sent daily. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Cities discuss East Valley development
Digg|
Save|
License|
Print|
E-mail|
With major developments moving closer to reality at the eastern edges of Maricopa County, mayors from East Valley cities and other governments with a stake in the area have formalized their process to coordinate their efforts.
One meeting of the Gateway-Northern Pinal Area Alliance of Government took place in September. Another is planned for early December.
The alliance is made up of the mayors of Apache Junction, Queen Creek, Mesa and Florence, as well as supervisors from Pinal County, and Arizona State Land Department commissioner Mark Winkleman.
The topics of discussion include transportation needs in eastern Maricopa County and northern Pinal County, development around Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport and plans for Superstition Vistas, 275-square-mile tract of undeveloped state trust land in the area. The goal of the meetings is to ensure that all of the governments that have a stake in those issues are able to coordinate their efforts.
For Mesa Mayor Scott Smith, coordination among elected officials in the area is particularly critical on the issues of the airport and Superstition Vistas.
"A lot of things can affect both those areas and we need to coordinate," Smith said.
The Land Department is the major stakeholder in the area as the owner of Superstition Vistas.
"We're the biggest landowner out there," Winkleman said. "These communities surround the state trust land. Four cities all border us, so we're obviously involved."
The meetings are planned to take place on a quarterly basis. The next one will be Dec. 8 at the Queen Creek Branch Library on the northwest corner of Ellsworth and Ocotillo roads, and is open to the public.
Roc Arnett, president of the East Valley Partnership and a participant in the meetings, said transportation is a problem in the area, and that there is not enough money to build the transportation network that is needed.
"We have boundaries and issues in common," Arnett said. "We want to collaborate as neighbors should."
Please add your comments, but follow these guidelines to keep this a safe, credible place for discussing the news: