Questions:

An 8% per year increase in property taxes compounded over 10 years is equal to a total increase of over 215%. 

Supervisor Sandie Smith told to The Apache Junction News that much of the increase was due to the 54.4 percent increase in county population over the last 10 years[2].

a.In light of the fact that Smith and Griffis have said that growth results in increased taxes, please cite any studies you used to arrive at the conclusion that increasing the population of Area 4B by over 117,000[3] people does not violate the requirement mandated by A.R.S. § 11-806 to “insure the efficient expenditure of public funds.”[4]

2.On July 5, Terry Doolittle, Pinal deputy county manager, told The Casa Grande Dispatch that growth results in increased crime.[5]

"Along with population increases comes increases in crime," said Doolittle.Doolittle explained that increase in crime increases costs the county money.

a.In light of Doolittle’s statement that increased growth brings increased crime, please explain why you believe your plan to import over 117,000 people to Area 4B does not violate the requirements mandated by A.R.S. § 11-806 to “promote the health, safety and general welfare of the public.”

b.Please cite any studies you used to arrive at the conclusion that increasing the population of Area 4B by over 117,000 people does not violate the requirement mandated by A.R.S. § 11-806 to “promote the health, safety and general welfare of the public."

c.In light of the fact that Smith, Griffis and Doolittle have said that growth results in increased taxes and increased crime, please explain why you believe your plan to allow importation of over 117,000 people to Area 4B does not violate the requirements mandated by A.R.S. § 11-806 to “insure the efficient expenditure of public funds, and to promote the health, safety and general welfare of the public.”

d.If these studies conflict with the statements of Smith, Griffis and Doolittle to the effect that growth brings higher taxes and more crime, please explain.

3.Your plan says (emphasis supplied) "[H]igh-quality efficient growth, in balance with the environment and property rights, can be achieved when supported by the requisite legislation, ordinances, policies and procedures."

On March 15, Pinal County Supervisors approved the rezoning of 4,600 acres of land for the first phase of Anam's massive Willow Springs project

A comparison of the Pinal County Zoning Ordinance with the information contained in the "Application Package"[6] for the Willow Springs zoning matter indicates that the Willow Springs re-zoning was approved despite over 13 violations of Pinal's Zoning Ordinance[7].

You and your department were involved in the Willow Springs rezoning from the beginning.

a.Was your department aware of these violations?

b.If not, please explain why your department was unaware of the violations.

c.If your department was aware of the apparent violations, please explain why you believe it is proper to rezone 4,600 acres for high-density development although the landowner, Anam Inc., violated over 13 stipulations of the Pinal County Zoning Ordinance.

d.Please explain why Pinal residents should believe you when you say, "[H]igh-quality efficient growth, in balance with the environment and property rights, can be achieved when supported by the requisite. . .ordinances . . . " when to all appearances, Pinal County did not enforce their own zoning ordinance in the Anam rezoning matter.

4.On August 8, you told The Arizona Republic, "the water issue is not up to the county."[8]

On August 15, Linda Stitzer, District Manager for the Tucson Active Management Area (TAMA), informed you that Pinal County could protect the water supply by implementing ordinances that are "more stringent" than the state water law.Stitzer told you this during a public meeting in Oracle that you called but had failed to announce to the public, contrary to Arizona's Open Meeting law.

On August 29, after telling The Florence Reminder[9]that meetings with residents on the Pinal Comprehensive Plan revealed that residents are concerned that massive development will deplete their water supply, you softened your language and implied that Pinal County was powerless to protect the water supply by saying:

"Specifically, they [Pinal residents] wanted to know why the state looks after the water issue instead of the county, and that's because the aquifers and surface water goes beyond county lines, beyond jurisdictional lines, and that's why you have the bigger entity in charge of that," 

Your statement to The Florence Reminder, after Stitzer told you that Pinal could protect the water supply, gives the appearance that you are attempting to mislead the public about Pinal's ability to protect the water supply.

a.Please explain why you implied that Pinal County was powerless to protect the water supply two weeks after Stitzer told you Pinal County could protect the water supply.

5.Your draft Comprehensive Plan lists all the incorporated towns and cities in Pinal County and the population for each of these towns and cities[10].

According to the data in your draft Comprehensive Plan, thetotal population for all the incorporated towns and cities in Pinal is 99,518.

An estimate, based on Pinal County documents, shows that the areas earmarked for development in Area 4B by your draft Comprehensive Plan will increase the population of Area 4B by 117,000.

In other words, your draft plan proposes to increase the population of Area 4B by 17,400 more people than currently live in all of Apache Junction, Casa Grande, Florence, Eloy, Coolidge, Kearny, Mammoth and Superior combined.

a.Please cite all studies you used to assure that your plan to increase the population of Area 4B by 117,000 people does not violate the requirements mandated by A.R.S. § 11-806 "to conserve the natural resources of the county, to ensure efficient expenditure of public funds, and to promote the health, safety, convenience, and general welfare of the public."

6.Your land use map shows that the Anam-owned land in Area 4B is designated as “Sustainable Community," an entirely new category of land use[11].

a.Why do you believe this new land use category is necessary?

b.Please explain why you chose to define this new land use category in terms taken from the landowner’s promotional literature[12]. 

c.Please explain why you chose to apply this new land use category only to the Anam property.

For example, in the hypothetical case that the Schwennesen family had contacted Remington Properties to promote their ranch as a "sustainable community," would your Comprehensive Plan designate the Schwennesen property under the land use category "Sustainable Community," just as your plan designated Anam's Willow Springs Ranch property with the land use category "Sustainable Community," after Remington promoted it as a "sustainable community?"

7.Your draft Comprehensive Plan explains that "Area, community, village, neighborhood and special area plans approved and adopted prior to the adoption of the Comprehensive Plan have been incorporated into this Land Use Plan."[13]

Your plan then claims that this action "will provide more flexibility in the development of sustainable communities within Pinal County."[14]

However, according to the land-use map in your draft Comprehensive Plan, the only area in all of Pinal County that your plan designates as a"Sustainable Community" is the Anam property. 

a.Please explain why you claim that the Pinal Comprehensive Plan "will provide more flexibility in the development of sustainable communities within Pinal County, " when you have failed to designate any land other than the Anam property as a "Sustainable Community."

8.Your draft Comprehensive Plan says that the plan "provides a guide for decisions by the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Board of Supervisors concerning growth and development," and that it also serves as a reference "for the private sector in making informed investment decisions."[15]

However, since the only undeveloped land you have designated for development in Area 4B is land that has been previously proposed to be used for projects by developers[16], it seems that instead of the Plan serving to guide private sector investment, private sector investment drove your plan. 

You apparently confirmed this when you told The Florence Reminder:

"One of the things you look at when you're developing a comprehensive plan is whether there's any infrastructure in the area," said Cady. "However, once a developer in the area was willing to provide that, it changed the whole focus, and so our plan has to look at that area and work within it and determine where we want to go."[17]

After telling The Florence Reminder that you look at an area after a developer is willing to develop it, indicating that the plan is driven by developers, you then said, "The plan should be guiding the development, but then that's why we have amendments."

This gives the appearance that people or organizations that will financially gain by development in Area 4B have significant influence in the generation of the Pinal Comprehensive Plan, independent of other considerations.

a.What methodology or process did you use to select the areas in Area 4B development?

b.What characteristic(s) of the methodology or process that you used to select the areas for development in Area 4B resulted in selecting only land that has been previously proposed for projects by developers?

For example, in the hypothetical case that the Schwennesen's had decided to develop their ranch, and had obtained rezoning to do so in March, would your Comprehensive Plan have designated that land for high-density development, just as your plan shows SadlleBrooke Ranch, SaddleBrooke Unit 21, SaddleBrooke Unit 42-45, SadlleBrooke Units 46-50, Eagle Crest, the South Village of Willow Springs, and Rancho Coronado?

9.As you know, the rezoning of 7 square miles for the South Village of Willows Springs, the first phase of the 26 square mile Willow Springs project, is currently in litigation to determine whether or not Pinal voters will be able to consider the rezoning issue at the polls. 

As you know, after Pinal County accepted the referendum petitions to allow the rezoning be considered at the next general election and the landowner, Anam Inc., filed a lawsuit against the county in an effort to keep the issue from being considered by voters.

By designating the Anam land for high-density development before the Superior Court of Arizona has heard the case, you have made it appear that you are predicting that Pinal County will lose the lawsuit and that Anam will prevail.

a.Do you believe that Pinal County will lose the lawsuit filed by Alex Argueta and Elaine Helzer[18] on behalf of the landowner?

b.If not, please explain why your draft Comprehensive Plan proposes densities of up to 16 dwelling units per acre for the Willow Springs area, despite the fact that a lawsuit against Pinal County by the landowner to prevent voters from deciding the rezoning to allow development to the densities called for in your plan has yet to go to court? 

10.As you know, a successful citizen-initiated referendum submitted last November mandated that the rezoning of over 2,528[19] acres of desert for SaddleBrooke Ranch be placed on the ballot in the next general election.

a.Why does your Plan propose densities of up to 16 dwelling units per acre for SaddleBrooke Ranch, despite the fact that rezoning to allow development to the densities called for in your plan have yet to be decided by voters?

b.By basing your plan on rezoning that has yet to be decided, are you predicting that the voters will decide this issue in favor of the developer?

c.If not, why did you plan for development of up to 16 dwelling units per acre for the proposed SaddleBrooke Ranch project, before voters have had a chance to decide whether the rezoning was in their best interest or not?

11.Your draft Comprehensive Plan claims that "[T]he planning process is structured to emphasize public involvement."[20]

However, on August 15 you held a public meeting on the Comprehensive Plan in the Oracle County Courthouse without first announcing the meeting, as required by Arizona's Open Meeting Law.

a.In light of the fact that your draft Plan ignores the fact that one rezoning issue is in litigation and another rezoning issue is pending a vote because of a citizen initiated referendum, and in light of the fact that you have called and held public meetings to address the Pinal Comprehensive Plan without informing the public of the meeting, please explain why Pinal residents should believe that "the planning process is structured to emphasize public involvement."

12.On April 14, 2000 The Office of the Arizona Auditor General found that the Tucson Active Management Area will not achieve safe-yield by 2025, but that water will continue to be pumped from the TAMA aquifers faster than is naturally or artificially recharged.

The Arizona Department of Water Resources has agreed with the Auditor General Report.

As you know, the land designated in your plan for the Willow Springs project -- the SaddleBrooke Ranch Project, the SaddleBrooke Unit 21 project, the SaddleBrooke Units 42-45 project, the SaddleBrooke Unit 46 project, and the Eagle Crest project -- will all use water from the regional aquifer which is in the TAMA.

a.Please cite studies that have convinced you that Pinal County does not need to act to protect the water supply of the existing residents of Area 4B, but instead generate a Comprehensive Plan that guarantees continued and massive depletion the regional TAMA aquifer.

b.Please cite the studies you used to assure that your plan to allow development projects that will pump an additional 15,730 acre-feet a year[21] (5,125,756,320 gallons a year) from a TAMA aquifer, when TAMA aquifers are already being depleted at a rate of billions of gallons per year, does not violate the requirement mandated by A.R.S. § 11-806 to “conserve the natural resources of the county.” 

13.After the federally regulated contaminant toluene had twice been confirmed present in groundwater sampled from the Page-Trowbridge monitoring wells, The Arizona Daily Star reported that Steve Holland, director of the University of Arizona's Risk Management department, said that residents' concerns that the Page-Trowbridge radioactive/toxic waste dump is leaking to the aquifer were "reasonable." 

Here is how The Arizona Daily Star reported it:

Now, area residents have a "very reasonable concern" that this contamination may signal future, higher test readings, said Steve Holland, UA's risk management director.[22]

As you know, your draft Comprehensive Plan proposes that the SaddleBrooke Ranch project, which would house over 15,000 people, be built directly adjacent to the Page-Trowbridge radioactive/toxic waste dump.

a.Please explain why your plan proposes to build the SaddleBrooke Ranch project, which would house over 15,000 people and be built directly adjacent to the Page-Trowbridge radioactive/toxic waste dump despite the fact that Holland says it is reasonable to be concerned that higher test readings may follow, and before voters have had a chance to consider the SaddleBrooke rezoning at the polls?

b.Please cite studies that prove that the federally regulated contaminant toluene, twice confirmed to be present in groundwater beneath the Page-Trowbridge dump, did not originate from the Page-Trowbridge so as to assure residents that your plan does not violate the requirement mandated by A.R.S. § 11-806 "to promote the health, safety, … and general welfare of the public."

14.Your draft Comprehensive Plan explains that there are several elements to the plan, one of which is called the "Natural Environment Element."

Your draft Comprehensive Plan claims that Goal 1 of the Natural Environment Element of your Comprehensive Plan is to "[P]rotect Pinal County's natural beauty and environmental quality."[23]

Your draft Comprehensive Plan also claims that Goal 2 is to"[P]rotect and preserve the natural heritage of Pinal County."[24]

However, the section that is supposed to enumerate the "Natural Environment issues" contains only two words: "TO COME"

a.Please explain why Pinal residents should believe that Pinal County and your department will work to achieve what you claim to be the top two Natural Environment goals when, at this late date, you apparently still don't know what issues you must resolve in order to meet your top 2 goals for the Natural Environment Element of your plan.

15.Your draft Comprehensive Plan states that one of the issues identified in countywide meetings on the Comprehensive Plan was "[M]aintain rural character in the rural areas."[25]

However, at the time public meetings on the Comprehensive Plan were taken, Pinal County had already rezoned over 27,000 acres of rural land in Area 4b alone to accommodate high density development projects[26].

a.Please explain why Pinal residents should believe that Pinal County and your office will address issues raised by residents when Pinal County and your office are actually creating the issue in the first place.

16.Your draft Comprehensive Plan has entire sections missing (e.g. your draft plan completely failed to address the critical issue of a sustainable water supply, and failed to outline the Natural Environment issues), giving the appearance of a hastily done job.

a.Since there is no penalty to Pinal for missing the schedule date of December 31, 2001, please explain why it appears as though your Planning and Development department is rushing to complete the Comprehensive Plan.

17.While your map shows many existing airports in Pinal county, the multi-million dollar San Manuel Ray Blair Airport, which recently won the "Airport of the Year Award"[27] is not shown in the land use map provided with the draft copy of your plan.

a.Was your omission of the award-winning San Manuel Ray Blair Airport from your land use map an oversight?

b.If so, did that oversight result from a rush to complete the Pinal County Comprehensive Plan by December 31, 2001?