91st Arizona Town Hall
Land Use: Challenges and Choices for the 21st Century
October 28 - 31, 2007

With Arizona’s population expected to double in 45 years, decisions on what to do with State Trust Land and how best to manage land development are crucial to our future. Participants at the 91st Town Hall reached consensus that current systems of planning and land-use regulation are inadequate to address Arizona's rapid growth. Collaborative planning among all levels of govenrment--local, regional, state, tribal and federal--is crucial, particularly in managing infrastructure, transportation, education, environmental concerns, energy, and natural and water resources. Following are just a few of the key recommendations and essential actions identified by the participants in the 91st Arizona Town Hall.

• State trust land reform must be enacted. The State Land Department must receive adequate funding and authority to become a trust asset manager.
• Additional and diversified revenue sources should be adopted to support long-range smart growth planning and implementation. Revenue sources should be related to the end users, including developers and existing users.
• State statutes should be changed so that municipal and county planning statutes are made comparable by granting municipal planning authority to counties.
• The Governor's Growth Cabinet, in partnership with the Arizona Planning Association and the private development community, must develop a smart growth vision for Arizona and a training program for planners, local elected officials, planning and zoning commissions and other volunteer boards.
• Arizonans should establish a broad-based, diverse citizen organization that can provide a sustained presence in support of effective growth management.
• The Town Hall recommends changes in local zoning to encourage employers to locate close to affordable and workforce housing.
• Town Hall recommends encouraging higher density through impact fees on infrastructure, reflecting the cost of servicing certain areas.
• To maximize livability, Arizona should preserve open spaces, natural landscapes and habitats, and public lands in both rural and metropolitan areas.

91st Town Hall Document Downloads

• Click here to download the detailed recommendations report.
• Solutions for the Future of Arizona's Land summary of recommendations
• The full report, including the background report prepared by ASU's College of Public Programs, Global Institute of Sustainability, Decision Center for a Desert City, specifically for the 91st Town Hall, is available here. Please note that there is a correction to Chapter 8, "Taxes, Incentives, and Fiscal Policy Choices," by Carol Heim. A paragraph of text was omitted inadvertently during the final stages of production of the report, and an error appeared in the numbering of endnotes. The downloadable report available in the paragraph above is the corrected version. Click here and you will be directed to a correction page. If you have a printed copy of the report, please download and print out the correction page and insert it into your book.

News from the 91st Town Hall

• Arizona Town Hall: Land Use Planning Horizon show that aired November 7, 2007, on KAET-TV Channel 8 featuring Jamie Hogue, Deputy Land Commissioner and Alberto Olivas, Acting Director, Maricopa Community Colleges' Center for Civic Participation
• Arizona Business Gazette: State trust land sales raise concerns
• The Arizona Republic: Ariz. growth discussed at Scottsdale panel
• Mohave Daily News: Ways to deal with land issues discussed.
• Yuma Sun: "Land use planning ideas not news to city, county"
• Kingman Daily Miner: Arizona Town Hall tackles wide range of issues
• The Daily Dispatch, Douglas: Cochise County residents help hammer out land use recommendations.
• Green Valley News: With Arizona’s population expected to double in 45 years, decisions on what to do with State Trust Land and how best to manage land development are crucial to our future.
• Payson Roundup: Retired Payson town manager at Arizona Town Hall.
• For more information regarding issues surrounding Land Use in Arizona you can view additional articles here.