Developer would pay for infrastructure in 95 square miles

Jan. 17, 2007 12:00 AM

The theory that growth should pay for growth is being put to the test as Goodyear moves to double its size.

Goodyear is working out deals with Scottsdale-based Montage Holdings to pay for vital city services and infrastructure in the proposed 95-square-mile annexation area, referred to as the Sonoran Valley Planning Area.

Montage holds more than 10,000 acres in the area that includes unincorporated Mobile. The company intends to develop a self-sustaining community that would be considered a village of Goodyear.

Plans call for an employment corridor, hospitals, a town square, a regional mall and more than 30,000 homes and 100,000 residents.

Preliminary agreements with the city show Montage would pay upfront for:

• Police and court services.
• Solid-waste and sanitation services.
• Ambulance services and a full-time EMT/paramedic staff.

• Fire service and a brush truck.
• A building to house temporary city offices.
• A road connecting Rainbow Valley Road to Arizona 238.
• City staff to review plans and permits for new developments in the proposed annexation area.

If Goodyear plows ahead with plans to annex the area, it doesn't want the city's existing taxpayers to foot the bill for the new growth.

"It's Goodyear's policy to require that growth pays for growth," said Harvey Krauss, the city's community development director.

Once the population in the area fills in and new residents start generating tax revenue, it is likely that Montage would be reimbursed for a large amount of the upfront costs.

The city would eventually take over responsibility for these services. Developers hope to have the annexation complete by May.

The Sonoran Valley Planning Area sits south of Patterson Road, generally surrounded by the Sonoran Desert National Monument to the west and 67th Avenue to the east.

The City Council recently approved adding the area to Goodyear's general planning area, a vote that set the stage for future annexation.

Beyond Montage's plans, the city wants to preserve a path for the future Loop 303.

In the Southwest Valley, early plans call for Loop 303 to be a north-south route. City leaders hope the future freeway eventually could connect Interstate 10 with Interstate 8 in southern Arizona.

Councilman Dick Sousa said he supports the annexation because of the "tremendous logjam" of traffic that will grow as Estrella Mountain Ranch and the area south of it build out and gain more residents.

Reach the reporter at (602) 444-6155.