COPP’s mission is to educate the public and hold government officials accountable to the public on any issue that poses a threat to neighborhoods, the environment, and fiscal responsibility.
While our mission was not so well articulated when we founded COPP in the fall of 1996, it was a neighborhood issue that spurred our inaugural activity. Specifically, the concern Pinnacle Peak area residents had about the proposed park on Pinnacle Peak mountain and its ramifications on the well being of those who had chosen a rural lifestyle in the surrounding area.
The proposal to put a discovery center, concessionaires, jeep and bus tours, and other attractions on the slope of Pinnacle Peak aroused the residents to contact the mayor and city council to register their concerns. It was not to oppose the park as that had been decided many years prior when the Estancia property was rezoned. Rather, it was the intensity of use that seemed to be entirely out of character with the surrounding residential neighborhoods that concerned the neighbors.
This impetus found fertile ground among the residents in the north and we quickly had great interest in joining our newly formed group. We incorporated early in 1997, established a board of directors, and initiated monthly newsletters that continue to this day. We have since added a Hotline, COPP Alerts by fax and email and a web site that provide easy access to the Board and information about current issues, the city and other sources of knowledge for our members. Our web address is www.COPPeak.org, and our hotline is 602-230-5233.
The concern about Pinnacle Peak Park was resolved over a period of years by working with the city and its staff to develop a management and operation plan that would provide controlled access to the facility. Initially road bikes were going to be allowed on the park trail and the city was not going to provide for specified hours of operation or trail rangers. The city listened, made changes, and it is gratifying to note that the park has become a very popular community amenity since it opened.
While Pinnacle Peak launched COPP, we quickly found that land use was uppermost in the minds of those who valued the rural, dark sky aspects of the area north of the CAP canal. There were many new challenges being created by developers in what seemed like a frenzied effort to blade every acre of desert and to cover it over with development that was insensitive to the desert environment.
“Upzoning” simply provided a greater profit for the landowner at the expense of taxpayers who would then have to pay for infrastructure, parks, schools and city services and the like for an increased population. Every study that has been done on this subject concludes that growth does not pay for itself, yet that hard fact was generally being ignored by our city council and staff at the time.
A landmark case that tested COPP in 1997 and 1998 was an 850-acre property between Pima and Scottsdale Road and north of Lone Mountain Road called “Amberjack.” This land was owned by State Farm for many years and it was their intent to rezone it from one and three acre home sites of some 360 lots to 1,200 lots smaller than one acre.
We were asked by surrounding residents to join in opposition to the project and the battle was begun. Over a protracted period, we negotiated with the State Farm representatives and registered our opposition at several city hearings saying that their proposal was too intense and out of character with the surrounding rural, large lot equestrian community. Fortunately, the council listened and with a 7-0 vote denied the application.
As an epilogue to this seminal event, it should be noted that the land was ultimately bought by the Grayhawk group and has since been developed with approximately 500 homes on the site.
We went on from there to do battle on a number of other important issues. Here are some brief descriptions of those events that concerned neighborhoods or had citywide implications:
Looking back, those early years also marked a slowing down of “growth at any cost’ rezonings that threatened the very character and quality of life that made north Scottsdale so unique. COPP members are actively concerned about protecting their neighborhoods from unmanaged and insensitive land use.
We welcome interested residents to join COPP. At times it is difficult to imagine that one voice can really make a difference, but one voice can if we only believe and have the will to see it through.
Margaret Mead said it best:
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
The Board of Directors
Coalition of Pinnacle Peak, Inc.
