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.
Rather, it was the intensity of use that seemed to be entirely out of
character with the surrounding residential neighborhoods that concerned the
neighbors.
The founders of COPP
quickly discovered that there was a pent up feeling on the part of many
residents, especially in the northern reaches of the city that the city
council was moving too fast and not listening to its residents. The park was
the issue that created COPP, but there was also a general dissatisfaction
with the seemingly unbridled growth in the north that was being supported by
the then city council and the city staff.
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 provides 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. The city listened, made changes and it
is gratifying to note that the park has functioned well since it opened.
While Pinnacle Peak Park 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.
It was then that we formulated
our mission statement and generally focused on land use issues. In those
early years there seemed to be an unending stream of applications for
rezonings that sought to increase the density of property for residential
use. We generally said that unless there was an overriding and necessary
public good to be served, the zoning of land should remain as established.
“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, all 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. Several compromises
were proposed and, at one time, we thought that we had an agreement for 495
home sites with an understanding that it would be guaranteed by the owner
with a deed restriction. The final city council hearing took place with over
100 members and residents present to underscore their concern. At the last
minute the owner reneged on the guarantee and COPP urged the council to deny
the upzoning. 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 will be 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:
· Defeated a proposal that would
have put a Home Depot store on Scottsdale Road and Dove Valley.
· Opposed the Desert Greenbelt
project that would have cost taxpayers over $100 Million and torn up a large
section of desert along Pima Road.
· Promoted a new zoning ordinance
to regulate big box stores in Scottsdale and to prohibit them in the area
north of the CAP canal.
· Actively supported the expansion
of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve Boundary by an additional nearly 20,000
acres in 1998 and the 2004 ballot measure to provide additional funding for
the Preserve.
· Fought for the passage of
revisions to the Environmentally Sensitive Land Ordinance (ESLO) designed to
protect the character of neighborhoods in the north and to enhance its desert
vistas and open space.
· Opposed a change to a
six-district form of government that would have limited the right of voters
to elect only one council representative from their district instead of six
members elected citywide by all voters.
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 has remains at the forefront of protecting neighborhoods from
unmanaged and insensitive land use.
It was also around this
time we realized that appearing at hearings and writing letters alone was not
going to get the job done. It was obvious that certain council members were
not as concerned about land use issues and were overly sympathetic to land
developers. With this in mind, we created a Political Committee and
registered it with Scottsdale so that we could take positions on ballot
questions or candidates at election time. That committee is simply called The
COPP Political Committee and it has been active since 1997.
The Political Committee was
instrumental in recruiting and/or endorsing a number of council candidates in
past council elections. . In each election we
interview candidates, hold candidate forums for all candidates and make a
questionnaire available to the public that provides each candidate’s
responses to questions of concern. This information is also on our web site.
We welcome interested
residents to join COPP and to participate at our member meetings as announced
in our monthly COPP News. We meet at the Legend Trail Community Center at
7:00 PM. (except July and August) and we
provide a program that features a current topic of interest. The Legend Trail Community Center is located at 34575 Legend Trail Parkway.
At times it is difficult to
imagine that one voice can really make a difference, but it 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.
