Childress: Arizona needs to get smart about future development

Just beyond Scottsdale’s city limits, in the Rio Verde Foothills, sits an enclave of luxury homes.

These houses come with all the bells and whistles, including sweeping views of the surrounding landscape.

They’re a stone’s throw from the pristine Tonto National Forest.

And they could soon be functionally uninhabitable, once the city of Scottsdale — faced with increasingly dire water supply woes of its own — stops hauling water to Rio Verde residents whose wells have run dry at the end of this year.

The community is a prime example of how easily unchecked development can strain precious resources, degrade the environment, and ultimately leave residents with little option but to pack up and move elsewhere.

And yet Maricopa County, and Arizona in general, is continuing to develop at a breakneck pace, with new residential building permits near a 16-year high. For the sake of the environment, and the state’s current residents, that’s a trend that simply cannot continue.

It’s no secret that the Grand Canyon State has seen an explosion in population growth in the past 40 years. Since the early 1980s, Arizona has added more than 4 million new residents, more than doubling the state’s population.

Many people say all this growth is good for the economy. And they have a point. Arizona has one of the fastest growing economies in the country, with an unemployment rate below the national average, thanks to all these new workers and consumers.

But all that growth has brought some not-so-nice side effects, particularly for the state’s fragile environment.

Consider that new development has destroyed close to 2,000 square miles of natural habitat and farmland in Arizona since 1982. That represents a 114% increase in developed land over the same period.

And look at what’s happening to the Sonoran Desert, one of the most biologically diverse desert ecosystems in the United States. Located uncomfortably close to the fast-growing cities of Phoenix and Tucson, the Sonoran is at constant risk of destruction-by-bulldozer as developers eye the desert biome as a prime site for their next subdivision.

As one recent example, a homebuilder has drafted plans to erect over 1,400 new houses along preserved Sonoran land just north of Phoenix.

It’s difficult to overstate how dangerous such ideas are for Arizona’s environment. The state’s aquifers — a major source of water — are already close to bone dry. The Colorado River and Lake Mead reservoir, which provide Arizona with 36% of its water supply, have reached record low levels.

New development will only increase demand for scarce water supplies.

It’s not just the environment that’s at risk from seemingly endless growth, though. Arizonans’ quality of life will also decrease dramatically if unchecked development continues.

Development has led to an increase in pollution and a decrease in air quality — which has surely contributed to Phoenix’s position as a leading city in asthma-related deaths.

Noise pollution from new data centers has drawn ire from local residents, many of whom understand that excessive noise isn’t just annoying, but it can also cause a whole host of health problems: elevated blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes, and mental health problems, to name a few.

Many of Arizona’s new residents came to the state for its promise of a high quality of life: sunshine, clear skies, and wide open spaces. If current trends continue, it’s only a matter of time before those amenities become a thing of the past.

The only way to keep the state’s population growth in check is to hold local policymakers accountable — at the ballot box.

Town commissioners and zoning board members are the ones who approve new construction permits. They’ll decide whether we stay on our current unsustainable path or whether we’ll change course. Elections for local offices like these might not command the same attention as statewide and national races, but they have an enormous impact on folks’ day-to-day quality of life.

Of course, national races are important too. About 44% of Arizona’s recent growth has been driven by foreign migration. If immigration trends continue, America will add about 70 million new people to its population over the coming four decades — and a considerable number would undoubtedly settle here in Arizona.

Development can certainly be a force for good, but only when it’s properly regulated.

To prevent future Rio Verde-like catastrophes, and protect Arizona’s natural wonder for generations to come, we have to put the proper guardrails in place.

About the author

Rusty Childress is a Phoenix-based nature photographer.