Jan. 6—Mesa kicks off 2025 with new faces in city and school district government as well as new projects, policies and challenges.
As Mayor-elect Mark Freeman takes office, he’ll be joined on the City Council dais by Rich Adams, a longtime city volunteer who assumes his District 1 seat.
At Mesa Public Schools this month, the Governing Board will see new members Sharon Benson and Lacy Chaffee replacing Dr. Joe O’Reilly and Kiana Sears, who opted not to run. Board member Courtney Davis also returns after winning election two years after she was appointed to fill a vacancy.
Later this year, they’ll be working with a new superintendent as Dr. Matthew Strom takes the helm on July 1, replacing the retiring Dr. Andi Fourlis.
One of the new city policies taking effect this year requires Mesa to allow adaptive reuse of some empty buildings for multifamily housing without public input.
To conform with a state law passed last year, City Council adopted an ordinance that could see as many as 202 commercial, office and mixed-use buildings in Mesa redeveloped.
To be eligible for reuse, a parcel must be at least 1 acre but no more than 20 acres in size and the building must be in a state of disrepair or have 50% vacancy in total leasable square footage. If the property is to be reused for multifamily housing, 10% or more must be set aside for moderate- or low-income for 20 years.
If a developer wants to reuse a building for other uses instead of residential, only a portion of the existing commercial, office, or mixed-use building can be demolished. For a residential project, all or a portion of the building can be razed.
Council in December also approved an amendment that sets a timeline giving the city 30 days to deem a residential zoning application administratively complete and upon resubmittal, the city will have 15 days to deem it complete.
The overall allowable timeframe for a zoning application is 180 calendar days.
The governor last year also mandated that municipalities with a population over 75,000 must approve accessory dwelling units, including casitas on single-family lots. That regulation was adopted by Mesa council and took effect in November.
Council in January is expected to consider zoning and annexation requests for Carmello, a proposed 65-home development in Southeast Mesa. Surrounding neighbors were upset with the project, claiming the smaller-lot sizes did not fit with the community.
Major projects anticipated to finish this year include the 10.5-mile installation of pipeline, which is expected to help maximize Mesa’s water portfolio.
The Central Mesa Reuse Pipeline, estimated to cost $210 million, will deliver the city’s treated wastewater to the Gila River Indian Community in exchange for Colorado River water supplies. The water is guaranteed for over 100 years and should there be cut backs, this source would be the last to be cut, according to the city.
Mesa also is looking to improve and build bus stops across the city at a cost of $1.66 million that comes out of the Transit Fund. Work is expected to begin in July and conclude by February.
And the first phase of Google’s data center campus is expected to be completed this year in southeast Mesa, a $600 million investment for 288,000 square feet, according to the city.
Additional phases are expected to be completed by 2030 bringing the project to 750,000 square feet and $1 billion in capital investment.
The city and ratepayers can expect to see a hit to their wallet with the new year.
Mesa anticipates losing $20 million with the state’s repeal of the residential rental tax and getting $8 million less in state shared revenues due to the flat income tax imposed in 2022.
Residential and commercial customers on Feb. 1 will see increases in their bills for utilities, including water, wastewater and trash and recycle pick up. Those that receive the city’s electricity and natural gas will see increases in those also.
MPS has its own challenges as it struggles to stem declining enrollment.
The district last year cut 400 positions as a result of lower state reimbursement tied to student count.