PHOENIX — West Valley city leaders have been navigating choppy waters as they prepare to welcome the next wave of growth in metro Phoenix.
Market changes, perceptions of Arizona's water supply, citizen referendums, and a state law taking away the ability of cities to collect rental tax have created new challenges for the fast-growing municipalities.
Regardless, they've pivoted to create new opportunities to push growth forward. Economic development leaders in the West Valley discussed how they're addressing those hurdles and what's to come for big projects in their cities at Phoenix Business Journal's West Valley Growth Summit on Feb. 11.
Although one of a few Valley cities without a 100-year water designation, the city of Buckeye is building up its resource pool and recently finalized an application for 6,000 acre-feet of new water. It also passed a general obligation bond for new infrastructure in the city, including fire stations and road improvements.
"We're not out of water," Suzanne Boyles, Buckeye's economic development director, said at the panel. "We want people to understand that because we think that Buckeye is at the forefront of Arizona's economic boom over the next several decades."
