City’s agreement with developer means ‘cows won’t be coming home’

The Maricopa City Council took the first steps on Tuesday in serving an eviction notice to 70,000 cattle. Their ouster came in the form of the city signing a letter of intent with El Dorado Holdings, requiring the city to purchase 68 acres of land from the developer for $3 million.

“This is a huge step forward for the future of this community and attracting jobs to the area,” said City Manager Kevin Evans.

El Dorado Holdings, one of the city’s largest developers, owns nearly 376 acres of property located along the Maricopa/Casa Grande Highway between Porter and Hartman roads.

“When we purchased this land, we bought the property where the feedlots are located because we knew it would be necessary for them to be relocated for future development,” said James Kinney, El Dorado Holdings president.

By agreeing in principal to the purchase, the developer will not renew the lease on the cattle feedlot, which expires in December 2010.

“This is not a case where they will be notified in December they have to leave; it is a situation in which they will have to be gone by December,” Kinney said.

Once the cattle have been moved, El Dorado Holdings will work to mitigate the environmental concerns on the land, a measure Kinney said could cost in excess of $1 million.

Despite the agreement, it does not mean all the cattle will be gone from the area by December. A nearby feedlot, with about 20,000 head of cattle, lies near the ethanol plant on land not owned by the developer.

“We are hoping when the other feedlot operations leave, they will follow suit,” Kinney said.

Originally, El Dorado Holdings had planned for the 376-acre parcel to become a subdivision called Eagle Wing, with a small commercial component. However, the company has since decided to transform the area into a mixed-use development featuring high-density housing and nearly 120 acres of commercial zoning.

Two of the problems the city currently has in attracting jobs are a lack of shovel-ready sites and available space for large employers, said Ioanna Morfessis, the city’s senior economic development consultant.

While the land will feature no structures to accommodate these employers, it will be possible to put the infrastructure in place to make the sites shovel-ready, Morfessis said. “This will set the stage for Maricopa to recruit and accommodate many companies who will be expanding into the Southwest in the next several years,” she said. “This letter of intent supports the achievement of the city’s economic development goals.”

The time frame for the removal of the cattle, recapturing the land and rezoning is nearly two years, Kinney said.

“This is off-the-charts significant,” said Maricopa Mayor Anthony Smith. “In four to five years, that area will look completely different from what it is today.” This area could be the future home to a hospital, community college or a government center, Smith added.

While the letter calls for the city to purchase one parcel of land, it will not be the tract the city owns if the agreement is played out in its entirety. The parcel being offered up in the agreement is one that Kinney calls the most valuable of the lot, and if all the work is completed by the development company, as is to be written in the contract, the city will return this parcel to the developer in exchange for right of way.

Possible uses of right of way include land for parks, the White and Porter grade separation, the Santa Cruz floodplain project and other regional projects that require right of way. “If we don’t complete our obligations, like cleaning up the land and rezoning, the city gets a very valuable piece of property,” Kinney said. “It shows how committed we are to this area.”

While the development may not occur for years after the cows are gone, one immediate benefit brought forth by council was the improvement in air quality.

“Right now, the city of Maricopa is the poster child in the nation for non-attainment,” said Vice Mayor Brent Murphee. “This will totally eliminate the bad mark we have.”

The next step in the process is for the city and developer to return to council with a formalized development agreement.

Photo by Michael K. Rich