Shedding Light on the Shadows of Local Government

The Laveen Village planning committee met on Monday March 6, 2006 at 7:00 p.m. The leaders of the group sat at a long table in front of the stage. Those citizens who came to participate slowly trickled in and took seats facing the board. I was expecting to see Ray and Angie Trujillo, so I kept an eye on the door as the meeting began.  I became interested in the planning committee meeting through a notice posted at their feed store.  The committee was going to discuss the upcoming Maricopa County Board of Adjustment ruling on the ability to keep farm animals on small farms.  The Laveen planning committee has become a powerful force in their efforts to protect the rural lifestyle.  

George Anderson spoke for the board and explained that there were no zoning cases facing Laveen at the time, but the county was facing a complaint against keeping farm animals on an acre of ground that would ultimately affect Laveen. The complaint had originated in Gilbert. Gilbert was another rural farming community faced with swift encroachment by commuters to Phoenix before being almost completely engulfed by subdivisions, much like what is now underway in South Phoenix.

Mr. Anderson explained that the Maricopa County Board of Adjustment was facing a complaint requesting a restriction to the type and amount of farm animals kept on an acre or less of land. The Board of Adjustment is an advisory board to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. He explained that three of the five members of the Board of Supervisors were in favor of an interpretation of the code that would not change the number of farm animals allowed. Mr. Anderson reported that if the Board of Adjustment does not decide in favor of keeping the farm animals, the Board of Supervisors would propose an amendment for an exception.

A few women asked questions. They expressed concerns about children involved with 4-H clubs and the fate of pets under possible restrictions. The planning committee was reassuring in their tone. Mr. Anderson outlined the method for speaking at the upcoming meeting. The group was prepared, but all they had to do was to look to the development of their neighbor, South Phoenix to see how a group of well financed, well connected people can change a community.

On March 8th the Board of Adjustment met. The large meeting room was filled to capacity. I got out my notebook, prepared to record what promised to be a lively meeting.  Mary Beth Rowland, board chairman, reported that they had received petitions with 600 signatures in favor of an interpretation of the code that continues to allow farm animals. She added that there were 5 letters in opposition and those people were concerned about an unlimited number of animals on an acre of property. She also emphasized that the board’s recommendation would be for a continued interpretation of being able to keep farm animals.

Since, the overwhelming numbers of people present were in favor of keeping farm animals, Ms. Rowland called to hear from anyone in opposition. Despite repeated calls for opposition, each time a new party spoke it was to request a favorable outcome. Ms. Rowland continued to request a word from anyone opposed, but reiterated that the board was prepared to issue a favorable interpretation. The line of people prepared to address the board grew.

It was clear that the concern of those who spoke was for a snowballing loss of what were termed by the speakers, as property rights. They knew the board would vote favorably, but they wanted to be able to express the value they held for their way of life. The underlying concern appeared to be the loss of a rural culture and the powerlessness that people feel in the face of the rising tide of Phoenix expansion. Ray and Angie Trujillo, whose feed store business at 7th Avenue and Baseline would certainly be undermined by a restriction on large farm animals, were clearly relieved that the inevitable bell had not yet tolled the livelihood they had pursued for the last 25 years.

On this day, there would be no loss of the right to keep farm animals. The perseverance of residents speaking their mind, attempted to thwart what  Joel Garreau refers to in his book Intro to Edge City, Life on the New Frontier (1991, 184-208) describes as the "shadow government" mechanisms that increasingly seem to be defining the route of rapid change in their communities.  Citizens left the meeting with smiles. Perhaps they were feeling a little more secure about their ability to stem the tide. They walked out the door and into a city with an expected growth of more than 400,000 people over the next five years.