PHOENIX — The city of El Mirage is seeking $400 million in compensation from the federal government, claiming rules preventing development under Luke Air Force Base's flight paths have choked off any chance of major commercial development.
Citing a recent economic-impact study, El Mirage contends it stands to lose $40 million a year in potential development because it is within Luke aircraft-noise zones and because land annexation by Glendale has cut it off from other viable commercial corridors.
Earlier this week, El Mirage officials went to Washington to ask Arizona's congressional delegation to support their quest for federal funds.
They envisage using the money for infrastructure improvements along El Mirage Road, to buy land outside city limits for urban development, and to rehabilitate homes and businesses to reduce aircraft noise.
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Brooke Buchanan, a spokeswoman for U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said McCain will work with commanders at Luke and the other communities to "address concerns."
The Glendale base pumps more than $2 billion a year into Arizona's economy, according to an Arizona Department of Commerce study.
El Mirage officials insist they support Luke and want partners to help find ways to build a commercial base for their city.
"What we are really proposing is a joint mission to build a partnership to bring El Mirage into a sustainable future," said Scott Chesney, city economic-development director. "We are stable and financially secured now, but if we cannot grow in some meaningful way, we will decline."
There are restrictions on height and density development on more than two-thirds of El Mirage's land because of flight paths from the Luke base.
Among the proposals aimed at growing the 11-square-mile city without harming the base are securing lands outside the city limits for development and modifying the restrictions to allow high-intensity development along Grand Avenue.
This is the latest effort by El Mirage to build a stronger economic future after it lost a protracted legal battle last year over Glendale's strip annexation of 39 square miles near the smaller city.
El Mirage backed its proposals with a $17,000 study of the Air Force base's economic impact on the city and its 30,000 residents.
