Summary of Concerns with 2021 Eastmark Great Park Plan

Why is the city of Mesa converting approved and zoned, private HOA amenities for the residents of Eastmark to public Great Park land without a public hearing? I have enclosed my summary of concerns regarding the new Great Park plan .

Transcript

1. Concerns Regarding the New Great Park Plan Monica Miller The City’s Response to the missing Great Park Land? - Convert promised and approved HOA amenities to public Great Park land.
2. Eastmark Open Space Amenities are a Combination of Public and Private Land
3. City of Mesa Land is for Everyone • Eastmark residents receive no special rights to City of Mesa Park Land located in Eastmark (The Great Park). The City of Mesa controls access to and use of this land. • This is why we have to pay $81.5o an hour to use a baseball field, just like everybody else. • This is why everybody can use the Orange Monster. • Eastmark residents still fund the City of Mesa Park Land within Eastmark (e.g. The Great Park). • Each resident pays $3,500 to the CFD at closing to the City of Mesa to pay the developer for Great Park and other infrastructure in Eastmark.
4. The City of Mesa Owns The Great Park • The Great Park is public land. • Once the Great Park Phases are built, the park space is conveyed to the City of Mesa. • The Developer is reimbursed for the cost of developing the Great Park through CFD dollars that Eastmark residents paid.
5. Eastmark Community Alliance (HOA) Land is Private • Eastmark HOA Land is land that is only for Eastmark residents. • Eastmark residents pay dues to the HOA to have access to and maintain this land. • HOA land is not Mesa Park Land. It is private and exclusive to the residents of Eastmark.
6. HOA Lands are Private Amenities Eastmark Residents were promised exclusive access to the Skate Park and Disc Golf Course. These amenities have site plans and zoning that have been approved by the City of Mesa. This is Private Land. Private HOA Land
7. The Disc Golf Course was Approved and Announced as HOA Land • This land is not part of the Great Park. Rather it is an HOA amenity. • The announced and approved disc golf course was intended to serve as a buffer between residential land and commercial land located to the north. It must exist. • This land was approved as HOA land that would be maintained for Eastmark residents, not the public and not by the City of Mesa. This land was suppose to be HOA land. This park space is for residents of Eastmark.
8. The Skate Park was Approved and Announced as a private HOA Amenity • This land was not part of the Great Park. Rather it was an HOA amenity maintained by the HOA and our dues. • The announced and approved skate park was supposed to be special, something just for the residents of Eastmark.
9. Up until last week, these 3 Key Approved and Zoned Amenities provided 150.92 acres of outdoor open space for Eastmark Skate Park 3.34 Acres of Private Land Disc Golf 41.58 Acres of Private Land The Great Park 106 Acres of Public Land
10. 2020 Great Park and HOA Land Plan HOA land described as “Buffer Zone/Disc Golf.” Not part of the Great Park in 2020.
11. Recent Great Park and HOA Land Plan The Developer is trying to sell our HOA land to the City and calling it “The New Great Park” to satisfy the 106 acre Great Park. The Private Disc Golf Course and Skate Park have been converted to Public land. Now, instead of 150.92 acres of Open Space we are getting 106. The Disc Golf and Skate Park will be part of the Great Park. We still pay the same HOA Dues.
12. Impacted Eastmark Amenities By the Numbers Great Park HOA Land Great Park HOA Land Phase 1 7.8 7.8 Phase 2 4.43 4.43 Phase 3 28.71 28.71 Phase 4 (Lake) 6.62 6.62 Phase 4 (Linear Park) 4.18 4.18 Phase 4 (Treehouse) 6.79 6.79 Phase 4 (Sidewalk) 6.85 6.85 Disc Golf (HOA/City?) 41.58 37.52 Skate Park (HOA/City?) 3.34 3.34 Community Center 1.88 1.88 Total (in acres) 65.38 46.8 106.24 1.88 Developer Owed Great Park 40.62 0 2020 PLAN 2021 PLAN The Developer is Trying to Sell Our HOA Land to the City of Mesa, so they Do Not have to Develop the Great Park. We as residents get diminished HOA ammenities!
13. What Changed in a Year? • The Great Park, Disc Golf Course, and Skate park went from 150.92 acres to 106 acres. • We have lost 44.92 acres of approved, privately owned HOA park space • HOA land that was intended to be conveyed to the Eastmark Community Alliance is being sold to the City of Mesa for a substantial profit to the developer. • The Developer is selling our HOA land to the City to avoid having to build the Great Park.
14. My Key Points Communicated to the City of Mesa • The Great Park is unique in Eastmark, as it is codified term of developing Eastmark. • A 106-acre contiguous park within Eastmark is what makes the Great Park great. They should not sprinkle it all over Eastmark. • The Eastmark Community Alliance (HOA) was already promised the Disc Golf Course and Skate Park as private amenities. • It makes no sense for the City of Mesa to take our private HOA land to satisfy the Developers obligation to build the Great Park. • The only party that benefits from this is the Developer.
15. If you would like to voice your concerns, contact your public officials • The City of Mesa has provided a new point of contact regarding the Great Park: • veronica.gonzalez@mesaaz.gov • Councilman Thompson is aware of the issue and is collecting feedback • councilmember.thompson@mesaaz.gov • Nana Appiah is the Planning Director who will make final decisions • nana.appiah@mesaaz.gov • Tom Ellsworth handles Eastmark for the City of Mesa Planning Dept. • tom.ellsworth@mesaaz.gov