Much has been written about the city of El Mirage since city leaders traveled to Washington D.C. in March to petition the federal government for $400 million, claiming economic harm due to its proximity to Luke Air Force Base.


Officials from other West Valley cities were surprised after learning about El Mirage’s monetary request to the federal government since communities around the base have historically worked closely together for decades to protect and preserve the training mission of Luke.


The region has enjoyed a positive relationship with the Air Force’s largest F-16 training base since the facility opened as Luke Field in 1940. When the base opened, only six West Valley communities were incorporated, including Maricopa County (1871), Phoenix (1881), Wickenburg (1909), Glendale (1910), Tolleson (1929), and Buckeye (1929).


El Mirage, located north of Luke, was incorporated in 1951, the same year the base was renamed Luke Air Force Base under the newly formed U.S. Air Force.


As West Valley cities and Maricopa County can attest, being a good neighbor to a military installation is not always easy. In partnering with the base for the common good, communities have faced the prospect of promising development projects which had to be turned down or significantly scaled back over the years due to compatibility issues with Luke.


There has been the occasional clash of interests which has occurred over compatible land uses near the air base.


In the early 1980’s, El Mirage was scheduled to receive $4.5 million in the form of a federal grant that was to be loaned to a developer to construct Sierra Grande, a 250-room hotel and convention center on 229-acres at Grand Avenue and the Agua Fria.


Since the hotel and convention center project was located directly in line with Luke’s flight path, the Air Force voiced its strong opposition. Sierra Grande never moved forward but not solely because of Luke rather environmental problems and concerns with wildlife endangerment surfaced during a review by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.


The city of Peoria has turned down several promising development projects over the years in order to protect the “greater good” of Luke’s training mission.


A couple years ago, a developer approached Peoria officials about building an airpark with a hotel and commercial development. Although the Northwest Valley city would have benefitted significantly in terms of new revenue streams, city officials decided not to support the project due to potential airspace issues with Luke.


“Make no doubt about it, the freedoms we enjoy in this country come at a price and much of that sacrifice is borne by communities located near military bases,” said Surprise Mayor Lyn Truitt, whose city worked to remove all residential lots from the 1988 Noise Contour Lines.


“This can present economic development challenges as local decisions have to be made that are in the best interests of our national security. This obviously can create hardships for cities, especially when the economy is in a recession. But, this is something that communities in urban areas near military installations accept and deal with accordingly.”


Glendale and Goodyear, in separate but cooperative actions, annexed 51 acres around the base in 1978 to protect Luke’s mission and exercise control over development within the area.  Glendale annexed the entire base in 1995 to further manage growth and provide much-needed transportation infrastructure, transit services and regional representation.


Throughout the years, West Valley cities surrounding Luke have stepped up and protected nearly 33,000 acres from development that would have been considered incompatible with Luke’s training mission. Additionally, Arizona’s congressional delegation has worked to provide additional buffer for the base while concurrently ensuring that landowners were treated fairly in the process.


In Arizona, state laws established compatible land uses and other protections within noise contours to ensure that responsible land-use planning and development occurs around Luke.


Compatible land uses within these zones range from retail and entertainment to manufacturing and industrial processing.
Champions of the state statutes also had the foresight to include a diverse range of other compatible land uses that don’t require adjacent housing such as manufacturing, medical services, professional services, communications facilities and utilities, among others.


“More than 90 percent of the high noise contour areas around Luke’s Southern Departure Corridor are within the city of Goodyear and now properly zoned to protect Luke’s mission,” said Goodyear Mayor Jim Cavanaugh.


Now that Luke is on the short list to receive the new F-35 training mission, support of Luke has never been stronger.


Recently, elected officials throughout Arizona formally expressed their support of the state’s military installations, including Luke. The 2009 resolution was passed by 89 of Arizona’s 90 cities and towns at the annual Arizona League of Cities and Towns conference. El Mirage was the only city to oppose the resolution.


But the commitment of nearby communities to preserve Luke’s ability to perform its mission also bring significant benefit to us all – from the important annual economic influx to the fact that we know as Americans that we are helping our service-members remain the most capable military force in the world as they protect the freedoms we enjoy.


Next time you hear the sound of freedom resonating from Luke, take a moment to remember the necessary sacrifices the citizens of the West Valley and our municipalities have taken to keep the base a vital part of our community, state and nation for decades to come.