ARIZONA DAILY STAR: Sat., Oct. 27, 2007
Towns' explosive growth brings big-city problems
By Aaron Mackey
The founders of Marana, Oro Valley and Sahuarita had this in common: They didn't want to be Tucson. Then they put out the welcome mat for developers, ushering in population growth rates of 55% to 600% in the past seven years and bringing big-city problems to small, suburban towns.
Sown into each community's incorporation were policies that enabled incredible growth but hamstrung leaders' ability to build needed roads, sewers and parks. Now that a slowdown in housing construction has stalled growth, experts say Tucson's suburbs can no longer sustain themselves with fees on new construction and impact fees charged to developers.
But before Marana could grow astronomically — the town's population has increased 154% in the last seven years to 35,000 residents — leaders had to figure out how to pay the bills. One early condition of the incorporation was that there wouldn't be a property tax.
FULL STORY: http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/208452