Mesa's minimum parking requirements were well-intentioned: build so much parking that it's never difficult to find a parking space. Unfortunately, forcing business owners with the costs of providing more parking than they would of their own accord causes them to raise their prices, and this creates unemployment as people do more of their shopping online.

Further, all the excess parking contributes to the urban heat island effect, raising temperatures in Mesa above their natural levels.

After dark, these parking lots turn into dead zones and attract crime. And frankly, parking lots are just plain ugly.

Let's reduce or eliminate these antiquated, overbearing requirements, and in order to prevent parking shortages, let's bring modern parking management technology to the city. SFPark is a good example.

Having grown up in Mesa, having played youth sports in Mesa and now being heavily involved as a coach in competetive youth sports in Mesa, it is very important for the our city to focus on the future of our youth as well as Mesa's future financial stability. Building a professional sports complex in Mesa allows Mesa's sports organizations a place to train, play and hold sporting events and it also enables Mesa the opportunity to host the largest and best sporting competitions in Az and the US. For example, Reach 11 and/or the SSC have hosted our Men's and Women's US National Soccer teams multiple times, professional spring training and friendly soccer matches, US youth soccer regional and national competitions, some of the best youth soccer tournaments in the country as well as football, lacrosse, baseball, softball, ultimate frisbee and more. Building a professional sports complex in the east valley (Mesa) would help to address the need for more parks in Mesa and would bring countless opportunities to and for our youth as well as bring numerous positive financial opportunities to the city. Phoenix was just granted a professional USL soccer organization and Mesa could do the same. Soccer is the largest sport in the world and the fastest growing sport in the US.

We moved here to escape the lights and crowd noise. We enjoy the desert in it's natural state as God created it and the serentity that comes with it. Why does the government try and impose their ideals on communitites? Has there even been a determination that the community wants or needs this park? I would say there has not been one. You are elected as stewarts of the taxpayer's money. So please start fufilling your obligation and spend our money on important and usefull things. Not replacing a desert landscape with concrete, asphalt, lighting and grass, so it can receive animal and of course human pollution. There are enough places nearby to get any benefit this park would ever bring.

My suggestion is to coordinate a land swap of some of the Mobile Home/RV Park owners in east Mesa and the city of Mesa. The amount of Mobile home Parks in the east part of Mesa (roughly between Gilbert Road and Power Road and between US 60 and McKellips Road) is mind boggling.

Most of these residents are part time residents and lower income residents who generally don't have a lot to contribute to the local economy. A lot of businesses will not open in some of these areas, because there is not enough disposable income, nor are there enough full time residents around to justify a business opening up in this area. So my suggestion is, let's not concentrate them all in one area of the city, let’s spread them out.

I suggest we relocate and these residents out by doing a land swap with some of the larger Mobile Home or RV Parks. I know Mesa has undeveloped land on the southern and eastern edge of the city boarders, so let's coordinate a land swap between the Mobile Home land owners and the city, and then have the city sell this land to home developers who would build homes for permanent residents.

This would accomplish a couple of things; it would spread out our senior, part time and some of our lower income residents. It would replace those residents with full time residents who generally have more disposable income, and if nothing more bring money to the local economy year around, which will will in turn attract new business. While I have nothing against these people, too much of one demographic in a concentrated area is not good for the overall economy of the area.

I currently live in this area, and right now if I want to go out to eat, find entertainment, or go shopping, I generally leave Mesa and spend my dollars in Gilbert, Chandler or Scottsdale. I do this because this area generally does not offer a broad variety of choices found in other parts of the valley.

Please do not consider this as a rant against the old or the lower income, I hold no prejudice. I simply would like to have more choices that other areas of the valley has for products and services, and have found that businesses will not locate to this area because of the concentrated demographics. I find that far too often I am spending my money outside of Mesa due to some of these dynamics, and would rather support my local economy, city and businesses.

Thank you for listening and keeping an open mind.