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.