Good morning, East Mesa. An extreme heat warning runs until 8 PM Wednesday with afternoon highs of 108 to 113, so the outdoor half of this week belongs to the early morning.
- 🏗️ 103 acres at Hawes and Elliot go before the zoning board Wednesday. The request would remap jobs land for housing.
- 🌡️ Extreme heat warning through Wednesday night. Afternoon temperatures of 108 to 113 across the East Valley.
- 🚗 Ellsworth could drop to 45 mph end to end. The ordinance reaches City Council on August 17.
- ✈️ Falcon Field's new landing fees get pushed back. Council votes on the delay today.
- 🌽 Eastmark Farmers Market returns Saturday morning. At the Great Park on Eastmark Parkway.
- 🍷 Four course wine dinner at Las Sendas Friday. At the Vistas Pavilion on Eagle Crest.
- 🎟️ Around the Valley. Three shows worth the drive this week.
The lead
A request to remap 103 acres at the southeast corner of Hawes and Elliot for housing goes before Mesa's Planning and Zoning Board on Wednesday.
Key facts:
- What: GPA26-00161, filed as "Hawes Crossing Village 7." It is a major General Plan Amendment (a formal change to the city's long range land use map).
- Where: 103 acres at the southeast corner of South Hawes Road and East Elliot Road, in council District 6.
- The change: 29.7 acres would shift from Urban Center to Urban Residential, and 73.2 acres from Local Employment Center to Urban Residential.
- When: Planning and Zoning Board public hearing, Wednesday, July 29.
- Staff position: adoption. The planner on the file is Joshua Grandlienard.
The size of the ask is in that second number. Local Employment Center is a jobs designation, Urban Residential is a housing one, and 73.2 of the 103 acres carry the jobs label today. That is most of a village-sized parcel on the Hawes corridor moving from future workplaces to future rooftops, a mile west of the Ellsworth stretch where the east side's warehouse and campus pipeline has been filling in.
What to watch: whether the board follows the staff recommendation Wednesday. A major amendment of this size does not end at the board, so the vote is a recommendation rather than the final call. Project narrative.
Around East Mesa
✈️ Falcon Field's landing fees are on hold. A resolution on today's City Council agenda extends the implementation date for the airport's newly adopted landing fees past July 30. The Federal Aviation Administration asked the city to wait while it reviews the fees, and the outside firm Mesa retained on airport matters has asked for time to finish its own review. Falcon Field has been East Mesa's aviation anchor since it opened in 1941 as a British flying training school, and it is still one of the busiest general aviation fields in the country. Resolution 12559.
🏠 The price read. Mesa's median sale price is $452,500, down 1% from a year ago.
🏗️ Eastmark corridor and dev watch
What's getting built, and what's changing, along Ellsworth, Signal Butte, and the East Mesa corridor.
🚗 One speed limit for all of Ellsworth. An ordinance headed to City Council on August 17 would set a continuous 45 mph limit on Ellsworth Road from the north city limits to the south city limits. The stretch between Elliot Road and the south end, which runs down past EastMarket and the Eastmark growth band, is posted at 50 mph today and would drop 5 mph. The rest of the road is already 45. The Transportation Advisory Board recommended the change. Ordinance 26-0623.
The week
Monday
- 🥽 Exploring virtual reality. 10 AM at the THINKspot in Red Mountain Library. Headset basics and a set of featured apps, ages 13 and up.
- 🧸 Toddlertime. 10 AM at Red Mountain Library.
Tuesday
- 🚦 Pedestrian signal light STEM class. 1 PM at Red Mountain Library. Kids wire a working signal light and learn the circuit behind it.
- ⚾ Weekly baseball defense class. AZ Dingers, 8607 E Pecos Rd, Suite 101.
- 📖 Preschool storytime. 10 AM at Red Mountain Library.
Wednesday
- 🃏 Trading card game club. 3:30 PM at Red Mountain Library. Bring a Pokémon deck or borrow one there.
- 🧠 Trivia night. Wednesday evening at On The Green Sports Grill. Free to play.
Thursday
- 🖨️ Intro to 3D printing. 10 AM at the THINKspot. Walks through a first print job start to finish.
- 🎨 Tiny art show. 2 PM at Red Mountain Library. Paint a mini canvas, materials provided.
- 💻 HOTspot digital help desk. 2 PM at the THINKspot, for anyone stuck on a device.
Friday
- 🍷 DAOU four course wine dinner. The Vistas Pavilion at Las Sendas, 7555 E Eagle Crest Dr.
Saturday
- 🌽 Eastmark Farmers Market. Morning at Eastmark Great Park, 5100 S Eastmark Pkwy.
- 🎸 Live acoustic music and humor. Augusta Ranch Golf Club, 2401 S Lansing.
- 🏐 Prep Dig volleyball showcase. Indoor volleyball at Arizona Athletic Grounds, 6321 S Ellsworth.
Looking ahead: trivia night at Augusta Ranch Golf Club on August 4, and a sewing class and social at the THINKspot on August 12, which takes registration because the machines are limited.
From the schools
- 🎓 EVIT settles its funding split. The East Valley Institute of Technology reached a new funding agreement with the nine school districts that send students to it, Mesa Public Schools among them. Details.
- 🎭 Performing arts orientation at Desert Ridge. Wednesday in the auditorium at Desert Ridge High School. Calendar.
- 🏫 Freshman orientation at Mountain View. August 5 at 9 AM at MVHS, one of the last markers before the new year starts. Calendar.
Around the Valley
Three picks worth leaving East Mesa for this week.
🎤 Millington. Tuesday at 7 PM at The Rosetta Room in Mesa. The closest of the three, and a small room. Tickets.
🎸 Silverstein and Story of the Year. Tuesday at 7 PM at Marquee Theatre in Tempe. Two thousands-era headliners on one bill. Tickets.
🎹 The Fray and Dashboard Confessional. Tonight at 7 PM at Arizona Financial Theatre in Phoenix. Worth the drive downtown on a Monday. Tickets.