REFERENCE TITLE: Phoenix‑Goodyear airport; reuse zone.

State of Arizona House of Representatives Fifty-third Legislature First Regular Session 2017

HJR 2001

Introduced by Representative Mitchell

 

A JOINT RESOLUTION

 

Renewing the designation of the Phoenix‑goodyear airport as a military reuse zone.

 

 

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

 

Whereas, the United States Naval Air Facility (Air Facility) was established in 1941 in Goodyear, Arizona and was used for operational and training purposes by the active uniformed services of the United States Military; and

Whereas, the Air Facility employed several thousand active military personnel and civilians during World War II and the Korean War and was used, among other things, for aircraft flight deck fabrication and aircraft modification, testing, delivery, preservation and activation; and

Whereas, the United States Department of Defense transferred a portion of the property on which the Air Facility was situated to Goodyear Aircraft by quitclaim deed (Docket 537, page 255) on April 18, 1950; and

Whereas, the United States Navy decommissioned the Air Facility in the late 1950s and transferred the remaining 800 acres of the site to the United States General Services Administration (GSA) in 1965; and

Whereas, on May 21, 1968, the City of Phoenix acquired the GSA's portion of the site (Maricopa County Docket 7166, page 66) to create the Phoenix‑Goodyear Airport to allow the city to relieve the volume of general aviation aircraft using Sky Harbor Airport; and

Whereas, Goodyear Aircraft transferred its portion of the property to Loral Corporation (now Lockheed Martin Corporation) on April 23, 1996; and

Whereas, Lockheed Martin Corporation's systems and training continues to operate its portion of the property for military defense contracting; and

Whereas, Lux Air Jet Centers has recently opened the first privately developed fixed based operator facility in the history of the Phoenix‑Goodyear Airport; and

Whereas, Prime Solutions Group, an engineering consultancy company, has been awarded small business innovation research grants from the United States Department of Defense; and

Whereas, the Phoenix‑Goodyear Airport continues to have an 8,500‑foot runway; and

Whereas, the aviation/aerospace industry is among the most important economic activities in the Arizona economy, accounts for a significant portion of Arizona's exports, provides high quality, high salary employment opportunities and has been identified as a strategic industry cluster by the City of Goodyear and the Greater Phoenix Region; and

Whereas, on December 10, 2002, Governor Hull designated the property consisting of the Phoenix‑Goodyear Airport and the property then owned by Lockheed Martin Corporation as a Military Reuse Zone (MRZ) pursuant to section 41‑1531, Arizona Revised Statutes; and

Whereas, the designation as an MRZ strengthens the ability of the Phoenix‑Goodyear Airport to create jobs and attract investment; and

Whereas, the City of Goodyear and the region have been significantly impacted by the 93% reduction of aerospace defense industry jobs within the MRZ since 2007; and

Whereas, the MRZ designation at Phoenix‑Goodyear Airport is an important component of the economic redevelopment strategy that has assisted in attracting and retaining six companies and creating and retaining over 900 direct jobs since 2003; and

Whereas, the Phoenix‑Goodyear Airport designation as a MRZ was renewed on December 7, 2007 pursuant to section 41‑1531, Arizona Revised Statutes, and Executive Order 2007‑27, which designation is to terminate on December 3, 2017; and

Whereas, pursuant to section 41‑1531, subsection B, Arizona Revised Statutes, the Legislature and the Governor by joint resolution may further renew the MRZ designation for additional ten‑year terms; and

Whereas, a renewed MRZ designation will facilitate state and local economic readjustment efforts by providing new opportunities for commercial and industrial development, including major infrastructure improvements that will spur job creation and accelerate economic redevelopment growth.

Therefore

Be it resolved by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

1.  That the Members of the Fifty‑third Legislature and the Governor of the State of Arizona renew as a Military Reuse Zone the Phoenix‑Goodyear Airport premises and property consisting of the property described at Maricopa County Docket 7166, page 66 and the property described in the quitclaim deed set forth in Maricopa County Docket 537, page 255.

2.  That, pursuant to section 41‑1531, subsection B, Arizona Revised Statutes, the termination date for this Military Reuse Zone be set for ten years from December 3, 2017.

3.  That the Secretary of State transmit copies of this Resolution to the City of Phoenix and the City of Goodyear.