Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

A project to develop a proposed entertainment district in Tempe, Ariz., near Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) won’t move forward after propositions related to the project were voted down in May. The vote represents a major victory for ALPA and air safety advocates, who were at odds with economic interests supporting the proposal.

Tempe voters were asked to consider Propositions 301, 302, and 303, which, had they passed, would have cleared the way for developers to build the $2.3 billion Tempe Arena and Entertainment District. Critics voiced concern about the proposed development’s proximity to the airport and the impact it could have on the safe operation of flights in and out of PHX.

ALPA supported efforts to educate city officials, as well as the voters who would ultimately decide the issue, about safety concerns related to the project. In a letter included in a 2023 voter’s guide distributed prior to voting, Capt. Jason Ambrosi, ALPA’s president, and Capt. Wendy Morse, ALPA’s first vice president, urged residents of Tempe to vote “no” on the measures, stressing that the environment surrounding PHX requires adequate protection for the safe operation of aircraft and that the proposed redevelopment of the city-owned commercially zoned property could threaten those protections. The letter also cited findings issued by the FAA in April 2022, which included concerns about airspace and flight limitations for aircraft and noncompatible land use.

“Before voting ‘yes’ to this land-use plan,” wrote Ambrosi and Morse, “a final plan addressing safety concerns is needed. Structure heights must be limited to safely allow routine and emergency takeoff and landing operations. Other issues include direct or indirect lighting that impairs/interferes with the pilots’ operation of the aircraft; uses that produce electronic emissions that interfere with communication, navigation, and surveillance equipment; and a means to prevent the release of airborne objects that interfere with the operation of aircraft (i.e., fireworks, smoke, drones).”

Proponents of the project argued that the entertainment district, which would have included a new home for the Arizona Coyotes hockey team, would have brought 7,000 new jobs to the community and an estimated $13.1 billion in spending. But the city of Phoenix opposed the project, arguing that a proposed residential development under the airport’s flight path would have violated a 1994 agreement between Tempe and Phoenix created specifically to protect residents from living in high-noise areas.

The Association was first alerted to planning for the entertainment district by airport management at PHX. A short time later, F/O Andrew Velasco (FedEx Express) volunteered to serve as the Phoenix Sky Harbor ALPA airport safety liaison (ASL) to update the Association on any further developments. ALPA quickly joined with other aviation stakeholders to support opposition to the project. In an October 2021 letter addressed to the City of Tempe, ALPA joined Airlines for America, the National Business Aviation Association, and the Regional Airline Association in expressing concern about the project’s potential impact on safe and efficient operations at PHX and offered to work with the city to provide a review of safety issues and guidance related to development.

Capt. Bob Fox (United), then ALPA’s first vice president, reached out again in a May 2022 letter to Tempe Mayor Corey Woods, emphasizing the Association’s commitment to aviation safety and seeking engagement with the planners in order to resolve the safety issues ALPA had raised. But no meaningful communication with city officials was ever achieved.

In June 2022, Capt. Julio Zamarripa (United), who serves as the Long Beach Airport ALPA ASL, spoke at a special meeting of the Tempe City Council, representing the Association and expressing ALPA’s concerns about safety.

“If you lose an engine, you lose 50 percent of your power, but you also lose 90 percent of your climb capability,” said Zamarripa, noting that the project called for 140-foot cranes that could have been located near the airport’s flight path. “We’re not against this project, but we need to be concerned about the safety of airport operations. As an ALPA safety representative, I ask respectfully that this project be delayed until the safety issues are addressed.”

Those opposed to development also gained support from Barbara Sherman, a former Tempe city councilmember.

“It defies common sense to have an arena and residences near, or underneath, flight paths in such proximity to the airport,” wrote Sherman, who noted that, in addition to commercial airline operations, PHX is also home to the 161st Air National Guard, which routinely flies over the site of the proposed development on military refueling missions, often carrying as much as 200,000 pounds of fuel.

In the end, residents of Tempe voted against the project. The final vote was 56 percent against Proposition 301, and 57 percent against both Proposition 302 and Proposition 303.