Scottsdale council candidate Q&A with John Little

Scottsdale City Council candidate John Little offers a unique perspective of the downtown area, as he served in an executive role for the city’s downtown office for five years.

Leading up to the Nov. 3 general election, the Scottsdale Independent is hosting an ongoing question-and-answer series with candidates for local government.

This week’s topic is development — a hot issue in the 2020 election — as many people talk about factions of Scottsdale being pro-development, or pro-growth.

Related to Scottsdale’s development, Mr. Little talks about appropriate revitalization in downtown Scottsdale and the possibilities of letting the area grow old. Read below to see what Mr. Little has to say:

1. Museum Square, the Marquee and now maybe, if it comes to fruition and is approved, the Scottsdale Collective. Are you supportive of the revitalization that’s happening in Old Town Scottsdale, which includes all of the downtown area?

Yes, revitalization is an important part of the life cycle process of any downtown. But that doesn’t mean we tear everything down when it begins to look tired and outdated. Revitalization means preservation as much as it means progress. I served as executive director of the city’s downtown office for five years. I was downtown nearly seven days a week and oftentimes into the night working with downtown merchants, restaurants, property owners, residents and gallery owners. Reinvestment efforts have always been difficult downtown because of the lack of leadership and consensus on the city council and among downtown stakeholders as to what downtown should be.

Downtown is not all “Old Town.” The Collective is not in Old Town. The Marquee is not in Old Town and Museum Square is not in Old Town. What is in Old Town is the Rusty Spur, the Mission, J Chews, the Parada del Sol Museum and Cavallier’s blacksmith shop, the Grapevine and Los Olivos. In the real Old Town, the focus should be on providing parking and ensuring infrastructure is updated while preserving the architecture, the mix of shops and the western atmosphere. The character of the rest of downtown is due for some architectural upgrades and a new mix of retail, residential and office. Marshall Way is not a gallery “way” any longer. What can it be? Now is the time to develop consensus on the future of downtown.

2. The residents of Scottsdale have used their collective voice twice in recent years to stop Desert Edge and SouthBridge Two. Is a message being sent by the residents? And, is it being listened to?

Yes, the collective voice of citizens should be respected and listened to. That voice should also be informed. As was the case with the [Desert Discovery Center], there was overwhelming community consensus to not open the Preserve for development.

Southbridge II was a different story. Petition signers were told the city and the developer were planning to “blade” Old Town. From there the misinformation grew to propositions that were frighteningly absurd. Hell, I’d have signed the petition if I thought someone was going to blade Old Town and build 150 foot tall buildings!

The best thing we could have done was to take a collective breath and worked to see if, with citizen input and a willing developer, we could have come up with something that would have helped revitalize the Fifth Avenue area. Instead it became a war and everybody lost in the final analysis.

3. Do you believe multi-acre, mixed-use developments, such as Museum Square or what Southbridge Two was planned to be, is what is needed in Scottsdale?

Yes. Great architecture, creative walkable spaces with shade, building structures that incorporate green building techniques to reduce energy use, having the developers pay for the infrastructure improvements, activating the canal bank for more special events that help the shops, galleries and restaurants are all things downtown can benefit from. And refusing to work with developers, or not knowing how, will put the financial sustainability of our entire community at risk. An aging downtown with hostile interests will drive investors away.

One regional mall in America fails every day. Remember we all thought Los Arcos and Paradise Valley Mall would be here forever. If Fashion Square were to close because of being located in an outdated downtown area, we would have to rethink our entire local economic future. Don’t think it could happen? Think again. SouthBridge II is gone along with $300 million in economic benefit to Scottsdale. We must work together, residents and developers, to revitalize in a way that benefits all of us and brings new hope and prosperity to our entire community not just for today but for future generations.

4. What is a misconception the public has about development in Scottsdale?

There are two big misconceptions.

The first is that some developers believe people in the south part of our community won’t complain loudly if they build endless stick and stucco buildings for commercial or residential uses. The opposite is true! South Scottsdale residents have exceptionally high standards for design excellence. A walk through the neighborhoods in the south reveal an amazing amount of revitalization going on. Local residents in our older neighborhoods are bringing resources and high design standards to revitalization projects. Architects and builders are going to have to “up their game” on design, building materials and landscape.

The second is a misconception among residents is that “developers” are the enemy. Most of us live in houses and neighborhoods that were built by developers. General contractors and homebuilders live in our neighborhoods, send their kids to our schools, provide jobs and make significant contributions to our local economy. In my campaign, when I say we need to listen to all voices, I mean all voices. We have learned through the development process at Papago Plaza that young homeowners are really smart and know how to engage with developers to improve outcomes for surrounding property owners. That is a really good sign for the future of our city.