Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.
As the stadium and arena were announced back in the early 2000’s, residents who live in the adjacent areas were very concerned and many were upset. The farm fields that they had gazed upon from their windows was about to disappear. Many were saddened and angry that their way of life was about to change…forever.
Over the years we (including myself) have adjusted to the dramatic changes that have occurred in the Westgate and Zanjero areas. Humans are highly adaptable. Consequently, we now take alternate routes on football game days and when there are major events in the area. We cope with the tremendous traffic increases we experience on every major arterial in this area. Those residents who couldn’t adapt moved elsewhere but most of us stayed. Many of us now shop at the Tanger Outlets or enjoy a movie at the AMC Theater or go for lunch or dinner at the abundance of restaurants in the area. We enjoy and use the variety of entertainment while living on the periphery of it all.
Change is coming to another part of Glendale and the nearby county residents are unhappy about it. Several years ago city council made a policy decision to reserve the land beyond 115th Avenue to our westernmost boundary, especially around the Loop 303, for job creation. We call it the “New Frontier.” It has succeeded far beyond our expectations. For example, every parcel within the Glendale Airpark is in escrow, sold, in plan review or under construction. By the Loop 303 industrial and commercial development took off with the announcement of Red Bull, Rausch and Ball choosing the Woolf Logistics Center as their location of choice. It was followed quickly by White Claw who expects to be open for business by June of this year. There are 15 projects worth over $600 million dollars in various development stages that will offer over 1,500 good paying jobs to our residents.
Now Cotton Properties is about to develop on the west side of the Loop 303 from Bethany Home Road to Glendale Avenue. Located at the intersection of the Loop 303 and Bethany Home Road is a proposed Love’s Travel Center. The rest of the Cotton Properties parcel will have several industrial/commercial buildings on it and they will act as a visual/noise buffer between the Love’s and the county residents to the west. There is a concentrated swath of county residents who have expressed their opposition to any kind of development of Cotton Properties. It really doesn’t matter what is developed there. The residents are opposed to change of any kind. The farm fields that they had enjoyed for years is about to disappear.
They have decided to concentrate their opposition on the Love’s Travel Center and I and other Glendale personnel have received a lot of email in opposition to the proposed project. That is their right and I encourage their commentary. However, one would think Love’s was a creation of the Devil himself. There was one email that stood out from the pack and it was from a family of truck drivers who live in the county where the opposition is the strongest. I asked them for permission to use it and they graciously granted it. Here’s the “other side of the story:”
To Whom It May Concern:
First of all I would like to introduce myself to you. My husband and I, Joe and Kathy Papineau are both long haul truck drivers. We bought a beautiful home in the Russell Ranch subdivision. We have been in the trucking industry for over 20 years. We would welcome a Loves Truck Stop with open arms. In this letter I wish to offer an accurate rebuttal to all of the surrounding areas’ concerns and arguments on why they think a Loves Truck Stop is going to ruin their quality of life.
First of all, with all the warehouses and businesses going up in the area providing safe and designated parking for truckers’ transportation needs is a great idea. If there isn’t sufficient parking provided, they will be parking on the side of the roads. Due to Elogs (Federal regulations), they are not permitted to drive after loading and unloading. Even law enforcement may not ask them to move. Truck drivers must obey the federal laws. They will have no other choice but to leave debris and human waste on the side of our roads. That would be a disgrace to put truckers in that position. My neighbors will argue there are enough truck stops off of I-10. However, on the contrary, there is not enough parking. Throughout this country, there is a shortage of safe parking for truckers.
Secondly, my neighbors will argue about the crime a truck stop will bring. That is false. Now back in the 70’s and 80’s that may have been true. Nowadays all trucks have armed security. As a woman truck driver, I have never felt unsafe at a truck stop. It does not bring drugs, prostitution, human trafficking, or serial killers. This is fear mongering at its worst and is dangerous. Truck drivers deserve more respect. Everything that we all have or consume is delivered by a truck. Our food, lumber to build our homes, furniture and decor that we all love to use, eat or display is delivered by long haul truckers. The lack of knowledge about the trucking industry is not their fault. They have been misinformed by fear mongering. Statistically, 40% of all truckers are now women. Truckers are hard working and they deserve a safe place to park, sleep, shower, and eat. We owe it to them for all that they do in providing goods throughout this country.
Also, my neighbors will use the argument of increased air and noise pollution. Today, most trucks have DPF systems to ensure that truck pollution is minimal. I find it to be very hypocritical, that my neighbors love Luke Air Force Base yet will not accommodate the trucking industry. The jets continually release fumes and jet fuel over our heads. The noise from jets breaking sound barriers is more harmful than a 100 trucks.
My neighbors argue about the traffic of the big trucks being solely caused because of the truck stop alone. With all of the warehouses and distribution centers, we already have more traffic than ever before. It has not caused any grief to residents except for making them go the actual speed limit. The truckers will not be detouring through neighborhoods or by the schools. Truckers are smarter than that. They like and appreciate the quick on and off access to highways.
We have a state prison right down the street. Residents seem to be more comfortable with incarcerated prisoners than truck drivers. The prison had two escapees a few months ago. Neighbors didn’t seem to mind a few escaped prisoners and appeared to think of it as of no concern.
So, on behalf of our family and for all of my brothers and sisters in the trucking industry, please approve this Love’s truck stop. We appreciate a clean and safe place to lay over as I am sure you also appreciate the delivery of food and consumer products we haul and you use.
Thank you very much for your time,
Joe and Kathy Papineau
18028 W. Medlock Dr.
Litchfield Park AZ 85340
© Joyce Clark, 2020
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Joyce, the Papineau’s rebuttal is very well written, I believe it is accurate and I hope you and the rest of council approve Love’s Truck Stop.
I have never been a truck driver but I have stopped at truck stops in Arizona and New Mexico in recent years and found them to be everything Mrs. Papineau said they were- clean, neat, well lit at night, devoid of criminals or unsavory characters and the food is always good!
I must admit I was surprised to find the restrooms with adjoining showers as clean as the restrooms in any high dollar restaurant!
And where do you live Mark? I bet you are not close to the proposed truck stop!
Hi Cheryl, I believe that anyone can comment on my blog as you have done. I have made no requirement, nor would I, that you have to be directly affected to comment. Please do not attack others but rather present your factual arguments regarding the issue. Thank you, Joyce
Cheryl, you are right- I don’t live close to the proposed truck stop. And because of that I was unaware of the proximity of it to the residences in the area.
It would be more productive if you would, as others have done, explain what problems you anticipate if this truck stop is built. That’s the only way people who don’t live there can learn about your concerns.
I do however live very close to the new casino at Northern/L101. I was vehemently opposed to this for a variety of reasons such as increased traffic, a drain on city resources like police/fire protection, and wear and tear on the roadways.
So far I haven’t noticed an impact on any of those much to my surprise.
I live on the West side of Cotton Lane across from the future development. Loop 303 is not a transcontinental highway, it is a connector between I-10 and I-17. A truck stop is not suitable for such a location. Plus every truck stop I have been to is noisy, dusty, full of glaring lighting at night, and always has a certain rough clientele/traveler. Also the truckers will not just stay on the freeway, the will use Cotton Lane, Bethany Home, and Glendale Ave to bypass traffic, these are just two-lane roads with stop signs at intersections, that are also used by horseback riders, bicyclists, farm equipment, and joggers. These don’t mix with 18-wheelers.
Thank you for publishing the letter. Fear of the unfamiliar, particularly when fueled by rumor and generalizations, does not promote good decision making. Hearing from those who are actually familiar, based on experience and not just Google searches, with an issue is critically important. Good decisions are more likely to be made when information from many, and information based on fact and not merely fear, are considered.
Nothing about us without us. I assume COG powers that be are unfamiliar with this saying. From where I sit, the problem is exclusion. Exclusion of the people who will be affected by proposed changes. Of course people are going to react. Change is inevitable. It is very painful for some. Others may not even give it a second thought. I think we can all agree on this, nobody likes changes forced upon them, especially when it has to do with their home, their family, their money or their lifestyle. Matters affecting any of these things is going to produce resistance to change. Excluding the public from public processes only increase resistance to change. The current situation is a perfect example. The Love’s Travel Stop faces fierce opposition by the residents who may see it as a forced change that will cause problems with their homes, families, money and way of life. I believe their concerns are valid. I also believe that had the residents been included in the planning, there would not be fierce opposition. The opposition could have been minimized. The concerns could have been addressed prior to the decisions. Who knows, maybe an alternative location or business could have been determined. Instead, we have a power struggle, an us against them. This rarely yields a good outcome. City personnel, elected and appointed may forget that they work for us, the people. We did not elect officials to think for us or make decisions for us. We elected officials to speak on our behalf, represent us. In order to do this, our opinions must be known. It is the responsibility of the public to make our positions known to our representatives. It is the responsibility of the officials to hear us and make decisions based on what we have communicated. If neither party is aware of changes to come or public opinion, we will constantly find ourselves in situations like these.
Back to my original statement. Nothing about us without us. Keeping these words in mind may prevent future situations like the current one. Just an opinion.
Hello Vic, Thank you for commenting in a reasonable, rational and respectful manner. I don’t disagree with much of your commentary. There are just a couple of items I would bring to your attention. Yes, we are elected to represent our constituency and I work hard to do so. Unfortunately, the opposition are not my constituents as they are in the county. Should I ignore them? No, of course not. I have tried to reply to all and even compiled an email list so that I could do so. I have kept them notified regarding when this item will come before the Glendale Planning Commission.
Here’s one difference between living in the county and living in Glendale. Glendale mandates that the applicant MUST host a public meeting and send notifications out to the residents. The county has no such mandate. The applicant chose to be annexed and to develop within Glendale. Yet I think I am confident in saying had the applicant stayed within the county, the county would have approved the Love’s.
I understand how concerned the county residents are. I made it a special point to drive out to their area the other day. I sat parked adjacent to the closest home to the proposed Love’s. I envisioned industrial buildings along Cotton Lane. While I understand their concerns, I am not convinced that I can support them. Thank you again for your thoughtful comments. Joyce
Thanks Joyce, it’s all clear as mud now, lol. If you wouldn’t mind, dumb it down a little for me, please? The people and property are or were under the county in the beginning? The applicant is??? The annexation allowed the applicant to do business with COG rather than MC. Does this mean the people/property are now under the COG or just the applicant’s property? Or are they the same? So confused. Are the residents city residents or county residents? Or are they Orphan residents? Thanks.
Hi Vic, I’ll try my best. A little history first. Back in the 1970s municipalities engaged in what is now known as the Annexation Wars. There was a final, one time opportunity for municipalities to establish annexation boundaries. That meant each city could carve out whatever county land they would be able to bring into their communities immediately or some time in the future. As you can imagine, there was a great deal of discussion/negotiation/”warfare” between cities. As a result Glendale established its boundaries generally (not exact, the boundaries jog in an out) from Northern Avenue to Camelback Road and to Sarival Road to the west. This did not mean that all of that land had to be annexed immediately. Another good example is Buckeye. It’s municipal boundaries go all the way out to Tonopah. Someday when Buckeye has annexed all that it is capable of doing, it will be larger geographically than Phoenix.
Next point, municipalities cannot just annex. The next step in the process is that property owners must petition the municipality for annexation. This requires 50% plus one of the property owners. The annexations that are occurring in Glendale now are the result of the large property owners (of vacant land ready for development) requesting to do so. Since Glendale city council’s goal is to create more jobs, city council has been approving these requests.
What about all of the residential property owners out your way? Well, 50% plus one of the collective homeowners would have to request that action of the city. As we both know, that is not going to happen. Anyone in the county, whether it’s a homeowner or commercial property owner, receives all services and makes all requests for action to the county. Do you want a variance to build something new on your property? You go through the county process. You get police protection from the Maricopa County Sheriffs. You get fire protection from Rural Metro. You are not subject to Glendale’s ordinances nor do you get public safety services from Glendale even though you are within Glendale’s annexation boundaries. You would not receive Glendale’s services until you and your neighbors petitioned Glendale to be annexed and were approved by council for annexation.
The owners of Cotton Properties, Lincoln Property, Woolf Logistics and others, have or had petitioned to be annexed into Glendale. Some are already approved, others are in the process. So even if you are on the west side of Cotton Lane you are not part of Cotton Properties annexation and never would be. You all would collectively have to petition for annexation to come into the city. You are all county residents and will remain so. Cotton Properties, immediately east of you, once annexation is completed, will be in the City of Glendale.
I hope this didn’t confuse you further. If you have any more questions, just shoot them my way.
Thank you, Joyce
Good morning. I previously posted a comment about moving the Loves to the East side of the 303. Is there a reason Glendale chose the west side of the 303? There are NO homes on the east side of 303. Also i viewed your recent picture. If you took the picture facing west, everyone would see just how close “1600” ft to the nearest house really is. Thank you.
Hello Ann, Thank you for the your question about moving the Love’s to the east side of the Loop 303. Apparently Love’s chose the west side. It’s not up to the city to determine where businesses go. The property owner has the right to propose development of the property. It is also a possibility that a deal between the east side property owner and Love’s could not be made.
I would like to thank you for offering the letter in full form on this forum. I agree it is a very well written letter too. I will dis-agree with a couple points that Mr. and Mrs. Papineau have pointed out. My family lives in the Clearwater Farms area and we have a few people that are professional drivers in our area, one in particular likes to park his 53ft semi trailers on the side of Glendale Rd. This too is a two lane road, we have been in contact with ADOT about this because it takes away a safe area for horseback riders to ride down on Glendale. This neighbor seems to believe that this area is a parking spot for (2) 53ft trailers. Now this is not the concern of the council but it is a concern for our neighborhood. Horses and vehicles do not mix but large vehicles in particular can have deadly consequences.
As for the prisoner escapes. I have lived in this area for over 4 years and have not heard of any escapes. I even tried to find something online concerning any escapes from there and only found an article from 2011. Now the residents of this area were of full awareness of the Prison and Luke Air Force base prior to moving in but this is a different situation as this is being built through the annexation of the land from a city that is 10 miles away. Not Surprise Not Goodyear Not Litchfield park Not El Mirage Not Buckeye but Glendale.
Some concerns that have been discussed because of the heart of the City of Glendale being so far away are Fire, Police and just local management of the area. How is the City of Glendale going to address these issues? Most of us are Rural Metro and there is only 1 or 2 stations for our entire area. With as much fuel what is the backup plan for this if anything goes wrong? Also there is crime with any gas station not only truck stops, who will be handling any police situations?
One last point I would like to state – I am not opposed to having a regular gas station I am opposed to an overnight stay type. I am not opposed to having businesses come in, in fact I would like to have an ACE Hardware if possible. The point I am trying to state is that we are not opposed to businesses being put there but the type of businesses.
Thank you,
Courtney Mallon
Hello Courtney, Thank you for your commentary. I will only address the issue of public safety. You are served by Rural Metro for fire and the Sheriff’s department because you are a county resident. As the Loop 303 corridor becomes developed, Glendale will at some point, provide fire and police to service these new properties within the city. After the proposed project is completed it will come under the jurisdiction of Glendale’s public safety resources who will be required to respond.
In fact, at our last budget workshop a western fire station and a western police station were added to our Capital Improvement Plan. The dates for the construction of these facilities is yet to be determined but I expect they are at least 5 years away. Every municipality has agreed to a fire mutual aid agreement and I believe the county participates as well. When we have public safety facilities in that area they will be subject to the mutual aid agreement and will respond as required by the agreement. Thank you again for your comments, Joyce
Council person Joyce Clark. I will be sending you a personal letter as a rejoinder to your “cosmopolitan” outlook on fun and games at Westgate vs the concrete monoliths and diesel exhaust “entertainment, dining and shopping at the Cotton Properties. I’ll also retort to the truck drivers’ absolution of their profession and truck stops. I plan to publicize my response so if you ignore it, others won’t.
Hello Alan, I look forward to receiving your letter. Thank you, Joyce
How can you possibly take one letter from one person that has a long history of having ongoing battles with her neighbors over her trucks as meaning the truck stop is a good thing!!! Seriously!! The Ospineaus are well known in the community for their long term contentious relation with the neighbors. They live in a gated community approximately 1.5 miles from the proposed truck stop. Of course they could care less!! They want to e able to park their big rigs and to hell with the neighbors!
I he da be read your blog and I still ask you, if you lived in one of the homes on cotton lane would you r thrilled with a filthy, noisy truck stop that close to your home? I doubt it!!
You state we don’t want to lose our fields well who would BUT e are realistic and know change is coming. We aren’t fighting the commercial buildings we are fighting the truck stop. Two different things!!
You say one letter stood out from the crowd because it was one of very few that wasn’t in opposition to you. How stupid to you think we are out here, you don’t care about us or anyone else, Glendale is greedy and only sees dollar signs. Those dollar signs for Glendale spell death to our way of life, or property values and our peace of mind. You cannot with any conscience disregard the many news articles to support our concerns. I am happy to share rose articles and news reports from reputable news sources such as ABC news and a central, channel 3 and a documentary Amazon. We aren’t just talking we have the statistics to back us up.
You were put in office to listen to the majority of the people, to care for peoples way of life, to do no harm!! What you are doing will do harm and will have lasting effects to our future and those of our children.
You say the buildings will bring jobs, even 1500 jobs IF that was a true number couldn’t counteract or balance out the detrimental effect this truck stop will have on the people who live and work here.
I too live on the west side of Cotton and Bethany Home and am one of the county residents that 100% opposes the Loves Truck Stop, especially since it is so very very close to my neighborhood that I am very proud to be apart of. However, your statement “There is a concentrated swath of county residents who have expressed their opposition to any kind of development of Cotton Properties. It really doesn’t matter what is developed there. The residents are opposed to change of any kind.” is absolutely false. I cannot speak for everyone BUT I can speak for myself, my family and many neighbors that we are not opposed to change of any kind…in fact, my very first email to you directly from back in January stated, and I quote, “I fully understand Glendale’s need to utilize that piece of land and build up revenue and I fully respect that, but please consider putting another type of profit generating company on there instead.”
This has nothing to do with being opposed to change, we all knew that it would come BUT a truck stop is not in the best interest of our community. I cannot think of a single actual fact that is positive about having a truck stop this close to my home, family and grandchildren.
And as for the family that supports this with the above letter, I appreciate you voicing your opinion and I respect it BUT you live 2.5 miles away from the proposed location, not feet like we do. In fact, you wouldn’t even need to utilize Bethany Home nor Glendale at the 303 since you are much closer to Camelback so please respect our voices about this as well since it is us that it is affecting directly.
Jami, I respect your point of view and I welcome the fact that I was wrong and you and your neighbors will accept change. Thank you, Joyce
We will accept change, we just ask that this change be safe for our community and a truck stop simply is not.
Thank you, Jami
Kathy, thank You for pointing out that truckers are people and should be respected. As you stated they are hard-working and “deserve a safe place to park, sleep, shower, and eat .“
If I were to put a definition of residential,I would say a residence is where someone stays to sleep, shower, and eat… The area in question was specifically designated as non-residential because of the concern for individuals being in the direct flight path of a major military airbase. Incidents have and will happen. It appears that this course will be intentionally putting a high number of individuals residing unknowingly in harms way. The county supported keeping populations low in this area for good reason but it appears the city of Glendale puts a higher priority on $ than the safety of the public. Change is expected to come and it is welcome if it makes sense and above all has safety of the public in mind.
City of Glendale employees: Would you want a truck stop across the street from you? There are many homes close to the proposed site. Why not compromise and put the truck stop on the EAST side of the 303?? There are NO homes over there? Seems like a logical compromise to me.
In 1990, my family moved from Maryvale to a 1/2 acre parcel near 75th Ave & Orangewood. To the south, there were acres and acres of farmland. Despite that, I never felt like we lived in the country, as we had shopping and amenities nearby. The residents that were affected by the development of Westgate and Zanjero were never more than a few miles from a grocery store. The State Farm Stadium is only 6 miles from downtown Glendale. The intersection of Glendale Ave & Cotton Ln is 16 miles from downtown Glendale. I moved to Waddell 15 years ago to get away from the city. I have to go into town for groceries, and that’s the way I like it. You cannot compare the building that occurred in those areas of Glendale to the development that you are proposing right across the street from Waddell.
The residents of Glendale received the perks of substantial entertainment venues & increased property values to counteract the negatives that went along with it. You want to give Waddell & Litchfield Park nothing but a truck stop and 30-40ft tall, dull, concrete monstrosities. You can not compare these two completely different situations!
You stated that the county residents are opposed to any changes. While many would prefer that the land remains agricultural, we also recognize that this may not be possible and are willing to consider other potential uses. Even a standard gas station would be preferable.
Lastly, you appear to have placed great importance on the letter written by Joe & Kathy Papineau. They are entitled to their opinions; however, there are multitudes of truckers that contradict the Papineau’s. Please read or at least glance through the following webpage. There are, at minimum, 30 negative posts about truck stops by truckers. Most comments are from 2017 and are recent enough to be relevant. The last comment was in 2019 and comes from a former member of law enforcement. His experiences differ significantly and, in my opinion, hold more weight. https://www.thetruckersreport.com/town-protesting-proposed-truck-stop-think-truckers/
Please reconsider the Love’s Truck Stop and industrial buildings and seek more input from the people of Waddell & Litchfield Park, as we are the ones who will be left to deal with the fallout from Glendale’s decisions.
Fantastic response Robin H. I hope it did not fall on blind eyes and deaf ears.