Dirt to Development

The city planning department is more than just an episode of Parks and Recreation (but we sure would love to see Leslie Knope at the Planning Commission). As the Director of the fifth largest city in America, running the City of Phoenix Planning and Development Department is a daily sprint. Not far away, Scottsdale's planning director confronts the daily struggle of old time Scottsdale and new day...

Serving on municipal boards and commissions is a thankless job. Nobody pays you, it's inconvenient and almost every decision makes another person upset. So why do it? We've got some sage advice from two of our favorite community resident volunteers. Jimmy Lindblom and Jessica Sarkissian discuss the pros and cons of serving on zoning boards and commissions, share insights on what makes a good zonin...

Watching the Fiesta Bowl on TV in January 1974 changed Nate Nathan's life. Seeing the sunshine and tanned coeds in Arizona while he shivered in Chicago brought him west and he never looked back. More than 40 years later, nobody is more involved in land deals, transactions and developments across Arizona than the legend himself – Nate Nathan. Join us as we hear Nate's background story, why "no" is...

Tribal politics is so 2020, yet we've been dealing with politics and land use since the Xerox machine. Zoning is at the intersection of politics and land use, and as a result, predictability is thrown out the window and uncertainty remains supreme. Listen as we discuss how politics and land use work together (and against each other) as we talk about the infamous Trump Tower zoning case from 2004,...

How can a project be so successful that it spurs massive area redevelopment and investment and yet creates a huge neighborhood outcry at the same time? In this episode we dissect "The Yard at 7 th Street, '' a case study on land use entitlements that includes variances, use permits, abandonments, signage, zoning interpretations and more. You'll learn why its success is a model on how infill and ad...

Land use and zoning are at the forefront of Arizona's growth. How did it become so important and why is it a rallying cry for NIMBYs? Listen in as we chat with Jim Stockwell of Clyde Capital about the nuts and bolts of zoning and land use development in Arizona.  

We are your hosts Adam Baugh and Jason Morris, here to give you the inside scoop on some of the Valley's best developments and some wild stories on how they came to be. But first, we want to share our story so you can get to know a little bit more about who we are and how we got into this crazy world of zoning and land use development.

A sneak peek at what's ahead on Dirt to Development...