Dateland at a crossroads

While the rest of Yuma County is experiencing growth, the most easterly part of the county is actually losing residents.

That's the most noteworthy change in recent years to the Dateland area, said Andrew Fangman, Yuma County long-range planner. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the area experienced a 20 percent population decline between 1990 and 2000.

"The critical issue facing the Dateland/East County Planning Area is economic development," a background study concluded. "Diversifying the economic base of the area is key to reversing the population decline that the area is experiencing."

That and other issues facing the area will be discussed during a public meeting from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Dateland Elementary School, 1300 S. Avenue 64E. The meeting is a kickoff to a process that will result in the update of the 2010 Yuma County Comprehensive Plan for the Dateland/East County Planning Area.

All area residents are encouraged to attend and offer their ideas, vision and concerns. Area residents also are being sought to serve on a citizens advisory committee to meet with Yuma County planning officials and help develop recommendations for the area's future.

One potential issue that could impact the area is nearby Yuma Proving Ground's exploring a possible expansion of its firing ranges toward the east on federal land now controlled by the Bureau of Land Management.

The consideration is in the very preliminary stages and no decision or plans have been made yet, said Chuck Wullenjohn, spokesman for YPG. However, he said, to continue YPG's mission of testing military weapons systems and munitions, there is a need for longer firing ranges because today's munitions fire much farther.

For a while there was a flurry of land transactions as well as major amendment and zoning actions in the Dateland area, Fangman said. "But nothing has translated to shovels in the ground."

A major challenge for economic development, he said, is the lack of infrastructure, as well as minimal emergency services and "water is always an issue."

Currently, more than 60 percent of area residents work in the agricultural sector, many of them living in older manufactured housing or in dormitories, indicating they may be a transient population.

Plans for a hog farm near Dateland have collapsed, Fangman said, but two other projects hold promise for new jobs. One is the oil refinery planned by Arizona Clean Fuels about 15 miles to the west. Also, AgriNext Inc. is proposing to build an ethanol distillery plant near the refinery.

A background study on the planning area can be found on the Internet at www.co.yuma.az.us/dds, then click on the background studies link. That leads to the Dateland study as well as the studies for Dome Valley/Wellton, Foothills and Martinez Lake.

For more information about the study, the meeting or serving on the citizens advisory committee, call Fernando Villegas, long-range planner, at 817-5181.


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Joyce Lobeck can be reached at
jlobeck@yumasun.com or 539-6853.