UPDATE (Nov 7):  Unofficially, all three items on the Gilbert ballot passed by large margins.

There is a vote happening in Gilbert today. No Mayor, no City Council elections, so I suspect voter turnout will be dismal.

There are some important Propositions and a bond on the ballot. Great detail can be found here.

Briefly, here is what is on the ballot:

Prop 400: Authorizes a Development Agreement with Vestar Arizona XL, L.L.C. for Greer Towne Center at the southwest corner of Riggs and Higley Roads.

Prop 401: amends the Zoning Map by changing the zoning of 170 acres located southeast and southwest of Germann and Greenfield Roads to Town of Gilbert Single Family-15 (SF-15), Single Family-6 (SF-6), Shopping Center (SC) and Community Commercial (CC) zoning districts.

Gilbert Street Bond Question: Authorizes the Town of Gilbert to incur indebtedness by the issuance of bonds of the Town in the principal amount of $174,000,000 for the purpose of providing funds to improve, construct, re-construct, maintain and provide appurtenances for streets, highways and bridges within the Town.

I wouldn’t begin to tell you how to vote. But I will tell you that if you don’t vote, you lose your ability to whine. Both Propositions impact Gilbert real estate development, a subject that should concern any of the citizens of our rapidly growing town. As for the street bonds, you only have to drive what, a quarter of a mile in any direction, to see the need for road and traffic infrastructure improvements. That said, any Gilbert resident should realize this about the $174M bond vote:

The issuance of these bonds will result in an annual levy of property taxes sufficient to pay the debt on the bonds, unless the governing body provides for payment from other sources.

Polling places are open from 6:00am to 7:00pm. Proper ID is required. Additional election information can be found here.

[tags]Town of Gilbert, elections[/tags]