Guiding Principles

• Work with regional economic development organizations, educational institutions, and other partners to ensure prioritization of and improve on the five pillars of economic development: workforce and talent, quality of place, infrastructure, economic and business climate, and regional government and institutions.

• Create an economic environment where entrepreneurs, small businesses, and large industries alike can thrive in order to have a range of wages and jobs that attract and retain talent across all sectors.

• Focus economic development efforts and storytelling around anchor industries — mining, aerospace/defense, and biosciences/healthcare — as well as look at how the Chamber can be involved in the growing focus on advanced manufacturing technologies, supporting an environment for manufacturing in Southern Arizona while balancing the need for emerging, green-focused initiatives to ensure sustainability.

• Strengthen Tucson’s reputation as a top destination by cultivating a thriving tourism industry. This involves backing local restaurants, hotels, and entertainment venues while promoting cultural, culinary, and recreational tourism in collaboration with Visit Tucson and other tourism partners.

• Where appropriate, encourage public-private partnerships to expand economic development and growth in our community.

• Support investment in capacity expansions for service infrastructure to overcome a disadvantage and increase our competitiveness compared to other cities: energy, communications, water, sewer, transportation, etc.

• Advocate for proactive recognition and inclusion of locally owned businesses and landowners in early discussions of government practices or laws that will impact business operations and profitability.

• Advocate for safeguarding the operations of local military installations in policy development.

Areas of Influence

• Monitor and respond to legislative and regulatory changes, including Pima County’s adoption of the latest Food and Drug Administration Food Code, ensuring countywide compliance without imposing undue burdens on Tucson’s restaurant industry or other sectors.

• Work with fellow stakeholders to ensure broader access to large-scale capital in the region for investing in startups and technology.

• Monitor, assess, and report on key performance indicators of the city and county economic development teams including but not limited to new business permits issued, new businesses created, workforce participation, key wage measures, and new hires created within the anchor industries.

• Expand relationships with the U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce, Sonoran Corridor affiliates, and the manufacturing community to capitalize on the increase of trade flows and economic growth.

• Coordinate with public and private stakeholders to ensure shovel-ready land for industrial development and manufacturing, and partner with economic development groups as applicable to promote to site selectors the opportunities available in the region.

• Continue to advocate for the city and county to process development service permits in a timely manner, ensuring that delays do not hinder economic growth or deter potential investors from pursuing opportunities in the region.

• Collaborate with educational institutions, vocational training centers, and industry partners to develop and expand workforce development programs. These programs should focus on upskilling workers to meet the demands of emerging industries, particularly in technology, the green economy, and advanced manufacturing. Ensuring a well-prepared workforce is crucial for maintaining economic competitiveness.

• Collaborate with public and nonprofit organizations focused on increasing affordable housing.

• Influence and support incentives and zoning that increase the supply of income-aligned housing across the spectrum of affordability.

• Promote and educate decision-makers on the public services supported by primary and secondary property taxes and transaction privilege taxes generated through increased economic development.

• Oppose regulations that obligate private landowners and current and

Guiding Principles

• Advocate for efficient and effective land use.

• Expedite entitlement processes and approvals of development services applications.

• Actively promote the inclusion of provisions that advance our competitive advantage.

• Promote reliable regional infrastructure, coordinated and expanded across local jurisdictions, as an essential government function that is necessary to preserving and improving economic growth and quality of life.

• Support infrastructure financing focused on the use of broad-base funding sources as well as long-term funding solutions, with local businesses paying only their equitable and proportionate share.

• Promote measures that provide practical and meaningful incentives for business investment in infrastructure and land use.

• Expect jurisdictional plans, transportation improvements and infrastructure, and budgets to acknowledge the importance of future growth and allocate investments, particularly on vacant state lands, to sites that are the most likely locations for primary-jobs employers.

• Support infrastructure investment uses of the speculative builder tax; the construction sales tax; and the maintenance, repair, replacement, or alteration tax.

• Support initiatives and efforts that work to solve the digital divide and the digital inequities that exist throughout our region.
  Oppose government-controlled or -funded initiatives that compete with the private sector, including broadband networks.

Areas of Influence

• Advocate for changes in parking codes to ease the permitting burden on businesses.

• Monitor the city of Tucson’s Community Corridors Tool as innovative zoning to spur smart growth, density, and transportation and provide support, given that it benefits and supports business growth.

• Monitor, review, and analyze initial construction and ongoing operation and maintenance cost and benefit impacts to business, as resolutions, regulations, and ordinances arise in transportation, energy, water, and communications.

• Quantify and educate elected unlimited mobile data  government staff on the contributions of private, for-profit businesses to government public service delivery.

• Advocate for the alignment of land development standards applied to both state and private land.

• Monitor new license agreements with broadband providers to ensure a level playing field for all providers, including but not limited to waived right-of-way access fees, expedited permitting timelines, waived or decreased permitting fees, special construction standards, and other special treatment.

• Ensure that the RTA (Regional Transportation Authority) Next initiative benefits urban, suburban, and rural land use for business, including where current populations reside and where growth is planned over the next 20 years. Given that, strongly support and lead on RTA reauthorization.

• Advocate for a sustainable SunTran funding solution that closes the budget shortfall for Tucson’s fiscal year 2026, keeping it as affordable and as safe as possible while maintaining and expanding service as needed.

• Advocate for revisions to the city of Tucson’s electric vehicle ordinance to ensure greater use of charging stations via expansion of public-private partnerships, strategic incentives, and focused optimization of locations.

• Ensure the impacts of fee and rate increases, such as those for transportation, parks, and public safety impact fees as well as development fees assessed for Planning and Development Services, Park Tucson, etc., do not disproportionately or inappropriately impact businesses.

• Advocate for fiscal impact analysis of regulations.

• Support incorporation efforts to encourage regional allocations of state-shared revenue and inclusion of under-represented communities in regional planning discussions and decisions.

• Monitor updates to the Utility Construction Manual and other manuals administratively drafted and adopted that interpret local ordinances.

• Encourage and support coordination among local governments in the region as they pursue grant funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

• Work with local state legislators to prevent sweeps of the Highway User Revenue Fund to balance the state budget.

• Advocate for zoning that protects Tucson International Airport, and the area around it, as an economic driver.

• Engage with Pima County Regional Flood Control District on the NOAA Atlas 14 Precipitation Modelling and advocate to reduce negative impacts to existing businesses and employers as well as future land uses.

Guiding Principles

• Encourage the continuing need for diverse energy sources in economic development and municipal/regional planning.

• Oppose new Scenic and Gateway Corridor designations that affect overhead utilities within the urban environment and expand the designation of Scenic and Gateway Routes within designated growth areas for future business and employers.

• Support regional coordination and collaboration among jurisdictions and water providers for improving efficient water use and water conservation.

• Advocate for the use of water across jurisdictional boundaries to support development activities that create jobs and improve the local economy.

• Ensure that water providers have sufficient volumes of water allocated to meet current and future economic development needs.

• Support efforts that augment infrastructure delivery and management systems needed for community development and growth: supply, treatment, conveyance, generation, storage, maintenance, and upgrades.

Areas of Influence

• Ensure the impacts of fee and rate increases, such as for Planning and Development Services, commercial water rates, Park Tucson, etc., do not disproportionately or inappropriately impact businesses.

• Monitor intergovernmental agreements between the city of Tucson and Pima County to ensure responsible outsourcing of services and regular evaluations for continued efficacy.

• Remain active and engaged on power and energy infrastructure issues, such as the Midtown Reliability Project and other such initiatives, to ensure both public and private benefit.

• Promote a positive message about the Tucson region’s success in managing water resources and its sufficient water supply to meet future needs.

• Continue support for the Tucson Regional Water Coalition and Pima County representatives on the Central Arizona Water Conservation District (CAWCD) Board

• Support statewide efforts to ensure that future water re-allocations provide for current and future business needs.

• Support Arizona’s and CAWCD’s efforts in the 2026 Colorado River re-consultation to ensure fair and equitable distribution of Colorado River water reductions among the seven Basin states.