By Joey Chenoweth | Coolidge Examiner
There are times for some cities when everything falls into places, a perfect combination of events that cause a city to grow exponentially. But those are the rare cases. Far more common, a city must plan for growth and determine which areas are most likely to see an influx of people moving to the city.
It’s with this in mind that Rick Miller, Coolidge’s growth management director, hosted the fourth public meeting for the 2025 general plan on April 4, with this month’s session being on growth areas, the parts of the city that would most likely be the location of population increases in the near future. A more map- and number-heavy presentation than the ones for land use and open spaces, this meeting nonetheless gave a greater sense of what people could expect.
Miller presented maps that separate Coolidge into different areas at different stages of development, since it would make a lot more sense to expand into areas that are already supported when it comes to sewage and water, so as to minimize the cost and time it would take to build. Currently, there are 5.4 square miles that have been fully developed, giving Coolidge a population of 11,825 people. Miller said there are 10.5 square miles of land directly surrounding those areas that are the most practical areas for growth, since the service infrastructure is already in place, meaning the population could close to double if just that area were to develop.
Miller then separated the land into different stages of construction that took place as companies tried to take advantage of the housing boom that took place before the recession. He said there are 2,326 lots where all the infrastructure and pavement is in place, leaving only the construction of homes to take place. This would accommodate about 6,000 people.
