On a summer day last year, the Central City Village Planning Committee convened its regular monthly meeting to confer over zoning adjustments and requests for rezoning in downtown Phoenix.

The city’s 15 planning committees provide neighborhood input on zoning proposals. Each is composed of volunteer members who live or work in their respective village.

At the July 2022 meeting of the Central City committee, a member recused himself from the discussion about a zoning issue, only to introduce himself as the attorney representing the developer moments later.

The scene reflected the ethical dilemmas that can arise in Phoenix’s village planning committees.

The Howard Center for Investigative Journalism examined the occupations of village planning committee members for the entire city and found that many have ties to real estate, development and related professions.

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By Jordan Gerard, TJ L’Heureux, Emma Peterson and Anisa Shabir – Howard Center for Investigative Journalism