ANC pulls Mission Peaks project—for now

The developers of the proposed Mission Peaks project west of town have withdrawn their application for a Pima County plan amendment, meaning the project cannot move forward until late next year at the earliest.

Because no action was taken by the county, the proposal can be resubmitted to Pima County and, if submitted by April 30, 2008, may be considered for a Comprehensive Plan Amendment by the end of 2008.

The developers, American Nevada Co., who withdrew a similar application to the town of Sahuarita in late 2006, also may resubmit their proposal to the town, rather than the county.

The notice of withdrawal was sent to Pima County planning staff by e-mail around 4:40 p.m., Nov. 27, the day before the proposal was scheduled for a hearing before the county Planning and Zoning Commission.

The commission makes recommendations and the proposal was scheduled to be heard on Dec. 11 by the Pima County Board of Supervisors for a decision.

ANC plans to resubmit its application to the county in 2008, Mike Grassinger of The Planning Center in Tucson told county planners in the Nov. 27 e-mail message.

End-of-year hearing

By state law, all Comprehensive Plan Amendment proposals must be heard together by the County Board before the end of the calendar year, so board members can examine the big picture and interaction among proposals.

Sahuarita Vice Mayor Phil Conklin said in a message to residents, “My personal opinion is that this development will, no doubt, eventually take place, whether with the county or the town, and it will not make a huge difference which ever way they decide.

“The new homeowners will shop in our commercial areas and thus add to our tax base either way. If in the county, we would have less control but also less expense for services for their roads and police protection.

“There are three or four big issues involved and they include protecting our aquifer, adequate roads, density of population and protecting our environment a la the Sonoran (Desert) Conservation Plan,” Conklin said.

“In general, I support the notion that developed urban areas belong in towns or cities and not in unincorporated areas of a county. That said, time will tell what enfolds! This is not the end of it.”

The project was to encompass 4,848 acres of rolling scrubby desert between two mining areas straddling Mission and Twin Buttes roads.

Share of Sahuarita Water

The area has no economically available local water, and most neighbors haul in their drinking water from a bulk dispenser near La Canada Drive.

ANC in early November announced it had purchased a 33 percent share of Sahuarita Water Co., which serves Rancho Sahuarita and has applied to the Arizona Corporation Commission to expand its service area to include Mission Peaks.

John Leonetti, who lives in Quiet Desert Ranches near the Mission Peaks site, appeared at the hearing Wednesday to voice his opposition.

Leonetti, like some other neighbors, opposes the density, traffic and noise he expects the project would bring, saying it would be out of character with the rural nature of the surrounding area, which includes McGee Ranch and Curley Horn Ranch.

In addition, Michael K. Bends, planning administrator for the Tohono O’odham Nation, filed an objection, saying the project will increase traffic on Mission Road and should be required to commit to improvements there.

The nation also raised questions about security, noise, traffic and disturbance of items of cultural value, such as Indian burial grounds.

Nation’s rural values

Bends said that while outsiders familiar with casinos may assume the nation is focused on economic development, in fact the nation’s mission statement focuses more on rural values, including maintaining clean air and reducing trespassing.

Neighbor Drena Garrison, who has sold land to ANC, said she hopes to see the project move forward because it will bring shopping and other services to the area, and because the developers would have to pay for infrastructure that otherwise would not be built except at taxpayer expense.

Garrison said another advantage of the Mission Peaks proposal is that it includes townhomes and patio homes as part of its high-density core, which would allow some older residents to remain in the area when they no longer have the physical adaptability to live in detached single-family homes.

Garrison pointed out that Mission Peaks is likely to go forward in part because it is one of the largest privately owned parcels of land in the county and private land can be developed much faster than State Trust land.

County Planner Jim Veomett noted that the existence of so much State Trust land in Pima County, particularly around Sahuarita and Green Valley, leads to “leapfrogging,” because the State Land Department, seeking the highest return possible for its land, tends to delay development of its land until private land nearby is developed, thus increasing the value of the state land.

County planning staff had recommended approval of the project, but with numerous conditions.

The hearing had been set for the Oct. 31 before the Planning and Zoning Commission, but ANC received the county staff report, which included the conditions, only a week before, and so ANC postponed its appearance until Nov. 28.

The ANC appearance could not be postponed further because of state law requiring that all plan amendments go before the Board of Supervisors before the end of the year.

Veomett said that while each project is evaluated individually, county planners in general favor some projects large enough to require the developer to build infrastructure, while smaller developments may not have the economies of scale needed to pay for as much infrastructure.

pfranchine@sahuaritasun.com | 547-9738

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