Madera developers see ‘sign to proceed’

Pima County gave tentative approval last week to plans for a subdivision near the entrance of Madera Canyon, a project that has incurred the ire of some residents who say it will spoil the area’s natural beauty.

The approval came in a memo from the county’s public works and development services to representatives of Cielo Madera Conservation Subdivision.

Friday, developer Mike Kettenbach said the approval was an important step in developing the land.

“We’re in the hunt,” he said.

“It’s a sign to proceed,” said Dale Faulkner, president of Faulkner Land Co., who’s working with Kettenbach to develop the property.

That news was possibly tempered by a request from the county’s flood control district to remove three non-approved culverts on a subdivision road, or to apply for a floodplain permit for the culverts.

But Kettenbach said the culverts have been there for several years and aren’t a recent installation. Kettenbach, of the Boston area, owns the property.

County senior planner Elva Pedrego wrote the developers that their resubmittal generally “satisfactorily responded to the items” the county sought.

Pedrego’s memo said the tentative plat sketch provided by the developers “is in substantial conformance” with the original request.

A planning department spokesperson said Thursday Pedrego’s memo was a “kind of green light” to proceed because the environmental issues had been addressed.

Faulkner seemed pleased at the quick turnaround by the county on the company’s submissions.

A memo from the flood control district noted the culverts were installed “within three washes traversed by the unpaved road,” leading to Cielo Madera. The county memo didn’t say how recently the culverts had been there.

Faulkner said they’d been there for at least 10 years.

The Kettenbach family has owned the land near Madera Canyon for about 50 years.

In Green Valley on Thursday, County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry expressed concern about the narrow, one-lane bridges on the road to Madera Canyon.

Speaking at the Joyner-Green Valley Library’s annual meeting, Huckelberry asked rhetorically if the county has authority to require wider bridges on the road.

Construction traffic could be heavy on the Madera Canyon road once building starts.

At one time, Pima County indicated it might try to acquire the land for about $16 million, but Kettenbach’s figure for the land is much higher today.

The developers have proposed building 280 houses in cluster-type developments on about 775 acres, leaving the rest of the project’s 1,189 acres as open land.

The developer has proposed a sewer system to serve the houses in the cluster development. If the 280 proposed homes were scattered throughout the thousand plus acres, each would need to install a septic tank.

jlamb@gvnews.com | 547-9749