Guest Comment: Madera Canyon project not a done deal

This past Sunday, the Green Valley News reported that Pima County had given the Kettenbach family a “green light” to proceed with development of a 280 home cluster-type subdivision on 775 acres near the entrance to Madera Canyon.

In addition, it was reported that the development would be served by a sewer system instead of septic tanks because the homes would not be “scattered throughout the thousand plus acres.” The article credited the developer with preserving 1,189 acres of open space. None of the above is correct.

In fact, the Kettenbachs have withdrawn their application for a 280-home cluster subdivision that was to include a privately owned wastewater treatment plant.

Instead, the Kettenbachs applied for and received preliminary approval to develop a 180-home conservation subdivision on a 744.4 acre parcel that will leave 441.2 acres of protected lands.

In short, the developer has reduced the number of homes that were originally intended to be built by more than a third, but the total size of the subdivision has also been reduced and the size of the conservation area shrunk by more than half.

Likewise, there will be no privately owned and operated sewage treatment plant. All 180 homes will be served by individual septic tanks, not a wastewater treatment plant.

Curiously, the Kettenbach’s own a total of 1,189 acres, but have chosen to include only 744.4 acres in the conservation plan. Hopefully, they will shed some light on what is planned for the remaining 445 acres.

It should be noted that on Dec. 18 field representatives of the Regional Flood Control District observed that culverts had been installed within three washes on Kettenbach’s property, which could “divert, retard, or obstruct” the natural drainage over the property. The records indicated that Kettenbach did not acquire a floodplain use permit. It appears that the Kettenbachs began to develop their property before obtaining the necessary permits or approval from Pima County.

The floodplain ordinance has been in effect since 1977 and the developer’s admitted installation of culverts “several years” ago apparently was without compliance with the floodplain ordinance.

In a letter dated Jan. 15, to Michael Kettenbach, Pima County gave the Kettenbachs 30 days to correct the problem by modifying or removing the culverts.

Let’s see what happens.

At a minimum, the installation of these culverts, without benefit of a permit, indicates that the landowners are not concerned about the county development regulations and the adjacent lands that Pima County has designated as biologically important.

Pima County’s preliminary approval of the tentative plat sketch does not mean that all issues regarding development of the property have been resolved.

The tentative and final plats for the subdivision have not been approved or even reviewed. During the subdivision review process, many of the problems we have previously identified, such as inadequate access roadways and bridges, water issues, archeological surveys and habitat issues will have to be addressed and resolved by the developer.

The Friends of Madera Canyon remain concerned that the development does not meet the stated purposes of the conservation subdivision ordinance.

As a result, we are exploring our options. To be sure, this is not a “done deal,” but instead is just one step in a longer and detailed review process.

The Friends will continue with their efforts to protect this legendary canyon and preserve its sky island environment for future generations.

Carolyn Fowler is a member of Defenders of Madera Canyon and Friends of Madera Canyon.