Land development plans fail; voters OK fire district plans

Three items on the Santa Cruz County ballot last Tuesday affected the Tubac area, a successful bond vote for improvements to the Tubac Fire District and two proposed changes to the county’s comprehensive plan that could have opened the way to two large housing developments.

The voters in the fire district voted 1,182 for and 862 votes against selling the bonds.

Plans call for part of the bonds to be sold at two different times over the next 10 years.

A new headquarters and two more new stations will be built in the district that straddles the Santa Cruz River from Rio Rico north to the Pima County line.

County-wide voters said no to Propositions 400 and 401.

Proposition 400, affecting an area northwest of Tubac, failed 7,462 to 3,041.

Proposition 401 that would have affected an area northwest of Tubac on the Sopori Ranch also failed, 7,544 to 3,019.

County supervisors had earlier approved the proposal to change the comprehensive plan, the first step in changing the zoning that could have eventually led to 6,839 residences on 6,076 acres on the Sopori Ranch in the Amado/Arivaca Junction area.

They had also approved a comprehensive plan change that could have eventually led to development of 2,630 houses on 1,244 acres north of Tubac.

It’s not yet known if the developers will try again.

jlamb@gvnews.com | 547-9749