An April 2 article in The Explorer reports that Oro Valley Council will vote to initiate a pre-annexation process with AZ State Land Dep't concerning The Arroyo Grande.
Well, the council voted on April 2, and only Paula Abbott had enough concerns to vote "No" on this issue.
Taking into consideration, Pima County Supervisor Chuck Huckleberry made it quite clear the county wanted to be a participant in the process, we believe Paula's vote was the prudent thing to do.
Might this decision to proceed be just another example of making a decision with "unintended consequences?" Don't be surprised if that's how it turns out.
Read the Explorer article here.
http://www.explorernews.com/article/show/21767
11 comments:
What ought to be the Number One Concern: Where is the water going to come from and what might it cost to provide it?
Pima County has been a party to the negotiations and their input has been incorporated into the current plan. At this point the two primary parties involved (State Land Trust/Oro Valley) need to get together and work out an agreement that satisfies both, taking into consideration the input from Pima County and Catalina.
Mr. Cox seems to be missing something.
Let's take a look at what Pima County & Catalina think about their involvement with Arroyo Grande.
From an article in the Az Star dated Feb 29, 2008.
"Plans for a massive development north of Tucson may be preliminary, but visions of new homes, businesses and possibly even a resort on state trust land are stirring conflict.
Citizen opposition to the 15,900-home development next to the unincorporated community of Catalina appears to be growing as Pima County officials show dissatisfaction with the Arroyo Grande project.
"I'd just like to say we're not on board," Pima County Supervisor Ann Day told a gathering of residents in Catalina late Tuesday.
Her remarks came after assurances from the Arizona State Land Department and Oro Valley — which wants to annex the land — that the three jurisdictions were working together to address worries about a development that could house about 38,000 residents.
"The county will be opposing any annexation agreement," Day said to applause from an audience of mostly Catalina residents."
Art....What am I missing? I clearly stated that the input of Pima County and Catalina should be considered in the final agreement.
I took the time and made the effort to attend that meeting and I heard exactly what was said. Ann Day's remarks were little more than a "Vote for me" bid in front of some disgruntled Catalina residents. Pima County has been at the table with the State Land Trust representatives and the Oro County representatives. The only reason there is 68% designated as open space is because Oro Valley and Pima County were at the table, otherwise there would have been far less, IF ANY. The fact that she is not on board, doesn't bother me a bit. We would be far better off is she and Chuck Huckleberry were history, in my opinion.
Though I have not formed an opinion on this tpoic yet, OV objective thinker best be careful that he has disagreed with this blog. You get labeled as having fallen for the propaganda if you do.
Thank you captainqueeg for reminding us all that WATER is a critical issue. We are currently in a stage 1 emergency; thus, I assume, we must all conserve water. For what? Another 10,000 homes that will suck the aquifer dry?
Is anyone home in Oro Valley? Is it suddenly going to rain such that we have lakes and above ground rivers? Such that we have a sustainable water supply? There is, of course, no chance of this happening.
WATER is the issue. It is scarce. And it will cost us hundreds of millions to bring in CAP water. And CAP water is not a sustainable solution because of the growth of other users. (The long term answer is desalinated water piped from the Baja--- at what cost?)
Rather than annexing the land, the town should be protecting it citizens by opposing any development of this land on the grounds that there is an insufficient water supply and that such unbridled grwoth will jeopardize the residents of Oro Valley because we do not have a sustainable water supply.
I am not against growth. I am against growth that does not consider the realities of living in the Desert.
Zeeman......Let's assume that you are correct...which I don't. But assuming that you are correct, THE ONLY WAY FOR ORO VALLEY TO ASSURE THAT THERE IS LIMITED OR NO GROWTH ON THE LAND IS TO ANNEX IT.
That's the whole point of this process. Oro Valley will have no say if it is in the hands of any other jurisdiction.
Robla.....
The 'kool-aid' from many in this blog was once featured in the Hale-Bopp Comet articles.
In all seriousness, most of the participants of this blog are good people with opinions that differ from mine. I enjoy the bantering and I think most of them do too. It's healthy to discuss all sides of an issue.
Thinker,
So are you saying that there is a possibility of there being NO GROWTH on that land if OV annexes it? That land will remain unspoiled desert? Then why all the talk about 16,000 new homes?
Cowgirl.....I responded to your last post on the property across from the post office. It's an old post so I wanted to let you know.
I am not saying there will be no development on the property. It will be developed. The development will be controlled by either Pima County or Oro Valley. To what degree and where is the challenge. The number of residences is still a very clouded figure as is everything else.
I don't know your age but I am 63. Most of the actual development of this area will happen after I have moved on to the the big bass lake in the hereafter.
Rancho Vistoso has been developed with far fewer homes than what was allowed by zoning. Most developed areas in Oro Valley follow that same pattern. I suspect that Arroyo Grande will follow that same pattern. That's why I want Oro Valley to be the controlling gevernment entity.
You have suggested in the past that Pima County might do a better job of planning this site than Oro Valley. You, others and I have also expressed a great concern about a wildlife corridor between the Catalina area and the Tortilita area. I would ask that you look at the development along Oracle north of Oro Valley. You will find that that there is ONLY one really good pathway for this corridor south of the Pima/Pinal County line. Yet, Pima County has allowed recent residential growth to blossom in that corridor, knowing all along that it was the ideas spot. Their environmental promises hold about as much weight as their promise to spend your tax dollars wisely.
If you distrust anything I say...take this to heart. Chuck Huckleberry and the current Board of Supervisors are incapable of pointing to anything of significance and say with pride, "I did that." Don't be fooled by their political posture.
Thinker,
I did see your response about the development near the post office.
As for Arroyo Grande, I honestly don't trust anyone to do the right thing because whoever makes the decisions will make them based on one thing...how much money can be made and how fast can we make it?
I also don't know as much about what Pima County does as I do regarding what OV does and I know it's usually better to side with "the devil you know" but I've seen OV make so many bad decisions, that in this case, I'm leaning towards siding with "the devil I don't know."
I'll feel better about things when Salette and Bill are on the council and have some input.
Thinker,
You asked about my age. A lady never reveals her age. I'll just say this...I'm a lot older than I look. (I'm pretty sure you know who I am.) In fact, I'm thinking of changing my vanity plate to, "Old Bag." Hopefully, my sense of humor will be the last thing to go!
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