Following is an endorsement from the Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection for the Oro Valley General Plan Amendment for Arroyo Grande.
Please try to attend this Town Council Nov. 19 meeting.
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We have come a long way from where we started when we first heard that there was a proposal to develop over 9000 acres of biologically valuable State Trust Land north of Oro Valley. We are very pleased to report that the collaborative process between the Coalition, Oro Valley, Pima County, and the Arizona State Land Department has resulted in a development plan which far exceeds the original submittal regarding conservation. This type of collaboration is extremely important since there are currently no other options to conserve State Trust Land other than competing with developers to acquire the land at public auction. (The Coalition had hoped and expected that citizens would have had the opportunity to vote on a State Trust Land Conservation Initiative this year, but unfortunately that was not the case. For a variety of reasons the initiative was removed from the ballot. We will continue to work toward amending the Arizona constitution to allow for the conservation of state lands.)
Prior to annexation into the Town, the Coalition requested that a number of concerns be addressed by Oro Valley. We are happy to report that a majority of those issues have been addressed.
The Oro Valley Town Council has adopted the SDCP Conservation Lands System, which will apply conservation guidelines and ensure that important biological resources within the Arroyo Grande planning area will be protected. Natural undisturbed open space has been clearly indentified, will be located in common areas rather than in backyards, and provides a buffer to the already protected Tortolita Mountain Park. And importantly, a kilometer-wide wildlife linkage is proposed for protection, utilizing a corridor design created by Dr. Paul Beier, a researcher at Northern Arizona University specializing in wildlife connectivity. This linkage design coincides with the Critical Landscape Connection adopted and defined by the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan.
The Coalition continues to work with Oro Valley on issues concerning Arroyo Grande, such as adopting a management plan for the natural undisturbed open space, identifying a funding source for management, and developing a joint proposal with Pima County, the AZ Department of Transportation, and the AZ Game and Fish Department to construct wildlife crossing structures along State Route 77 / Oracle Road.
The Oro Valley Town Council has demonstrated that they are willing to be a regional conservation partner through the adoption of the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan. Furthermore the Town has included strong water policies that are the first of their kind in the region. One such policy reads:
If it is determined that renewable water is not available for a proposed development within the Arroyo Grande Area, the developer will be required to convey to the Town sufficient additional renewable water supply to serve the demands of the development in addition to payment of water impact fees. Any conveyance will be “wet” water and not “paper” water transfers.
This policy should be applauded and seeks to protect the ground water levels directly under Oro Valley, rather than allowing developers to purchase credits through recharge efforts miles away on the other side of the Tucson Mountains. Furthermore, this type of policy should be utilized by other jurisdictions including, and within, Pima County.
There are still issues that must be addressed, but we are pleased to be able to support what is before the Mayor and Council on November 19th. The current plan complies with the Conservation Lands System, protects the critical landscape linkage between the Catalina and Tortolita Mountains, and maintains the integrity of riparian systems.
Please let your views be known on issues contained within this plan amendment. The Oro Valley Town Council is scheduled to hear the General Plan Amendment for Arroyo Grande on November 19th. Major and Council meeting are held at Oro Valley Council Chambers at 11000 North La Cañada Drive. Meetings usually begin at 6 PM.
Sean Sullivan
Associate Director
Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection
300 E. University Blvd., Suite 120
Tucson, AZ 85705
Ph: 520-388-9925
Fx: 520-791-7709
www.sonorandesert.org
1 comment:
While the participants in the annexation process for Arroyo Grande have seemingly shown major advancement relative to cetain serious issues - water, wildlife, open space, there is one issue, at least, which I see as virtually insurmountable IF the result creates traffic in the volume that I would expect it might whether the projected amount of residents becomes fact or if a proposal such as the one by Cheryl Smith creates an 'inward' bound magnet. I have heard statements about increasing the number of lanes as a solution and have heard the magic words 'mass transit' bandied about as well. Having lived and worked in places such as the San Francisco Bay Area, the Research Triangle Park in the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary, North Carolina, areas, Los Angeles, too, as well as visiting Washington, D.C., Atlanta, and so on, I feel I can emphatically state with assurance that there is NO solution possible. You can add lanes but then you have to lessen them at some point; and, you need to access the on and off traffic as well - in short, all of this is the major cause of traffic jams (and accidents, too). You can have a 6 lane freeway for many, many miles, and traffic can move at a very manageable rate; go from 6 lanes to four lanes or 8 lanes to 6lanes or 10 lanes to eight lanes and you get the SAME result -traffic slows, jams, and there you sit, either at a standstill or creeping along at a snail's pace. Mass transit only works in 'hub' type areas and even then in ALL places where I have experienced same, the traffic jams still keep on coming. Yes, there are those who will say the water problem can be addressed and solved; there are those who will expertly address the wildlife areas and purport to accomodate that issue. BUT, history, by example, has proven that traffic problems are virtually unsolvable and I would add that with our desert terrain, our mountainous surround and the confinements that it imposes, a situation exists that seemingly has no potential for a viable solution whatsoever!
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