Development plan could be halted (complete article from source)
Source: Arizona Daily Star, by Lourdes Medrano
May 15, 2008
Efforts to conserve part of the proposed Arroyo Grande area north of Oro Valley could thwart potential development of the state trust land, which the town wants to annex.
About 6,200 acres of the 9,100 acres that Oro Valley is interested in annexing are included in the Nature Conservancy's plan to protect 570,000 acres of undeveloped land across the state.
"We'll be watching to see what happens," Oro Valley Town Manager David Andrews said.
The Nature Conservancy's signature-gathering campaign comes in the midst of the town's general-plan amendment process for Arroyo Grande. Since the State Land Department has not withdrawn its request for the amendment, Andrews said, the process will continue.
The Town Council also authorized recently the beginning of formal negotiations with the State Land Department on a pre-annexation development agreement for the 14-square-mile area.
Arroyo Grande would include homes, businesses and possibly a resort north of Oro Valley, just west of North Oracle Road and south of the Pinal County border.
Since the preliminary plan development was announced, widespread concerns have surfaced over Arroyo Grande's impact on water, wildlife corridors and infrastructure.
But if the initiative gets on the ballot and voters approve it, Andrews said, it could be the end of the project.
"If it does pass, we would need to abide by the legislation," he said, adding that such an outcome would not bother him. "It's a good way to conserve land."
So far, the Nature Conservancy is on track to collect the roughly 230,000 signatures it needs to place the initiative on the ballot, said Pat Graham, state director for the organization.
Voters in 2006 narrowly rejected a similar initiative, Proposition 106.
The November ballot initiative would result in a constitutional change that would enable local governments to buy state trust land set aside for conservation, he said.
State trust land is part of the roughly 10 million acres that Arizona received from the federal government when it became a state in 1912.
The State Land Department, whose primary mission is to earn money for public schools through the sale or lease of land, now sells trust land to the highest bidder at public auction.
If the initiative passes, conservation land would continue to bring in money through existing grazing leases, for example, Graham said. The initiative also would allow local governments to pay fair-market price for the land. Although no developments could be built on the targeted land, Graham said local governments could potentially designate it as a recreational area or open space.
"Maybe there could be benches, trails and a picnic area, as long as it's done in a way that wouldn't destroy the character of the land."
A successful initiative would direct the Legislature to define what "development" means on the selected land, Graham said.
Even with 570,000 acres slated for conservation, the State Land Department would still have enough land suitable for development to meet Arizona's growth needs, he said, since it manages 9.2 million acres of state trust land.
Carolyn Campbell, executive director of the Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection, said the initiative would ensure conservation of wildlife corridors and riparian areas.
The Arroyo Grande plan designates 68 percent, or about 6,100 acres, as open space but does not spell out how it would be configured.
"Sixty-eight percent can be very functional for wildlife or 68 percent can be a disaster for wildlife," Campbell said.
Her organization on Saturday will lead a public presentation in SaddleBrooke on the initiative.
Said Michael Leigh, who lives in SaddleBrooke: "You're going to see a lot of environmentalists supporting this."
Leigh is a founder of the SaddleBrooke Citizens for Wash Protection, which is hosting the Saturday meeting.
Click here for complete article from Arizona Daily Star
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