In southeastern Arizona, the majestic Santa Rita Mountains tower as a "sky island" above a surrounding sea of Sonoran Desert. Learn more about the Sky Islands. Nestled in the northern slopes of this range is Madera Canyon. Learn more about Madera Canyon. In 1987, local residents and businesses came together to form the Friends of Madera Canyon (FOMC). What is the mission of FOMC?
Defenders of Madera Canyon
Did you know that the Madera Canyon ecosystem is threatened? Did you know that a plan is in place to build 180 homes on the grassland bajada one mile from the entrance to Madera Canyon? Can you imagine the impact this development will have on the birds, mammals, and other wildlife in the canyon? Can you foresee how the residents of 180 homes (not age restricted) living a minute from the canyon will impact the facilities and wildlife in Madera Canyon?
Want to help save the canyon? Read the articles below and on the Defenders page and make a contribution to the Defenders. Send a check made out to Defenders of Madera Canyon to PO Box 1203, Green Valley, AZ 85622.
Friends of Madera Canyon NOT attempting to BLOCK or STOP development. [Response to an article in the Green Valley News on September 10.]
Once again Jim Lamb and the Green Valley News got it wrong and their bad use of words could get the Friends in trouble. The latest article in the September 10 edition, front page, titled “Friends of Madera Canyon Attempt Development Block.” As you can see from the latest update to the Defenders on this web-site (below), we are not attempting to block or stop the development and that was NEVER our intention. Our intention from the beginning of this issue in December 2006 was to educate the community on the possibility of a 288-home cluster development originally planned for that site, then reduced to a 180 Conservation Subdivision, thanks in part to the hard work done by the Friend’s defenders committee and their attorney. You can read in the article below the purpose of our appeal to the approval of Staff of the tentative plat plan. It is NOT to stop the development but to make sure that the plat plan is in compliance with the provisions of the Conservation Subdivision Ordinance (CSO), which we feel it is not. If a conservation subdivision is to be built on this land, we want to make sure that it follows the CSO provisions of Pima County. We feel strongly that there should not be any allowable exceptions for this development or any CSO proposed development in the County. We will continue to follow this development each step through the County process and we will continue to educate the community and our members as we go along.
Please note that it was obvious that the reporter contacted Michael Kettenbach, one of the property owners, who lives in Boston, MA for his views of the situation. Unfortunately, the reporter did not contact any member of the FOMC Defenders committee for their views. This was a very one-sided story.
In his interview, Michael Kettenbach said it was sad that the Friends is spending money to delay the development. First, our appeal does NOT delay the development, of which he is well aware. Second, money spent to “defend Madera Canyon” has been raised through donations from all over the area and from fund raisers held by the Defenders Committee, not from the treasury of the Friends of Madera Canyon. The Friends continues to support the U. S. Forest Service in Madera Canyon in advancing historical, scientific, informational, educational, and interpretive programs. We continue publishing and distributing brochures in the canyon. We are continuing with our 4th grade educational nature walks and with our adult education programs and nature walks. We are in the process of developing a Jr. Ranger Program in cooperation with the U. S. Forest Service for Madera Canyon. We have just completed designing and publishing a children’s nature brochure of Madera Canyon and are ready to publish “A History of Madera Canyon” booklet giving the history of the Canyon and surrounding areas such as the Whipple Observatory and the Experimental Range. We have two “Music In The Canyon” concerts scheduled in October and two scheduled next April. We have a great membership and a lot of volunteers who dedicate a great deal of time and money to projects very important to the Friends, to the community, to Madera Canyon and its more than 200,000 visitors a year from all over the world. As you can see, we strongly believe that this beautiful Sky Island Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountains is worth defending.
Carolyn Fowler
Member of the Friends of Madera Canyon and Defenders Committee, September 11, 2008.
UPDATE ON THE STATUS OF THE APPEAL TO THE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT
September 11, 2008
As has been reported here and in the local newspapers, the Pima County Board of Adjustment (BofA) voted 2-2 on the Friend’s appeal of the Staff interpretation of the conservation subdivision ordinance as it applies to the Cielo Madera subdivision plat plan. In order to comply with the 30-day deadline for filing an appeal of the BofA’s action, and while the request for reconsideration was pending, the Friend’s Board of Directors (the Board) authorized our attorney to file an appeal with the Superior Court, but not to serve the complaint without further approval by the Board.
On August 12 the BofA did not act on the request from the Friends for reconsideration of the previous action, thus denying us a rehearing on the merits of the appeal. The property owners, Michael, Kerry, and Lauren Kettenbach, have filed a Motion to Intervene in the court case, and also filed an answer to the complaint we filed. The Friends was obligated to file a response to the Motion for Intervention by September 2, 2008. On approval by the Board, our attorney proceeded with serving the Appeal of the decision of the BofA and filed documents in court on September 2 as required. An amended complaint, notice of amendment, and the response to the Motion to Intervene were filed. A summons for all defendants was completed and given to the Clerk of Court to issue and serve. The defendants include the five members of the BofA and the three property owners. A judge has been assigned to hear this appeal but no date has been set yet.
Please note that the appeal does not stop the County from proceeding with the processing of the subdivision plat. Although the Friends has solid arguments in support of its appeal, there is no absolute guarantee that a court appeal will be successful. We argue that after reviewing the tentative plat sketch submitted to County Staff by the property owners, we found that the plat plan did not meet the requirements of the Conservation Subdivision to set aside areas of natural, undisturbed open space. Rather than conserving natural open space and wildlife habitat, the current design allows for a 65 foot-wide and a 20 foot-wide roadway, as well as a 30 foot-wide “utility easement” that will require grading large areas of primary conservation open space blocking wildlife corridors. We have also presented competent evidence that the maximum yield for the property under existing zoning is less than the number of units (180) proposed by the plat plan.
To help with attorney fees and court costs, you can support the Defenders of Madera Canyon by writing us a check and mailing it to Friends of Madera Canyon, PO Box 1203, Green Valley, AZ 85622. Thank you!
Click here to read other articles on the threat to the Madera Canyon ecosystem.
Other Recent Defender articles:
• Pima County Approves Cielo Madera Estates
• For more information on the status of the Cielo Madera plan to construct 180 houses at the mouth of Madera Canyon, click here.
• Please scroll down and click on the Calendar of Events to find out what is going on in the Canyon!
HELP !!
We have lost the sponsor of the color pages in the quarterly Canyon Chatter. Readers will be disappointed not to see all the color photo-graphs of canyon activities unless we can locate a sponsor for the color pages in one or many issues of the Chatter.You or your business will get an advertising line of credit on the color pages. If you wish to help us out, please write the editor, George West, for more information at: kbaybird@aol.com. The cost per issue of the Chatter runs over $500 depending on the number of copies printed.
•What Birds Can I See in the Canyon Today? View the updated bird list from Mid-August through late Fall 2008.
• Download or print the complete Madera Canyon bird checklist.
• Linkage Library. Updated links to related web sites.
Click here for information about Tom Vezo.
