MADERA CANYON DEVELOPMENT NOT A DONE DEAL
By Luis Calvo, Chairman, Defenders of Madera Canyon
The Friends have been working diligently to keep the membership and public informed as Pima County considers whether to approve Cielo Madera Estates, a proposed 280-home cluster subdivision to be located on private property near the entrance to Madera Canyon. Many Friends members and other concerned citizens have made a point to stand up, be counted, and heard at public meetings held by PimaCounty’s Design Review Committee (DRC). At each meeting the Friends have made it clear that the Cielo Madera Estates cluster proposal does not comply with the requirements of the cluster ordinance or with the DRC requirements for cluster developments.
On July 9, 2007 the Friends sent a letter to the DRC advising that we “will continue to vigilantly defend the Madera Canyon environment from inappropriate development proposals that are not in compliance with the requirements, goals and intent of the Cluster Ordinance and the policies of the Pima County Comprehensive Plan.” County Administrator, C. H. Huckelberry, responded that “due in part to our lack of regulatory authority over lot splitting, our general inability to impose development conditions on already zoned property, and the legal restrictions placed on the County in land use matters by Proposition 207, approved by voters last year, we have little authority to significantly alter the planned development.” In short, it looks like Pima County government has no authority, power, or will to save Madera Canyon’s greater ecosystem from the developer’s blade. The ball is in our court. You can rest assured that the Friends will continue, at every level, to oppose the Cielo Madera Estates cluster subdivision because the DRC must do it’s duty and see that the development is reviewed and approved in a manner sensitive to the needs and values of the community and with due regard to the overall public interest. This is what is required and the Friends will settle for nothing less.
On September 20, 2007 the DRC is holding a public hearing to consider whether to approve Cielo Madera Estates and begin the large scale destruction of Madera Canyon’s greater ecosystem. If approved, the sensitive lands slated for this urban style development will be changed forever and the open space fragmented by a cluster of 280 homes. It will be paradise lost.
It is time to stand up for Madera Canyon and be counted. The fight to save Madera Canyon is not over and can be won. The power of the people to affect change should not be underestimated. Stand shoulder to shoulder with the rest of your “Friends” and let the powers that be know that the public is mad as hell and we aren’t going to take it anymore. Hope to see you there.
Carpooling will be available from the Family Dollar store parking lot at the Green Valley Mall. Please be there by 12:00noon for a ride into Tucson. The pubic hearing will be held at 1:30 in Meeting Room "C" - Basement, County/City Public Works Building, 201 N. Stone Avenue, Tucson.
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