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BISBEE — The Cochise County Planning and Zoning Commission will hear a request for rezoning that is encountering extensive opposition from local residents, the city of Benson and from the state.
Land owner Del Thola wants to have 7.3 acres off Titan Drive rezoned from RU-4 (rural residential, minimum four acres lot size) to GB (general business) to commercially develop the land. The proposal includes a 100,000 to 135,000 square-foot mini-storage facility, a 13,000 square-foot covered RV storage facility and a 2,000 square-foot, two-story office/apartment for the on-site manager.
The land is located within an area designated as “developing” in the Cochise County Comprehensive Plan and does allow requests to rezone to GB. However, most of the surrounding area is residential or vacant. Two sections under the county land use policy state: “Small, isolated re-zonings shall be discouraged” and “a workable relationship between land-use patterns and the public road system shall be promoted.” Further, “Developers shall adequately address traffic and safety problems that are reasonably related and roughly proportional to the impact of their use on the public roadway system and surrounding properties.”
The Arizona Department of Transportation requires a traffic impact analysis to determine the necessary improvements to Titan Drive. Since some impact of traffic may also occur on South Stallion Road, the commission could request an study be done on that road as well. Titan runs parallel with I-10 and ends within a short distance after the intersection with South Stallion.
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Planner Britt Dveris says the rezoning would not be compatible with existing residential development in the area and it could make residential development of properties less desirable.
The Folk family, who lives on South Stallion Road, wrote a long letter of opposition and stress that the safety factor of increased traffic could create hazards for children, residents and tourists.
“This type of business is not conducive to a comfortable and healthy living environment... Please don’t put commercial enterprises in a residential community,” David and Linda Folk wrote.
Public opposition isn’t the only problem Thola is encountering.
The city of Benson wrote a letter to the county stating the city’s fire department will not be the fire service provided to the commercial development as stated on Thola’s application. Michael Lockett, CBO of the city, points out that the acreage is not in the service area. The city also has issues with safety due to the current condition of Titan Road.
ADOT is also concerned about the road and Dee Crumbacher says the department does not consider the road appropriate for commercial traffic. She cites the close proximity of I-10 to the road and says the Titan Drive pavement is “not suitable structurally for the for larger capacity and types of commercial traffic.” Crumbacher also says in the straightening of the I-10 curvature in that area and the addition of lanes to I-10 will lap over into the road.
County transportation manager Dick Schaffer notes, “Titan road is an ADOT I-10 frontage road with many curves, dips and right angle turns. This proposed use, usually located on busy roads, benefits from its proximity to I-10, yet detracts due to the not easily accessible roadway.”
He requested a traffic impact study be done prior to the commission’s rendering a decision.
A second rezoning request near Pirtleville appears to have no opposition.
Craig Abbot, Doson LLC, is seeking to rezone 257.32 acres from TR-36 (residential with a minimum of 36,000 square-foot lot per residence) to SR-8 (8,000 square-foot lot per residence) to accommodate 602 residential lots on the east side of Highway 191 north of Douglas. The proposed subdivision will have 15.78 acres set aside for retention/detention basins and 79.69 acres of open space. The plans include “tot lot,” teen and adult recreation areas and an equestrian trail.
The acreage is surrounded by TR-36 and RU-4 zoning. The planning staff has recommended approval of the rezoning.
Two tentative plat approvals are also on the agenda.
The first is the 566-lot Shadow Mountain Phase-2 subdivision at Shadow Mountain Golf Course in Sunsites and the second is a 95-lot conservation subdivision in Palominas.
The planning and zoning commission are scheduled to vote on a matter that was tabled in January. In Naco, Sprint/Nextel is seeking a special use permit to construct, operate and maintain a 123-foot wireless communication tower west of Naco Highway near the Turquoise Valley Golf Course.
The planning staff still recommends denial based on the Naco Community Plan. Staff cites the height of the tower, as well as the lack of an inventory of existing cell towers in the area in reasons for denial.
Some residents are against the tower, while others have written in support of it.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Service states that there is a need for cell service in the Naco area for border patrol agents and supervisors.
Darcy Olmos, patrol agent in charge of Naco Border Patrol Station, said, “...the inadequate cell coverage increases already present risks faced by our field agents, who rely upon instantaneous communication capabilities ... in their jobs that, at times, entails saving lives. Better cell technology would help this situation.”
The Naco Fire District, Naco Sanitary District and Naco Community Association all support the cell tower effort.
The commission will also review a draft of changes to temporary special use permits for events of public interest. The intent of the amendments is to accommodate different types of public events that vary in duration from one day to six weeks and would be regarded as uses requiring no permit. (Events longer than six weeks require a special use permit.)
The proposed amendments address a wider range of temporary uses occurring on different types of property, both public and private, for varying durations. They would be analyzed on a case-by-case basis.
The amendments were prompted by the need to regulate the extended presence on private property of a civilian border patrol group.
Herald/Review reporter Shar Porier can be reached at 515-4692 or by e-mail at shar.porier@bisbeereview.net.
Yeah, good luck with that. wrote on Jun 12, 2007 7:54 AM: