By Article Author
For many years now, one of the most contentious issues facing our southeast regional community has been over a neighborhood construction project simply known as the “Bike Ranch.” The developer’s vision behind Bike Ranch was to capitalize on Pima County’s blossoming reputation as an international biking destination.
The plans call for a resort-like setting, themed and focused on biking enthusiasts, and designed to appeal and cater to all things cycling. The project’s location on Old Spanish Trail, across from the entrance to Saguaro National Park East, is intended to place the resort in one of the most active and attractive cycling areas in Pima County that would draw visitors and “cycling tourists” from around the world.
The only problem is that neighborhood residents immediately adjacent to the project site have been, and currently are, vehemently opposed to it. Fears of excessive noise, increased traffic congestion, and spoilage of, not only the area’s pristine rural-like settings, but to the Saguaro National Park East as well, have all driven strong and vocal opposition to the creation of the Bike Ranch.
As the controversy has raged, I have read scores of email and listened intently both sides of this issue. I have met personally, on numerous occasions, with the Bike Ranch’s developers and representatives, neighborhood opponents, National Park Service officials, and Pima County development services personnel. It has been a very difficult, polarizing, and emotion-driven past few months over a matter that I have taken very seriously.
It is my hope that the matter will be decided during the July 2nd board of supervisors meeting, where a yes or a no vote on the Bike Ranch project should take place. I will be voting in favor of allowing the Bike Ranch to proceed, as requested by its developers.
The following is an email sent to me by a District 4 resident, which I believe accurately and concisely articulates the events surrounding the Bike Ranch controversy, and factually mirrors my own assessment and positions.
“A private citizen has applied for a permit to build a minor resort called Bike Ranch on land he owns. This is allowed by the zoning of the land. The Buffer Overly Zone Ordinance (BOZO) imposes additional restrictions on the land use. The Director of Pima County Planning and Development Services who helped establish the BOZO has submitted a document that states the plan for the Bike Ranch complies with the requirements of the BOZO and the intent of the people who drafted it.
The landowner has submitted a request for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to the county in accordance with legal process. As a result, Pima County Public Works – Development Services personnel interfaced with the appropriate governing agencies in the matter and reported that all 11 expressed no objection to the plan.
After a public hearing on the proposal last April, the county hearing administrator generated Memorandum P19CU00005 recommending approval of the Bike Ranch plan with a list of 17 conditions to be met as construction of the Bike Ranch moves forward. If a board member casts a “no” vote on the CUP request for the Bike Ranch at the July hearing, it implies no faith in the agencies who have already given their approval. It means that the board member thinks the 17 conditions compiled by the board administrator and 11 agencies are insufficient, and the board member can think of no conditions under which bike ranch could be approved. It suggests that the National Park Service, the Superintendent of Saguaro National Park, and the US Game and Fish Commission don’t know how to manage our natural resources and our Department of Transportation doesn’t know how to evaluate traffic impacts. A “no” vote implies that the board member thinks the bike ranch is somehow detrimental to our community even though it encourages bicycle tourism in Tucson, Pima County, and our National Park System.
The bike ranch proposal represents entrepreneurial effort to bring new jobs and tourist dollars into our community without committing public money to the project. It is an opportunity to capitalize on Tucson’s reputation as a bicycle friendly community and the investment already made in safe bike paths and lanes. The proposal commits to the highest standards of environmentally responsible design, construction, and operation and supports National Parks Service strategic initiatives to encourage alternative transportation to, in, and around our nation’s parks.”
I believe that Bike Ranch will be a positive economic asset to our county and to Vail community, by encouraging tourism and bringing visitors and their currency from around the globe. I do not believe that the objections and fears of the bike ranch opponents will present themselves anywhere near to the degree or manner that they assert. This is why I will be voting for the Bike Ranch project.
