Italyโs Tuscany region, which inspired an earlier version of a 28,000-home development plan proposed for Benson, is virtually MIA from the latest plan.
While the final master plan still says Old World architectural styles will be employed at the 12,167-acre Villages at Vigneto project, itโs looking much closer to home for most of its inspiration. It emphasizes how the development would blend with the surrounding hills and valleys.
The earlier plan promised โgrandiose Tuscan style vernacularโ architecture, plus โiconic towers that will act as beacons throughout the valley.โ The final plan says, โAs in good wine, Vigneto is inspired and influenced by its surroundings.โ
The developerโs vision is laid out in the final planโs introduction: โAs you venture through the Benson region known as โThe Gateway to the Land of Legends,โ extraordinary clear blue skies and wide open spaces signal your arrival. The breathtaking panorama of rolling hills and vast terrain appears and captivates your senses. Youโve arrived at the Villages at Vigneto.โ
The developer promises โa world-class design,โ that will โgently weave the natural features of the region with timeless architectural and historical design.โ
But Phoenix developer El Dorado Holdings Inc. says the projectโs vision hasnโt changed โ just its descriptions. Theyโve been modified to help readers more accurately understand it, the developer says.
Although its name wasnโt mentioned in the final plan, Tuscany will remain a theme โ in a more subdued fashion. Jeff Cook, a Benson City Council member who supports the project, says the developer has switched from โovermarketing Tuscany to undermarketing Tuscany.โ
Because the preliminary plan emphasized Tuscany, that โmay have conjured an impression that we were going to build every structure to look like a castle and resemble 16th century Italian Renaissance architecture inside and out, surrounded by lush Mediterranean landscaping,โ said Dennis Krahn, an El Dorado community development specialist. โThis is not the vision we have for the Villages at Vigneto. Rather, we imagine a modern, U.S. community incorporating minor Tuscan highlights that incorporate the use of natural materials.โ
The final plan, released last month, was facing a public hearing Tuesday, Oct. 13, before the Benson Planning and Zoning Commission. City officials postponed the hearing, because two outside engineering consultants havenโt finished reviewing the plan. City officials hope to receive the reviews by the end of October.
โWe have to make sure the plan is still functional now,โ said Benson Mayor Toney King. โI want to make sure itโs done right.โ
The Tucson Audubon Society, which opposes the project out of concern its water use will dry up the neighboring San Pedro River, wants to see the city delay acting on the project until the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finishes a separate review of a federal permit it granted the project in 2006.
Audubon officials say the Corps may modify some of the projectโs design and scale, and the city should follow suit. It notes that recent surveys found threatened Western yellow-billed cuckoos along two washes in the Whetstone Mountains close to the development site.
Cook disagrees with the call for more delay, saying the city and the Corps should and will act independently.
With the project planning golf as well as 28,000 homes, Audubon officials say water use is much more important than aesthetics. The final plan discusses water-conservation tools such as low-water use plumbing fixtures and neighborhood pools instead of individual, private pools. The developer says the project will use about 6,200-acre-feet of water compared to 9,500-acre-feet it is authorized to use.
The Audubon Society says the plans arenโt detailed enough.
โWhether the architecture looks like Tuscany or the Wild West, golf courses, vineyards, orchards and 28,000 homes will use a lot of water without some better planning,โ said Tricia Gerrodette, president of the Huachuca Audubon Society.
โLivability and lifestyleโ will be the hallmarks of the Vigneto development, the final master plan says.
โVigneto is intended to be a gathering place, as well as a central core for regional events and festivals that celebrate the natural and cultural resources of the surrounding communities,โ the plan says.
The project will be developed around a town square. It will play host to what the plan calls an entertainment hub, lying amidst a series of treated-effluent-filled lakes, with retail and office development and a community park of at least 40 acres, the plan says.
There will be trails and open space plans, a recreational use plan, recreation centers, outdoor amphitheaters, libraries, theaters and other public buildings. Vineyards, wineries and orchards are planned, along with spaces for farmers markets.
The project will have 18 holes of a conventional championship golf course, and another 54 holes of โexecutive golf,โ whose fairways are shorter and pars lower. Effluent will be used on the golf courses when available.
Ninety percent of all washes will be left natural. While the projectโs main entry will be located to take advantage of views of the San Pedro River Valley and the Dragoon Mountains, developers will scatter various spires and Italian bell towers to create identities for Vignetoโs various communities, the plan says.
โThese structures will act as beacons throughout Vigneto, and will signal the start of the decompression zone from the highway at the main entry,โ the plan says.
