Pima County approves funds despite some neighbors' objections

The county Board of Supervisors approved $1.55 million in neighborhood reinvestment projects at the board’s regular meeting Tuesday.

But one of the 10 projects prompted a heated discussion among residents and the supervisors before its approval.

The Santa Cruz Southwest Neighborhood Association asked for $293,000 to install six speed bumps, three sets of chicanes with water harvesting and native plants, seven solar street lights, and a 5-foot wide path made of concrete and asphalt along a 1,200-foot stretch of South Cottonwood Lane.

Drivers regularly speed on Cottonwood Lane, one of the main arteries in a neighborhood with many school-age children, residents told the supervisors. In addition, the lane lacks street lights.

The neighborhood, located in District 5 along the Santa Cruz River Park about 2 miles southwest of downtown, contains about 4,100 residents and about 1,200 homes, Francisca Cruz, president of the neighborhood association, wrote in the proposal.

“Our neighborhood is predominantly low-income and working class Mexican-American, with many school aged children. There are also a handful of older, long-established residents with large acre lots,” Cruz wrote.

The majority of the association’s members voted to approve the proposal, with three dissenting, Cruz told the supervisors.

At Tuesday’s meeting, neighborhood resident Susan Randolph pointed to a list of 53 signatures of people who opposed the project.

Neighborhood resident and environmental activist Beryl Baker said the association “railroaded” dissenting voices in meetings and did not give due attention to residents who wanted to protect the cottonwoods.

Residents have worked since 1987 to “maintain the rural character and wildlife habitat,” but the proposal would cut the cottonwoods off from their water supply, Baker said.

Supervisor Sharon Bronson made a motion to table the Santa Cruz Southwest proposal until a consensus is reached among the neighbors.

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She said she has “not seen the lack of consensus that I see with the Santa Cruz Southwest project” since the board became involved in neighborhood reinvestment.

Bronson’s motion died for lack of a second.

Supervisor Richard Elias, whose district includes the area, said the proposal went through the county’s vetting process and has been the subject of years of dialogue.

“There are some points in life where you cannot reach consensus,” Elias said, noting the neighborhood is “changing in character and we have to recognize that.”

Elias said he supported all of the projects, but made a motion “out of respect” for Bronson to table the Santa Cruz Southwest proposal until the board’s next meeting.

However, the association members’ “integrity was impugned” and the board’s failure to approve the proposal was a travesty, Elias said.

Supervisor Ally Miller voted against Elias’ motion, saying the association did a thorough job and the discussion amounted to grandstanding.

Elias joined Miller in voting against his own motion and proposed the board approve all of the projects.

The supervisors voted 4-0 to approve using 1997 and 2004 Neighborhood Reinvestment Bonds to fund all of the projects.

Supervisor Ray Carroll did not attend the meeting.