After threatening the unprecedented move of stripping a developer of the right to continue work on a multi-thousand home subdivision, Pima County officials now seem content to let the courts decide the issue.
“Given the county will not release any building permits for any lots within these blocks because the master developer has failed to comply with the assurance agreements for these blocks, re-platting can be deferred until after the present litigation has been resolved,” County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry wrote in a memo sent out late Friday.
The county has been locked in battle with Joseph Cesare, owner of the southwest-side area called Star Valley, over obligations to build roads into the neighborhood and complete other area improvements.
Huckelberry told supervisors to disregard his previous recommendation to pull the development rights of the 2,000-home subdivision, and instead wait for resolution of a lawsuit Cesare filed against the county.
The re-platting Huckelberry referenced refers to a zoning action that would essentially wipe out the decades-old development plan, forcing Cesare to seek costly new approvals for locations of proposed roads, utility infrastructure and number of home lots.
The revised recommendation came as several experts questioned how such a drastic move would affect the county’s image. Supervisors are scheduled to discuss the recommendation on Tuesday.
The possibility of the county denying Cesare the right to continue to build in the area was an unprecedented proposal, and had raised concerns it would discourage other developers from doing business in unincorporated areas of the county.
“I’ve never heard of anything on this scale before,” said David Swindell, a professor at Arizona State University’s School of Public Affairs and director of the Center for Urban Innovation.
Swindell said the government even considering pulling the plug on a project so far down the development path was unheard of.
He said it’s not uncommon for governments, especially in high-growth Southern and Western states, to use eminent domain to curtail development from pushing into sensitive areas of the natural environment or pulling the rights from abandoned areas where development never took root. But he said he’s never seen a government use a zoning procedure to stop the development of an active subdivision.
“I agree it’s unprecedented,” Swindell said.
David Godlewski, president of the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association, was also concerned with the longterm implications of the county’s actions.
“We have some concerns with the precedent that might be set,” Godlewski said.
He said the dispute and the county’s threats of stripping the development plan could discourage other developers and home builders from doing business in Southern Arizona.
“The entire industry and the people who have projects in Pima County are paying attention,” Godlewski said.
Huckelberry said the county was considering the extreme step of pulling the development plan to protect residents.
“We have a history of potentially failed developments in the county where we didn’t take this step,” he said, referencing past uncompleted developments in Corona de Tucson the Three Points area.
The dispute between Cesare and the county goes back more than 10 years, and the history of the Star Valley development even further.
In 1987, county supervisors approved the original Star Valley development plan that included requirements to build three additional roads into the neighborhood as construction unfolded.
As originally envisioned, Star Valley would have topped out at 7,000 homes. That’s been modified over the years, including the addition of a charter school in part of Star Valley.
About 2,000 houses have been built in Star Valley.
The wrangling with county officials began in the early 2000’s when, after 15 years of dormancy, building began at Star Valley.
At that time Cesare agreed to a financing plan that included extending Camino Verde to Valencia Road for a new access to the neighborhood, extending some Star Valley interior streets and paying for offsite transportation improvements.
Cesare did not return a call for comment on Friday, but in the past has told the Arizona Daily Star that he believes impact fees associated with the development should be used to fund the improvements the county has demanded.
Cesare said he agreed in 2002 to some of the now disputed roadway improvement, but said that was before the development was subject to county impact fees.
In court filings in Pima County Superior Court, Cesare’s attorneys said more than $5 million in such fees have already collected.
Cesare also has filed a suit against the county contesting the design of a median in front of Star Valley that doesn’t include left turn lanes and a separate federal suit alleging defamation and retaliation on the part of county leaders.
“We’re perfectly willing to let the court process unfold,” Huckelberry said.
If that does occur, a judge would decide what happens to Star Valley.
A hearing on Pima County’s motion to dismiss the case is scheduled for Tuesday.
