Rio Rico’s largest landowner has withdrawn a sweeping development plan for the community that drew strong opposition from local residents.
Earlier this year, Andrew Jackson asked Santa Cruz County for a series of zoning changes to allow mixed-use commercial, residential and industrial development on more than 3,550 acres of mostly vacant ranch land he owns along Interstate 19 in Rio Rico.
The county’s Board of Supervisors was scheduled to consider the proposal on Aug. 15, but that hearing was canceled on Monday, after the landowner pulled back his applications for a specific zoning plan and a major comprehensive plan amendment.
In his email to the county, Jackson did not give a reason for the move or indicate whether he intends to redraft or resubmit his plans at a later date.
Messages left for him and his attorney, Ed Bull, were not immediately returned.
A panorama image from three separate shots shows the Santa Cruz River valley, the riparian zone and nearby land that would have been affected by an extensive mixed-use project proposed and then withdrawn by Rio Rico's largest landowner.
In a news release, county officials acknowledged “significant opposition from community members” to Jackson’s plans.
Many residents have expressed concern that the proposal would open the door for Australian mining giant South32 to build a manganese processing facility in Rio Rico for its proposed mine in the nearby Patagonia Mountains.
“There are several hundred citizens here who are fighting this and we will continue to fight,” said Rio Rico resident Ed Pirl. “We do not want that toxic stuff anywhere in our county.”
Company officials say they have not yet selected locations for the mine’s off-site support facilities, which include a remote operations center for controlling their automated mining equipment and a processing plant for making battery-grade manganese.
Pat Risner, president of South32’s Hermosa Project in the Patagonia Mountains, told the supervisors last month that the company wants to place both facilities somewhere in Santa Cruz County, but they could be built elsewhere if that’s what residents prefer.
At the same meeting, Risner said South32 officials had nothing to do with Jackson’s development proposal and don’t need it to proceed with their plans.
The $1.7 billion mine is currently under federal review and already facing lawsuits from environmental groups who have sued to halt exploratory drilling in the Patagonia Mountains.
Jackson’s proposal sought to transform Rio Rico’s I-19 corridor into “a major economic center providing education, employment, commercial and housing opportunities,” including hotel rooms, restaurants, retail stores, offices, railroad facilities and a community college with student housing.
The project would have stretched along 9 miles of Interstate 19 and the Santa Cruz River.
Residents complained about being blindsided by the plan and accused Jackson and county leaders of trying to rush through massive changes that threatened the rural character of the community.
In response to such criticism, county Community Development Director Frank Dillon produced a list of recommendations to “enhance transparency and improve the public process” for large projects in the future.
One suggestion is a temporary moratorium on special zoning plans, a new code adopted by the supervisors on June 6, so staff can review the process and “develop additional regulatory safeguards related to the scale of the request.”
Dillon is also recommending that the county “develop a clear and consistent procedure for communicating complex and potentially controversial items to the community beyond statutory noticing requirements.”
Jackson’s development plans covered a 9-mile stretch of I-19 and the Santa Cruz River through Rio Rico, running almost the entire length of the community of about 20,000 people 60 miles south of Tucson.
An earlier draft of the proposal included references to mine operations but did not mention South32 by name. All references to mining were removed from the document after residents complained.
Rio Rico resident Beth Pirl, Ed’s wife, said she is glad to see Jackson once again taking local concerns to heart by withdrawing his plans altogether.
“We do believe he will probably come back with another proposal,” she said, but she hopes the delay will produce “a more thoughtful proposal going forward, with more input from the community.”
