The Pima County Board of Supervisors is expected to decide Tuesday whether to allow a local couple to build a “bike ranch” resort on 20 acres directly across the street from Saguaro National Park East’s entrance on Old Spanish Trail.
The proposal, which has been the subject of significant protests from area residents, has some momentum behind it, including support from Saguaro National Park’s superintendent as well as a recommendation for approval by the county’s development staff.
In April, more than 200 people crowded into Pima County’s administration building to voice their concerns about plans to build 49 “casitas” on the mostly undeveloped, 20-acre parcel in the 3700 block of South Old Spanish Trail. The project is inside a “buffer zone” that is designed to limit commercial development along the national park’s boundaries.
The supervisors’ meeting begins at 9 a.m. Tuesday, July 2.
In its recommendation to the supervisors, who are expected to vote on the conditional-use permit during Tuesday’s meeting, county staff has added 17 separate conditions that developers Kelley Matthews and her husband, Peter Lasher, must follow.
Jeff Bruce, one of the organizers behind the Save Saguaro National Park group opposed to the development, has asked the supervisors to delay the decision for at least two weeks.
“July 2 is part of a holiday week and in the middle of summer where many residents will be out of town. Holding the hearing on July 2 would be unfavorable to the neighbors and other interested parties that want to attend and voice their respective positions to the Board of Supervisors,” Bruce wrote.
Many residents living near the proposed development feel the county isn’t listening to their concerns about noise, traffic and safety, as well as damage to the fragile environment.
The bike ranch project is similar to their 2013 proposal offered by Matthews and Lasher on roughly the same site.
At the time, Matthews and Lasher proposed a 49-room development on what was at the time a 45-acre parcel.
They withdrew their proposal in 2014 after a staff recommendation came out against the development, saying the developers needed to better address neighbors’ concerns about protecting the park and wildlife habitat.
While the current proposal doesn’t need a rezoning, the developers again need the supervisors to sign off on a conditional-use permit, which gives some leeway on how to build on the site.
