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Conservationists take Madera Canyon project to court

TUCSON — A massive housing project that backs up against one of Southern Arizona’s prime wildlife sites breaks several development rules, and planning officials were wrong to give it the OK, a recent lawsuit claims.

The complaint from Friends of Madera Canyon stems from a 744-acre subdivision called Cielo Madera that, ironically, is backed by one of their own members.

The nonprofit group includes avid birdwatchers, nature photographers, biologists and archaeologists from all over the world. Also in that group is Mike Kettenbach of Tucson, a lifetime member who owns much of the grassland area at the foot of Madera Canyon, which rises up 5,000 feet from the desert floor 40miles southeast of Tucson.

In January, Pima County officials approved a tentative plan to build a “conservation subdivision” on the land east of Madera Canyon Road, the main entryway for hikers and other public users of the canyon.

The county has special rules for these types of subdivisions. They force developers to build a project that preserves peaks, riparian habitat, native plants, wildlife corridors and archaeological sites, for example. The biggest stickler is that they must set aside at least 50 percent of the project area as permanent, natural open space with deed restrictions.

The complaint claims the approved project breaks those rules. Preliminary plans filed with the county show a new 65-foot-wide roadway slashing through the northern reaches of the project’s conservation areas. It also shows another 65-foot-wide roadway running east-to-west off the end of this road and leading out to far-off housing parcels.

Then there’s the 20-foot driveway connecting those parcels together, the complaint states. And a 30-foot-wide “utility easement” whose purpose is not indicated in the plans. And one-acre lots that are configured so densely to make up for open space that they block wildlife corridors.

“The new roadways require substantial grading in the [conservation] area, including grading for wash crossings,” the complaint states.

The lawsuit is the latest step in an effort that began this spring when the group filed two appeals of the project with Pima County officials. The first was rejected while the second one failed in June because of four of the five mebers of the Pima County Board of Adjustment, a citizen panel that presides over development cases, were present.

The vote ended in a 2-2 tie. Under rules of parliamentary procedure, the appeal is rejected.

So Pima County Superior Court Judge Paul Tang now has the case. Tucson lawyer Katharina Richter is representing Friends of Madera Canyon.