TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – A new development occurred this week in the fight against an upscale casino development on the east side near the Bear Canyon residential area.
The Tucson City Council made its first decision on the proposal this week, which residents say poses a significant flood risk.
“From a safety standpoint, it doesn’t make sense. From a risk management standpoint, it doesn’t make sense, and from a business standpoint, it just doesn’t make sense unless you have all-weather access,” Canyon Neighborhood Association said. said Tom Adan, Chairman of the Board.
At a recent council meeting, the topic of proposed zoning around the casita was brought up for discussion. Adan spoke during the public comment period and asked the council for further evaluation.
“There were a lot of hydrology and safety issues that were not fully considered by the city, FEMA and the developer,” Adan said.
Although the City Council sent the proposal back to zoning planners for further evaluation, many Bear Canyon community residents still have many questions, he said.
“What is their plan? Are they going to reduce this significantly? Are they going to reduce the number of casitas a little bit? Who is the new zoning inspector?” Adan said.
Adan said that apart from keeping nearby habitats in their natural state, the development could pose a major flood risk.
“Why build 132 casitas on peanut-like land when it’s surrounded by a special flood hazard zone?” Adan said.
To build on this “peanut” land that Adan referred to, the developer would need to fill approximately 12 feet of concrete along Horton Road before building the casita, which Adan said It was called the “fill and build” method.
But residents said emergency access would be cut off to an area that has experienced severe flooding four times in the past five years.
“In this building, if flooded, all-weather access would not be possible and (referring to previous flooding events) instead of 1 couple, 132 couples would be at serious risk of injury or death. You could be exposed,’” Adan said.
Felix Garcia, who owns land right next to the proposed development, doesn’t want to manage the risk of flooding.
“We love the land here, we love our neighbors, but I don’t want to see my house flooded,” Garcia said.
Adan says that while getting planners back to square one was a success, there is still an uphill battle to make this happen.
“We want to work with them and express our concerns from the beginning. We don’t want to wait until a week before we go to the zoning test, we want to work with them from the beginning.” said Adan.
13 News reached out to the City Planning Center and 2nd Ward Councilman Paul Cunningham for comment, but did not receive a response.
At this time, it is unclear when the matter will return to Parliament.
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