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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHistorical Records - The Arizona Territorial (51) Alit# J Ri- V__ CALte CONC6RD • T LIC SONi A 8 57( 4 Serving Casas Adobes, Catalina Foothills, Oro Valley, Coronado Foothills,Amphitheater, Flowing Wells and all northern Pima County. tilt),64eifedi- A . 1111 III' TWELFTH YEAR, NUMBER 34 TUCSON, ARIZONA 20 cents per copy AUGUST 25, 1977 Killer cement a van driven by An overturned JerryR. trucky� _ = :< �. on Oracle Road Stiffler. % r�. , blocked traffic ;,k � � tom, �� � ��s��: � �� between Heath, Ms. Greenwood ��vp.„.��' 14� ����� � � �� � �- � � Magee and Ina Roads Fri- ry' _ ,= � �� ��� � - and her passenger, Che 1 7-* day afternoon as part of a Rogers were taken to St ,� , , five-car accident in which � � �. Mary's H r � ;. Hospital, where x � three persons were injured. �� they �� � �� � °�;�. ���a � � . were treated and released. FF .'art Y•. v .,vy Mk £' c..�S.4. The driver of the truck was identified by the state A three-car accident on d Highway Patrol as Arthur Magee Road ��" � y g a east of Oracle W.Heath,and was cited for Road left seven persons i reckless iv _ -�:., �' gsome two hours )111111 n injured �� �` ,� �� �, :�� � � .�-� �. ��. . .A later. �. a _ x ,� mixer i. '� ,:. t � � ... . .. . A car driven by The cementap- parentIy went out of control ; � Josephine Gonzales struck �. „=. while trying to pass a p F t ` two cars from behind while motor home driven by `� they were stopped at the ���= � � Robert F. Friske forcing "" Y • - Friske's vehicle ' stop sign on Magee Road. t •; t and a pick- r. �� ,. ...'t4„„', # up truck driven by Jack Accordingif 4 � to sheriff ,: Word off the road. reports, the most seriously .f4P*: - -- ,..-- .. /"..,..;%'44. — "mow Po �" injured was Sr. Mary -,m .,.. P °' dp.�� s :w.- �.° '�3�'��r � _� �' IN THE AFTERMATH--A dump loader was called in of Ina Road.Before overturning,the cement ' In the process, the truck Pierre g mixer hit Borboa, of the Suf- Friday afternoon to right a cement mixer which the two-door sedan from behind,driving it into the van. struck a car driven by Jean folk Hills Convent and a overturned in a five-car accident on Oracle Road north M.Greenwood from behind passenger in the Gonzales while it was waiting behind car. impacts felt By WALT NETT In 1972, liberal Democrat Ron Asta, a charismatic meet the compact Tucson of his speeches. Although it won't face adoption until Sept. 6 at thecounty planningofficial, left his post in the bureau- Perhaps Asta's presence on the board lent a political earliest, the Tortolita Area Plan has already had a cracy and ran for a seat on the County Board of legitimacy to the planners'activities,and perhapsthe major impact on the p greater northwest. Supervisors,just expanded to five members. strident environmental voices in the community lent His language was hip, his campaign in the streets, additional backing to these concepts. Although still a proposed plan, it has been a consideration in zoning cases, it has aroused a- and heishe beads replaced his necktie as he "soul- p At any rate, a Tortolita Plan became public -- a politically sleepy area to action,and generally created shook"his way into office. restrictive one which quickly q c y returned to the drawing quite a bit of controversy. He talked of turning the growth back into the already boards in late 1975 for further study. It seems that several years ago,the County Planning urbanized areas of metropolitan Tucson, of creating y and Zoning Commission,seeing that a massive number " "green belts," and expanding mass transportation to Contin ( ued on Page 13) of northwestern neighborhood plans were in need of - J. review--perhaps to the point of updating and revision ' --decided that it might be better to lump the whole bag together into an area plan. Foresight is a necessary part of planning, and this case was no exception. Tucson's metropolitan population,like that of many major Sunbelt cities, was growing rapidly, and provisions had to be made for the Eastern immigrants. There were problems, of course, since the avenues for future growth had become narrowed with the passing years. The Rincon Area Plan had been etched in granite,as ews an its residents saw it, fixing its densities for quite some time,which, because of present densities and rapidly rising land prices,put a virtual cap on additional,more dense development to the east. The south,although being developed to some extent today, held some man-made barriers to- further development,such as heavy industrial concentrations, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and Tucson Interna- tional Airport. The west held two barriers to growth-- the Tucson Mountains, and protective area residents, who have been known to fight down-zoning (requests to change the status of a parcel to a lower density, such as from CR-1 to SR) proposals. The north was growing as fast as possible,almost up ,.-a to the Coronado National Forest boundary in the Catalina Mountains. The northwest was left as the only clear path. 1 Page 2, The Arizona Territorial, August 25, 1977 oro valley Routine agenda for OV Council Oro Valley Mayor Lois as Oro Valley has no stand- Lamberson called the and policy regarding re- proposed agenda for Thurs- funds. day night's council meeting Another vote is needed to routine. decide whether the town "This meeting may corn- should contribute to the pete for the record as the state unemployment fund _ shortest meeting we've on a regular basis or contri- Ov �OI C� �C�I� � ever had," she said. Bute only as necessary to Aside from the regular accommodate ex-Oro Val- pice reports and general busi- ley employees. ness three additional items Dorothy Montgomey will will occupy council mem- receive recognition for her C � t � ��� va n d a Ii s m ��'Vie. work as zoning - / One, a request for a tor in the last piece of "ir- rmit refund needs a vote regular"business. Oro Valley logged one In addition, on Monday, 8:30 a.m. � case of larceny and two the first day of classes at The larceny involved the Co u rt a s u s u a cases of vandalism, one Canyon del Oro High theft of a CB radio, valued solved, one unsolved, last School, officers issued 27 at $170, from a vehicle � week, according to Police warnings and one citation parked along the zero block b ut f i n e s go u p Chief Fred Roof. between the hours of 7 and of Greenock Drive. The case has not been closed. The unsolved vandalism Court convened at Oro $12 fine.It's gone up to$18. occurred on the fourteenth Valley Town Hall as usual Eleven to 15 miles used to green of Oro Valley Aug.9. be $22, now it's $28. The Country Club. A car was The usualhad simply scale is higher right on up, driven onto the course, by gone up in price. 26 to 30 miles over the limit "dumping the clutch" the Town Clerk Dottie used to be$55,now it's$67. driver did $200 worth of Morse, returned to work mons sey ems like that's alot of awfully damage with wheel trac- recently after •sustaining fast,too. tion. minor injuries in an auto- trate Royal In the other incident,two mobile mishap, explained Town Magistrate juveniles were turned over "As of this court session Bouschor spent the entire to their parents for riding Oro Valley's fines conform court session assigning horses on the golf course. to the raised rates through- speeding fines. There was Damage was estimated at out Pima County. not even a DWI (driving $20. "One to 10 miles over the while intoxicated) to spice Chief Roof said the traf- speed limit used to carry a things up. fic citation and warnings • were issued to adults and Fire reports that speeds were in excess of 50 m.p.h. on Calle Con- cordia. only ro c k s I i d e Earl and Dorothy Mont- Howard Jones of Palisa- gomery were two of many des Ranger Station said Oro Valley residents who reports indicated the cloud noticed a large brownish of dust took almost an hour cloud hanging over Alamo to settle. This would indi- Canyon or possibly the next cate quite a large slide. canyon west on the north- "We'll have to wait til it side of Pusch Peak It was rains to spend any more hard to tell. time finding out more Mrs. Montgomery's 7:15 about the slide,"he added. a.m. phone call to forest The Pima County Sher- rangers in the area was the iff's Department reported first report of what was that there were no injuries suspected to be a fire. and no real damage done Harassed rangers from by the slide which was the Palisades station were contained to an isolated already fighting seven a*Pa lightning fire with a staff reduced to only 12. Thirty men were off fighting the massive Los Padres fire in California. With quick action the best medicine for forest fires, the reports were im- mediately checked out. It soon became evident that the dust up was over a rock slide. August 25, 1977, The Arizona Territorial, Page 3 ;ouncilman Haines looks at zoning 0113 t valid By JUDY RATLIFF with little or no commercial." One bridge which connects Haines' leisurely desert Eldon Haines came to Oro Valley in 1973. Major Town growing pains are in Haines' opinion abating, lifestyle with his military past is his attention to detail. concerns were to locate near a high school for the day to day functions_ are smooth and there's, time to "I wouldn't want to make very much out of this,"he convenience of his youngest child and to avoidup said. "There were times in the military when I had clear business which must be taken care of. downtown traffic. State law require the filing of a plan by all legal split seconds to make important decisions. I had to The major concern of the town was incorporation: ,municipalities. To date Oro Valley has none but the depend on my store of knowledge about the subject. An ex-military man used to activity, Haines soon state tends not to press understanding, it seems,that Having details straight can be important." plunged into the political life of the community. the here and now must be dealt with before the future is The details of the town plan and the zoning code The first phase was education. Haines felt he hadn't considered. revamping have not been discussed in terms of time been in Oro Valley long enough to be overly active To get the day to day business flowing at the time of according to Haines. about incorporation one way or another. He quickly incorporation, Oro Valley adopted Pima County's "We all understand that the planning and zoning acquired knowledge about north side life.He was used zoning ordinances. As these ordinances have been commission is strictly volunteer," he said. "If the to the process of becoming acquainted. found inapplicable to the small town situation they members have enough time and things go quickly that "I've never lived any place for four years," Haines have been continually amended. would be great on the other hand I'm sure that doing said,"I'm planning on staying in Oro Valley and it will Haines often refers to the mass of zoning procedure, the best possible job is the prime consideration." be a record. 30 paragraphs of which have been altered by ten Once a town plan is conceived the planning and amendments as a "mish-mash". zoning commission would have the yearly respon- "Things have calmed down now and we can clean sibility to update it. this code up,"Haines said."It should be as easy to use as possible.Work expended on doing this now will save ham ` work in the future and we'll have a document we can be x„ proud of. ... • "Basics would remain standard. A request for rezoning is made to the planning and zoning com- mission. They review and study it, submit it to the council with a postive or negative recommendation for approval. The council then decides. "A variance and two zoning changes have been granted since I've been on the council. They've been granted under certain specified standard conditions. The conditions exist to maintain the integrity of Oro g Y Valley. The property can't be further split without q.= official permission. Eyesores can't be constructed on • the property,say,a tin shed in the front yard.The land can't be stripped. Things along those lines." Haines "I was born in Kansas and raised all over the country. My father was a Baptist minister whose special interest was building up parishes which had run down." A decision to make the Air Force a career insured a continued life of travel. Haines spent World War II in Europe.Later assignments took him around the globe. His family was born on the move. "I'd rather have lived like I did than any other way I can think of," Haines reflected on his 30-year hitch. "Our children benefited. There's a wealth of ex- perience to look back on in world travel. It's the best education in the world. There's a healthy element of give and take involved in living in other cultures, in just getting to know new people and in the military process itself. Certain steps have to be taken to attain certain goals." Haines had no monumental goals in mind for Oro Valley when he was asked to run for town council and accepted the idea. He did know he liked population densities as they existed and the general appearance and living conditions of the area. Haines acknowledges that Oro Valley can not remain as he first found it.The public's desire for spaciousness is reducing residents' wide open space. "We have to put up with progress and the changes we know are going to come."he said. "Part of Our effort as a town is to control that change and to control the results." Haines won a council seat in the 1976 election. Planing and zoning was the administrative concern to which he was assigned. "I wouldn't claim to be any kind of an expert in planning and zoning," Haines said. "When it came time to divide responsibility between council members the thought was that my background would help me in the area. It was attempted generally to co-ordinate duties with know-how. "I'd often though that San Diego was a likely place to retire to.It didn't suit me after I got there but during that time in California I attended San Diego State University and received a masters in public ad- ministration. The course work dealt with police powers, urban development and metropolitan problems." Haines vocally upholds the town council's decision to instruct the planning and zoning commission to give priority status to the development of a town plan. He sees too their desire to have the ungainly town zoning ordinance clarified. "In general the town plan should be designed.as a clear statement of goals and objectives agreed upon by the residents of Oro Valley. Long-range land uses would be decided upon. The intermediate rural zone which the planning and zoning commission spent so much time on would logically apply in this area. "Planning and zoning are a part of this overall guideline for the future and so are stipulations about �+ utilities controls, traffic development and main- tenance. Some of these could get complicated depen- ding on the size of the town. Environmental con- siderations are also part of the plan. "We need a clear statement of the purpose of the town.We have a good beginning in the plan drawn up by the group of university graduate students. Their studies indicate that a basic wish of residents here is to maintain Oro Valley pretty much as is--low density 4 Page 12, The Arizona Territorial, August 25, 1977 Complaints abound Northside dirt I bikers flourish By �CHRIS TAMULAITIS . areas on the vacant lots in The terrain in the area is against machine with its residential areas. they could race them on There's a not-so-new the foothills - land some of the roughest to be tight turns, savage ruts, "The dirt-biker is the airport drag strips or along sport that's thrilling designated for but not yet found in Tucson. jumping lifts, roller new hot-rodder," says an the barren deserts. participants from ages 6 to developed homesites. The areas near Pontatoc coaster drops and after the employee at the Eastside Today the thrill is from early 20s,while at the same Complaints come from and Valley View Roads and rains,some wipe-put water Yamaha dealership. motor biking-and the thrill time spurring hundreds of the police who say that on the Estes property off hazards. The hot rodders of by most standards is ex- complaints monthly from there is little that they can Magee Road offers prime The sport is gaining yesteryear are more pensive. h o m e o w n e r s , e n- do to curb the riders. courses for the young thrill- though, despite some at- remembered as young men The bikes which range vironmentalists,police and The Sheriff's Dept. seekers. tempts by landowners to who pieced together and from 50 horsepowerr to parents to name a few. receives hundreds of calls The course matches man curb the riding near tinkered with cars so that nearly 350 horsepower can The sport is motocross,a a month, according to one cost anywhere from$500 to sport that became popular communications officer. $2,000, according to a immediately following Rarely are they anything -dealer at the Yamaha shop. World War II, and the but complaints about the The expensive toy, excitement continued to noise coming from inevitable in these days of fan across Europe in the someone else's property. . . off-road vehicle popularity early 1950s. Although-the Sheriff's -- A` a • has begun as an annoyance In the United States, Dept. sends an officer to , to most but according to motocross,or dirt biking as check out most complaints, , one dirt bike rider, Steve it is more commonly there is usually no action Salmon,the annoyance will called, didn't take firm taken.The dirt bikers have ��,. �� only cease when they hold until the late 60s, an overwhelming ad- .�. e �� __ � _ = - _ designate areas that will be ��x shortly after the boom vantage,one being that the .-. ,, � strictly available for the began in familySheriff's Dept.doesn't have motocross riders. recreational riding. the use of a motorcycle to � `� The complaints arise chase the trespassers. .5 from homeowners,many in "It becomes a civil issue ---i. ��� = the Northside area who not a criminal one. We �` � ��� say that the loud blat-blat can't really prosecute 1 ~ -�- sound is hard on the ears. unless the landowners want i,,,,::!;:,,,,,,,:z.. 110 "However, most par- to press charges," said "74;41. . ‘4, ticipants say that they Mark Pettit, the sheriff's rarely ride in residential information officer. '� areas because they prefer "That has never been the '` �` '�' to be in as open an area as case in the areas where g ° �� �, a possible. Nevertheless, the most of them ride," he --• '''.9.i.,14:; „:,unmuffled engine can said. -- '-z . , .carry for a mile. And parents, well, #� ,� `' N. _they're kind of upset about 't \i: loComplaints are sounded the safety of the sport ; ,..." ,, from environmentalists where supervision is dif- ;�� who claim that many of the ficult and as a result most7:5, : °' _, dirt bikers are tearing up often absent. the desert,in the same way The dirt bike courses are MOTOCROSS MADNESS -- The new dirt bike sporting boom offers the riders as dune buggys and jeeps. numerous on the Nor- thrills unequal to most sports. The sport, however, has generated numerous However, the riders of thside, where there are complaints from Northside area residents,who say that the noise is unnecessarily dirt-bikes most often use acres of undeveloped land. annoying. •t f A • 3'. r i Au ,analysis gust 25 1977 ThPage a Arizona Territorial, 13 Nunadopted 11- Ap,s impacts telt (Continued from Page 1) attempt by then-Planning and Zoning Commissioner Densities Betsy Rieke, manager of Asta's ill-fated re-electio t and land use designations proposed under In the meantime, the political winds had changed. n the plan are just that--proposed.The zoningremains The construction industrybranded Asta as a "no- In to rush the plan P� past the commission. as it is when the plan is adopted until a developer asks growther," calling his plans "socialistic ," and In the meantime,a call to arms,primarily'issued by for the change. commis- bumper stickers proclaiming "Asia is a four-letter Tucson National area resident Walter Chaffee, went To paraphrase SonnyRickles following word"appeared throughout Tucson. out with considerable response a the Po great enough sion's approval of the Tortolita plans,if a proposal has Asta's bid for re-election in November was close -- response that the commission held a third public merit, then the zoningwill change. If but no cigar. hearing at Canyon del Oro High School not, then the g applicant will not get the rezoning Finally,last month,a slightly Although he carried the city vote in his district, amended set of plans . In addition, there is the uncertainityof challenging Republican Katie Dusenberry carried the was forwarded to the Board of Supervisors for action. itself. the future county resident vote--in some northwest precincts by In a compromise of sorts, the commission, through Will the influx from the East coni an unrelentin• motion bySonnyRickles, approved level continue to climb,will it as much as a 2-1 margin. g •pp off, or will people begin to leave metropolitan some residential expansions to the community plan, Tucson? Has the birth g the It slumbered until late 1976, as a matter for changing population projections from 52,000 to 69,000 death rate? rate reached parity with the consideration in a large rezoning case, and became a persons. Is population increasing or declining? There are also local variables to be considered. series of staff reports in early 1977 before.going to the Meanwhile, a proposal to annex Tucson National The Rincon Plan full public for consideration and comment......a-�- - Golf Club to Oro-Vnlley is under- .:consideration bya may have had a chink driven into it with a recent rezoning case which, as approved, will joint committee representing Oro Valley and a TNGC allow the Roman Catholic Di The new Tortolita Plan,now broken into an area plan ad hoc panel. ocese of Tucson to build a and a community plan,was made public. In many respects, the eventscemetary on the east side. The new plan was hailed by County_ Principal amount to a comedye surrounding the plan There may be more cases coming from that area in PIanner Lance MacVittie as a compromise, allowing of errors. the future. higher densities in the already developing areas Although at times comedic to the point of slapstick, In addition, the CountyPlanningDept. ' P g north these errors are more grave than funny. the Tucson is reviewing of Ina Road and the Town of Oro Valley. Althoughthe planis Mountain Area Plan. It seemed, however, that the only one who saw the not yet adopted,some residents The results of that review should regard it as already chiseled in granite,which provides increased densities inthey call for compromise was MacVittie. a paradox--apparently it is reasonable the area, could easily relieve The homebuilders thought there wasn't enough perpetuallyu P� y for a plan to be some of the planned Tortolita load,as could additional residental acreage � suit upheld if it suits a certain group's needs. If flexibility in the future in the Rincon area. g proposed, some area residents it doesn't sitheir needs,then it shouldn't exist thought there was too much residential acreage, and at all. Nonetheless,the Tortolita plans are here today, and Tempe-based land developer John Ratliff, holdingSome of the greater alarmists have betrayed their time will be the onlyjudgeof ' ignorance about planning g what happens in the some 10 square miles north of the community processes in fighting TAP. northwest tomorrow. plan First,no pian is"carved in granite."It must chane called Rancho Vistoso, wanted to be part of the as the environment for which itg community plan. is designed changes. Secondly,just because a plan is adopted,it does not In the face of all this, the proposed plan survived an mean that the zonings g are changed to suit the plan. 4 r I 3 ♦F 4 August 25, 1977, The Arizona Territorial, Page 17 Extended Oracle widening Hopes that. a plan for toward the bikepaths. We pick up," Huckelberry building a bike path within the right of way of never put a bike way on a widening of Oracle Road will pick up the dif- said, "but, looking at the separate from the highway the highway, utilizing main arterial before. This would see early completion ference." costs of construction we but the .costs were exisiting structures to get might be an eight-foot are in some doubt, ac- The Federal government don't know how high it prohibitive. Drainage over washes and gullies." bikeway with provisions cording to Mrs. Frances has initially refused to fund could go. structures were in the way Jesse Kraft with county for two-way travel on one Walker, District Design bike paths. "The bike paths along which would have to be planning and program- side or a four-foot bikeway Engineer for the Arizona Pima County officials Oracle constitute an in- dealt with somehow. We ming on the project said, on each side." Department of Tran- hope that costs of the bike compatible use, the high couldn't build a bike path ."We're considering trying Frank Vasquez the sportation (ADOT). paths can be kept within speed traffic alongside the down into a gully and we to provide a path possibly county designer who will "Management i n bounds of making the local bicyclists, based on would have had to obtain in the 30 foot recovery area work on the project said Phoenix has just received project a 90 per cent the PAG (Pima further rights-of-way. on the roadway. he's supposed to have a the transcripts of the public federal funds to 10 per cent •Association of Govern- "We are currently ex- "There are specific design turned in by Oc- hearing," Mrs. Walker Pima County funds split. ments) Regional Tran- ploring a plan with the areas of use in a highway, tober. said. "Our department has "That difference doesn't sportation Plan. ADOT people wherein we the lanes, the striping. The "So far. I haven't been planning the roadway sound like much for us to "We considered initially could design a bike path recovery area exists to the designed anything. I'm to run six lanes only sides of the use areas waiting to see what the through Hardy Road. The providing an area where a highway department state engineer will novo breakdown could pull off decides about using begin the process 01 without impeding the flow recovery or shoulder," he deciding whether the six- of traffic. Possibly a said. lane format should extent bikeway could be designed . Mrs. Walker's final to Calle Concordia. within the extreme edges of comment on the widening "Our office will continue this area. project was that a major working on the plans as "We are considering the change in design might they are currently feasibility of such a hold up the beginning of proposed until such time as bikeway at this time. We construction for a year. a change is stipulated. We are cautious about im- "I hope nothing like that were targeting a December plementing new bikeways. happens," she said. completion date for plans. This office programs as "Major c ha n g e s, If a change in plans is recommended in the something like adding okayed,I have no idea how regional transporation additional lanes past '- long the completion of the plan. Hardy would mean seeking plans will be put off." "The success of this additional funding." Should the plans be particular bike path The present design plans - completed in their current depends on whether the anticipate the need for the form and be submitted in state will go along. We've later addition of lanes. December a spring start on - construction is projected. Completed plans will be submitted to ADOT's Main Planning Division and Hydraulics Division in Phoenix then sent on to the Federal Highway Ad- ministration for final approval. "Studies are being done now at all major in- tersections along the road to determine which meet federal requirements for traffic signals. Currently, only Magee Road will get a signal. If any other crossing meets requirements by the time the plan is just about to be presented for approval they will receive signals too.Conduits will be placed at intersections so lights can be added later." Mrs.Walker said she still needs proposals and costs from Pima County on the bike paths which have been promised as part of the improvements. Her department has, she said, turned over data on the project to county officials. Oracle Road's widening is to proceed with federal and state funds covering the cost of everything except bikeways,for which Pima County will pick up part of the tab. Charles Huckelberry, sitting in for vacationing Jones,said, "Pima County needs funds for design, construction and main- tenance. Fifty thousand dollars has been allocated by the federal government Opinion Too many questions still standing in TAP 's way It may sound overly dramatic, but it is The "Tellman Report,"written by former indeed safe to say that the future of the Metropolitan Utilities Management Policy y greater northwest rests in the hands of the Advisory Board member Barbara Tellman; County Board of Supervisors Sept. 6 -- the is the accepted report on water availability. date set for what will probably be the final Unfortunately, it is open to question for decision on the Tortolita Area Plan. several reasons. The prevailing uncertainty hangs like a First, it was written for Southwest En- dark pall over the area and its residents. vironmental Services, a group which has Some residents are concerned about the been noted in the past for taking some very plan, fearing sharp hikes-in property taxes, strong anti-growth stands. rapid depletion of the area's water supply Second, Tellman's own water philosophy and the loss of the solitude and ex- is well-known to those who have closely clusiveness they invested in. followed the city's water fisacos over the There are too many things wrong, too last two years --a philosophy closely in line many unclear issues, to allow the plan's (Continued on Page 5) passage. _ The first area of concern is taxes. In every school district in the Tucson area, school district taxes account for the greatest portion of the property tax levy -- more than 50 per cent. Once again, the county seems ready to turn a deaf ear to the anguished cries of the school districts. A great portion of the Tortolita Com- TA P u es ion s munity Plan -- the area proposed for first- stage urbanization --is proposed primarily (Continued from Page 4) for residential densities, which cannot pay with that of the reform Democrats ousted in their way through the school system. January's recall election. The residents will come -- if they can While the Tellman Report cites the water afford the sky-rocketing taxes for school table around Tucson National Golf Club as expansion, and if they want to battle over taking the greatest drop in the Tortolita needed school bond elections to provide area, Tucson National developer Bill capital improvements such as new schools. Nanini, together with his son Steve, has The area needs industry desperately. publicly refuted that statement, citing a The acreage is definitely available -- relatively minor drop over the last 10 to 15 along I-10 and the adjacent railroad line -- years. but it carries a suburban homestead Planning and Zoning Commissioner proposal. Marybeth Carlisle pushed the question, Would you county planners and you home asking for a report from both the City Water builders care to tell us why anyone would Utility and Metropolitan Water Company on want to have a freeway and railroad line the availability of water in the area. outside their back fence? The city's answer, perhaps the most Water is another question. credible one of the lot, was "we haven't studied-it," while Metropolitan's answer, "We can serve," evaded the question. How much water is up there? Nobody really knows. The area to be planned is too large to be covered on a 25-year basis, and should be broken into smaller, more manageable units. There are other, more minor, bugs in the system,and we only hope that the board lets common sense dictate when it puts the Tortolita Plan to a final vote Sept. 6.