The Pima County Board of Supervisors allowed Farmers Investment Co. to rezone its property Tuesday for residential and commercial use, but don鈥檛 expect shovels to turn dirt anytime soon.
The board allowed Fico to rezone almost 1,100 acres of its pecan groves near Green Valley as part of a master plan, dubbed the Continental Farms Specific Plan, that could bring homes and businesses to the area.
However, it could be at least 20 years, and maybe more, before homes and businesses start to sprout on the land.
The plan is more of a long-term vision of what to do with the land if the company decides to shut down the pecan groves, said Tim Campbell锘, project manager for Fico鈥檚 Sahuarita Farms Land and River Master Plan.
鈥淭his is just the end of the beginning. There鈥檚 a lot more work to be done,鈥 Campbell said.
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There could eventually be more than 1,900 homes along with several businesses in the area, including rural residential homes, assisted living communities, offices and a small-scale resort, he said.
The plan encompasses an area stretching from Canoa Ranch north to Continental Road and the Union Pacific railroad tracks to an area west of the Santa Cruz River.
Most of the businesses would be along Continental Road.
About two-thirds of the area would be preserved as open space.
The 蜜柚直播 City Council recently approved a pipeline to take Central 蜜柚直播 Project water to the pecan groves in the area, which could benefit the development in the future.
The council鈥檚 approval of the pipeline and the Board of Supervisors鈥 consent to the rezoning were not connected, despite the timing, Campbell said.
鈥淲hether there was going to be rezoning or not, that pipeline is moving forward,鈥 he said.
Fico decided to pursue zoning changes to the property because of past inquiries from developers, government and school districts regarding the land.
The company also wanted to gain a head start on addressing potential infrastructure issues, he said.
鈥淲e never really had a plan where we holistically looked at our properties 鈥 if we were willing to sell and, if we sold, what could it be used for?鈥 he said.
Fico officials will have to work with local and federal officials to make improvements to the Santa Cruz River to address flooding concerns, including a proposal to recontour a portion of a river channel.
The next step is for Fico and county officials to enter into a development agreement to divvy up flood control and utility responsibilities since multiple agencies will be involved, said assistant county planning director Chris Poirier锘.
The plan hasn鈥檛 received much opposition from the county, community groups or residents.
鈥淥verall, we鈥檙e supportive of this plan. It fits with what鈥檚 already out there,鈥 Poirier said. 鈥淪ince we鈥檙e having the conversation, we will have a better opportunity to line up the appropriate infrastructure.鈥
The plan has also received approval from the Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection and the Green Valley Community Coordinating Council, among other groups.
Fico held several meetings with the Green Valley Community Coordinating Council through the process.
鈥淭he project went through a very thorough public review process with many meetings open to community neighbors,鈥 said Bill O鈥橫alley锘, chairman of the coordinating council鈥檚 planning and architecture committee. 鈥淎nd it went through a well thought-out planning process.鈥
