The Bear Canyon Neighborhood Plan

(BCNP) est 1984

In 1983, the Northeast side of Tucson/ Pima County was ravished by floodwaters, largely flowing from the Tanque Verde Creek and the Aqua Caliente Wash ( ACW). As our area was being repaired and rebuilt, a group of area residents and staff members from Pima County held several meetings which led to the creation of the BCNP. The plan was adopted by the Pima County Board of Supervisors and set out important land use principles for our area. The plan was stated to recognize and preserve the rural nature of the area. In 1984, the City of Tucson annexed 925 acres of land from Pima County and agreed to accept and abide by the BCNP for the newly annexed land.

The goal of the plan is stated to “ encourage new quality designed residential development which is compatible with the existing neighborhood. It further is intended to encourage a mixture of housing types emphasizing single-family, owner-occupied dwellings. A stated policy of the plan is “to preserve the integrity of established neighborhoods.”

The BCNP contains specific restrictions regarding future rezoning or development of the very land being recommended for rezoning! The plan states:

“ The Area East of Jones ( now called Bonanza) Road between the ACW and

the Tanque Verde Creek is in an indeterminate status due to severe flooding problems.” The language continues by stating “ until such time as detailed hydrologic studies are accomplished, no change in land use densities or zoning should be allowed except to reflect existing uses.” The language continues by requiring that any rezoning in this area must await the “resolution of the flooding issues that affect the area and the property in question.”

The City of Tucson held two virtual hearings on this zoning request. In the first hearing, held on December 2, 2021, the Hearing Examiner issued a denial of the rezoning, stating that it was in violation of the BCNP. The decision referred to two earlier attempts to rezone this land which were denied by the Tucson Mayor and Council wherein they stated that a new CLOMAR ( Conditional Letter of Map Area Revision) must be applied for and received from FEMA stating that the flooding issues have been resolved.

The second hearing, a Petition for Reconsideration, was held on January 6, 2022, before the same Hearing Examiner. This time, he reversed his earlier decision by, in effect, changing the wording and intent of the BCNP. Relying upon a hydrologic study that was performed by a paid consultant of the Developer, which the City had in its possession since June 2021, but which the neighbors only saw two days prior to the Reconsideration Hearing, the Hearing Examiner’s concluded that the said study satisfied the requirements of the BCNP. ( we have received credible information from knowledgeable hydrologists that some of the assumptions made by the author are inaccurate, if not absolutely incorrect.

The BCNP did not intend that this area should be rezoned until AFTER a CLOMAR was obtained from FEMA, showing new floodway and floodplain delineation, reflecting current conditions in and along the two washes. It did not say or intend that a Developer could retain someone to make his own study and conclude that all is well. Our neighbors are confident that if that were the case, we could submit our own study showing different results!

Finally, the second decision also stretched to reach its second reversal of the prior decision related to the wording in the BCNP which states that future residential development in this area should be owner-occupied homes. These words in the Plan relate to this specific property. TPC shouted out at the hearing that the plan also calls for mixing of housing types... That wording applies to the 925 total acres annexed in 1984, but was not intended to apply to the more specific and restrictive language assigned directly to the parcel seeking to be rezoned.

The BCNP is a well-thought-out land use plan for our area and should be preserved. It is not within the power of a City of Tucson Development Services and Planning Department employee, which the Hearing Examiner is, to change the meaning intended by the simple to understand words of the plan. We must stand up to this attempt to take away vital safeguards to residents and existing neighborhoods in our beautiful area.

Roland F Hoch - Attorney in Tucson, AZ

Attorney in Tucson, AZ. 55 years experience in General Practice.