A proposed change to the alignment of an old farm road has two developers in northwest Marana considering legal options and the town facing the possibility of losing out on millions of dollars from a planned commercial project.
The Town Council will consider a plan amendment Tuesday night that would eventually route traffic along Marana Road away from the two developers, the Cardon Group and Desert Troon, just west of Interstate 10.
Combined, the two have proposed a 117-acre mixed-use development along the north side of Marana Road, near I-10, with 80 acres set aside for a regional shopping center.
The current alignment has Marana Road providing direct access to the interstate for the proposed development, something the developers support.
The town reached out to the property owners only after the proposed change had been heard by the planning and zoning commission and was discussed by the Town Council during a recent study session, said Jordan Rose, an attorney for Cardon.
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“It was surprising to hear that they were taking this back up without talking to any of the negatively affected property owners,” Rose said.
She said the new alignment, which removes the direct access to I-10, could jeopardize millions in funds to the town — both in lost sales tax revenue as well as in the money the two developers were willing to pay to expand Marana Road to handle additional traffic.
Without direct access to the interstate, the large retail component may no longer be viable.
There was a discussion about the alignment of Marana Road in 2013, but Rose said the developers were under the impression that it was not moving forward as they had not heard from the town on this issue since December 2013.
Town officials say that a lot of study has been put into the proposed new alignment and the route represents the best option for creating a vibrant downtown and North Marana.
Marana town engineer Keith Brann said the current alignment of Marana Road could date back as far as the 1920s, calling it an old farm road.
He said while the town began discussions with the two developers as far back as 2007, the recession had prompted the town to re-evaluate long-range plans.
“We started looking at the traffic projections both from what we think is going to happen in Marana and Pima County as a whole,” he said. “The Pima Association of Governments has done more traffic modeling since that time and they have different traffic projections.”
The town commissioned a new study in 2013 to look at the town’s road network.
A concern about traffic accidents at a nearby McDonald’s isn’t related to the realignment, but Brann said the changes to resolve the problem should reflect the future changes to Marana Road.
The town engineer is confident the new proposal, expected to be voted on Tuesday night, can be modified to keep developers happy.
“We feel pretty solid from the staff perspective that this is a minor change,” he said. “We have a history of being able to work with the development community.”
Rose isn’t convinced, saying they have considered suing if the town moves forward with realignment.
She notes one of the developers signed a development agreement — with the current Marana Road alignment in place — back in 2009.
In a letter to the town council, Rose wrote: “We are hopeful that we will be able to work together to find a solution that achieves the town’s goals while not damaging current partners’ investment in the community.”
