County mixing homes, retailers

The county has created an option to let homes and condos be built in areas zoned for warehouses and industrial uses, as long as they are part of a mixed-use development that includes businesses too.

The county is considering adding a similar option to its two business zoning classifications.

The zoning code already allows housing on land zoned for businesses. What the county wants to prevent is developers building only houses there.

"Our available commercial land has been somewhat eroded by residential development because that is what the market demands," county planner Arlan Colton said. "The problem from a smart growth standpoint is you have commercial going in farther and farther from houses."

That means more hours spent behind the wheel, more wear and tear on the roads and more pollution, he said.

If mixed use is adopted for commercially zoned land, housing would no longer be allowed without a commercial component.

"You put residential next to commercial on the same property, and you have instant customers," Colton said.

The mixed use option for industrial land, which the Board of Supervisors approved last week, will have limited impact because most of the industrial land in the county already has been developed, Colton said.

Also, it won't apply to land in the flight paths of Tucson International Airport or Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.

However, having it in place will help planning officials see how it works before further changing the code.

Roger Yohem, a spokesman for the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association, said the proposal sounded like a good idea in theory, though he wants to see details.

Mixed use "is a very powerful and effective economic redevelopment tool," he said.

Colton said the county doesn't have a time frame yet for implementing the mixed-use option on land zoned commercial.