Santa Cruz County voters overwhelmingly rejected proposals for two big developments totaling more than 9,000 homes in the Tubac area.
Tuesday's votes came almost a year after the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors voted 2-1 to approve comprehensive-plan amendments for the Las Mesas and Sopori Ranch projects. The amendments are the first step toward getting local government approval for new developments.
The numbers
Proposition 400, which would have OK'd the amendment for the 6,800-home Sopori Ranch, was losing Wednesday by a 7,863 to 3,216 vote. Proposition 401, which would have OK'd the amendment for the 2,600-home Las Mesas, was losing by 7,949 to 3,199. About 1,000 votes remained to be counted in both contests, according to the County Clerk's Office.
The reactions
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Lynn Carey, chair of the group Citizens for Responsible Growth, called the outcome a triumph for the volunteers who went door to door, formed phone networks and sent mailings to persuade voters to get to the polls and vote "no."
"People aren't against development," Carey said. "They were against massive developments. The developers can still develop their land; they just have to develop to the limits in the comprehensive plan," which authorizes much lower densities.
Manny Ruiz, chair of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, was philosophical about the projects' defeat: "The people spoke, we move forward, we have a lot of work to do.
"I voted to support this (development), I got criticized. I'm thinking it was the right decision to allow the process to continue. The community saw it otherwise, and I have to respect their wishes."
The project's developers — Las Mesas' Andrew Courtney and Sopori Ranch owner First United Realty — could not be reached Wednesday for comment.
The issues
Opponents said the projects would wreck the rural character and lifestyle of the land between Tubac and Tumacacori that has made the area a tourist attraction. They also said the developments would overload Interstate 19 with traffic. Finally, they said the projects would go against the comprehensive plan's recommendation that the land get "slow, deliberate growth with the aim of preserving and maintaining the area's historic, cultural, ranching and agricultural heritage."
Supporters said the projects would bring much-needed affordable housing to the Tubac area and that their densities would be in keeping with those of existing housing in the area.
They also said the projects would build a wastewater treatment plant that would discharge highly treated effluent back to the Santa Cruz River, improving the river's water quality. Most of what goes into the river today is lower quality water streaming north from the Nogales International Wastewater Plant near the Mexican border.
