Marana's leaders on Tuesday approved moving forward with the annexation of 1,200 acres of land that the town wants to use as the site for a new privately owned landfill.
The property being considered is owned by Vice Mayor Herb Kai and his brother John Kai Jr.
The Town Council at its study session voted 6-0 to direct the town's staff to proceed with the annexing of the property just west of the Marana Regional Airport. Herb Kai recused himself from the discussion and vote.
Herb Kai has been in talks since the middle of last year with a private Phoenix-based firm to build a landfill on 590 acres of the proposed annexation area, said Michael Racy, who is representing the Kais and the landfill company before the town. The proposed landfill would be privately run but used by the town and its residents.
The annexation is the first step in the process toward building a landfill there, said Town Manager Gilbert Davidson in an interview.
People are also reading…
It would fill the void that will be left when Pima County eventually closes its Tangerine Road landfill. The county had warned Marana that the landfill would likely be closed in mid-2009, but the landfill remains open.
The county would have to sign off on new landfill plans because of the site's potential to affect surrounding county land, and staffers there have expressed concerns about the annexation area's location within a flood plain, said Suzanne Shields, director of the Pima County Regional Flood Control District, in an interview.
"We want to make sure that as they build the landfill, that it doesn't impact upstream or downstream properties that are located within the county," she said. "The question is simply location. This area may work, but we would like to see the engineering, to make sure that it doesn't cause any impact in the flood plain."
Racy said those issues are already being addressed.
"The flood-plain issues are very easily managed," he said after the council's vote. "Before the project was ever started, those were all very thoroughly and very carefully analyzed."
During his council presentation, Racy said the actual fill area would take up only about 430 acres of the 590 acres designated for the landfill, and its proximity to the Marana Regional Airport would not disrupt the airport's future growth.
There's about a 50-year life expectation for the landfill, he said.
Former Councilman David Morales said the landfill is one last thing the town needs to be successful. "With this, the town comes full circle," he said.
Picture Rocks resident Albert Lannon said his first reaction was positive when he heard about a new landfill on the site. But in the time since then his community has begun to worry about whether a landfill will encourage the construction of an Interstate 10 bypass, which Picture Rocks has been fighting.
Resident Annie Shellberg said she lives just off West Avra Valley Road, part of which forms the southern border of the property to be annexed. "I ask that you not act in haste," she said.
She noted that she's not against the annexation, but she is concerned about the land-use change because of the potential to increase traffic on Avra Valley Road.
Several council members expressed excitement about the plan.
"This is a win-win situation, in my opinion," said Councilwoman Patti Comerford. "We were talking about having to haul trash all the way out to Oracle."
Shields, of the flood control district, said she thinks any problems can be worked out over time. "We recognize that having a landfill is valuable to the community," she said. "We just want to make sure it's done correctly and safely."
