A developer will not be allowed to build a house in the Campbell Wash, and another who wanted to put 14 townhomes on an acre in rural Tanque Verde Valley will be restricted to seven.
Both decisions Tuesday by the Pima County Board of Supervisors represented a backlash against developers who wanted to use their property to the maximum allowed by county rules.
In the case of the Campbell Wash, Michael Teufel Sr., using the business name of MTI Investments, wanted to build on a lot just north of Camino a los Vientos in the Catalina Foothills Estates neighborhood. The lot was from a larger property with a house on the ridge.
Chief engineer Suzanne Shields recommended a flood-plain use permit, saying there was a house site outside of the 100-year flood plain, although the garage, driveway and yard were in the flood plain.
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But neighbors and a former flood-control district official said the county's modeling didn't account for the steep, canyonlike walls of the Campbell Wash.
"The issue here is one of applying real-world information as opposed to mathematical models," said Mike Zeller, who used to head flood-control management at the county. "I never thought anybody would be dumb enough to build in the bottom of a canyon, so we didn't think to address this."
The supervisors agreed with the neighbors and voted 4-1 to deny the permit, despite objections from the developer's lawyer, Larry Hecker, that doing so meant changing the rules in the middle of the game.
The other project was a proposal by Desert American Builders for 14 townhomes on an acre zoned for commercial development next to a feed store in the Tanque Verde Valley.
Neighbors said the project violated the rural nature of the area, and the feed store owner, Dean Moreno, worried his new neighbors would try to put him out of business.
But the project was permissible under the zoning. Indeed, the action before the supervisors — a final plat approval — normally merits no discussion.
After five months of delay, including several discussions in closed session, the supervisors voted unanimously to limit the developer to seven houses.
Supervisor Ray Carroll said it was the best he could do, though he would have preferred a business. He said putting homes so close to a hay and feed store is a fire danger.
Larry Schubart, a lawyer for the developer, said he might sue the county, saying that might be "our only remedy."
