Introduction to the Plan

This plan has two major parts. Part I describes the process of civic learning and discussion by which the plan was developed. Part II presents our local definition of responsible growth in the form of policies stating how we intend to:

build effective partnerships between our community and state and federal agencies, especially land management agencies;
maintain open space and rural character as residential development continues throughout the planning area; and
promote quality development, including both commercial and residential, at the Sonoita Crossroads.

Each policy in Part II begins with a brief statement of the reasons for its inclusion. That explanation is followed by a goal: a general statement of direction. Each goal is accompanied by a list of specific strategies that will be used to achieve it. There are two types of strategies:

strategies calling for the investments of time, energy, and money that will be needed to maintain and implement this plan, provide public services, and protect open space in Northeastern (NE) Santa Cruz County; and
strategies establishing the responsibilities that accompany land development in NE Santa Cruz County.

Authority

This plan should be adopted as part of the Santa Cruz County Comprehensive Plan. The county is required to have a comprehensive plan by Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS) 11-806 and Laws 1998, Ch. 204, §21. ARS 11-829 requires that future land use decisions be consistent with the comprehensive plan.

NOTE FOR THE DRAFT: The Arizona Legislature recently placed severe limits on counties ability to regulate land use in rural areas. An insert explains the way in which Arizona law affects the possible implementation of this plan.

Planning Area

This plan applies to NE Santa Cruz County, which is outlined on the map above. The planning area encompasses roughly 200 square miles.

Land use issues in adjacent parts of Cochise and Pima Counties are similar, but the planning area is limited to Santa Cruz County for jurisdictional reasons. The southern boundary of the planning area is a natural one, a watershed divide that also marks the difference between the increasingly residential land use pattern of the Sonoita-Elgin area and the less populous San Rafael Valley. There was discussion of the appropriate western boundary. The Sonoita-Elgin area shares many issues with the Town of Patagonia, but there are also significant differences between the communities. We think it best to end the area covered by this plan at Casa Blanca Canyon, allowing the people of Patagonia and its immediate environs to conduct their own locally-initiated planning process.

Planning Data

The planning area mapped above follows jurisdictional and watershed boundaries, and reflects community identities. Unfortunately, it is not an area for which there is separate population, housing, economic, or tax data. Unless otherwise noted, the data presented in this plan are for the Elgin Elementary School District. The school district has different boundaries, but essentially the same population and land use pattern as the planning area.

Next: Part I: The Planning Process

Return to the index

Sonoita Crossroads Community Forum
P.O. Box 1274
Sonoita, AZ 85637