Part II - Policy Statements and Implementation Strategies

Chapter Three - The Crossroads: A Village Concept

A. Introduction

Commercial and institutional uses occupy less than one percent of NE Santa Cruz County, yet the economic and social life of our area centers around the Sonoita Crossroads, and to a lesser extent, "downtown" Elgin. These policies will guide the development of a small mixed-use village at the Sonoita Crossroads. The color map, which will open in an adjoining browser window, provides one view of what the result might be. It also suggests a list of design principles that reflect the policies recommended here.

B. Policy 8. Crossroads Village Infrastructure

Implementation of the Crossroads Village concept will require central sewerage and a central water system capable of providing fire flows for commercial uses.

Our Community's Goal

Realization of the plan for a Crossroads Village requires that our community (including the Sonoita Chamber of Commerce), Santa Cruz County, and other governmental authorities study the feasibility of central water supply and sewage disposal systems for the Crossroads Village. Within the planned Crossroads Village all development should provide adequate on-site infrastructures and make fair and proportional contribution to the provision or improvement of off-site facilities that serve the project.

Implementation Strategies

1. The Sonoita Crossroads Community Forum and Sonoita-Elgin Chamber of Commerce should seek funding to study the feasibility of installing central sewerage and a fire-fighting water supply at the Sonoita Crossroads. This can be done by making a presentation to the Arizona Rural Infrastructure Committee. Funding could be routed through Santa Cruz County. Additional strategies, possibly including the formation of a special improvement district, as provided by Arizona law (see ARS §48-701, et seq or ARS §48-901, et seq) should be adopted to reflect the results of the feasibility study,
2. Developers working in the Crossroads Village should be required to provide adequate on-site facilities. The regulations designed to implement this plan should also provide a basis for negotiating off-site infrastructure improvements. Improvements in the Crossroads Village should be consistent with these policies, including the design principles illustrated on the color plate. Detailed circulation and drainage plans will be needed, but can await the results of the utilities feasibility study.

C. Policy 9. Highways as Main Streets

The rapid increase in traffic volumes in NE Santa Cruz County during the past few years is documented in Appendix B, Table B-7. The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) will focus on the immediate objective of moving traffic through the Sonoita Crossroads as efficiently as possible, unless we make it clear that the desirable future is one in which the highways function as the "Main Streets" of a village.

Our Community's Goal

Work with ADOT to ensure that State Routes 82 and 83 as they pass through the Sonoita Crossroads are treated as "Main Streets" of a Crossroads Village. High speed arterial rural highways have no place in the plan.

Implementation Strategies

Santa Cruz County, SCCF, the South East Arizona Land Trust, the Chamber of Commerce, and other organizations and individuals should play an active role in ensuring that ADOT's planning for State Highways 82 and 83 is consistent with this plan. ADOT's planning should:

1. recognize the need for a strong sense of entrance to the Crossroads Village;
2. safely accommodate bicycle and pedestrian travel within the Crossroads Village, including the pedestrian crossings of State Highway 82 that will become necessary as the area develops;
3. discourage through truck traffic;
4. set priorities for the acquisition of scenic easements, including easements that protect views from the highways entering the Crossroads Village; and
5. establish a program for the use of transportation enhancement and other funds to help implement these proposed actions.

D. Policy 10. Crossroads Village Open Space

The importance of open space in the future quality of life and prosperity in NE Santa Cruz County is discussed in Policy 1.

Our Community's Goal

Maintain open space around and within the Sonoita Crossroads area. The prosperity and attractiveness of the Crossroads Village concept depends upon continuing the appeal of surrounding open spaces. The connection of the Village with grasslands and mountains should be immediately visible to visitors and residents alike.

Implementation Strategies

1. The Open Space Framework established by Policy 1 includes land needed to protect views and guide development of the Crossroads Village. That policy calls for acquisition of conservation easements or, where easements cannot be acquired, using the transfer of development rights and open space development patterns to protect open space. Provision of central utilities in the Crossroads Village (see Policy 8) could be used to provide a strong incentive for the transfer of development rights away from lands within the Open Space Framework.
2. Open space should also be integrated into the Crossroads Village where it can serve many functions including temporary storage and infiltration of surface runoff, buffering between different intensities of use, and outdoor recreation.
3. Native plant species and communities should be featured in the open space areas and other landscaping within the Crossroads Village.

E. Policy 11. Housing at the Crossroads Village

The local business people who participated in the Commercial Working Group made it clear that there is a need for affordable employee housing in the Crossroads Village.

Our Community's Goal

Encourage construction in the Crossroads Village of housing that is affordable to small business owners and employees. Use performance standards to ensure land use compatibility as the Crossroads Village develops.

Implementation Strategies

1. Installing central utilities in the Crossroads Village should make it possible to increase density enough to build housing that is more affordable to local working people.
2. Central utilities in the Crossroads Village would also stimulate demand for higher density market rate housing. Developers should be encouraged to use this demand to provide more affordable housing or to protect open space by transferring development rights from lands within the Open Space Framework to sites in the village.
3. The development regulations designed to implement this plan will ensure an appropriate, compatible mix of commercial uses and housing.

F. Policy 12. Expansion of the Crossroads Village

As the Sonoita Crossroads area grows, full public involvement will alter and revise the design of a Crossroads Village. The principles stated in this comprehensive plan for open space, for cooperative land use, and for the preservation of the natural assets of NE Santa Cruz County should guide the alterations and revisions.

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

© 2002 Sonoita Crossroads Community Forum