Friends, neighbors, community members, high school faculty and fellow parents of high school students at MMHS, we (and some of you) were recently notified that the owner of the roughly triangular-shaped property due WEST (apologies. I originally posted as east by accident) of the high school has petitioned to have his land rezoned from I2 (industrial) to R3 (high-density residential) with the intent of placing four large 3-story apartment complex buildings on the property.

This would be a devastating use of the property. The most critical concern is that the only ingress/egress would abut and run parallel to the student parking lot for the high school, effectively destroying the right turn lane for students and turning an already busy school zone into a high stakes traffic nightmare with potentially lethal consequences.

1. *Apparently I was also incorrect on this assumption. The developer said they plan the ingress/egress to run right along the wash. Although anyone that walks the trail along the wash would concur that this idea would be a major engineering feat, due to limited space between the existing residential property line and the wash berm, should this plan be implemented, it will still affect everyone driving to and from the high school due not only to the increase in traffic but of alterations to the wash.

One other dire concern is the population oversaturation. Water consumption in the state in general is at an all-time high while water resources are at an all-time low. Yes, everyone needs somewhere to live, but we have just watched two apartment complexes go in with a rental home community now in the works right next to one as well. We are already exhausting our water resources and another apartment complex would only serve to shorten the timeline.

Concerns that have already been noted:

-Blocking viewsheds.  The Desert Willow Neighborhood was built on a scenic corridor, the apartments' proposed height is not aligned with that intent.  Taller than the new apartments on the West side of Valencia.  
-Traffic on Valencia is already overburdened.  Can’t get out of neighborhood now.  The additional roads in the area are limited and aren’t suitable for the amount of growth in the region. No bus service in the area.
-Unsafe ingress and egress onto Valencia as the only option for emergency access.
-Encroachment of single existing property owner who will be surrounded by apartments. 
-Schools are already overcrowded.
-Additional flooding concerns as Atterbury Wash currently overflows in that area.
-Environmental concerns: Water, disruption of wildlife crossing corridors and encroachment to their pathway along the wash.  Heat island effect with another parking lot and tall buildings.
-Lighting concerns:  Currently the neighborhood has lost its dark skies view when the high school has their outdoor field lights on during games and practices.  The lights from an apartment complex parking lot will exacerbate that issue to every day.  
-Safety: Currently there aren’t enough police officers to service the current residents and fire units get closed for periods of time to service other areas of the city.

Please sign and share the petition NOW! Public meetings have already taken place. Please see the update for information on what took place during the 2nd meeting held:

Houghton – Follow-up Neighborhood Meeting
Wednesday, January 25th at 5:30 pm
Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.
https://meet.goto.com/766798821
You can also dial in using your phone.
Access Code: 766-798-821
United States: +1 (872) 240-3212

Please attend any ensuing meetings so that our voices can be heard and we prevent out-of-city builders wreaking havoc on our community.

In addition, if you would like to reach out to Mayor Regina Romero and Councilwoman Nikki Lee, they can be contacted via:

Mayor Regina Romero by email: Mayor.Romero@tucsonaz.gov or phone: (520) 791-4201

Ward 4 Vice Mayor - Council Member Nikki Lee by email: ward4@tucsonaz.gov or phone: (520) 791-3199