INSIDE TUCSON BUSINESS: Mon., Jan. 8, 2007

How much land are we supposed to conserve?

  Valley Views by Steve Emerine

County officials and environmentalists suffered anxiety attacks last month, not from Christmas shopping but from land envy. Although county voters approved millions of dollars of bonds in 1997 and 2004 to buy vacant land for conservation purposes, these folks don't have enough money to get everything they want.

They're wringing their hands. In a county where governments and Indian tribes already own 87% of the land, they're saying a county bond proposal to buy still more land may have to take place this year instead of 2008.

Land envy is rampant here. On Dec. 29, the Arizona Daily Star reported on opposition to two private proposals for developing vacant land. The first is to build less than 300 homes on 1,189 acres near Madera Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountains, leaving 85% of the property undisturbed.

The second is Voyager RV Park owner Ike Isaacson's bid to expand his southeast side golf course. Part of it lies in an area bureaucrats have labeled a flood plain. But the Star described it as “a broad, virtually level wash.” They're all over Pima County, and we've built on many of them with few consequences.

Most of us moved here from somewhere else. We can't tax ourselves to buy every piece of land county officials or environmentalists take a fancy to. We can't afford to buy every ranch or every pumpkin farm. We shouldn't buy freeway frontage to help developers.

Like you and me, environmentalists and county officials must pick and choose ... and live within their means.

FULL STORY: http://azbiz.com/steve_emerine/