Council OKs land use amendment

A public hearing on a proposed 3,700-acre master planned development on the mesa brought out a crowd to Wednesday evening's Yuma City Council.

And a lot of those people had something to say about the plans for Estancia.

After listening to 23 speakers during the 3-1/2-hour public hearing that lasted until 10 p.m., the council voted 5-2 in favor of a land use amendment that will pave the way for the project. The opposing votes were cast by council members Raul Mendoza and Leslie McClendon.

During the public hearing, McClendon had expressed her concerns about the potential impact of Estancia on Marine Corps Air Station Yuma and the Barry M. Goldwater Range.

"The base is critical to our area," she said.

Before making a decision, she said she wanted more information about the F-35, the new fighter jet that will be based at MCAS, perhaps by late 2010.

Mendoza agreed. "We have only preliminary reports on the noise level of the F-35," he said. "True, Yuma needs to grow, but maybe we should wait until the F-35 has been (here) a couple of years and we have a noise analysis."

Representing MCAS was Maj. James Combs, who took over two days ago as the community planner for the air station upon the retirement of Tom Manfredi.

"MCAS does not oppose Estancia," Combs said when questioned by Councilman Paul Johnson.

Combs also noted that Col. Mark Werth, MCAS commander, and his staff had met with the backers of Estancia.

In the face of the declining citrus industry, property owners pleaded for the right to add value to their land while providing a planned area for the city to grow in the years to come.

Property owner Mark Spencer said that development of Estancia likely won't happen anytime soon and he has no intention of pushing out his citrus trees before they've completed their life cycle.

"And I plan on planting new trees next year and continue to try and stay in business," he said. 'But I have to be realistic and plan, and part of our plan is to be involved in Estancia."

An equal number of people stated their opposition to the project that could ultimately bring 20,000 homes and a population of 50,0000 to the south mesa.

"I'm sure Estancia will have a beautiful presentation depicting the wonderful lifestyle that awaits buyers if the land is rezoned and the project is built," said Bobbi McDermott, who spent 38 years working with farmers through the USDA Natural Resources Conservation District, specializing in land-use planning.

However, she said, she has several concerns: "Leap-frog urbanization, lack of infrastructure, lack of a pressing need for a new city and potential long-term effects on the success of MCAS in accomplishing its mission."

In addition, she said, another 230-acre master planned community has already been approved for the Gila Valley "and not a shovel has been turned yet."

Lucy Shipp, who once served on the Planning and Zoning Commission and as a Yuma County supervisor, warned that approving Estancia in her opinion would be "the long-term death knell for the air station. If this decision compromises the air station, it could cost us the expansion of the MCAS or put us on the closure list," she said."

Joyce Lobeck can be reached at jlobeck@yumasun.com or 539-6853.