The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors has been notified of the U.S. Custom and Border Protection’s intention of building a new Border Patrol station in the Sonoita area.
Board chairman John Fanning said he learned of the proposed facility about three weeks ago when the county was asked to provide comments to the agency’s Environmental Assessment for a “proposed acquisition of land and construction, operation and maintenance of a new Border Patrol Station near Sonoita.”
“When I received the letter, that’s the first that I had heard of it,” Fanning said. “We’ve been focused on the (proposed expanded) checkpoint on I-19 north of Tucson, and then all of a sudden we have this.”
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has identified two potential sites for the new station: Its preferred location is four miles southeast of Sonoita on an undeveloped parcel of approximately 40 acres; an alternative site would be a 75.76-acre parcel that borders State Routes 82 and 83.
Fanning said that other than the proposed locations he has no details about CBP’s timetable or plans for the facility. The PRT reached out to the Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector by phone and email but has not received a response.
“I haven’t had the opportunity to meet or discuss this with anyone in the eastern portion of the county that it would affect,” Fanning said. “How I feel about (it) is secondary to how it’s going to affect those stakeholders that live in that area.
“I don’t want to jump the gun and say we want this or we don’t want this because I don’t know how the citizens in that area feel.’
The county responded to CBP’s request for scoping comments with a two-page letter, signed by Fanning, requesting “clear and detailed information regarding the following”:
- Site selection process
- Economic impacts
- Social and community impacts
- Visual impacts
- Air quality and construction impacts
- Community engagement
- Comparison of the two locations
“Those are all non-negotiable,” Fanning said. “Whether you are in favor of it or whether you’re against it doesn’t matter. Those seven points need to be looked at.”
Fanning told the PRT that the proposal will be a prime topic of discussion when he meets with constituents in Sonoita on the first week of October.
“It has the potential to change the entire personality of that area,” he said, “so we need to make sure that the seven points that we made all come to fruition and that we have a seat at the table, the constituents have a seat at the table, so when the ultimate decision is made it’s an educated decision based on the discussion with community members.”
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
The PRT is interested in your perspective on this important topic. Please feel free to send your thoughts and comments to editor@prtnews.org.