Opponents to construction of a Dollar General store in Sonoita have formed an ad hoc committee to present a major amendment to the county comprehensive plan. “We want buildings to fit in with the character we have now,” said Susan Scott, who also chaired the three meetings in November to protest planned development of the site on the northeast corner of the intersection of State Routes 83 and 82.
“Most of the buildings there now are either western or southwestern style. We want to continue identifying the area as rural ranching and tourism,” she said. Working in conjunction with Jesse Drake, Santa Cruz County Director of Community Development, the committee will address guidelines for future development of property that is currently zoned as commercial or manufacturing. Scott explained that the committee is a bit under the gun because county supervisors will only accept an amendment in the first three months of the year, so March 31 is the deadline.
The amendment will require input from all the property owners impacted by changes in the plan. Members of the committee who joined through social media include Jim Johnson, John Kugler, Laura Ridnerer, and Kat Crockett. Scott said Kugler was involved in development of the current comprehensive plan and Crockett was involved in a community plan for Whetstone, when she resided there. “Yeah, I guess I’m the instigator,” said Scott, a past president of the Rotary Club. “I couldn’t stand by and do nothing. It just irritated me no end.”
Darcy Mentone, one of the most vocal critics of Dollar General at the November meetings, said she had called DCM and tried to speak to the Lechner brothers about a dozen times. There were no callbacks. “I haven’t heard a peep,” she said. Mentone said she also drove up to Tucson and visited the office in person because she was so irritated. No one came out to meet her.
A woman answering the telephone at the Tucson office of the developers said neither Chris Lechner or David Lechner were available for comment and there would be “no comment” prior to publication of this issue of Patagonia Regional Times. Dollar General emailed PRT that “Dollar General has been well-received by many communities in the states where it has opened new stores. Both in Arizona and across the 43 states that Dollar General operates in, we are respectful of community concerns and thoughtful in store design in order to be consistent with the charm and character of the towns we serve.”
The character of the Sonoita commercial area may depend on which direction you look. Grace Wystrach, owner of the Steak Out and Mercantile, acknowledged at the first protest meeting in November that “a lot of buildings around here are not amazing.” But her husband, Michael G. Wystrach, observed in an interview that there is uniqueness about the country store and the Mini Mart across the street that is “typical Sonoita.”
A senior managing director for a public relations firm providing strategic media relations for leading corporations and institutions worldwide had this to say when contacted by PRT: “What we tell corporations? We tell them to talk to people who contact them—and to never, ever, say ‘no comment’.”