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Mayor, Town Manager to Blame for Illegal Subdivision
The Arizona Department of Real Estate (ADRE) recently issued a Cease & Desist Order against Coronado Ridge Development Corporation for its construction of an illegal subdivision in Patagonia.
Our Mayor signed the contract with Coronado in January 2019. This action was in violation of Arizona Subdivision Law §9-463.01 and Patagonia Ordinances 15.3 & 15.4. Planning & Development (P&D) and Town Council were not provided a subdivision application from the developer. There was no review and approval by P&D and Council of a Preliminary Plat. There was therefore no review and approval of a Final Plat.
The Mayor usurped the power of these two legislative bodies when she signed the contract without legislative oversight and approval. A proper review by P&D and Council would have shown that the developer intended to use the Town’s inadequate water supply and this would have resulted in a denial by the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) of a water certificate. Without a water certificate ADRE would have outright rejected the subdivision application. The six-year unsightly and noisy disturbance in our neighborhood should never have happened!
The Town Manager violated Patagonia Ordinance 15-8-1 by issuing building permits for a subdivision that did not have a Final Plat recorded with the County.
The Mayor refused to discuss subdivisions with the community. She rejected a neighborhood petition, denied several Council Meeting Agenda Requests and ignored numerous email inquiries.
In a PRT interview in Dec. 2023 the Town Manager obfuscated about the Town’s water supply by conflating (but not naming) the acceptance of our most recent 5-year Drought Preparedness Plan as evidence of a certified 100-year water supply. He also stated that subdivision law was not applicable because the parcels in the new development were surveyed in 1956.
ADWR and ADRE have laid bare these two false claims. Subdivision law does indeed apply in Patagonia and the Town does not have a 100-year adequate water supply.
Lonnie Goff
Patagonia