A state legislator who represents parts of Pima and Pinal Counties has filed a complaint against the town of Patagonia in response to the ‘heavy truck traffic’ ordinance passed at the November 29 Town Council meeting.
The Patagonia Town Council voted to approve ordinance 17-01 to regulate heavy truck traffic within the town limits. Mayor Ike Isakson cast the lone dissenting vote, stating that that the ordinance failed to meet the three basic tests he believes are required for adoption. Those tests, he maintained, are, “Is it fair, is it legal and is it enforceable?” Town Attorney Michael Massee had, at the November 8 work session, expressed his opinion that the ordinance meets the test of legality.
During the discussion that followed Vice Mayor Andy Wood’s motion to approve the ordinance, Carolyn Shafer made the case in support of the ordinance, as she had in the study session three weeks prior, urging the council members to regulate heavy truck traffic as part of a more comprehensive strategy to protect the town’s present quality of life.
Another voice in favor of the ordinance was Roy Lee, a Patagonia resident who grew up here and recently moved back to town after pursuing his business career elsewhere for over 30 years. Although he agrees the town can’t regulate the mining activities, Lee said the town council has a responsibility to protect the quality of life for its citizens.
Joining the opposition to the proposed ordinance were Irma and Fred Sang, owners of the Patagonia Market, who asserted that the ordinance targets one business. “What are we going to do, pass an ordinance every time a new business wants to come into town?” Fred Sang asked. He also voiced his concern about driving away potential jobs that are crucial to the town’s ability to keep families from moving out of the area and keeping the community’s school enrollment up, an issue he is especially close to as he currently serves as president of the school board.
The complaint was filed on December 18 by State Representative Vince Leach, who lives north of Tucson and represents LD 11. He is requesting that the Attorney General investigate whether the town had violated Arizona state law by “adopting an ordinance restricting the total number of trips made by a ‘heavy duty truck.’”
In the complaint, he argues that “the ordinance is unlawful because the Town’s restrictions exceed the authority granted to it under Arizona law,” and that “the ordinance was unlawfully deliberated in violation of Arizona’s open meeting laws.”
Under law SB 1487, any legislator may file a complaint against a county, city or town that enacts an ordinance, regulation or order that he or she feels violates state law or the constitution of Arizona. This law, passed in February 2016, punishes local governments by withholding state funds if the Attorney General finds in favor of the complainant.
There are three possible outcomes to this complaint. The Attorney General could rule that the ordinance was legal and let it stand, he could rule that it is illegal and withhold state funds until the ordinance is rescinded, or he could rule that the case must go to the state Supreme Court for adjudication. Attorney General Mark Brnovich has 30 days to respond to the complaint.
If he determines that the case will go to the Supreme Court, the town may not be in a financial position to argue its case for the ordinance, according to Mayor Ike Isakson. “We can’t afford to go to court,” he said. There is a provision in the law that requires a bond be posted by the town equal to the amount of six months of state funding distributed to the town. This requirement could be waived, as it was in a recent case involving the city of Tucson.
Attorney fees, however, might make it impossible for the town to pursue the case, as the town’s risk management insurance does not cover legal fees incurred by policy matters, according to Isakson.
In response to questions about their involvement in Leach’s complaint, Arizona Mining, Inc. issued a statement saying, “while Arizona Mining did not file the complaint with the AG’s office on the recent town ordinance related to trucking we do believe that the ordinance is unnecessary.”
Town council member Michael Stabile has a different perspective. “In my understanding, the AG is just going to review whether a town can do this or not, and the shame of that is he’s not going to look at the fact that we are going from maybe 20 large trucks per month to 200 or more trucks per day on a two-lane road. That kind of frequency will be really dangerous to the citizens of Patagonia.”