Development Guidelines For D-M Area In Works

By Megan Rutherford
ARIZONA DAILY STAR

August 7, 2003

The Arizona Department of Commerce is preparing a study that will provide development guidelines for areas around Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. The Joint Land Use Study is being funded by a grant from the Defense Department. A final report will be published by November, said Bob Duchek, a senior planner with a state consulting firm hired to help research and write the report. He said the report would provide guidelines that could change Tucson zoning regulations about development around the base. It will also identify possible solutions to land use compatibility issues.

Stakeholders representing school districts, the city of Tucson , Pima County , state departments and other entities will be briefed on the final report in December. The Policy Advisory Committee, providing feedback for the study, will meet Aug. 20 at 1:30 p.m. at the Information and Technology Building, 481 W. Paseo Redondo, in the Pueblo Room. The meeting is open to the public. There also will be a public informational meeting in September. About 130 people attended the first meeting, in July.

Call 791-4505 and speak to Sarah More, a city planner, to find out more about meetings. Updated information about the project is posted at www.azcommerce.com/CommunityPlanning/azmilitaryprojectfaze2.htm

A draft paper about the existing conditions at Davis-Monthan, pertinent legislation and other issues has been released and is available at the Department of Commerce Web site listed above. The study is part of a larger statewide project called the Arizona Military Regional Compatibility Project that will identify land-use compatibility issues around military airports, ranges and installations. The first in the series of studies on Luke Air Force Base, in Glendale , was completed in March.  

Public input on the D-M study can be sent to heatherg@azcommerce.com. Comment cards will also be passed out at the next public information meeting, Duchek said.

* Contact reporter Megan Rutherford at 434-4073 or at meganr@azstarnet.com.

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