County approves stores, hotel on Fortuna
Supervisors also OK bypass road by Castle Dome museum
The Yuma County Board of Supervisors gave 4-0 approval to granting six modifications from the county’s subdivision regulations for a commercial development on Fortuna Road south of Interstate 8, allowing developer Ross Wait to move forward with a project positioned to bring stores, restaurants and a hotel.
The approval came despite the opposition from county planning staff for many of the changes, following instead the direction of the Planning and Zoning Commission, which voted 8-0 in favor of the deviations from the county public works code.
Board Chairman and District 4 Supervisor Tony Reyes said, “I’m more familiar with residential development, but I’m also aware that in commercial development you normally need a little more flexibility because they’re smaller in size... We certainly like to encourage commercial development in the county and not put any barriers to it, when in reality there’s no need.”
The biggest departure, allowing 30 foot-wide roadways within the development rather than 60 feet, would be in keeping with several other commercial centers in the area, and doubling that to 60 feet would mean roads would consume 31 percent of the land.
“It would essentially render the project unfeasible because a third of the
property would be used for roads. It doesn’t make sense,” said Yuma attorney Barry Olsen.
Arturo Alvarez, land development engineer for the county, maintained that under current county standards, Fortuna Palms needed internal roads at least 40 feet wide so they could include a center turning lane, and such designs have been approved by the board in other commercial developments in the past.
Olsen said that staff had fast-tracked the proposal for board approval so developer Ross Wait could take advantage of current interest in the property, at the northwest corner of Fortuna and 35th Place. It’s just south of the Pioneer Center shopping area and wraps around the Walgreens at 35th Place.
“The last year or so, momentum for this area has increased substantially, and Mr. Wait has been approached by several restaurant sites, commercial ventures, looking at this site for potential development,” Olsen said.
The 8.8-acre development will be divided into eight lots, including a 1.4-acre lot at the northwestern edge for a hotel/motel use. Olsen said at the planning commission that a company has “committed” to build on this lot, but did not mention it Monday.
There are also three lots labeled for fast-food, three for retail and one for an auto-parts store. Olsen indicated last month construction could begin soon after board approval.
In other news Monday, the board:
• Voted 4-0 in favor of a resolution supporting construction of a bypass road around Castle Dome Mine Museum and neighboring attractions in the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge.
The road is intended to resolve years of disagreements between Castle Dome owner Allen Armstrong and Kofa National Wildlife Refuge officials over how to keep cars, trucks and ATVs headed for McPherson Pass and other wilderness areas from going through the Castle Dome and Hull mine properties, which he purchased by buying mining claims that predate the establishment of the refuge.
The Castle Dome museum is a reconstructed mining town modeled on one which existed on the site in 1871, and has become a popular tourist destination despite its isolated location seven miles down a rough gravel road, east of the Yuma Proving Ground. Armstrong said 750 cars were counted last season during the busiest day.
He said he expects to draw more interest and visitors with the opening of the Hull Mine to tours, which could happen as early as November. The main attraction will be a huge underground wall, about 30 feet wide by 50 feet high, with phosphorescent mineral rocks that produce a large array of colors when a black light hits it.
It’s being billed as “Arizona’s Natural Wonder Florescent Wall,” and is the largest known geological feature of its kind, Armstrong said.
“It’s a phenomenon of unsurpassed beauty. The largest wall in the world had two or three colors and we counted 11, plus the variations. It’s past spectacular, and we have interest from all over the world,” he said.
Armstrong has agreed to pay for the one-mile bypass road as designed by engineer Dave Pauletto through the federal land, drawn to minimize its effect on the landscape.
He said the design has been submitted to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which will perform an environmental assessment on it, likely this fall.
Charles Flynn of the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area, who has been acting as an intermediary in the dispute, told the board, “The reason your resolution is so criti- cal is they are just beginning the process of the environmental assessment. They need to know where Yuma County stands.”
District 5 Supervisor Darren Simmons said he has gone into the mine to see the florescent wall, and said, “it amazed me.” But he’s also concerned about the amount and variety of vehicles already going through the area.
“You’re talking anywhere from four-wheel drives, cars are able to transient through some of it. You’ve got jeeps, quads, UTVs, and it becomes a danger, really, and a hazard, with that many vehicles, and the number of people he has passing through to look at it,” he said.
• Approved a request for two modifications for the proposed 10 East residential subdivision, at the northeast corner of Avenue 10E and 34th Street.
• Approved allocation of $88,744 in contingency funds for video equipment at the Board of Supervisors and Department of Development Services, to upgrade the signal from the county’s Yuma77 channel from analog to HD/Serial Digital Interface. District 1 Supervisor Martin Porchas asked that officials look at the options for bringing back Spanish translation for board meetings, which was available for a time.
Yuma Sun staff writer Blake Herzog can be reached at (928) 539-6856 or bherzog@yumasun.com.