Board adopts Comprehensive Plan a year later

Following public feedback, supervisors had asked staff to revise draft

A year after declining to adopt the 2030 Comprehensive Plan and directing staff to make revisions based on public feedback, the Yuma County Board of Supervisors adopted the plan.

In March 2022, the supervisors followed the Planning and Zoning Commission’s recommendation to not adopt the plan due to outdated elements such as housing and census data.

The plan is the official guide for the development of the unincorporated areas of the county. Its primary purpose is to help the Planning Commission and supervisors make decisions related to land use.

State law requires that the supervisors amend or extend the plan every 10 years. Initially, the supervisors directed staff to update the plan with minimal changes and keep the existing plan as last adopted with minor changes.

However, the county received more comments from the public than anticipated, with some feedback referencing outdated data, studies and maps, incorrect statutes and other errors.

Residents requested updates to the housing elements, new census information and other revisions so the plan accurately presents the current socioeconomic conditions in Yuma County.

Last year, much of the discussion among the commissioners centered on the housing element, which was still based on data from 2000 to 2010. For example, the old plan referenced a housing oversupply when currently there is a housing shortage.

Some governmental agencies requested that Yuma’s recent housing study be used as the housing element. The Yuma Metropolitan Planning Organization asked that new transportation studies be incorporated into the plan.

Consequently, staff switched gears and agreed with the commission’s recommendation to allow staff to prepare a “better plan, which is what we did. We came up with a good plan. This was done in-house,” explained Juan Leal-rubio, senior planner.

From June 8 to Oct. 1, staff reviewed and worked on the plan. Between Oct. 25 and Dec. 27, staff posted the latest draft online and distributed copies throughout the different planning areas in the county.

Staff held an open house meeting on Nov. 15, where about a dozen people provided comments. The Planning Commission held a public hearing on Jan. 24 and recommended approval of the latest draft. The supervisors also held another public hearing on Feb. 22, the day it adopted the plan.

While preparing the plan, staff incorporated the public feedback, such as updated census data and boundaries. They included information from other agencies that have plans in place such as the Yuma Metropolitan Planning Organization and Marine Corps Air Station. Staff also considered comments from the Arizona State Attorney and Yuma County Administration.

“I appreciate all the time and effort that went into this, and I think that it’s a much better product than the one you bought the first time,” said Supervisor Tony Reyes.

Reyes then stressed the need to work with all the municipalities in the county on the Joint Land Use Plan, which is no longer in use.

“The municipalities are expanding rapidly, they’re moving into county areas that essentially we need to be planning together,” he said. “You move out into the county and you expect certain things to be different from the city. That’s the expectation you have. The problem that I see is that most people don’t realize how much cities are expanding.”

Planning Director Maggie Castro explained that county staff regularly meets with counterparts from the incorporated jurisdictions. “Lately we’ve been meeting annually, and we do go over proposed projects, major amendments, major projects going on both in the county and in the cities. So communication does take place on a regular basis,” she said.

In addition, Castro noted, county staff will request comments from the incorporated jurisdictions on zoning requests in case of conflicts with their plans.

Reyes pointed out that a Joint Land Use Plan would be a useful tool for the general public. “Maybe not so much for internal consumption, but for external consumption, for people who develop, to know what’s going to happen, where it’s going to happen, where the cities make things happen, where the county expects things to develop,” he said.

Leal-rubio explained that the board voted years ago to remove the joint land use plan because it had become “a little confused.” However, county staff is now looking into bringing it back.

Two residents spoke during the public hearing. “I think we’re heading in the right direction. I think that it’s very important to recognize that yes, bicycling does play a part and you have a whole page now and a map section that shows bicycling,” Gene Dalbey of the Yuma Region Bicycle Coalition said.

“In that paragraph alone, it really says the kind of things that are important in terms of the quality of life, the value of life, and all the things that go with what we’re trying to do in terms of making our environment exceptionally well for the future of our population,” Dalbey added.

Jay Meierdierck of the Yuma Audubon Society said the organization, after reviewing sections dealing with the environment, public participation, open space and recreation and parks, had “some major and minor concerns and strongly feel that these should be addressed prior to the Board of Supervisors giving their vote of approval.”

Meierdierck outlined a need to include global warming to protect the Colorado River, the impact of winter visitors, open space policies, light motorized and non-motorized activities, school and community mass shootings, immigration and international asylum and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Supervisor Lynne Pancrazi said she would like to see more open spaces and trails and schools in East County. “I want Yuma to be a desirable place for everybody to come live. And if you look at the open spaces up in Maricopa County, up in the northern part of other areas, you’ll find that it’s a more desirable place because of the fact that they left open spaces for people to recreate,” she said.

The supervisors voted 4-0 to adopt the plan, with Reyes absent after leaving for an appointment.

Leal-rubio noted that the plan, although adopted, can still be changed through the minor amendment process.