Posted on 07/09/2006 9:24:15 AM PDT by SandRat
SIERRA VISTA — The southern portion of Arizona may be the anchor of an emerging megapolitan area in which the population in the Sierra Vista Subwatershed could double by 2050 to more than 110,000 people.
All of Arizona is rapidly growing and major development is along major highway corridors from the north in the Prescott area to southern Arizona, which includes Sierra Vista and a large portion of the western part of Cochise County, said Robert Lang, an expert on urban planning issues. Officials and environmentalists say actions must be taken to ensure that growth is logically accomplished, taking into account a proper infrastructure and looking at the area’s water woes.
There is agreement people are coming to Arizona to retire. But some people believe the existence of Fort Huachuca is driving the majority of the increase locally, while others said the area is naturally developing as people who have no connection to the military arrive.
Although the dictionary does not show the word megapolitan, it does list megalopolis, meaning a vast, continuously urban area, including any number of cities.
Lang, a professor at the University of Virginia, spoke at an April Arizona Town Hall meeting in which he outlined what he called Arizona’s “Sun Corridor.”
The state must look at controlling the growth so it will not burden the people and government agencies, he said in a follow-up interview with the Herald/Review.
Transportation and development issues must be addressed so the Sun Corridor becomes the right economic force in Arizona, Lang said.
Sierra Vista Mayor Pro Tem Bob Strain attended the Arizona Town Hall where Lang spoke. Strain acknowledged that growth is a given, but water is also a factor that must be addressed in parts of Cochise County.
Communities such as Sierra Vista also need to determine what infrastructure is needed to maintain what he called an acceptable quality of service “in the face of impending growth.”
Strain is chairman of the Upper San Pedro Partnership, a consortium of federal, state and local agencies, as well as environmental and business groups.
The partnership has been tasked by Congress to bring the areas water use and recharge into balance to ensure the San Pedro River and its riparian area is protected. The balance is to be accomplished by 2011.
Partnership members have wrestled with growth concerns for years as part of looking for solutions.
With the potential of Sierra Vista being the southern most part of the state’s Sun Corridor, Strain said the partnership is facing more challenges than bringing the water use and deficit into balance by 2011.
The group must look even further out by at least 10 years to ensure there is an alternate source of water for the area.
That will be difficult because all areas with water problems, which Strain estimated is about 20 percent of the state’s growing corridor will be looking for additional sources, too.
According to projections, Arizona’s population by 2050 will be 15 million, compared to the 5.1 million now in the state.
There is a potential 25,504 residential lots could be developed in the subwatershed, an area from the border to north of the Babocomari River and from Tombstone and Bisbee east to the west side of the Huachuca Mountains in Santa Cruz County.
The developing Benson area and the Northwest Cochise County region, just outside of the Benson city limits, include another 17,403 lots, bringing the possibility of 42,907 lots in the megapolitan area’s local portion.
At nearly 2.5 people per single home, and recognizing not all lots may be limited to individual houses but could be apartments or duplexes, the potential population increase may reach nearly 150,000.
The Sierra Vista Subwatershed’s population is now about 55,000. When the Benson area is added, it is around 70,000. The county’s current population is about 120,000, living in nearly 6,000 square miles.
At the Arizona Town Hall, Arizona’s Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano said two things she wants addressed are plans to address water needs and more investment in infrastructure.
“Our infrastructure needs are huge,” she said.
HERALD/REVIEW senior reporter Bill Hess can be reached at 515-4615 or by e-mail at bill.hess@svherald.com.
Bookmark
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.