County seeks to ‘abandon’ roads

The back roads of Rio Rico took center stage at the Aug. 12 meeting of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors.

Public Works staff asked the supervisors if they could begin the legal process to “abandon” 25.6 miles of dirt roads in Rio Rico Ranchettes 9, 17 and 18.

The county has never maintained those roads and receives no funds from the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) to take care of them, said Public Works Director Scott Altherr.

“We believe that having those roads in our inventory and not maintaining them exposes us to risk,” he said.

Thomas O’Sullivan, chief civil deputy in the county attorney’s office, agreed.

“Right now, we’re responsible if someone drives off a cliff,” he said. “If we abandon the road, it becomes a private road.”

“How many lawsuits have been filed on those roads?” asked Supervisor John Maynard.

No claims in the past two years, O’Sullivan answered.

Altherr led a study session on June 24 to explore the possible abandonment. A couple of residents spoke and someone asked him to find out if other counties had a “dirt-road standard.”

No county did, Altherr said on Aug. 12. He asked supervisors for a vote of support to begin the abandonment process.

This week, Realtors and residents came out in force to denounce the proposal.

“There are real people who own property on the roads you are considering abandoning,” Rio Rico resident Jan Collins told the supervisors. “They pay real property taxes. After the county abandons these roads, their property value will be zero. Are you going to give back their taxes?”

Since the county issues building permits, will it require a permit to build on property that’s worthless? Collins asked.

The county has about $680,000 in its fund to maintain 712 miles of roadway, said Supervisor Manuel Ruiz. “It’s a drop in the bucket.”

The county has never maintained any of the roads on the abandonment list, Altherr said. “Our intention was not to put on the list any roads where people are living.”

Realtor James Ross spoke for people who brought lots in the 1960s and early 1970s. In an agreement with Avatar (the parent company of Rio Rico Properties), the county was to maintain those roads, he said.

“I have never heard of any (law) suits (on the roads) since I’ve been here,” said Ross, a 28-year resident.

Realtor Lori Adamson often shows property to prospective buyers on roads in horrible condition, she said. “I can tell them once someone moves onto the road, the county will maintain it.”

As he looked over a map of the roads in question, Maynard said, “I’m concerned that this could leave 100 to 200 lots (on just one road) without public access.”

So is the Tubac Fire District, which serves about two-thirds of Rio Rico, said Denny Scanlan, a fire district board member.

If those roads become private, owners could put up a gate, Scanlan said. “We honestly don’t have the time to break out the torches and cutting tools (to respond to an emergency).”

“You have to have public safety access,” said Rio Rico resident Kathi Campana. “Our subdivision laws require two points of access.”

She wondered if abandonment would violate Proposition 207, the Private Property Rights Protection Act passed by Arizona voters in 2006.

“Anything a county does to affect property values could be considered a taking,” Campana said.

She handed letters of opposition from the Rio Rico Chamber of Commerce, Residents of Rio Rico, the Santa Cruz Board of Realtors and the Baca Float Coalition to the supervisors.

Scanlan asked why the county would spend thousands of dollars to survey the land, contact every owner and pay legal expenses to complete the abandonment process.

“To me, you’re spending more money trying to get rid of the roads than you ever spent on maintaining them,” Scanlan said. He asked “Why waste money on a project that doesn’t make any difference?”

Rio Rico resident Christine Tudan bristled at Altherr’s idea for residents to form an improvement district to bring the roads up to county standards. It would cost $910,000 to form the district, she said.

In rural areas, some residents may not even know the neighboring property owners, Adamson said

Tudan said Public Works began work on the abandonment idea after she and her husband, Robert Byerly, asked for 100 feet of road grading in Rio Rico Ranchette No. 9.

The property owners pay taxes and county supervisors accepted some of those roads into its system years ago, Tudan said.

“We don’t have the money to keep people on board, but we’re spending thousands of dollars to abandon these roads,” said County Treasurer Caesar Ramirez.

Out-of-area investors spent a million dollars on properties at the county’s delinquent tax sale this year. If the county gives up those roads in Rio Rico, the investors may not come back, he said.

“They can’t afford to come down,” said Realtor Lois Cooper. “If you make their property value zero, they’re going to stop paying taxes.”

If the county called a town hall meeting, perhaps Rio Rico residents would support a bond issue to improve the roads, Cooper said.

Ruiz suggested a field trip to the roads so “we could make a better decision,” he said. All three supervisors voted to table any action until Sept. 30.

Before then, Maynard hoped to call a meeting of residents in Rio Rico, he said after the supervisors’ meeting.