CAMPAIGN GOALS
REPEAL CR-1 ZONING FOR OFF-GRID LOTS
It Doesn’t Make Financial Sense!
In the 1970’s when the Diamond Bell Ranch area was originally zoned CR-1 (site-built homes only / no pre-fab or mobile homes allowed) it was done with the promise of running water and power to every lot. This never happened. Only 5% of the lots received utilities, and they are all fenced in together as their own neighborhood.
The other 95% of the lots make up the majority of the area, and are mostly undeveloped. The very few that do have a “site-built home” have something that looks more like a warehouse than a country estate, and that makes sense. Because what does NOT make sense is to build a nice site-built home on a lot with no utilities.
No matter how nice our McMansions are, they will never be the same value as the homes in The Neighborhood that has water and power. Plus, all of the gear required to live off-grid can add over $20,000 to the cost of our homes. So, we spend more money to have something that is worth less money. No Thanks!
We argue that since our lots never received utilities that the CR-1 zoning is VOID. The County did not live up to their end of the deal. The fact that the area is mostly undeveloped after 50 years is proof that this is Not Working.
LIFT RESTRICTIONS ON PRE-FABRICATED HOMES, SHIPPING CONTAINERS, AND RVs
Modern Pre-Fab homes are not the “Tornado Trailers” from the 1970’s. They are now built to a better standard than most site-built homes. There are major quality control advantages to building something in a factory versus on site. Plus, they look very nice and modern.
Shipping Container Homes are the MOST AFFORDABLE OPTION for home ownership, and they are hugely popular. This concept did not exist in the 1970’s. Just another example of outdated regulation stifling modern innovation.
The RV Ban is killing our local economy. If Snowbirds want to buy plots of land here, and come stay the winter while spending their money at our local businesses, then we welcome them! If their RVs are good enough for the National Parks, then they should be good enough for Diamond Bell Ranch.
Some of the Homeowners in The Neighborhood with water and power have expressed their distaste with the idea of seeing RVs in the area. They feel that they are too high class to be subject to such visual obscenity.
We here at Take Back the Bell would like to remind those Homeowners that when the biggest grocery store within 20 miles of your home is a Dollar General, you’re not as bougie as you think you are.
ELIMINATE ANONYMOUS COMPLAINTS
We have a right to face our accuser.
How does somebody who lives MILES away from someone else have a right to harass that person?
Oh, that’s right. They don’t.
But, anonymous complaints create a means to bully. It encourages gang stalking. If someone is not willing to stand up and speak out publicly against someone else, then that someone else is probably not really doing anything wrong. Real people will stand up and make real noise when there is an actual problem.
The State of Florida made anonymous complaints for code violations illegal in 2021 for these exact same reasons. Pima County should follow this example.
NO PERMITS OR IMPACT FEES
There were no permits for the first 4 Decades of Diamond Bell Ranch, why NOW do we need to pay The PIMAfia for their protection racket???
The County sending their goon (the code inspector) to demand that we pay them money (for a permit) so that they will protect us from them (filing a lawsuit against us) is a PROTECTION RACKET.
The Impact Fees are even worse.
Now at $9,000 for a single family home, this is outrageous and unconstitutional. The Supreme Court already said so.
The Supreme Court ruled that Impact Fees can only be issued when their is a set infrastructure project in the works, and it can be shown how the money is applied and needed for that project.
AND!!!…
The Charter which grants the Pima County Department of Environment Quality the Authority to impose Impact Fees, as written into Law by the fine leaders of our fine county, clearly states that:
1. Impact Fees can only be issued when their is a set infrastructure project in the works, and it can be shown how the money is applied and needed for that project.
2. Impact Fees can NOT be applied to enhance the overall quality of the environment.
The government can not charge us money for “existing”. We have a right to exist. We are born on this planet, and if our existence causes an impact to it, then we have a right to that impact. We will not be treated like we are guilty of a crime, and charged a fee as the penalty.
This is also PROOF that the Pima County Department of Environmental Extortion is breaking it’s own by-laws, and on the fast track to Lawsuit City. We strongly urge the county to abolish the Impact fees and swiftly reimburse all of the property owners who have paid it. If we have to file a class action lawsuit, then not only will the county have to reimburse everyone who paid it TEN FOLD, they will also have to pay $9,000 to each of us property owners who would have been subjected to it.
Take Back the Bell.