OUR LETTER TO THE ARIZONA STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL

To whom it may concern:

My name is Sandra Tracy. I am a resident/property owner in Diamond Bell Ranch, a subdivision approximately ten miles south of Three Points, in Pima County, AZ.

I am writing on behalf of the Diamond Bell Ranch Property Owner’s Alliance (DBRPOA), which is an informal group of landowners who are finding that our land is uninhabitable, due to restrictive CR-1 zoning.  This is an area with no infrastructure. We have no paved roads, no power, water, or municipal sewage. CR-1 zoning standards require homes that we do not have the infrastructure to support. Additionally, to quote Joel Tiger, the organizer and public face of DBRPOA, when he spoke at a Pima County Board of Supervisors meeting, “No matter how nice my off-grid McMansion is, it will never be worth as much money as the homes four miles away with water and power.”

Please bear with me as I provide a bit of history, the current challenges, and the measures we have taken to try to resolve them. As I explain, it will become apparent why we believe the County is treating us unfairly, suppressing our property values, and giving preferential treatment to the 4.5% of property owners who have water and power, over those who live off grid. Their properties are worth a quarter million dollars, while our’s are only worth an average of $5,000.  Finally, I will present a potential solution that would not only benefit the landowners and the County, but also the State. Our ideas can be applied to many other undeveloped, and/or unincorporated areas.

HISTORY

Between the years 1969 and 1973, a large section of land (5,016 lots, divided into 15 units) were rezoned from GR-1 (Rural Residential, Subdivided) to CR-1 (Single-Family Residential).  The purpose of the rezoning was to create a Planned Community, fully developed with water and power to every lot. The development never happened. Only two of the fifteen units, Units 9 and 11, were provided with water and power, and whether all of the lots in each unit were included is questionable. Also questionable is the lack of mention of the project in the Board of Supervisor meeting minutes during the three years prior to approval of the first Unit in September, 1969. A four hour review of microfilm documents at the Board of Supervisor Clerk’s Office yielded very little information. The lack of available documentation also raises the question if this land was legally re-zoned from the start.  There also appears to be a renewal of some type on March 30-31, 1997, (according to GIS Map data). but those records also have been impossible to obtain.

CURRENT CHALLENGES

As a result of fifty years of restrictive zoning and abandoned development plans, the land values have been suppressed, and the land has gone undeveloped. Current FCV values for one acre lots, according to the Pima County Assessor’s Office, range between $2,100 and $17,000, depending on proximity to utilities. Currently, 4,517 of those 5,016 lots are vacant. The Unit breakdown is as follows:

Diamond Bell Ranch – Tucson – Chaparral Unit (1-24, 26-228)
Book/Page: 20011
Project #: C01268038
Recording Date: October 18, 1969
Average FCV (per one acre lot): $10,000
Total # Lots: 227
Current # Lots Vacant: 138

Diamond Bell Ranch – Tucson (1-229)
Book/Page: 20002
Project #: C01269002
Recording Date: September 5, 1969
Average FCV (per one acre lot): $10,000
Total # Lots: 229
Current # Lots Vacant: 168

Diamond Bell Ranch – Tucson – Unit 2 (1-48)
Book/Page: 20007
Project #: C01269019
Recording Date: Septemberr 17, 1969
Averace FCV (per one acre lot): $17,000
Total # Lots: 48
Current # Lots Vacant: 40

Diamond Bell Ranch – Tucson – Unit 3 (1-409)
Book/Page: 20037
Project #: C01269042
Recording Date: December 22, 1969
Average FCV (per one acre lot): $5,000
Total # Lots: 409
Current # Lots Vacant: 406

Diamond Bell Ranch – Tucson – Unit 4 (1-513)
Book/Page: 20044
Project #: C01269045
Recording Date: January 15, 1970
Average FCV (per one acre lot): $4,500
Total # Lots: 513
Current # Lots Vacant: 509

Diamond Bell Ranch – Tucson – Unit 5 (1-521)
Book/Page: 20052
Project #: C01269049
Recording Date: February 16, 1970
Average FCV (per one acre lot): $3,500
Total # Lots: 521
Current # Lots Vacant: 516

Diamond Bell Ranch – Tuson – Unit 6 (1-435)
Book/Page: 20062
Project #: C01270001
Recording Date: April 6, 1970
Average FCV (per one acre lot): $5,000
Total # Lots: 435
Current # Lots Vacant: 431

Diamond Bell Ranch – Tucson – Unit 7 (1-416)
Book/Page: 20086
Project #: C01270003
Recording Date: August 7, 1970
Average FCV (per one acre lot): $5,000
Total # Lots: 416
Current # Lots Vacant: 386

Diamond Bell Ranch – Tucson – Unit 8 (1-385)
Book/Page: 20094
Project #: C01270020
Recordig Date: August 21, 1970
Average FCV (per one acre lot): $4,500
Total # Lots: 385
Current # Lots Vacant: 384

Diamond Bell Ranch – Tucson – Unit 9 (1-57)
Book/Page: 20093
Project #: C01270025
Recording Date: August 21, 1970
Lot Count under Unit 9 (58-375)

Diamond Bell Ranch – Tucson – Unit 9 (58-375)
Book/Page: 21046
Project #: C01270025
Recording Date: March 8, 1971
Average FCV (per one acre lot): $12,000
Total # Lots: 375
Current # Lots Vacant: 125
**This section has water and power

DiamondBell Ranch – Tucson – Unit 10 (1-208)
Book/Page: 21015
Project #: C01270043
Recording Date: December 14, 1970
Average FCV (per one acre lot): $5,000
Total # Lots: 208
Current # Lots Vacant: 207

Diamond Bell Ranch – Tucson – Unit 11 (1-448)
Book/Page #: 21027
Project #: C01270051
Recording Date: January 7, 1971
Average FCV (per one acre lot): $5,000
Total # Lots: 448
Current # Lots Vacant: 396
**This section has water and power

Diamond Bell Ranch – Tucson – Unit 12 (1-402)
Book/Page: 21081
Project #: C01271015
Recording Date: June 23, 1971
Average FCV (per one acre lot): $5,000
Total # Lots: 402
Current # Lots Vacant: 402

Diamond Bell Ranch – Tucson – Unit 13 (1-216)
Book/Page: 22025
Project #: C01271048
Recording Date: October 27, 1971
Average FCV (per one acre lot): Unavailable in Assessor’s website
Total # Lots: 216
Current # Lots Vacant: Could not access in Assessor’s Website to do a count

Diamond Bell Ranch Road – Tucson – Unit 14 (1-412)
Book/Page: 24088
Project #: None
Recording Date: March 5, 1973
Average FCV (per one acre lot): $2,100
Total # Lots: 412
Current # Lots Vacant: 411

Additionally, to live off grid requires water tanks, pumps, generators, gas cans, propane tanks, and medley of other equipment needed to create our own utilities. Said equipment must be placed in accessible, well ventilated areas throughout the property. The current zoning does not permit anything sitting in the yard unless it is condensed into a very small screened in an area with no openings, making it impossible to use the equipment, and therefore, impossible to live on the land. This is why the area has very low value and has not been developed in the past 50+ years. Thousands of affordable lots are being held hostage by restrictive zoning.

ATTEMPTS AT RESOLUTION

1.) Zoning Inspector Daniel Robledo has acted in a hostile, unprofessional, and frankly, illegal manner. His behavior has included raising his voice to sound intimidating, improper service of notices, misrepresenting photos to create false reports, and ordering people to vacate their land “immediately” without a writ of eviction. He has exhibited a conflict of interest when he expressed a desire to invest in this area once he “removes all of the trash” (meaning the people who currently live off grid). He has also been seen having lunch on many occasions with residents from the developed section (who are opposing any reversion of the zoning back to its original GR-1 status), which gives the impression that the county is giving the 4.5% of homeowners preferential treatment. Dozens of complaints about Daniel Robledo’s behavior have been made to his supervisors, and all have been ignored. As a result of his abuse toward us, we admittedly have become defensive and verbally combative at the sight of him. We have expressed a desire for a change of inspector for this area. Despite the dozens of aforementioned complaints against him, and requests to have him reassigned to a different area, the County has dismissed our concerns and labeled us as the problem.

2.) We have attended and spoken at the Board of Supervisor Meetings. At least one person from our group has addressed the board at every meeting since May 21, 2024. We have tried to plead our case. We have repeatedly asked the Board, or at the very least, Dr. Sylvia Lee, the District 3 Supervisor, to speak with us, learn about our unique challenges, and discuss reverting the land back to its original GR-1 zoning, as ARS 11-814 (I) states it should. All requests have been ignored.

However, the “registered homeowners” (aka the opposition) held a meeting on Thursday, June 27, 2024 between 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm, at Serenity Baptist Church in Three Points, AZ. The meeting was arranged to discuss the CR-1 zoning issues in Diamond Bell Ranch, and how best to enforce the zoning rules. Dr. Lee attended that meeting, along with Captain Doug Hanna and Lieutenant Gene Jacob from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, and Carmine Debonis, the County Zoning Administrator. All of the landowners were not invited to attend. The meeting was only open to those from Units 9 and 11, the units with water power. The meeting summary is available at cleanthebell.com (the website created by the opposition). Based on the summary, it is clear that the County officials voluntarily attended a meeting intended to talk ABOUT us, while those same County officials were refusing to talk TO us. The County showed preferential treatment to the 4.5% of property owners with quarter million dollar homes, over the 95.5% of us with $5,000 lots – a direct violation of County Ordinance 18.01.030 (4-6).

3.) The only correspondence we have received from Dr. Lee was an email response to Joel Tiger where the only thing she was interested in knowing was ‘Did he know about the zoning before he bought the property?’ She did not address the failure of the County to provide the oversight meant to protect the landowners from such situations. She did not address the abusive tactics of the Zoning Inspector. She did not agree to meet with us. She did not address even the remote possibility of a reversion of the land back to GR-1. In fact, according to the summary (from cleanthebell.com), at the aforementioned June 27 meeting, Dr. Lee suggested appointing a group from their neighborhood with water and power to continue stalking and reporting us in the off grid area. Gang stalking is illegal in the State of Arizona. Zoning Administrator Carmine Bedonis informed the attendees that since the lots were platted in the 1970s, the time limits on re-zonings do not apply, and assured them that the area will remain CR-1 indefinitely. I was not aware that it was within the County Zoning Administrator’s authority to make such a determination regarding the applicability of state law.

4.) On May 31, 2023, News 4 Tucson KVOA-TV did a story on the Diamond Bell Ranch zoning issues. It is available to view on YouTube under the search title “Tax Troubles at Diamond Bell Ranch.” KVOA’s Chorus Nyland reported. Part of the story included a statement from Chris Poirier, of the Pima County Zoning Department. Mr. Poirer said, “We have rules today that would prevent it. The problem is that this is a 50 year old plus development that pre-dated a lot of our checks and balances… parts of it kind of got away.” (time stamp 2:32) Chorus Nyland went on to further quote Mr Poirer. Nyland said, “Can it be changed? It’s possible, but Chris Poirer says it’s very unlikely because it would actually require changing the law, which he says is an expensive process, and with all of these other property owners who followed the zoning rules, he doesn’t see it getting much support.” (Time stamp 3:14). Once again a County official is showing preferential treatment to 4.5% of the landowners, as that is the very small percentage that encompasses “all of these other property owners who followed the zoning rules.” Many of those rules, I might add, were not in effect when those homes were built in the 1990s.

5.) On July 8, 2024, while speaking with a clerk from the Pima County Development and Planning Department, trying to obtain the original records, I was told a different story. The man I spoke with, who did not give me his name, but did say he has been with the department for eight years, told me that the County can not revert the zoning because to change a subdivision means they have to put it back to one giant parcel. Since the lots are individually owned, it is not possible to do that. This explanation makes no sense because the previous zoning was GR-1, which means it was already subdivided. When I asked why it has been impossible to obtain the records that should be available by project number, I was told they probably do not have them any more. The records have gone through two fires and a flood since 1970, so they allegedly no longer exist. He ignored my question, “What about the records from the activity recorded on March 30-31, 1997? How is one to learn the terms of the re-zoning if the records no longer exist? Are we supposed to just be satisfied with ‘Because I said so?'”

6.) The cleanthebell.com website has photographs of the most egregious properties, and a map pinpointing the locations of all of the “violator’s”. Aside from the fact that this behavior borders on stalking and harassment, we agree that many of those properties are not only unpleasant to view, but also may be health hazards. However, when investigating the ownership of many of the targeted properties, we have learned that most are occupied by squatters. The opposition makes no distinction between us property owners who have pride of ownership, and those who are just abusing someone else’s land. We believe the solution presented below will also help to minimize and possibly even eliminate the squatter problem.

PROPOSED SOLUTION

The majority of the people who live in the off grid sections of Diamond Bell Ranch want a rural, off grid lifestyle where they can live in tiny homes, with low heating and cooling costs, raise some chickens and pigs, grow a garden, and enjoy the beautiful desert.

Off grid/tiny home living is very desirable in today’s society. The days of large homes are disappearing due to soaring costs and high interest rates. The average person can no longer afford to build or buy large homes. Tiny homes are the way of the future. However, many municipalities have the same restrictive zoning that we are facing, making the dream of owning land, and living a quiet, self-sustained rural life unachievable.

This is why we are having an affordable housing crisis.

There are undeveloped, unincorporated areas all over the State that would cost a fortune to develop by traditional means. Embracing a tiny home / off grid lifestyle requires none of that expensive development.  We would, however, suggest building water stations to ease the burden of hauling water. Access to water is the greatest challenge to living off grid in the desert.

 
Off grid living is more in line with preserving the natural aesthetic and conservation of the land, than traditional development with large homes, concrete pads, and paved roads. Off gridders tend to clear fewer square feet of their property because they want to live in harmony with nature. Tiny homes require less energy to maintain, and people who haul their water tend to be much more conservative with its use. It is a more sustainable lifestyle than that of large housing developments.

This lifestyle attracts a diverse group of people from different social, economic, and racial backgrounds. It improves the local economies of recessed rural areas, and boosts existing business while prompting the creation of new ones. Increased occupancy by legitimate landowners also increases tax revenues and drastically decreases the growing squatter problem plaguing rural areas.

People who want to live off grid want the rural lifestyle, the one Arizona was founded on.

CONCLUSION

The current CR-1 zoning in our area with no infrastructure is suppressing property values, costing the County and State millions in lost tax revenues, and impeding access to ownership of affordable housing. Pima County is refusing to address these issues. The State has within its legislation the mechanism to reverse the zoning to GR-1, which would allow for tiny homes and the necessary equipment to provide utilities. This simple action would provide thousands of affordable lots to help ease the housing crisis, improve local rural economies, increase tax revenues, create jobs, and make Arizona a leader in creative solutions, green energy use, and acceptance of alternative living. All at minimal cost to taxpayers.

Thank you for your time. I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Sandra Tracy and the Diamond Bell Ranch Property Owner’s Alliance