Jon Johnson Photo/Gila Herald: Pima is moving forward with annexing 34 acres to the south where an RV park is being constructed.
By Jon Johnson
PIMA – An RV Park being developed just south of Tidy Acres will become part of the town of Pima if the annexation process the town began follows through.
Developer Paul Charette, of Tucson, appeared in front of the Pima Town Council at its Tuesday night meeting and explained his vision for his Cluff Ranch RV Park and why he would like it to be in the town limits.
The council voted 4-1 to accept a recommendation from the Pima Town Planning and Zoning Committee to begin the annexation process and bring the 34 acres owned by Charette into the town zoned as commercial property. Council member Teresa Bailey was the lone vote against and said she did so out of caution of quick growth.
“I think we’re still in the infant stage and we need to do a little more looking at how exactly we want to grow up,” she said.
Charette has already been approved to construct an RV park on the land from Graham County, however, to do so would require the installation of septic systems. By joining the town, Charette is looking at tapping into the town’s sewer system and also having police services for the RV park. Through discussions with Pima Town Manager Vernon Batty, Charette and the town are in discussions about how to bring the sewer to Charette’s property – which is just south of Tidy Acres.
According to Charette, he plans on building in three phases, with the initial phase producing 41 spaces for the Cluff Ranch RV Park. The streets in the park will all be paved and remain private property with maintenance the responsibility of the landowner.
The second phase is set to produce 50 more RV spaces, and the third phase lists a possible 30 to 50 manufactured home subdivision. He told the council he believes the entire project will take five to seven years to final completion.
In her opposition, Bailey said she didn’t think the positives from the facility would offset the cost to the town in terms of services provided.
Batty said he was comfortable with the RV park since it has already been approved by the county previously and because a back route to the highway from the area is in discussion to alleviate additional traffic along Main Street.
With the decision to move forward, the annexation process begins and should take a couple of months to complete.
