By Pima County
Pima Prospers is aptly named. The latest version of Pima County’s comprehensive land use plan provides the County with a blueprint for the next decade, one that anticipates growth, addresses urgent challenges and promotes prosperity for all residents.
The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 Oct. 14 to approve Pima Prospers 2025, a wide-ranging plan that embraces elements as varied as increasing housing, shoring up local water resources, attracting new businesses to the area, and protecting the pristine mountain trails and desert lands cherished by residents and visitors alike. Pima Prospers commits the County to continuing to manage its open space lands.
The plan covers the entire unincorporated County and is required by state statute. This is the third time the plan has been updated since 1992.
“This plan has been more than two years in the making,” said Chris Poirier, director of the Pima County Development Services Department.
“The County has worked hard to build on the successes of the previous plan, from 2015, by identifying and addressing the most critical issues facing our community, such as a continued economic downturn, reduced housing supply and choice, climate uncertainty, and the need for alternate modes of travel. We look forward to implementing the plan over the next 10 years.”
While preparing the latest update, the County sought feedback from its different departments as well as federal, state, tribal and regional agencies; neighborhood associations; and stakeholder groups such as Pima Association of Governments, Metropolitan Pima Alliance and the Pima County Regional Affordable Housing Commission.
Feedback was also sought from the general public, which submitted more than 150 comments during a 60-day review period earlier this year.
The plan draws on research by the University of Arizona’s Drachman Institute as well as other important County reports such as the Prosperity Initiative, whose goals are reflected in the plan’s focus on affordable housing.
Among other goals, the new plan calls for increasing housing supply and diversity in the community, particularly starter homes, workforce housing, and “missing-middle” (duplexes, triplexes, etc.) housing in areas that have been identified as having the most expected growth – and thus the greatest subsequent housing needs – in the unincorporated County.
“Expanding the number of housing options available where people need them means lower costs, more choices, and a better quality of life for residents,” Poirier said.
Pima Prospers also commits the County to continuing to manage its open space lands and coordinating with other land management agencies to improve community health, preserve the County’s historic heritage, and help combat climate change.
Much of the plan builds on the County’s award-winning Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan and specifically the Plan’s Conservation Lands System (CLS), which balances the need for smart land use and fiscal responsibility with the goal of preserving the County’s natural and cultural resources.
“Over the last quarter-century, the County has preserved over 3,000 acres of natural open space lands through the CLS,” Poirier said. “This updated plan reinforces the County’s commitment to serving as a responsible steward of our environment.”
The updated plan introduces a CLS goal that at least 70% of all lands set aside for conservation should be located closer to new development, rather than in other parts of the County, which helps to protect high-quality habitat.
“The Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan remains one of the most forward-thinking local conservation frameworks in the country,” said Kate Hotten of the Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection in a letter of support for Pima Prospers. “We are proud to have played a foundational role in its development and ongoing implementation.”
The plan also incorporates the Multi-species Conservation Plan, which streamlines the protection of threatened and endangered species; the Pima County Department of Environmental Quality’s monitoring of air pollutants; and mitigation of threats as varied as wildfires, flood risk, and encroachment of non-native species.
“This new policy reinforces Pima County’s balanced approach to accommodating growth while also prioritizing conservation,” Karen Howe of Tucson Bird Alliance wrote in a letter of support for the updated plan.
“As a local organization deeply involved in habitat restoration, we believe it’s crucial to maintain the County’s strong record with the Conservation Lands System by protecting land with high biological value in the areas most affected by development.”
Pima Prospers emphasizes the need to retain local businesses – not only major employers such as Raytheon and the University of Arizona but also specialized local industries that thrive here such as aerospace, astronomy, renewable energy, and optics manufacturing.
Thus, the plan commits the County to supporting those businesses by protecting them from nuisances such as noise, smoke, and dust; protecting the region’s night skies; and working with airports to preserve nearby areas for future job growth.
