Developer and Aztec Land and Cattle Company President Steve Brophy went before the Navajo County Board of Supervisors last week to explain his application to rezone a 1,533-acre parcel of land west of Snowflake near Clay Springs. Brophy wants to entice business to the area in order to boost the economy and bolster job growth.
Approval followed a brief overview by the planning and zoning department’s Sandy Phillips and testimony from nearby residents.
The land in question is north of Highway 277 and south of the railroad approximately five miles west of Snowflake, according to Phillips, and possesses tremendous infrastructure, making it a prime location for industry. “There’s a history of this area being used for industry as well. It is near the paper mill,” Phillips pointed out. Phillips also noted the opportunity for railroad spurs to aid in production and transportation of whatever goods may be processed in the space.
“This has gone before the P&Z (planning and zoning) Commission, and has been heard in two commission hearings, so two consecutive months,” Phillips explained, “The P&Z Commission recommended unanimously for the board to consider this item.”
Phillips presented maps and documents showing concessions Brophy has made in his application to residents opposed to the move. Among those concessions is a 300’ setback between the street and the proposed building, low lighting to avoid light pollution, screened in storage areas, an 8’ block wall and a landscape buffer.
Brophy also contacted more than 300 residents within a one mile radius of the parcel, more than is usual.
Residents of the area were not as ready to sign off on the rezoning, however, and came forth during the public hearing to voice their opinions. Oppositions included perceived diminished quality of life and noise pollution, as well as toxicity to the air and water.
Brophy assured the board that any manufacturer or business that may decide to occupy the space will follow regulations, in response to resident Dan Freeman’s concern with not knowing what sort of business may move in.
Resident Lacey Frazier said, “My wife is on oxygen…it’s one of the reasons we moved out of the Valley, to get out of the air pollution. When we looked at the property (near Clay Springs) there were trees everywhere, elk and deer out there, and we liked that.”
Referring to Brophy, Frazier then explained, “He wanted to know if my property was fenced. I said yes. I assumed it was about letting the cattle out and he said no, we are going to pull up all these trees. So he’s pulled up all the trees, those trees slowed the wind down.”
District III Supervisor Jason Whiting asked for clarification on the removal of trees, saying, “I assume those trees being pulled up were pulled up on the property owner’s land.”
Phillips indicated that his assumption was correct.
Frazier expressed concerned about his quality of life being taken away by Brophy based on railroad traffic and trucks related to industry. “I’m not opposed to jobs,” Frazier clarified, but he noted that he is opposed to industrialization of his town. He also cited the increase in truck and rail traffic that is possible with development.
“The truck traffic on Highway 277 today is probably 250 semis a day,” answered Brophy. “So it’s not as if there isn’t industrial use there now and the closest residential area to that industrial use is Forest Town (the name used by residents), within a half-mile of the old paper mill, the active Novo Biomass Power Plant and two saw mills.”
Other citizens near the location took to the podium to express more concerns.
“I was horrified to hear these folks (Phillips and Brophy) deceive the board,” Mark Niezipinski said, referring to what he believed was an incorrect parcel map. On the map, sections 25, 27 and 30 are the areas requested to be re-zoned. “Looking at the Aztec Ranch Industrial District, this section, 25 and 30, will be designated as a light industrial zone. Section 27 is not. It is an endless cow pasture. If you go into the Navajo County website and look up the Aztec Ranch Industrial District, you will find section 27 is not on it. If you look up the Navajo County comprehensive plan, section 27 is not part of this development.”
Brandt Clark of the County Attorney’s Office countered this argument. “Section 27 was not owned by Aztec when the plan was put in to place,” he said, adding that the county plan does, in fact, allow for industrialization of the area.
Currently the sections are zoned A-General, a blanket zoning description within the county, according to Phillips.
Supervisor Whiting pointed out that some concerns citizens were voicing were already issues faced with A-General zoning dedication. Industry such as chicken farming, construction storage and equipment staging are all part of the current zoning description.
Phillips closed by saying, “In our ordinance is a list of uses that are not accepted without going through the public process. Some of those uses that would have to pass through planning and zoning, and the board would be feed lots and stock yards, so that is not something that would just appear on this property.”
Supervisor Whiting assured the residents that their opinions and concerns would be weighed as the supervisors made their decision, but noted, “Quite frankly, I can see why the planning and zoning committee made the unanimous vote of approval.”
“The reality is I can see where concessions have been made. Some of these things already exist in that area and one thing that can’t be replaced is it sits on infrastructure that already exists that is key and valuable to this area,” Supervisor Whiting said. “This is a hard situation, I certainly feel bad for those citizens that are there that have the concern, I feel bad for the loss of 300 jobs in that area, and am concerned for our citizens who continue to lose jobs and are fighting for a way of life and being able to stay up in this area.”
In a nod of appreciation to Brophy, Supervisor Whiting mentioned the perceived desire to do what is best for the community and its citizens. Whiting then moved for approval of the rezoning request, which was quickly seconded by District IV Supervisor Steve Williams and approved unanimously.
