In my view, Navajo County is in a population pandemic.
Even on my quiet, rural gravel road with district zoning for 20 acre lots to build structures / wells, a local “flipper” bought a grandfather’s 18.3 acre lot with the intention of converting it into three 6.1 acre lots.
That would mean three new septic tanks, three new wells and, when the monsoons return, three new houses that would affect every resident who uses my street in the event of flooding due to devegetation. A privately maintained street (it’s not rubbed with farm equipment, folks).
That would also mean that three new families will lower our water table.
I am for entrepreneurship and thought leaders, but what do I dislike? Outsider landowners expanding my neighborhood without suffering the day-to-day effects of living in my neighborhood, all under the guise of “affordable housing” (15 miles from town). I can’t stand in front of landowners who can’t cope with the increased traffic on a street I pay for, or whether new wells in my area are being drilled lower than my own – which could dry me out.
My message is: buy, flip, sell packages, as much as you want – just don’t mess with zoning.
The zoning is intended to protect land, sustainability and citizens. Our groundwater is finite. Heavy rain will not press the “refill button” on our aquifer.
The population pandemic is making many of my neighbors more fearful of sustainability than COVID-19. Local infrastructure, law enforcement and resources are currently overloaded. Why bother making zoning regulations when exemptions from them normalize?
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