Board discusses State Land parcels near park for potential housing; staff to pursue talks with State Land

Greenlee County supervisors held a work session to discuss pursuing State Land parcels near a county park for potential housing development, focusing on conceptual maps, utility access, and sequencing of applications to the State Land Department.

Staff presented a schematic dividing the area into nine 40-acre squares and said the county already owns a 10-acre ‘‘island’’ parcel in the middle. Staff advised the State Land Department prefers compact, even-shaped parcels (roughly 40-acre blocks) rather than odd-shaped or overbroad requests. Supervisors and staff discussed prioritizing the 40-acre squares closest to existing park infrastructure as a phased approach (a suggested early focus was on the squares near the park) and the idea of seeking one or more full 40-acre parcels that tidy up the county-owned island.

Participants raised buildability and infrastructure issues: water availability, natural-gas lines, and access were discussed as favorable in the area near the park. A representative said a water company (identified as Cactus LLC in the record) has expressed interest and provided a letter of intent to serve the area, and staff said they had commissioned a hydrologist to evaluate well locations and water resources for the area under consideration.

Speakers cautioned the board that State Land’s application and acquisition process can be lengthy; staff estimated a multi-year timeline in many cases and noted the county’s landfill expansion work with State Land as an example of a slow process. Board members and staff discussed two approaches: (1) apply for larger contiguous acreage to avoid repetitive surveys and fixed application fees, or (2) pursue a phased, developer-driven approach to avoid land banking. Staff noted that if the county applies and later is outbid at auction, the winning bidder must reimburse application costs to the county, and that outcome could be acceptable if the buyer is a developer likely to build housing.

The board discussed involving developers early to assess market interest and buildable options (septic vs. package treatment plants, shared septic systems, lot sizes and density). Several local developers have previously expressed interest in the area, and staff said they planned to meet State Land later the same day to present the county’s concept and gather direction. The board indicated it will put a formal agenda item on a future meeting for an approval vote to pursue specified parcels with the State Land Department; staff were directed to continue outreach and return with a package for board action.