Sahuarita council approves rezoning of 233-acre Parcel 30; park area to remain

The Town of Sahuarita Town Council on April 30 adopted Ordinance 2025-182 approving the rezoning of roughly 233 acres known as Parcel 30 to a specific plan zoning intended to enable commercial-recreational and mixed-use development while preserving the capped park area known as Man in the Maze.

The rezoning vote came after a public hearing in which residents urged the council to protect the Man in the Maze Trails Park and nearby habitat. Mayor Tom Murphy opened the hearing and called for public comment; residents said the park and nearby pollinator plantings should remain intact.

The specific plan establishes zones and development rules for the property north and south of the railroad spur, including an 87-acre portion north of the spur that was previously used as a mill and tailings deposition area and is subject to a declaration of environmental use restrictions. Liz Madsen of the WLB Group, the town’s consultant for the parcel, told the council that the remediated northern area is capped and that the declaration of environmental use restriction limits development there. "Due to prior use of the site as a mill and tailings deposition area, a declaration of environmental use restriction...regulates this 87 acre portion," Madsen said.

The specific plan…