I-10 Twin Peaks Traffic Interchange, Environmental Assessment

Affected Environment and Environmental Impacts October 2005
CHAPTER 4: AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT AND
Land Use
Existing Conditions
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
Within the study area, several different governmental entities have jurisdiction,
including the Town of Marana, Pima County, ADOT, and FHWA. Most of the
project area is within the incorporated area of the Town of Marana, but the
commercial area on the west side of I-10 near the Twin Peaks Road TI is within
unincorporated Pima County. Twin Peaks Road and portions of El Camino de
Mañana and Linda Vista Boulevard are under the shared control of the Town of
Marana and Pima County and are maintained through memoranda of
understanding between the two entities. The boundaries of the jurisdictions are
illustrated on Figure 4-1.
Land ownership is diverse in the study area also. In the western part of the study
area (Continental Ranch), the land is almost entirely privately owned. An
exception to private ownership in this area is the Twin Peaks Elementary School
which belongs to the Marana Unified School District. The area within the high
flow channel of the Santa Cruz River is under the control of Pima County. Near
the Twin Peaks Road TI, west of I-10, the property ownership is varied, consisting
primarily of privately owned parcels, but parcels belonging to Pima County, the
City of Tucson, and the Cortaro-Marana Irrigation District (CMID) are present
also. I-10 is a federal facility under the joint control of FHWA and ADOT. A canal
owned by CMID lies between I-10 and the westbound frontage road and the
railroad line owned by the UPRR lies east of the westbound frontage road. The
towers that support the TEP transmission lines are located within utility easements
east of the railroad. With the exception of these linear facilities, the study area east
of I-10 is almost entirely privately owned. The notable exceptions are Arthur Pack
Regional Park and Mountain View High School in the extreme eastern part of the
study area, which are owned by Pima County and the Marana Unified School
District, respectively.
The proposed improvements would occur in areas under the auspices of both the
Town of Marana and unincorporated Pima County. The land use policies of both
entities are represented in their respective general plans. Actual land uses,
however, do not follow necessarily the adopted land use patterns of general plans
because many current land uses were in existence prior to adoption of the general
plans.
Interstate 10 Traffic Interchange at
Twin Peaks/Linda Vista
4-1
Project No.: NH-010-D (AIW)
TRACS No.: 10 PM 236 H5838 01D