The Casa Grande Board of Adjustment delayed its decision regarding an appeal against rulings related to Buckthorne, a proposed 80-acre immigrant detention center at Gila Bend Highway and Ethington Road.
Target Logistics Management LLC has requested consideration of a major site plan to build Buckthorne. If built, the detention facility will be able to house approximately 1,500 unaccompanied minors who cross into the United States seeking asylum.
In October, Rose Law Group filed an appeal against the City’s administrative decision classifying Buckthorne as “essential public service use.” The administrative decision would permit the construction of the detention center. The appeal was rejected less than a week later. The reasoning provided was the timeframe of the appeal’s filing and a determination that the appellant was not an “aggrieved” party.
Rose Law Group represents Francisco Grande Hotel & Golf Resort, which is approximately two miles away from the proposed detention center. Henry Hardy, the attorney representing the resort, argued that a portion of the evidence they wanted to see considered was not included in the meeting. The exhibits, he argued, were submitted with the initial application but not included in the packet. Planning and Development Director Paul Tice argued that an unincluded email correspondence between the City and the law group was not relevant.
A timeline was listed in the staff report packet, which included correspondence between Tice and Fitzgibbons Law Group regarding a zone clearance. Tice indicated that Buckthorne would be classified as “essential public service use.”
The matter was to be discussed at the Sept. 5 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting but was not brought up. Tice was questioned regarding the absence of exhibits. He admitted withholding exhibits, as he believed they were not relevant. The Board then told Tice the exhibits were, in fact, relevant and were needed in the record.
A major site plan for Buckthorne is under staff review. There is no set date for the Planning Commission to consider the site plan despite two public notices advertising the site plan would be considered at the commission’s Aug. 1 and Sept. 5 meetings.
The Board of Adjustment unanimously voted for a continuance of the matter. (Source)
