PRESCOTT - Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Christopher Whitten has dismissed part of a lawsuit Friends of Williamson Valley Inc. filed against Yavapai County.
The lawsuit, which they filed July 13, alleges the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors did not follow the county's General Plan when it voted to widen Williamson Valley Road. The lawsuit also alleges the supervisors violated the county's road ordinance.
The attorneys for both sides agreed to separate the two issues.
Judge Whitten ruled Feb. 20 that while state law requires the county to adopt a General Plan, it does not require the county to adhere to every detail.
"The very language of the Yavapai General Plan indicates that it was adopted with the intent that it guide, not limit, the board of supervisors," Whitten wrote in his decision. "The plan describes itself as 'a guide to aid in the decision-making process' not a code or a specific area or community plan. To use the plan as a set of rules to be enforced in law when those who adopted it specifically intended it not be frustrates its purpose."
Deputy County Attorney Jack Fields argued that, "There isn't a duty for the Board of Supervisors to make a road decision according to the General Plan. The Board of Supervisors makes decisions on maintenance and construction. The General Plan provides guidance but the supervisors are not compelled to follow it."
"This, in my opinion, was a frivolous lawsuit that unnecessarily cost the taxpayers thousands of dollars in defense costs," said Supervisor Carol Springer.
Friends of Williamson Valley merged with Williamson Valley Corridor Plan Inc. to create the Williamson Valley Corridor Organization.
Attorney Gil Shaw said the WVCO is evaluating its options.
Shaw said the organization is considering filing a special action on Whitten's ruling. Similar to an appeal, a special action allows a panel of three judges to hear and rule on the decision. Shaw said WVCO is considering this action because Arizona has little case law on compliance with General Plans.
Shaw said the group is moving forward with the second part of the lawsuit, which alleges the board did not comply with county road ordinances when it decided to widen Williamson Valley Road.
Fields said the road ordinance states that road projects "may be recommended by the public works director and then adopted by the Board of Supervisors. The Williamson Valley group is alleging the director never made a recommendation."
Shaw said, "While the county has provided us with some information, we cannot find when the decision was made to widen the road."
The attorney said county information shows some discussion of a study on Williamson Valley Road.
"We cannot find when the decision was made that the level of service had fallen below the level where it needs to be widened," Shaw said.
Shaw said he expects a decision on whether to file a special action by this Friday.
"The WVCO, Inc. board has resolved to continue in any event," said President Ken Mino. "We are committed to seeing this through to the end. We believe the General Plan must stand for something. It's our intent to make that a reality."
Reader Comments
Posted: Friday, March 14, 2008
Article comment by:
Let's get together please
Lots of good points on both sides of the issues. But after 16 years in Prescott and WM Valley, I think the word compromise needs to be added to the conversation. 4 lanes instead of 5,study alternate routes to get people to I-40 (which is what I suspect Carol Springers real motive is) that don't intersect residential/rural neighborhoods that have existed here since 70's-80's. The speeds on WM Valley Rd are already approaching 60+. With cell phones in ears,kids in the back etc. It's a wonder we don't read about daily wrecks! This whole general plan business has been going on since the 80's or the lack of adherence, I should say. This is why the entire community of Prescott is a mess of hodge podge zoning ,road and infastructure fiascos. The reason PV has attracted major commercial is they saw a town government that had it's act together and HAD A PLAN.
What is the saying" without a plan, you plan to fail"- enough said. I like the suggestion of putting it back to the residents affected in this residential/rural valley. Early in the 1990's NAU conducted a survey by the residents- Where are those results????
Posted: Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Article comment by:
RObert
I am in agreement that we should sue Lockwood and FWV. They are impeding the road widening and thereby causing a safety issue. People's lives are on the line. I say we sue them. Once they spend hundreds of thousands on lawyer fees and then lose over a million dollars, their homes and savings accounts will be gone, they will back down.
Posted: Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Article comment by:
Debbie H.
No one seems to think about widening Hwy 89, rather than Williamson Valley Rd. Some passing lanes, and turn lanes would be sufficient. We who have lived out WVR for many years still have horses, pets, children, grandchildren-it is a shame to lose the rural nature of this lovely area by putting a Hwy 69 through our middle! The developers need to find other routes for their "Anthem" developments they are contemplating. Listen to the voters, we have sent in surveys against this widening, but the county supervisor refuses to see this inconvenient truth.
Posted: Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Article comment by:
Oscar Jennings - Prescott
Look, some of you people are for widening the road, others are not.
Why not put it to a vote of the people living along the road? It won't happen because the Board of Supervisors want to ram this project down peoples throat. My feeling is that we should spend the money to improve highway 89.
Posted: Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Article comment by:
Adam L. Rowling
My family has lived of WW for 25 years; I do not see the need for more lanes. I think it would be more prudent to start charging parents for dropping their kids off at Abia Judd School. Housewives don't seem to have anything better to do than jam up the road so junior does not have to ride the bus.
The only advantage to increasing the size of WW is to make it easier for soccer moms to advance their social status as parents of children that are too good to ride the bus. I would rather see money spent on a road that bypasses Prescott Valley altogether instead of increasing the size of WW. Prescott Valley has become the gateway to Prescott and I just don’t like driving through a town that places cameras on the citizens before placing cameras in the offices of government officials.
Posted: Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Article comment by:
Barbara
FWV & Lockwood are wasting tax payer money with these lawsuits. They only care about themselves and their anti-progressive, backwards ideology. Let us get together and SUE Lockwood and FWV. I say we start a petition to stop FWV and SUE them and Lockwood for IMPEDING the road widening which ENDANGERS the lives of people using Williamson Valley Road. As the road is UNSAFE as a two-lane highway. Anyone who is hurt or killed in a car accident on WVR will sue for millions of dollars as FWV impeded the road widening and therefore endangered their lives. When Lockwood loses all her money & her home due to lawsuits and when FWV lose millions, then they will learn their lesson...
Posted: Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Article comment by:
Gary Acosta
Friends of Williamson Valley my #%&*@. That about covers it.
Posted: Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Article comment by:
Christopher
Road money is a scarce commodity. When it is your turn better grab it. I recall a lot of protest for the zoning and development approvals for the subdivisions out Williamson Valley. Now those folks moved in and are repeating the pattern of protest. Sorry, if you bought along a highway and impacted it sufficiently to need widening, but a lot of us need to have a safe road and at the level of service before it was so impacted. The engineers designed the road for future capacity and a 5 lane road is needed. Anything less would be insufficient and shorten the time before improvements are needed again. Delays only increase cost and risk to human lives. The improvements are overdue, inconvenience and diminished expectations of exclusivity notwithstanding.
Posted: Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Article comment by:
Dale
WVCO, you are wasting your money and mine. The General plan is not a crystal ball for looking into the future. The word “may” is not the same as “shall” when it comes to recommendations from the Public Works director, who serves the Board of Supervisors, not the other way around.
Posted: Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Article comment by:
Tom Steele
Shaw is wasting his time. To find out when the decision was made to widen williamson Valley to 5 lanes all he has to do is get Carol Springer to tell him. Maybe she will also tell who all the big ranchers were who discussed the widening with her.
Posted: Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Article comment by:
Dan S.
The judge has ruled appropriately on the matter of the General Plan... it is not the law. And that is ultimately the kind of double talk public issue pandering that Carol Springer set forth in her water legislation while in the House: "It's just a suggestion... there's no LAW that says we have to comply". It all sounds great (and even addresses the concerns of the voters), but when it comes down to the nitty gritty there is absoultley no teeth in it. As far as the "decision" to widen Williamson Vly Road, you can bet it was made over martinis at some developer's weekend hacienda... waaayyyy out WV Road.
Posted: Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Article comment by:
George Seaman
I wish Gil or Ken would look into the funding for this and other road projects in the county. The recent "countywide" impact fees very likely could be challenged as violating ARS codes which specifically state that the money raised in a district must be spent to directly benefit the people who are paying the fees. Obviously WV road will not benefit those people living in the far rural areas of the county as much as those who are developing land at the end of Williamson Valley Rd.
Posted: Monday, March 03, 2008
Article comment by:
globe-research
The Williamson Valley Corridor Group is wasting the County's time and money by all of their needless protests...lets get on with building the new five lane road now...stop wasting more time and money.3-3-2008
