(The Center Square) – Pima County removed a controversial ordinance affecting a copper mine from a Board of Supervisors meeting.
And one law firm hopes the whole thing does not come back for debate.
At issue was a proposed ordinance to limit the number of heavy-duty trucks on county roads to 75 trips per day. The same proposal would also require a permit “for all persons, firms or entities driving or causing heavy-duty trucks to be driven, among other changes.”
Reasons for the proposal included efforts to improve air quality, but the Phoenix-based Goldwater Institute has warned that such an ordinance would substantially impair the copper mine that operates in the county.
“Counties don’t have legal authority to act unless there’s a state law that permits them that authority,” Goldwater Institute attorney Jon Riches told The Center Square. “Here, there is no state law that says the county has the legal authority to impose this limitation on heavy-duty trucks.”
Riches added that the mine is “a crucially important economic engine for Pima County.” He added that the county is trying to do indirectly what it can’t do directly to impair one of the largest economic drivers in Southern Arizona.
“So I think everyone should be concerned about both the improper way in which the county is acting and the consequences of imposing this arbitrary trip limit,” he said.
Goldwater shared these concerns with the Pima County Board of Supervisors in a Dec. 12 letter. Much like Riches did with The Center Square, Goldwater attorney Adam Shelton expressed to the board his “serious concern with the legality of these changes.” Shelton added that, if adopted, these provisions would exceed the board’s statutory authority and create legal vulnerabilities for the county.
Goldwater attorneys did not receive a response to the letter.
When The Center Square reached out to the Pima County Board of Supervisors for comment, it was told “the Board removed the item from the agenda” at Tuesday’s meeting.
On Wednesday, a member of Pima County’s Communications Office told The Center Square that the county considered creating an ordinance to regulate heavy truck traffic on unpaved roads.
“The board delayed action on the item to obtain further feedback from the County Attorney’s Office,” said the Pima County Communications Office. “The Board met in executive session yesterday (Tuesday) and, after that session, pulled the item from the agenda, so the issue is moot.”
As to why supervisors pulled it, The Center Square was told that it is tied up in the executive session, “which statute prevents anyone from speaking about what was discussed.”
