City of Nogales General Plan Background and Current Conditions Volume City of Nogales General Plan Background and Current Conditions Volume City of Nogales General Plan Parks Open Sports Space Industry History Culture Prepared for: Prepared by: City of Nogales The Planning Center 1450 North Hohokam Drive 2 East Congress, Suite 600 Nogales, Arizona Tucson, Arizona Background and Current Conditions Volume City of Nogales General Plan Update Table of Contents Table of Contents i Acknowledgements ii Introduction and Overview 1 History and Background 12 Economic Development Framework 20 Background Analysis and Inventory 35 Nogales Demographics Profile 69 Housing and Household Characteristics 71 Parks, Recreation, Trails and OpenSpace 78 Technical Report Conclusions 84 Bibliography and References 86 Exhibits Exhibit 1: International and Regional Context 7 Exhibit 2: Local Context 8 Exhibit 3: Nogales Designated Growth Area 9 Exhibit 4: History of Annexation 19 Exhibit 5: Physical Setting 39 Exhibit 6: Existing Rivers and Washes 40 Exhibit 7: Topography 41 Exhibit 8: Vegetative Communities 42 Exhibit 9: Functionally Classified Roads 54 Exhibit 10: School Districts and Schools 62 Background and Current Conditions Volume Table of Contents Page i City of Nogales General Plan City of Nogales Department Directors Alejandro Barcenas, Public Works Director Danitza Lopez, Library Director Micah Gaudet, Housing Director Jeffery Sargent, Fire Chief Juan Guerra, City Engineer John E. Kissinger, Deputy City Manager Leticia Robinson, City Clerk Marcel Bachelier III, Parks and Recreation Director Michael Massee, City Attorney Roy Bermudez, Chief of Police Samuel Paz, Planning and Zoning Director City Hall, Nogales, Arizona, 2010 Consultant Team Mayor and Council Maria Masque, Principal-in-Charge/Lead Planner, The Planning Center Arturo Garino, Mayor Linda Morales, CEO/Owner, The Planning Center Esther Melendez-Lopez, Councilwoman Brian Underwood, Planner/GIS, The Planning Center Hector Bojorquez, Vice Mayor Daniel Bradshaw, Landscape Architect, The Planning Center Joe Diaz, Councilman Jorge Maldonado, Councilman Cover Photo Credits Dr. Marcelino Varona, Councilman Nubar Hanessian, Councilman Jones Studio, Phoenix, Arizona, “Mariposa Land Port of Entry,” Architect: The Journal of the American Institute of Architects,” July 15, 2016, Image Planning and Zoning Commission by Timmerman Photography. Client: U.S. General Services Administration. Jose A. Agosttini, Chair This General Plan and all its volumes are public domain documents, and Jesus Lorenzo Marquez, Commissioner as such may be used freely, without obtaining permission from or Jesus M. Gomez, Commissioner compensating copyright owners. Miguel Lopez, Commissioner Oscar Santacruz, Commissioner Background and Current Conditions Volume Acknowledgements Page ii City of Nogales General Plan In 1841, a land grant from the Mexican government to the Elias family established Los Nogales de Elias. In 1880, Russian immigrant Jacob Isaacson built a trading post at present-day Nogales. The U.S. Postal Service opened the Isaacson Post Office but renamed it as Nogales in 1883. International Gateway Located in Santa Cruz County along Arizona’s southern boundary, the City of Nogales, Arizona, borders Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, and is Arizona's largest international border town. Nogales, Arizona, is a major international gateway along the United States-Mexico border. Due to the International Border, Nogales is the economic capital of the region and serves as one of the major gateways into the United States. Tourism is an important industry in the area. Visitors cross the border between both cities for site-seeing and shopping on a daily basis Strategic Location INTRODUCTION Arizona is ranked first in the nation in projected job growth and economic growth prospects, and Nogales is the #1 Port of Entry in the entire Nogales, Arizona, is a progressive city that has been able to maintain its Southwestern United States. Nogales is a great place to do business, small-town charm, rich traditions, and vibrant culture. The city is the county providing great weather, great people, and a strategic location. As seat for Santa Cruz County and shares its rich heritage with Nogales, Arizona’s International Gateway and the county seat and economic Sonora, its sister city in Sonora, Mexico. heartbeat of Santa Cruz County, Nogales is safe, friendly, accessible and open for business. With beautiful weather year-round and limited threat of Known in O’odham as Nowa:l, the name "Nogales" is derived from the humidity, inventory and equipment will be kept operating with little energy Spanish word for "walnut" or "walnut tree." It refers to the large stands of costs needed. walnut trees which once grew abundantly in the mountain pass between Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora. Walnut trees can still be found The Ambos Nogales binational region is Mexico’s gateway to Arizona and around the city. the entire Western United States. Its strategic location allows companies to enjoy the advantages of accessing two labor forces, two tax systems, and two governments. Background and Current Conditions Volume Introduction and Overview Page 1 City of Nogales General Plan In terms of logistics, companies in this region can utilize the Mexican ports There is a distinctive flow of people, cultures, businesses, goods and ideas of Guaymas. Stopping in Nogales, containers, and products are shipped characteristic of a binational economy that makes Ambos Nogales unique. throughout North America. In terms of workforce, companies can utilize Members of Ambos Nogales, as well as tourists from both nations, frequent wage structures in Ambos Nogales to make their operations cost both sides of this international border creating an influx zone that is fluid competitive. and supports a natural constant movement from one side to the other much like the ebb and flow of waves on the shore. Ambos Nogales Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora form a single, functional and complex urban fabric in which some members of the same family may live on the United States while others may reside in Mexico, creating a sense of fluidity that impacts all aspects of life, including culture, language, heritage, character, identity, context, environment and economy. In the same manner, both cities are located in the Ambos Nogales Watershed, sharing similar environmental opportunities and constraints such as water quality, runoff patterns and high-risk erosion areas, making it difficult to produce quality assessments without understanding the myriad ways in which these two communities are integrally connected and interdependent. Planning efforts along the border require decision-making at the international, federal, state and local levels. Ambos Nogales was once an easy, friendly and relaxed two-nation border town. The urban fabric is now separated by an international border, yet still “The border is what joins us/Not what separates us.” Ambos Nogales remains heavily reliant on each other. Ambos Nogales Alberto Ríos, Arizona Poet Laureate continue to share their families, cultures, heritages, characters and Native of Nogales, Arizona identities. The economy of Ambos Nogales is strongly intertwined. Being a community member in Ambos Nogales provides a unique opportunity to learn the languages, cultures and traditions from both Mexico and the United States. Background and Current Conditions Volume Introduction and Overview Page 2 City of Nogales General Plan The General Plan The City of Nogales General Plan is the roadmap guiding development and redevelopment within the City. This planning tool includes the vision of the community, a thorough analysis of opportunities and challenges, the policy framework guiding development within the Designated Growth Area and the implementation strategies necessary to implement the plan. The General Plan serves as a guide for appointed and elected officials in the evaluation of proposals for development and redevelopment, in the identification of capital improvements projects, and in the development of more specific studies. It includes background data and current conditions and provides a policy framework for the refinement of existing implementation tools such as the zoning ordinance and the subdivision regulations. It also defines all the administrative and monitoring mechanisms necessary to administer and manage the General Plan as The number of people that cross the Nogales port of entry on a daily basis well as all implementation strategies needed to implement the General is higher than the number of people that arrive daily at the Los Angeles Plan. Airport (LAX) or Chicago O’Hare Airport. Entrepreneurs in Nogales, Arizona, have responded to this opportunity by creating a unique binational The General Plan Organization economy that capitalizes on the number of pedestrians that visit Morley Avenue, responding to its location in a strategic manner. The General Plan document consists of two volumes. The Policy Plan volume serves as the regulatory document guiding development and Although Ambos Nogales provides unique economic and cultural includes the community vision, guiding principles, goals, policies and opportunities, issues in Nogales, Arizona are dealt with at the federal, state implementation measures. The Plan Administration and Implementation and local levels. The complex level and hierarchy of decision-makers Element included in the Policy Plan volume serves as the administrative forces the City to come up with creative solutions