The Tucson Audubon Society is trying to slow down a large-scale housing development planned near a small town in Southern Arizona.
The proposed community could become home to 40,000 people. That’s about eight times the population of Benson, which the Villages at Vigneto would border.
Karen Fogas is the executive director for the Tucson Audubon Society, which has asked the Army Corps of Engineers to review a permit issued for the development nearly a decade ago when the project was smaller.
Fogas said her group is worried about environment impacts, including water usage, especially since droughts are rolling through the West.
"Is now really the time to be planning a Tuscany-style development in an arid watershed? That just doesn’t make sense," she said.
Fogas said the Army Corps of engineers should look at past environmental impact studies and concerns from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency about the original plan.
