with medium to high density residential use. Depending on how this proposed activity
center is developed, there is the potential for incompatible land use that could impact or
be impacted by operations at SBAH. Silverbell Army Heliport is located adjacent to the
Pinal Airpark in the southern portion of Pinal County. Existing zoning around SBAH is
shown on Figure 5‐12. To the north, east, and west of SBAH the land is zoned for general
rural (GR) purposes. The GR Zone generally allows single family homes, commercial
agriculture, public uses, agriculture processing plants, livestock yards and public riding
stables. The Pinal County zoning ordinances are consistent with dark sky initiatives to
limit light pollution and mention provisions for aircraft noise contours as part of a
multi‐purpose master community plan, but there are no specific provisions to ensure
development is compatible with military operations at SBAH.
In September 2018, Pinal County approved rezoning approximately 4,257 acres of land
around SBAH and Pinal Airpark and established a Planned Area Development (PAD)
Overlay District. The purpose of the rezoning and PAD Overlay District are to support
continued operation and development of the Airpark, while ensuring the area conforms
to existing zoning regulations and future County Comprehensive Plan goals. There are
five planned zoning categories within the approved plan:
General Commercial;
Activity Center;
Industrial Buffer;
Light Industrial and Warehouse; and
Industrial.
During the planning development of the PAD overlay district, the AZARNG submitted
comments to Pinal County expressing concerns with some of the proposed zoning
categories and the uses they allowed. To avoid incompatible land use, the approved plan
specifically calls out an intent to avoid land uses that would negatively impact the Airpark
and SBAH operations. One example to avoid incompatible development is there would
be no residential development allowed within the PAD Overlay District. The approved
PAD Overlay District could be an opportunity for the AZARNG to weigh in and ensure all
potential compatibility issues are addressed during future development in the area.
Immediately to the south of SBAH is the Pinal Airpark and further south is Pima County,
including the Town of Marana. The existing zoning in this area of Pima County is rural
homestead while the zoning in the northwest portion of the Town of Marana is a
residential district. The Town of Marana is currently updating its General Plan and it is
expected to be completed by the end of 2019. The Pinal Airpark and SBAH are within the
Town’s municipal planning area, however it is not yet known what the General Plan will
propose for future development to the northwest towards the aviation facilities.
5-82
Compatibility Assessment