Marana bans camping on town property; violators face up to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine

Marana bans camping on town property; violators face up to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine

MARANA — The Marana Town Council on Monday, Nov. 2, adopted an ordinance banning camping on town-controlled public property, making violations a class 3 misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a fine of up to $500. Each day counts as a separate offense.

The council approved Ordinance No. 2026.019, which adds a new camping chapter to Title 11 of the town code, along with a companion resolution. There was no opposition in the voice vote. Vice Mayor Roxanne Ziegler made the motion. Mayor Jon Post presided at the special meeting.

The senior assistant town attorney said Marana has no consistent way to handle urban camping as it grows. The town has received complaints, she said, but "we're not at a point where it's an emergency, but we are being proactive." She said Oro Valley adopted a similar ordinance a couple of weeks earlier, and other Arizona jurisdictions have done the same.

The ordinance defines camping as residing on or using public property as a temporary or permanent place of living or lodging. It applies to streets, rights of way, parks and the portions of the river path the town controls. The attorney said picnics, cooking a meal in a park and camping in a private backyard are not covered. Overnight RV parking on private lots, such as at Walmart, is also outside its scope.

Prohibited conduct includes:

• camping on public property or in stormwater conveyances and other flood-prone areas
• storing camping paraphernalia on public property
• damaging, altering or excavating public or private property in connection with camping

Special events approved by the town, Parks and Recreation activities and emergency response situations are exempt.

Most complaints have involved people living in vehicles, the attorney said. Examples she showed included an RV in the Dove Mountain area, an SUV parked on a Continental Ranch street and vehicles near a Cracker Barrel restaurant. One of those vehicles had been there for months and drew numerous welfare checks.

Police Chief Jeffrey Pridgett said officers will first look at the totality of the circumstances. They will tell people about the violation and give them a reasonable chance to comply before issuing a citation or making an arrest.

The ordinance sets no fixed deadline to vacate. Pridgett said that leaves officers flexibility for cases such as a broken-down vehicle. Under current practice, people found camping in washes get 72 hours' notice, and the Pima County Flood Control District removes them under county code.

Council Member Patrick Cavanaugh asked how officers would show that voluntary compliance was genuinely attempted. Pridgett said each contact will be documented in a case report in the police database. People contacted will receive a card with the case number and the officer's number. Notice could come through updated park signs, stickers placed on vehicles or in-person contact, he said.

Pridgett said the law requires police to hold the property of an arrested person for 30 days, but the department's practice is to hold it for 90. Officers refer people in need to the VA hospital, the Salvation Army and Community Bridges, he said.

First-quarter finances on track

Finance Director Yiannis Kalaitzidis told the council the town is meeting its first-quarter targets for July through September. General Fund revenue stood at 25% of budget. He noted the figures are unaudited.

Highway User Revenue Fund collections reached 28%. Kalaitzidis said the Arizona Department of Transportation adjusted the population numbers in its distribution formula after the town set its budget. That change is expected to raise Marana's distribution by about $900,000 to $1 million this fiscal year.

Spending in that fund was about $1.8 million. Kalaitzidis said that was higher than in prior first quarters because pavement preservation work left over from last fiscal year was finished in the quarter.

Other funds showed lower percentages, which he attributed to timing:

• Bed tax fund: at 15%, comparable to prior years given seasonality.
• Water reclamation: user charges at 26%.
• Airport operating fund: most lease revenue had not yet been recorded. Kalaitzidis told Cavanaugh that almost a full year of airport lease payments had yet to post.

Ziegler asked about paying down the debt backed by the town's half-cent sales tax. Kalaitzidis said:

• The tax brings in about $7.8 million to $8 million a year, and the town has about $15 million in the bank.
• The earliest the debt terms allow any early payoff is 2029. By then the town should have enough cash to retire most of the remaining debt, and the rest within a couple of years after that.
• Paying early would save about half the scheduled interest.

Staff will give the council notice when it must decide whether to continue or repeal the tax, Kalaitzidis said. He estimated the council has about four and a half years to consider the question. Ziegler said she has "a wish list" of possible uses for a continued half-cent tax.

No spending has yet come from the half-cent sales tax fund for planned shade structures near the pool.

Land sale near Tangerine and Lon Adams

The council authorized staff to start the process of selling an approximately 0.29-acre town parcel by public auction. The parcel sits near West Tangerine Road and Lon Adams Road, adjacent to the southeast corner of the Heritage Park Shoppes subdivision. There was no opposition.

Assistant Town Attorney Savannah Merchant said the subdivision's developer asked to buy the land to expand the parking lot of a business planned for the southeast corner. State law requires the sale to be opened to public bidding. Staff does not expect other bidders because of the parcel's size and location.

Merchant said the town will front about $6,600 in administrative costs, including an appraisal, a title report and bid publication fees. Staff recommended:

• a minimum bid equal to the appraised value plus those costs
• a requirement that the buyer install and maintain a physical barrier protecting pedestrians on the nearby river path

Asked by Ziegler what kind of barrier, Merchant said Parks and Recreation indicated something like a post-and-cable barrier or railing would be sufficient. The sale will return to the council before any contract is signed.

Also discussed:

• Marana issued 100 single-family residential permits in October, compared with about 81 in October 2025, staff said.
• Interim Development Services Director Brett Wittenberg reported several new applications:
• a Brake Masters auto repair shop on Tangerine Road near a Starbucks
• a Farmer Boys restaurant on Tangerine Road across from the Fry's shopping center
• a conditional use permit for battery storage off Avra Valley Road next to an existing Tucson Electric Power substation
• a conditional use permit for a "cardominium," flex space leased out to tenants
• After an executive session, the council voted to direct staff to proceed as discussed on lease negotiations with Pima Aviation Inc. at Marana Regional Airport. It took the same action on pending litigation over two referendum petitions, Marana Citizens for Ethical and Transparent Government v. Town of Marana and Fremont Peak Properties v. Town of Marana, now before the Arizona Supreme Court. Council Member Herb Kai had declared a conflict on the litigation item.
• The council approved the Oct. 20 meeting minutes after the clerk added a sentence, at Cavanaugh's request, about his statement on his past vote on data centers. On the consent agenda, it approved an updated policy on town-issued computer equipment and electronic communications for council members.
• The council honored Council Member Patti Comerford with a proclamation for more than 25 years on the council, including a term as vice mayor from 2011 to 2013. Comerford did not seek re-election; the council's Nov. 3 meeting was canceled.

This report was drafted by Claude Opus 5.5 from a live transcript produced by Deepgram Nova-2, then reviewed and edited by Nicholas De Leon with Claude Opus 5.5, and published at 10:04 PM MST on November 2, 2026. Read more about how this is made.