This Petition is addressed to the Pinal County Planning and Zoning Commission and the Pinal County Supervisors for immediate attention regarding the Rezoning Application (PZ-006-16) submitted to Pinal County by Elmore/Brimhall LLC.

We, the undersigned, are greatly concerned about the proposed development immediately adjacent to Saint Anthony’s Greek Orthodox Monastery:

• The Monastery is the spiritual home to thousands of Greek Orthodox faithful who regularly attend services and pray on the peaceful grounds of the Monastery.
• The Monastery is the actual residence to over fifty Greek Orthodox Monks who have devoted their lives to worship, prayer, and serving the community.
• The Monastery is world-renowned for its tranquil, beautiful, and holy grounds, a major tourist attraction where tens of thousands of people visit every year from Arizona and around the world.
• Many visitors have also expressed interest and concern about the natural habitat and wildlife, and the negative impact of significant development.
• The Cemetery at the Monastery is the resting place for many faithful people whose family and relatives would be greatly disturbed to have a busy new road and housing development immediately adjacent to the cemetery, with road noise, houses, animals, and music disturbing the peace of the holy grounds.

Therefore, we petition and urge you to immediately decide the following:

• Simply leave the zoning unchanged for the properties in the vicinity of the Monastery. The current zoning is General Rural, which is entirely appropriate to the nature of the Monastery and surrounding community.
• Leave all easements and restrictions unchanged to prevent a residential street going through the area that will immediately and permanently alter the nature of the local community, disrupt the lives of the Monks, grieve the families whose relatives are buried in the cemetery, and disturb the natural habitat and wildlife.
• Deny the zoning and easement changes requested by the developer.

For more information:

• For the complete zoning application posted on the Pinal County Planning and Zoning website: see here.
• For a map of the proposed development: see here for the overall plan, and see here for a map of the general area showing the location of the Monastery and the proposed development.
• For a sample email you can send to the Pinal County Board of Supervisors, please see here (publicly-available email addresses are included).  It is best if you express your own opinion in your own words, but you can use this as a starting place if you want.

Thank you again for your support!