Last Thursday night, Talio, a large german shepherd with a left floppy ear, ran out the front door leaving his owners sad and devastated of what may happen to him. Lisa, a resident of Rancho Sahuarita, assured her sons “not to worry.. that we live in a wonderful community where people care about their neighbors and he would come back or someone will find him and return him.” Regardless Lisa spent most of the night looking for Talio with little luck. Lisa soon decided to post this comment on the Rancho Sahuarita Facebook Group (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=68011478968&ref=ts):

Lisa Lost German Sheperd – Rancho Sahuarita – Talio was last seen on Thursday night. He has a left

floppy ear and is slightly bigger then shown in this picture. Please respond to this post if you see him.

Soon there were many replies including one with the phone number of a couple who had found a german shepherd. Lisa and her sons were quickly reunited with Talio. Lisa comments, “Thanks to the Facebook profile, I was able to post a message about him and within “minutes” I heard back. The people, Tim and Stephanie, who found him were wonderful to him and kept him safe and fed until we found him.”

Talio is reunited with his family thanks to Rancho Sahuarita’s social media and the wonderful people in the community.

Continue to follow Rancho Sahuarita on twitter at www.twitter.com/ranchosahuarita and www.facebook.com/ranchosahuarita. Also, join one of the many Rancho Sahuarita groups that are continuously being created. Look for event updates, give aways and additional ways to connect with fellow residents.

Meeting Scheduled!

Sahuarita School District, our children and community need our help. On March 9, 2010, the voters in the Sahuarita School District will be asked to vote on Proposition 402. A YES vote could save many valuable programs in the District, which are critical to both the educational experience for our children and our community.

Please read the letter atttached in pdf format, from the Office of the Superintendent, Dr. Jay St. John, which was sent out to the District on January 25, 2010. It outlines the programs that will be recommended for termination, if this Proposition fails. The list is staggering.

For further clarification on Proposition 402, please visit www.keepkidsfirst.org, and the Districts website www.sahuarita.net .

We also invite you to attend a meeting on the subject on Monday, February 1st, at 4:00PM at Club Rancho Sahuarita in the De Anza Sports Bar.

The community of Rancho Sahuarita is truly a community that continues to shine. Although an unsteady housing market has made prospective home buyers insecure and confused about what exactly a good housing deal is today, there is one place in Arizona that at least some home buyers feel may be their economic safe haven. With an average of almost one home sold every day during 2009, it appears that Rancho Sahuarita’s small-town, friendly lifestyle reassures residents that choosing to live in a “true” master planned community is the correct financial and emotional decision for their family.

A little over one year ago, ABC Nightline correspondent John Donavan questioned in a news piece whether or not the master planned community of Rancho Sahuarita, situated just south of Tucson, Arizona, was “the last American boomtown.” The national broadcaster wondered whether Rancho Sahuarita’s extensive amenities and family oriented lifestyle would offer “the magic formula to survive the slowdown” and concluded by saying “maybe there aren’t any boomtowns left anywhere.”

However, time may be proving the ABC News analysis prophetic. Considering that Tucson’s housing starts were down in 2009 by over 80% from their peak in 2005, Rancho Sahuarita was still able to maintain its “boomtown” status as Arizona’s best- selling master-planned community. Ben Sage, Director of Metrostudy’s Arizona Region, recently said that “Rancho Sahuarita started and closed more homes than any other community in Arizona.”

Bob Sharpe, the founder of Rancho Sahuarita, feels that Rancho Sahuarita’s success is a direct result of the community’s continual introduction of new amenities and events. He said, “This real estate downturn has proven to be an opportunity for Rancho Sahuarita to seize market share from those communities that never invested in providing lifestyle experiences for their residents.” For our customers, it’s all about value and values.”

Renowned real estate consulting firm, Robert Charles Lesser, ranked Rancho Sahuarita #5 in its list of the 10 best-selling master planned communities in the nation, based on total number of new homes sold in 2008. Although the rankings aren’t out for 2009, 358 homes were sold through 2009 in Rancho Sahuarita, making it Arizona’s top selling community for two consecutive years. On a local level, Rancho Sahuarita continued to dominate Tucson’s new home sales, with its overall market share more than doubling over the last few years. Rancho Sahuarita’s share of all new home closings increased to about 16% last year, up from about 7% in 2005.

Sharpe believes that there is a “flight to quality and financial security” by home buyers and attributes his community’s rapid home sales pace to one thing – “We are deliveringon our promises of value which increases the community’s appeal to home buyers, especially during these uncertain times.

In general, existing home sales are up from the low levels of 2008 and the inventory of homes listed for sale is down. Although experts feel that the much touted recovery is fragile, Rancho Sahuarita appears to be benefiting economically more than other communities by appealing to both first-time buyers and investors, who are seeking features, like being near jobs, decent schools, and family oriented amenities.

Since Rancho Sahuarita’s opening in July 2001, builders have sold almost 5,000 homes, According to Sharpe, he always felt that Rancho Sahuarita’s branded lifestyle would differentiate it from the competition, both in good times, and bad. Sharpe said, “The value of living in Rancho Sahuarita is more than how big a house you have, it is the sense of community and family experiences that make it a place that almost one in six new home buyers decided to call home last year.”

Commercial amenities are also a growing part of the Rancho Sahuarita master plan with the opening of the area’s first 108,000 sq. ft. Fry’s Marketplace. Together with 35,000 sq. ft. of adjacent retail space, including a Chase bank, the Rancho Sahuarita Marketplace is one of Southern Arizona’s premier shopping, dining and health care destinations.

Although Rancho Sahuarita has also struggled against the housing industry’s downward spiral, maybe it is just possible that ABC’s news story, about an ideal community, with a magical vision of satisfied homeowners enjoying their lake, trails, parks, pools and clubs, will have a happy ending.

Tonight at 6:30 pm, at the Town Council Meeting, the council will vote on an amendment to the Rancho Sahuarita Specific Plan Sign Standards that will better enable the Rancho Sahuarita vision of vast commercial in the area. Atopic of great concern, which will affect the economic growth and the future of the Town Center for Sahuarita, is Resolution 2010-165 and Ordinance 2010-32 adopting amendments to Rancho Sahuarita Specific Plan Sign Standards.
The purpose of the proposed sign standards amendment is to arrive at sign standards that better accommodate the needs of businesses and commercial development within the Rancho Sahuarita Specific Plan.
Many of the existing sign standards are outdated and do not reflect current development trends of the Town’s recent growth and desire for additional retail and commercial opportunities.  The recommended sign standards move to better accommodate the needs of businesses while respecting the community’s values as expressed in the General Plan. Also the recommended sign standards should be sufficiently flexible for most development that will occur within the Specific Plan area.
If we want to attract large retail stores, a beautiful Town Center and a community that will thrive economically and socially as well as a greater level of services, we must amend the sign standards.

The Amendment needs our support!

Please participate in the next Town Council Meeting this January 11, 2010 @ 6:30PM. It will be held at the Town Hall and have your voice heard.  If you cannot make the meeting, please email your Council members prior to the meeting and express your support. Below are the email addresses for Mayor Lynne Skelton and the Council members.

Email addresses for Mayor Skelton and Council members for your convenience.
Mayor Lynne Skelton lskelton@ci.sahuarita.az.us

Kara Egbert: kegbert@ci.sahuarita.az.us

Duane Blumberg: dblumberg@ci.sahuarita.az.us

Vice Mayor Phil Conklin: pconklin@ci.sahuarita.az.us

Scott Downs: sdowns@ci.sahuarita.az.us

Rosanna Gabaldon: rgabaldon@ci.sahuarita.az.us

Charles Oldham: coldham@ci.sahuarita.az.us

Rancho Sahuarita in conjunction with the Town of Sahuarita are proud to bring you this year’s Holiday Festival on December 19th from 2:00 – 7:00 pm at the Rancho Sahuarita Clubhouse and Sahuarita Lake Amphitheater

Santa will arrive at 2:30 pm and be on hand for photos. There will also be ice skating (skates will be provided), pony rides, jumping castles, face painting, and more!

One donation of a non-perishable food item per person is required to obtain a ticket to enter the Sahuarita Ice Rink! All food collected will be donated to the Green Valley/Sahuarita Community Food Bank. At dusk, join us for the lighting of the Amphitheater with hundreds of christmas lights and luminaries. Don’t miss out on this winter wonderful event!

This is a public event, so come on down and see the community!

Toys for Tots

Rancho Sahuarita and the Sahuarita Water Company has teamed up this year to collect NEW, unwrapped toys for needy children in the Rancho Sahuarita community. Toys for Tots have been distributing gifts for years around the holidays. This year we need your help!

Please drop off your donation to the Rancho Sahuarita Clubhouse at 15455 S. Camino Lago Azul or at the Sahuarita Water Company at 725 W Via Rancho Sahuarita Rd. For additional drop off points, Check out www.toysfortots.org

Letters for the Troops

The Holiday season is the perfect time to say thank you to the men and women of our military. Until December 31, 2009, Rancho Sahuarita will be collecting your letters to the troops. A specially designed mailbox has been placed in the Rancho Sahuarita clubhouse.

Please help us spread a little holiday joy to our soldiers overseas!

Welcome to the new Rancho Sahuarita Blog!

Between Twitter, Facebook, the community Intranet, email blasts, Rancho Sahuarita Cares, Rancho Sahuarita Village Talk and now the Rancho Sahuarita Blog, Rancho Sahuarita is dedicated to communicating the great happenings of the community  to residents and to the greater Southern Arizona community.

So what’s to come?

Check back often for new blogs on events, promotions, new information about the community, and other exciting up to minute news!

Cheers!

Welcome to the new Rancho Sahuarita Blog! There will be great posts about everything happening in Rancho Sahuarita. Check back often for new posts that detail events and updates about the community. Also, keep an eye out for promotions and contests!