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TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – The Tucson City Council approved a land conveyance Tuesday, transferring 212 acres south of Tucson International Airport from the city to the U.S. Air Force.
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The land is planned for future use by Raytheon, although nothing is official on that front at this point.
The vote has sparked debate over the use of the land by the Air Force and Raytheon.
The city and Raytheon agreed to a pre-annexation agreement in 1995 that laid the groundwork for this week’s conveyance.
In 2009, the city struck a deal with Raytheon to raise funds for a future land acquisition.
“Basically, Raytheon paid property taxes that they didn’t owe into a fund so that we could make the purchase and then convey it so they could add their infrastructure for their company,” said Ward 2 councilman Paul Cunningham.
In 2016, the mayor and council approved using the Raytheon funds to acquire land from the Tucson Airport Authority. A $6.2 million purchase was finalized in 2020.
“This was also done 30 years ago; we can’t just all of a sudden go back and say, ‘well, we can’t do this.’ We have certain legacy deals that go on,” Cunningham said.
Throughout the 20 years of transfers and conveyances, the land has stayed preserved. People who oppose the move by the city council say they worry about what the land will be used for once the greenery is gone.
“I was shocked because no one knew about it because there was no community engagement on that,” said Maria Sohn Hasman, a member of the Tucson Anti-War Committee.
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Sohn Hasman said she was blindsided by the 4-2 council approval and said community feedback is essential when dealing with defense spending.
“We are almost three years into a genocide; we are months into this illegal war in Iran,” Sohn Hasman said. “Raytheon just got this billions and billions of dollars contract to start making more Tomahawk missiles and start speeding up that production.”
Cunningham said the process could have been handled better, but said his decision came down to economics.
“As a veteran, I even have some misgivings about going to war; I don’t agree with some of the administrations that do, but I’m separating that piece from the economic piece,” Cunningham said. “It’s a win for Tucson economically, and we need to pay the bills somehow.”
Cunningham estimates Raytheon’s future operations at the parcel could bring over 1,000 high-paying jobs to Tucson.
“Tucsonans deserve jobs where we are not complicit in war and genocide, and that’s our view, so we should be expanding economic opportunities outside of weapons manufacturing, outside of war profiteers,” Sohn Hasman said.
Council members Miranda Schubert and Lane Santa Cruz voted against the conveyance. Both were contacted for comment on this story but did not respond.
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