For the third time in three years, Pinal County's supervisors Wednesday unanimously rezoned land for a development near Oracle for 8,516 homes on the Willow Springs Ranch.

"This will be a nice addition, probably one of the most sensitive developments I've seen," said Supervisor Lionel Ruiz, whose district includes Oracle and the 4,600-acre development site.

"Some who are against it like the rural lifestyle, but the thing is, as you go down the valley there where the mines are shut down, all the population is decreasing. We don't have any services, and this is a good opportunity to bring some services and some jobs," Ruiz said.

But for the third time in three years, some Oracle residents say they plan to launch a referendum drive to try to stop the project. Through successful petition drives, they have already stopped a 3,800- home development just north of their rural community of 4,500 people nestled in the Santa Catalina Mountains' north side. They also have forced a 6,000-home development near neighboring Oracle Junction onto the November 2002 ballot.

"I'm discouraged that I have to work the streets one more time because the Board of Supervisors would not listen," said Darrell Klesch, a 40-year Oracle resident, a stonemason and an activist. "I don't think they ever met a developer that they didn't like - a lot."

Owners of Willow Springs Ranch, the Tucson-based Anam Inc., would put 8,500 homes on 4,600 acres east of Arizona 79, south of the Black Mountains and northwest of Oracle Junction. The developers promise a "green" project, employing water harvesting, artificial recharge, low- water-use faucets and solar heating.

Developers also promise to protect 17 percent of their land as natural open space, including washes and steep slopes. Alex Argueta, director of the Remington Group, the owners' planning consultant, said total open space would be 35 percent of the land.

Developers say Willow Springs will not be a typical bedroom community because it will put jobs and businesses nearby to reduce driving distances.

"Sustainability is at the core of the project," said Argueta. "We need to have jobs, services and an environment that allows people to live, work, shop and play without having to get into a car as much as possible."

Last year, the developers proposed to build 34,000 homes on 19,000 acres, enough to support 100,000 people. They scaled their project back to a first phase of 8,516 homes after the county's Planning and Zoning Commission recommended denial of the bigger plan.

Now, Argueta said, the owners will wait until the county draws up a new comprehensive plan by the end of 2001 before returning to seek approval for the remaining 10,500 homes.

But Mary Ellen Kazda, a leader of the group opposing Willow Springs, asserted that the developers have so far failed to put their promises of green building into the formal plans they've submitted to the county. Argueta said that more detailed plans will surface in two years, after the developers consult with experts and conduct detailed studies of the best and most energy-efficient heating systems.

Opponents also contend that the county should finish the comprehensive plan before approving the rezoning. Ruiz said a delay wouldn't change any issues on either side.

The entire project will take 50 to 100 years to develop, said Argueta. "We will hold ourselves accountable to what we said we will do and incorporate ideas from people who think we are not doing the right thing."

Klesch said, however, that if the referendum drive can "save this corridor, if this area has been kept from colliding between Tucson and Phoenix, think how valuable this area will be in 20 to 30 years."

Contact Tony Davis at 807-7790 or verdin@azstarnet.com.