Revision of Riparian Habitat Mitigation Guidelines

Overview

The Pima County Regional Flood Control District (District) is in the process of revising its standards and guidelines for mitigating and protecting riparian habitat in Pima County. The purpose of the riparian habitat protection regulations is to minimize flood and erosion damage for all county residents, property, and infrastructure by protecting riparian vegetation along watercourses and floodplains.

In September 2005, the Board of Directors of the Flood Control District of Pima County adopted the Floodplain Management Ordinance, Ordinance No. 2005-FC2 (Ordinance). Chapter 16.30 of the Ordinance contains revised riparian habitat protection regulations necessitating the revision and updating of the Regulated Riparian Habitat Mitigation Standards and Implementation Guidelines (mitigation guidelines) developed in 2001.

In order to facilitate the drafting of the new mitigation guidelines, the District has organized a Mitigation Working Group. The Group has been invited to work with the District to revise the onsite mitigation guidelines and develop a separate offsite mitigation guideline document. Once preliminary guidelines have been developed, they will be presented to the public. The public will be invited to comment on the proposed guidelines, and their comments will be incorporated into the drafts that will be presented to the Board of Supervisors for adoption. A Riparian Habitat Mitigation Guidelines Revision Information Sheet (PDF) that outlines the key revisions was created for the January, 2009 draft mitigation guidelines.  The most recent draft of the onsite mitigation guidelines, dated July, 2009, and associated addendum (PDF) to the Information Sheet, outline revisions since the last draft was reviewed and commented on by the Group, in January, 2009.  Comments (PDF) received by Group members after review of the January, 2009 mitigation guidelines and the District’s response (PDF) to those comments is provided.

The District held the following public Open Houses to receive comments regarding the onsite mitigation guidelines:

• Tuesday, January 27, 2009 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Udall Center (room 3), 7200 East Tanque Verde Road
• Wednesday, January 28, 2009 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Lower Level Meeting room of the Joel Valdez Main Library, 101 North Stone Avenue.

The latest draft of the updated Regulated Riparian Habitat Mitigation Standards and Implementation Guidelines (8 MB PDF), dated October 2009, which governs onsite mitigation, has been submitted to the Mitigation Working Group for review. Once comments have been submitted by the MWG, reviewed by the District and appropriately incorporated into the final draft, the mitigation guidelines will be presented at an upcoming meeting of the Pima County Board of Supervisors.

Guidelines for offsite mitigation are currently under development and will be reviewed separately from the onsite mitigation guidelines.  The offsite mitigation guidelines will follow a similar review process as the onsite mitigation guidelines, allowing for input by the Group and by the public.  Offsite mitigation guidelines are expected to be completed within six to nine months after adoption of the onsite mitigation guideline document.

The revised onsite mitigation guidelines will be adopted to reflect changes to the Ordinance.  This document was created to inform applicants of the regulatory process and options for compliance when development impacts regulated riparian habitat.

 

Mitigation Working Group

The Mitigation Working Group consists of members from the community, the development community, public agencies, and conservation organizations in Pima County. The Mitigation Working Group will meet four times to review the current onsite mitigation guidelines, and help District staff develop effective guidelines for implementation of the Ordinance.

Meeting #1: July 17, 2007
Meeting Agenda
Meeting Minutes
Meeting Slides (3.2 MB)

Meeting #2: August 29, 2007
Meeting Agenda
Meeting Minutes
Meeting Handouts

Meeting #3: November 14, 2007; 3PM-5PM
Meeting Agenda
Meeting Minutes
Meeting Comments
LA Comments

Meeting #4: Thursday, January 31, 2008; 3PM-5PM
Meeting Agenda
Meeting Minutes
Meeting Slides
Implementation Guidelines, Cover and Table of Contents (rev. 02-08)

Meeting #5: Thursday, December 11, 2008; 3PM-5PM
Meeting Agenda
Meeting Minutes
Draft Revised Mitigation Guidelines, October 2009

Meeting #6: Wednesday, November 4, 2009; 3PM-5PM
Meeting Agenda
Meeting Minutes
Letter sent to SABHA and MPA by the District’s Director, Suzanne Shields (10-9-09)
List of Revisions to July, 2009 Draft Mitigation Guidelines

 

Mitigation Working Group Member Invitation

List of MWG members

David Godlewski, Southern Arizona Home Builders Association (SAHBA)
Kendall Kroesen, Tucson Audubon Society
Carolyn Campbell, Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection
Lynsey Miller, Rincon Institute
Tim Johnson, American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA)
Amber Smith, Metropolitan Pima Alliance
Jim Tress, WestLand Resources
Priscilla Storm, Diamond Ventures
Susan Lauer, Pima Couty resident