| Mandatory Water Adequacy Before the Yavapai County Planning & Zoning Commission & Yavapai County Board of Supervisors Hearing – Thursday, December 16 – 9 a.m. Vote – Wednesday, January 19 – 9 a.m. |
| Save The Dates! Two separate hearings. Now available for PUBLIC COMMENT. Make your voice heard, as the general public, regarding a very important matter being heard and voted on by the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors that affects all of Yavapai County. The Board of Supervisors wants the public to know about this matter and are asking for public written or in person comments prior to the time they will vote on January 19, 2022. Yavapai County Planning and Zoning Commission Hearing Time & Date: December 16, 2021 at 9:00 AM, Place: 10 S. 6th Street Cottonwood, AZ 86326 How to provide your public comments to the Commission: You may send in your comments by email to plan…@yavapaiaz.gov no later than 24-hours prior to the scheduled commission meeting. Written comments will be forwarded to the Commission and registered as pro or con in the minutes and retained as part of the public record. You may attend in person with social distancing and will have a 3-minute limit to make public comment the day of the hearing. You may contact Development Services at 928-771-3214. Yavapai County Board of Supervisors Meeting Time & Date: January 19, 2022 at 9:00 AM, Place: 10 S. 6th Street Cottonwood, AZ 86326 How to provide your comments to the Board: You may send in your comments by email to clerkofb…@yavapaiaz.gov or mailing to Clerk of the Board 1015 Fair Street, Prescott, AZ 86305 and comments must be received no later than 24-hours prior to the scheduled commission meeting. Written comments will be forwarded to the Commission and registered as pro or con in the minutes and retained as part of the public record. You may attend in person with social distancing and will have a 3- minute limit to make public comment the day of the hearing. You may watch the meeting virtually as seating will be limited: https://yavapaiaz.gov/meetings/video-list Your Public Comments are a vital part of the decision making & Yavapai County Board of Supervisors wants to know how you feel and what you think And now, let’s answer some questions about the subject. What is “Mandatory Water Adequacy?” In 2007 – State legislature passed SB 1575 which gave cities, towns, and counties the authority to require a 100-year water adequacy determination from ADWR before a proposed subdivision could be recorded by local zoning authority. Arizona has 5 Active Management areas. About 80% of the population resides in Active Management areas and about 20% resides in Non-Active Management areas. Yavapai County has one Active Management area which is the Prescott AMA. An Assured Water Supply for subdivisions is required within Arizona’s 5 Active Management areas. It is designed to sustain the state’s economic health by conserving groundwater areas where the groundwater supply is experiencing severe decline, and to promote long-term water supply planning. AMAs are those areas of the state where significant groundwater depletion has occurred historically and include portions of Maricopa, Pinal, Pima, Santa Cruz and Yavapai counties. An Adequate Water Supply Program for outside of the AMAs and is administered by the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR). An adequate water supply means a legal source of water that reliably meets the water quantity and quality requirements necessary for the desired use and is sustainable. It ensures that the water adequacy or inadequacy is disclosed in the public report provided to potential first purchasers and that any water supply limitations are described in promotional or advertising material. However, in a Mandatory Adequacy Jurisdiction, adequacy of water supplies must be demonstrated prior to plat approval and issuance of a public report. Also, the ownership of the water must be proven HERE. Mandatory adequacy water supplies for subdivisions may be required in Non-Active Management areas if the local County or the City passes an ordinance requiring the same. Those counties and cities that have passed an ordinance are HERE. Once passed by the County or City, the ordinance cannot be rescinded or revised unless Arizona’s legislature does it. If a county feels that a revision is needed regarding this regulation, it will not be able to do so; its hands are tied. Nothing ever stays the same and with time things will change. Being unable to adjust and make smart and prudent decisions on a local level is not a good thing for the people who live in these affected counties and cities! YAVAPAI COUNTY — will Mandatory Active Management fit the entire county? You be the judge. Prescott and the tri-cities have grown substantially over the last 5 years and are within the Active Management area of the county. It is already being managed by ADWR under the Mandatory Assured Water Supply program. Developments in the Prescott Active Management Area mostly depend on groundwater.On the other hand, the Sedona-Verde Valley has rich water resources with five (5) perineal streams. USGS: Source Study 2003 Area: Verde Groundwater Pumping  Table 22 HERE from the USGS Scientific Investigations Report 2005-5198 entitled Hydrogeology of the Upper and Middle Verde River Watersheds, Central Arizona. Table 22 presents the average annual water budgets for the regional aquifers in the upper and middle Verde River watersheds, Central Arizona, 1990-2003. As you can clearly see from the table, there has been no change in groundwater storage in the Verde Valley sub-basin for that period of record and if you look at the total water pumped for municipal use from 2006 through 2019, it is clear to see municipal pumping has gone down since 2006. The total annual pumping data comes directly from the Community Water System reports that are submitted to ADWR each year by the water provider.  Yavapai County is diverse, and one size does not fit all! There are approximately 5.202 million acres, 8,128 mi². Only 26 percent of the land in the County is in private hands (individuals or corporations). Thirty-eight percent of the land is administered by the U.S. Forest Service, 9% by the U. S. Bureau of Land Management, 27% by the State of AZ and less than 0.5% is held in trust as Indian Reservation.LANDS AFFECTED BY MANDATORY WATER ADEQUACY IF PASSED IN YAVAPAI COUNTY: Properties outside Active Management Areas (AMAs) to include the entire Verde Valley | Sedona, AZ. Specific properties that are affected by adopting Mandatory Water Adequacy: Affected Property Owners:6 or more parcels up to 35 acresResidential SubdivisionsCommercial SubdivisionsIndustrial SubdivisionsExisting Subdivisions replantedNon-Affected PropertiesFederal GovernmentContinueIndian ReservationsUnsubdivided subdivisions (36 acres or more, up to 159 acres.)Commercial (Hotels, motels, RV Parks, Shopping Centers, etc. Incorporated City Limits up to 3 parcels: Unincorporated County Areas up to 5 parcels.Residential: Incorporated City Limits up to 3 parcels; Unincorporated County Areas up to 5 parcels.If Yavapai County adopts the ordinance, all developers would be required to obtain an adequate water supply for commercial industrial and residential subdivisions. There is no express exemption for the sale of lots or parcels in a commercial subdivision. Educational Meetings with Yavapai County P&Z Commission Prior to Public Comment: There have been four (4) separate meetings with Presenters to the Planning & Zoning Commission Board to give education and comment back with Q&A not allowing any public comment. You may view/listen to those meetings on the hyperlinks below. First Meeting: Presenter, David McKay, Manager Assured Water Supply ADWR, Arizona Department of Water 9/2/21 Power Point Presentation, HERE. Second Meeting: Presenters included Rick Coffman of Castle & Cook and John Munderloh of the Town of Prescott Valley 9/16/21 HERE. Third Meeting: Presenters, Tom Whitmore, Utilities & Natural Resource Director City of Cottonwood. Ron Volkman, Government Affairs Director, Sedona Verde Valley Association of REALTORS. State Representative Gail Griffin represents Legislative District 14 in the Arizona House of Representatives. Includes portions of 4 counties: Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, and Pima. 10/21/21, HERE. Fourth Meeting: Presenter Doug Von Gausig, Verde River Institute, former Mayor of Clarkdale 11/18/21 HERE. Thank you for your input and reaching out to make your comments known, whatever they may be! |