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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/12/2004 Study Session MinutesMINUTES OF STUD' SESSION REGARDING ARAFT II.ABITAT CONSERVATION PLAN ~-1ND PLANNING DEPARTMENT DEVELOPIVIENT ACTIVITY REPORT I47ARANA:TaV~'N HA[,L OCTOBER 12fl04 ~ ~. PLACE AND DATE Marana Town Hall, October 12, 2004 I. CALL TO ORDER By Vice Mayor Kai at 5:30 p.m. He stated that the meeting would be held informally with everyone welcome to participate. A. COUNCIL ACTION 1. Presentation: Draft Habitat Conservation Plan (Leslie Liberti) Mr. Reuwsaat opened the presentation by recognizing Jennifer Christelman, Marana's Environmental Manager, Scott Richardson, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist, and Leslie Liberti, a biologist with SWCA, Inc. Environmental Consultants, for all of the hard work each had contributed to this effort. He said that the presentation focused on the administrative draft of the Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) which would go before the Council for approval on October 19~. He noted that the HCP could change depending on certain variables including public input and review, and how active a partner the State Land department became in the process. He explained that the Tortolita Preserve Concept augmentation and the Bajada Environmental Resource Overlay District were important strategic components of the HCP. At this time, the Town Manager turned the presentation over to Ms. Liberti. Ms. Liberti began by explaining the essential components of a habitat conservation plan which included the permit holder, the permit duration, the covered activities, the permit area, and the covered species. She pointed out that a preliminary report presented to the Council in June of 2003 had identified 16 species which could be recommended for conservation strategies. She noted that ten species had been dropped from the list because of low impacts. She named the remaining listed species which included the Burrowing Owl, the Pygmy Owl, the Tucson Shovel-Nosed Snake, the Ground Snake, the Pale Townsend's Big-Eared Bat, and the Lesser Long-Nosed Bat. She remarked that, due to the HCP's long duration, perhaps 25 years or more, things were not static and monitoring as well as strategy changes would definitely be involved in the HCP management. MtNUTESOF STUDYSESSION REGARDING DRAFT HABITAT. CC3NS~RVATION,PI.AN A,h1D PLA1YNNG DEPARTMENT DEVELOPMENT A+~TCViTI' REPORT' MARANA T©WN HALL OCTOBER 12, 200 Ms. Liberti continued by giving a detailed summary of the six endangered species, including their status, and the Towri s development impact on these species' habitat areas. She outlined the monitoring and adaptive management strategies that would be utilized in the HCP process. Ms. Liberti continued by pointing out that the Habitat Conservation Plan was in its draft form and that the Town now needed to decide how to move forward with the plan. She said that if the decision to move forward with the HCP was made then the Town would have to negotiate a second intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the State as well as refine the draft HCP into a final version. She added that an environmental assessment (EA) or environmental impact statement (EIS) would also be required as well as the inclusion of public input. Mr. Reuwsaat said that there was plenty of additional work to do on this matter but that the foundation had been laid for the Town's move forward. He asked that this item be placed on the October 19~ Council agenda for approval to proceed with the administrative draft. He congratulated the technical team for the outstanding effort that brought the Town to this point. He noted that moving forward with the HCP would allow the Town to be eligible for various grant funding. Council Member Escobedo inquired about the timeframe involved before completion of the HCP process. Ms. Liberti replied that this depended on the negotiations with the State Land department and with the other players. Mr. Reuwsaat said that he believed the process could be realistically projected at two years. He remarked that it was prudent for the Town to submit the administrative draft as-is and continue to work through the process including negotiating the second phase of the HCP draft. Council Member Blake asked if Ms. Liberti would be involved with this process throughout the years. She answered by stating her deep belief in the Towri s plan and remarked that she was honored to work with Marana in developing the Habitat Conservation Plan. Vice Mayor Kai recessed the study session. The time was 6:40 p.m. 2 lYi1Ni3TES OF STUDXSE~SIQN m .REGARDING DRAFT HABITAT COIVSEl2'4'ATION PLAN AND PLANNING' DEPAIt'TNXEN'T DE~rELOPMENT ACTTti'1TY REPt~RT MARANA TOV1'N ILALL OCTrJB~R 12, X004 2. Presentation• Planning Department Development Activity Report (Kevin Kish) Vice Mayor Kai reconvened the study session with all attending Council members seated at the dais. The time was 6:49 p.m. Mr. Reuwsaat began this portion of the study session by recapping discussions that had taken place during the recent Council retreat. He said that because of the large volume of development activity currently taking place the Town staff would present the Council with a monthly development project update for their information and review. He explained that this report was a reformatted version of the existing Directors Report and would better inform all interested parties of development activities within the Town boundaries. Council Members Honea and McGorray commented that the Council had recently begun to receive the Planning Commission packets and that this distribution was especially beneficial in keeping them abreast of new projects. They both agreed that the information provided an opportunity to seek additional information about specific projects if desired. Ms. Berlin addressed the Council and gave an overview of the development activity report. She pointed out that within the development process there were 32 ongoing development plan reviews, 23 preliminary plat projects, l6 final plat projects, 14 rezoning projects, and 18 open tenant improvement projects. A general discussion followed regarding the report format and the method by which development information would be disseminated. It was decided that project-specific maps would be issued when a new project emerged in order to pinpoint exact locations of each project. Ms. Berlin volunteered to be the Council members' main point of contact when questions arose. A more readable Northern Marana Area Plan map was requested by the Council as well as hard zoning and design guidelines. 3 M1~]UTES OF STUDY SESSION REGARDING DRAFT I~ABIT:AT CQNSERVATION PLAN AND pLA.NNING DEPARTIIIEN'CDE~'EI.OPMENT ACTT'V1TY REFURT. NIAR.A tti1A' TO W~ BALL OCTt7BER 12, 2+04 Mr. Reuwsaat commented that he would update the Council monthly and that an analysis of development fees as well as the need for additional staffing would be presented to the Council shortly. He asked for the Council's direction on how to present them with information regarding prospective development interest. It was decided that a simple memo to the Council relating this information would be sufficient. II. ADJOURNMENT Upon motion by Council Member Escobedo, seconded by Council Member McGorray, the study session was adjourned at 7:20 p.m. CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing are the true and correct minutes of the Marana Town Council study session held on October 12, 2004. I further certify that a quorum was present. yn Bron n, Town Clerk ~`,,~'i1 tBl~j~ •® of ~ ~~i ®y~~~~ounpiy, ~i s E.~~" ~OR~o Tf SEAL a ~'~0'a<iuu~~~~`~~ ~~ ~~~~~~ a ~ 111 ``,` 4 MARANA TOWN COUNCIL MEETINg' Public Attendees Address / c;4/.V