450 West Paseo Redondo
Thursday July 21, 2005
3:00 p.m.
MOTION: Commissioner
Sheridan moved, seconded by Commissioner Prouty, to approve the acquisition of
the Canoa parcels. Motion approved
9-0.
MOTION: Commissioner
Prouty moved, seconded by Commissioner Corey, to approve the acquisition of the
Granite property (68 acres along Santa Cruz River in Sahuarita). Motion approved 9-0.
MOTION: Commissioner
Sheridan moved, seconded by Commission Wilson, to approve acquisition of the
Hiett Property (25 acres at Ajo and Mission).
Motion approved 9-0.
MOTION: Commissioner
Pettis moved, seconded by Vice-Chair Johnson, to approve acquisition of the
Carpenter Ranch property with 2004 and 1997 open space bond funds. Motion approved 9-0.
The
following is a summary of the July 21, 2005 meeting. Audiotapes of the meeting are available upon request.
1. Roll Call
The
meeting was called to order at 3:10 p.m. with a quorum.
Les
Corey Bill
Arnold
Trevor
Hare Rob
Marshall
Jan
Johnson, Vice-Chair
Chuck
Pettis
Tim
Prouty (arrived after meeting summary approved)
Bill
Roe, Chair
Wanda
Shattuck
Tom
Sheridan
Helen
Wilson
2. Approval of June 23, 2005 Meeting
Summary
Meeting summary was approved 8-0.
3. Update
on 1997/2004 Conservation Bond Program Expenditures
Expenditures as of June
30, 2005 will not be available until August.
4. Critical Landscape Linkages
A.
Report from field
trip to Avra I-10 site and Oracle Road site
A written report of the field trip was distributed
to Commissioners prior to the meeting.
Sherry Ruther presented the recommendations to the Commission for each
of the sites. Regarding acquisitions in
these site areas, the group participating in the field trip did not recommend
acquisition of the private parcels previously identified at the Oracle Road
site, but did recommend acquisition of some or all of the parcels identified at
the Avra I-10 site. Commissioner Corey
recommended an education program for residents living near these sites.
Hector Conde, member of the audience, submitted a
report on the linkage between the Catalinas and the Tortolitas. Mr. Conde expressed his disappointment that
only a slim portion of the State Trust lands the County previously identified
for conservation are included in the most recent State Trust Land reform
effort. Mr. Conde also offered his
services to Pima County.
B.
Update from Staff
on contacts with property owners
Catalina/Tortolita Connection – The County received
two offers for private properties in this area, one at $400,000 an acre, and
another at $239,000 an acre. Another
property owner in the area notified staff that they are already involved in a
sale to another party.
Avra I-10 – The County has a letter of intent to
purchase a 15-acre portion of two parcels south of the underpass. The County will continue discussions with
the representative of the northern parcel adjacent to the underpass.
Garcia Strip connection across CAP canal west of
Saguaro National Park West – Staff has sent a letter of interest and
applications to the property owners.
C.
Effectiveness of
land acquisitions and wildlife crossing structures
Carolyn
Campbell, Director of the Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection, presented a
video on the success of wildlife crossing structures. Ms. Campbell also provided the Commission with a list of on-going
activities associated with wildlife connectivity in Pima County, and a letter
from Scott Richardson (US Fish and Wildlife Service) on the importance of the
northwest to the Pygmy Owl.
5. Conservation Opportunities Northwest
of Arthur Pack Park
Nicole
Fyffe explained that the County has received two applications for the sale of
property to Pima County in the area north of Arthur Pack Park. More information will be provided to the
Commission on these parcels before the next Commission meeting on September 8.
6. Acquisition of Canoa Ranch Parcels
County
Administrator Chuck Huckelberry summarized the proposed acquisition of three of
the remaining four privately owned Canoa parcels east of I-19, for $4.2 million
($3 million from 2004 Open Space Bond funds, $1.2 million from Floodprone Land
Acquisition Program (FLAP) funds).
MOTION: Commissioner
Sheridan moved, seconded by Commissioner Prouty, to approve the acquisition of
the Canoa parcels. Motion approved
9-0.
7. Acquisition of Granite Property
Suzanne
Shields, Director of the Flood Control District summarized the proposed
acquisition of the Granite parcels, located along the Santa Cruz River in
Sahuarita (68 acres for $210,000).
MOTION: Commissioner
Prouty moved, seconded by Commissioner Corey, to approve the acquisition of the
Granite property (68 acres along Santa Cruz River in Sahuarita). Motion approved 9-0.
8. Acquisition
of the Hiett Property
Nicole
Fyffe summarized the proposed acquisition of the Hiett property, located in the
Tucson Mountain Park South Corridor Project Area, south of Ajo and west of
Mission (25 acres for $720,000). At the
June Commission meeting, the Commission approved acquisition of adjacent
parcels.
MOTION: Commissioner
Sheridan moved, seconded by Commissioner Wilson, to approve acquisition of the
Hiett Property (25 acres at Ajo and Mission).
Motion approved 9-0.
9. Acquisition of the Carpenter
Property
Jean
Emery summarized the proposed acquisition of the Carpenter Ranch property,
located just north of the Pima/Pinal County border (360 acres for $1.17 million).
MOTION: Commissioner
Pettis moved, seconded by Vice-Chair Johnson, to approve acquisition of the
Carpenter Ranch property with 2004 and 1997 open space bond funds. Motion approved 9-0.
10.
State Trust Land Reform
Initiative
Diana
Rhoades, Sonoran Institute, gave a presentation on the recent State Trust Land
Reform initiative. The full text of the
initiative will be sent to Commissioners.
11. Updates:
South Corridor:
Commission approved acquisition of Heater, Berard, Hyntington properties at
June meeting. Acquisition will go
before the Board of Supervisors on August 2nd.
Poteet Property: Commission approved the acquisition at the
June meeting. Acquisition will go before the Board of Supervisors on August
2nd.
TEP Parcel - Town of Sahuarita Jurisdictional Request Category: Commission approved beginning due diligence at
the June meeting. Staff is still determining whether this should be an open
space acquisition of a Flood Prone Land Acquisition Program acquisition.
Camino de Oeste: Continuing
to negotiate acquisition agreements with various owners.
Belvedere Estates Property:
Commission approved this acquisition on April 21. Board of Supervisors (BOS)
approved the acquisition on June 7th. County will close on the
property shortly.
Madera Highlands:
Commission approved the acquisition on May 19 and the BOS approved it on June 7th. County will close on the property shortly.
Diocese Parcel: County is
working with the new owner of the Diocese property to either acquire a
conservation easement on the property or exchange the property for another
County property.
Green Valley Hills: No update.
Habitat for Humanity parcel and west 36th Street:
Discussions between the City and the County and the seller continue.
Federal Exchange involving Tumamoc Hill: There have
been some changes in the text of the bill including access to the National
Forest via the Simonson property.
Resolution Copper Exchange:
The Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act was introduced into
Congress in May. Pima County is still
working to get the Bloom property included in the legislation for conservation.
Double X Ranch: Staff
will continue to search for alternative funding sources.
Proposed Development Activities on Bond Parcels: Sherry
Ruther reported on two additional properties that just entered the development
process: A 30-acre property at La Cholla and Lucero, and a 1,200 acre property
southwest of the Santa Ritas. Additional information will be provided to the
Commission via mail.
12. Next Commission Meeting, September 8,
2005
The
next Commission meeting is scheduled for September 8, 2005 at 3 p.m.
13.
Call to the Public
No
members of the public spoke at this time.
14. Adjournment
Meeting
adjourned at 5:10 pm.