The following is a summary of the February 9, 2004 meeting.
1. The meeting was called to order 9:05 a.m. with a quorum. Science Commission
members and Pima County support staff introduced themselves.
Members Present:
Bill Shaw
Paul Fish
Tom Sheridan
Don McGann
Linwood Smith
Frances Werner
Mac Donaldson
Robert Steidl
Members Absent:
Joseph Joaquin
Dan Robinett
Jonathan Mabry
Others Present:
Jenny Neeley
Carolyn Campbell
Trevor Hare
Julia Fonseca
David Scalero
Neva Conolly
Sherry Ruther
Linda Mayro
Paul Fromer
Lori Woods
Jim Veomett
John Regan
Nicole Fyffe
2. Adopt Minutes
Meeting summaries were adopted without changes for the January 12 and November
4 meetings.
3. Discuss/Adopt Charter
Bill Shaw handed out a draft charter for the Science Commission. Minor
edits were made to the charter, and it was adopted as amended.
4. Open Discussion of Commission Role
The Commission decided to move to the next agenda item, since they
had discussed the Commissions role in the previous agenda item.
5. Vice Chair Selection
Bill Shaw nominated Linwood Smith to serve as Vice Chair. This
nomination was seconded, and approved by the Commission.
6. MSCP Review
The Commission asked staff to send copies of the MSCP to those
on the Commission who need copies. Lori Woods explained that
the MSCP
is in
draft form and
therefore RECON and the County are looking for comments on
the draft. Lori passed around
a sheet of discussion points that briefly describe certain
parts of the draft MSCP. Paul Fromer noted that the final structure
of the MSCP
would
change
if voters do not approve the open space question in the May
2004 bond election. Paul asked the Commission to submit substantive
comments. Bill Shaw requested
that RECON amend the CLS maps Figures 2.3 and 2.11 to the current
CLS
maps, and to add ranch and other elements to the discussion
point handout. Sherry
Ruther
explained that Planning and Zoning Commission is requiring
one public meeting for comments on the updated CLS map before it
goes to the
Board of Supervisors.
Mac Donaldson asked if adjoining counties have agreements with
Pima County, regarding the MSCP or the SDCP. Julia Fonseca
said she was
not aware
of any. Linda Mayro
said the Santa Cruz National Hertitage Area is supported
by the Santa Cruz Board of Supervisors, and that Pima County may
be
able to build
off that.
Mac recommended
Pima County establish intergovernmental agreements with adjacent
counties. Julia noted that there was once a letter to staff
from County Administrator
Chuck Huckelberry
supporting the sharing of GIS information with Santa Cruz
County. Paul Fromer added that a Multi-County MSCP was one option considered,
but
is beyond current
capabilities.
There was a discussion of the role of the Science Commission
in implementing the MSCP. Paul Fromer described Clark Countys
Implementing
and Monitoring
Committee. Bill Shaw asked whether the Science Commission
should assist with the design
of the adaptive management program instead of just recommending
changes and funding for projects. Paul felt this was more
appropriate than
in Clark County,
because
Pima Countys Science Commission is made up of more technical
people.
For the next meeting, the Commission is asked to report/discuss
any comments on the draft MSCP, especially on the section
of the MSCP
that deals with
the Commissions role.
7. Direction to Staff regarding SOER
Paul suggested the need for clear priorities for the State
of the Environment Report, and said that other technical
teams (Ranch,
Recreation, etc.)
could be consulted for applicable parts of the State of
Environment Report. Staff
was
asked to provide some information on the roles of existing
or proposed
committees that may interact in some way with the Science
Commission.
Tom Sheridan brought up the proposed Conservation Commission.
Carolyn Campbell gave an update on the open space portion
of the bond election.
At the last
meeting of the Conservation Bond Advisory Committee, the
Committee voted to split the
now $174.6 million, 25 percent for Community Open Space
Priorities (including jurisdictional requests) and 75 percent
for Habitat
Protection Priorities,
after deducting $10 million off the top for Davis Monthan
open space.
There was a discussion about where the funds would come
from for monitoring. It was clarified that the potential
open
space bond
funds could only
be used for acquisition, not operations. Lori Woods noted
that on page 101
of the
MSCP there is a discussion of funding options.
The Commission discussed whether the other technical teams
need to continue to exist or what their roles may be in
the future.
Paul
Fromer explained
that it
could be the role of the Commission to decide what happens
to the other teams.
John Regan and Jim Veomett presented maps. Map 1 showed
Building Permits 2000-2003 and the CLS 58,000 permits with
most falling
outside the
CLS. John will turn
into PDF files to distribute. Lori Woods noted that this
map could be compared to the maps produced by ESI Corp.
that projected
development
impacts in
the future. Sherry Ruther added that the Commission could
also look at
land use
changes before
building permits are pulled. Linda Mayro said the Commission
could also look at reclassified ranch lands and net loss
of ranch lands.
Map 2 showed building permits and vacant lands (Assessors
use code 00)
Map 3 showed building permits and Habitat Protection Priorities
John also presented 4 orthophotos of the Arivaca area,
taken in September 2002, to show the level of detail available
for one section.
This
orthophoto coverage
is available for public use on Pima Countys MapGuide. John
noted that the current orthophotos dont include much of
the
present
reserve lands
because
the photos
focus more on development. But orthophotos of the edge
areas may be useful. John also explained that these are
not taken
in the
same season
each
year.
8. SDCP Fact Sheets
Nicole Fyffe handed out SDCP Fact Sheets from approximately
a year ago, and SDCP Technical Team brochures that list
team members
and
all the
SDCP reports.
Staff
was asked to put dates on fact sheets and brochures.
The Commission was asked to provide comments on the brochure.
9. Current Events
Carolyn Campbell, Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection,
updated the Commission on the open space bond campaign.
She said there
was also a
campaign for support
of all the bond issues. The political campaign committee
for the open space bonds is called Friends of the Sonoran
Desert.
Susan
Shobe from
Carolyns
office is
the campaign manager. The campaign committee is currently
doing polling to see which messages work, and learn
more about demographics.
Carolyn
passed
out draft
flyers promoting the open space bond question and post
cards with contact information.
Linda Mayro said that she and her staff were asked
to hold a historic bond projects forum at Pima Community
College
on April
6. Carolyn
said she got
an email stating
that Tucson Association of Realtors has taken a position
in favor of the open space question and the flood control
question.
The Commission decided not to hold an informational
forum on the open space bond question. Instead, the
Commission
will
just respond
to any
requests
for informational
presentations. Carolyn said it may be best to leave
this to the official advocate groups.
Staff was asked to send Commission members copies of
the letter requesting comments on the Draft MSCP that
the Steering
Committee
received.
10. Next Meeting
The next meeting date was set for March 29th.
11. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 11:25 am.