M&A is part of a team that helps a growing Arizona county develop a consensus on a water planning approach.
Client: Pinal County- Time frame: 2010–2011
- Location: Pinal County, Arizona
In 2010, the Pinal County Board of Supervisors appointed a 10-member Citizens Task Force to develop recommendations for an amendment to its 2011 Comprehensive Plan that would clarify its water planning requirements. To facilitate this process, the Board hired a team of water resource, legal, and public relations professionals that included WestLand Resources, M&A, Snell & Wilmer, and The Caliber Group.
As part of this team, we helped the task force examine how the County could use its planning and zoning authority to promote responsible development and consider its physically available water supplies. We facilitated eight meetings over 4 months to develop the recommendations. We also identified the need for additional renewable water supplies to offset some of Pinal County’s dependence on groundwater. Recommendations included requiring zoning applicants to provide basic information about the water supply and demand for their proposed project.
The Board of Supervisors approved the amendment in January 2012.
- Inventoried potentially available, renewable water supplies in Pinal County
- Worked with ADWR and CAP staff to quantify current water demand, CAP contracts, and CAGRD memberships in Pinal County
- Provided regular updates at public meetings of the Board of Supervisors and the Planning & Zoning Commission
- Facilitated a 10-member task force representing diverse geographical areas and interests, including municipalities, private developers, large utilities, and the Arizona State Land Department
- Authored white papers on renewable water supplies and the relationship between rezoning applications and physically available groundwater supplies
- Facilitated a joint work session to consider the task force recommendations for incorporation into a comprehensive plan amendment
- Successfully led the task force to develop a consensus for recommending that Pinal County modify its zoning approval process
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