Citizens Protecting Maumelle Watershed is a grass roots organization focusing on protecting the water quality of Lake Maumelle located in Central Arkansas.
~~~~~~~~~
March 14, 2009
Visit the Arkansas Times Blog for more than one story on Lake Maumelle
Lake Maumelle advocates sign in at a rally held last week
Advocates for Lake Maumelle scored a small victory this afternoon when Central Arkansas Water commissioners voted to accept the agreement between CAW and Pulaski County on tougher subdivision rules that will protect the watershed. Check out the Arkansas Reporter from this week's Times for some background info. Environmental groups and other concerned citizens didn't think the subdivision agreement went far enough to protect Lake Maumelle. The agreement, among other things, prohibits the discharge of wastewater in the watershed, something advocates like the Sierra Club's Kate Althoff said was necessary. The agreement does not, however, put limits on development as laid out in the Lake Maumelle Waterhsed Management Plan, which was comissioned and approved by CAW.
That worried some commissioners, especially after a number of those present at the meeting raised concerns that the subdivision rules didn't go far enough to protect a source of drinking water for almost 400,000 people. Environmental advocates and others said the subdivision rules should include stipulations on five acre minimum lot sizes (a measure that would limit pollution by increasing open spaces). The county is not willing to include those requirements in the agreement. Judge Villines says he wants to wait until an agreement is reached, then develop a land-use plan and zone the land in the watershed. The board voted (five to one) to accept the agreement, but only after language was included in the motion to encourage the county to move quickly on the development of a land-use plan.
One commissioner, Adrienne Bradley, voted against the agreement. She said she didn't think it was a good idea to send a unanimous vote to the county's quorum court when the subdivision rules did not go far enough to protect the watershed. Kate Althoff said the vote from the committee was about the best she could have hoped for and was happy the commissioners included stronger language in their resolution.
Read the motion after the jump.
Resolved, that the Board of Commissioners, Central Arkansas Water hereby approves the Agreement for Watershed Protection and the Letter of Intent presented to them at this meeting and thereby accepts Chapter 8 as currently drafted.
Resolved Further, Chapter 8, as currently drafted, does not adequately implement the protections recommended by the Lake Maumelle Watershed Management Plan or protect the lake itself as the water supply for over 400,000 citizens; accordingly this Board strongly believes that the County, working together with CAW staff, must proceed quickly toward the drafting and adoption of a land use plan that will incorporate all of the provisions of the Lake Maumelle Waterhsed Management Plan designed to protect the lake, including but not limited to, the adoption of minimum lot sizes in accordance with the plan.
~~~~~~~~~
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 9, 2009
Arkansas Attorney General opinion supports case
for restricting size of lots on Lake Maumelle watershed.
The opinion states that Pulaski County Quorum Court can indeed restrict the size of lots without the enactment of zoning ordinance.
Little Rock, Arkansas – Central Arkansans hoping to protect the quality of water in Lake Maumelle have received a “tremendous legal boost” from an opinion from Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel’s office that counties can indeed restrict the size of development lots without zoning.
Lake Maumelle provides high quality drinking water for nearly 400,000 people in central Arkansas. Regulations are now under consideration to protect both the water quality of the lake and property rights of those who own the land supporting the lake. After years of study, discussion and debate have narrowed to this issue – legal authority of the county to conserve open space as development occurs.
During a recent rally, Citizens Protecting Maumelle Watershed (CPMW) called upon Pulaski County government to amend the proposed regulations to require minimum lot sizes of five (5) acres throughout the Pulaski County portion of the watershed.
Judge Buddy Villines was quoted in a March 6th Arkansas Democrat Gazette article: “That takes us into zoning ordinances, and under state law you have to have a land-use plan before you can implement [zoning]”.
In Arkansas Attorney General Opinion number 2009-018 dated March 5, 2009, it states, “….the statutes discussed above generally address the `county’s authority to regulate subdivision development. This distinction strongly supports the conclusion that lot-size restrictions, which clearly appear to be contemplated in the statues recited above, need not be imposed exclusively through zoning restrictions.”
“This opinion should give Pulaski County Quorum Court JPs the legal confidence they need to restrict the lot sizes in the Lake Maumelle watershed. This opinion means Pulaski County Government can require minimum lot sizes through the County’s subdivision rules and regulations avoiding a delay associated with zoning which can take up to 18 months or more” said Kate Althoff, spokesman for Citizens Protecting Maumelle Watershed.
The Attorney General opinion states, “I believe current legislation would authorize Pulaski County to impose reasonable lot-size restrictions designed to address environmental concerns.” Senator David Johnson in response stated “We want all parties to be assured of local county government’s authority to use all tools necessary to help Lake Maumelle. This opinion offers that assurance.”
“The League is heartened by this news and we would hope Judge Villines is, too,” said Ruth Bell of the League of Women Voters of Pulaski County.
The first regulations intended to protect Lake Maumelle, the source of drinking water for 398,000 people in central Arkansas, are now under consideration. If enacted, the lake will be at great risk.
What can you do?
Attend the Public Hearing on this issue at 2 p.m. Thursday, March 12, at the Central Arkansas Water offices, 221 E. Capitol Ave.
State your support for minimum size lots of 5-acres in Chapter 8 of the proposed ordinance.
Individuals may submit written comments to or may call
501.377.1255
Central Arkansas Water, as a water provider, has asked Pulaski County Government to provide for regulations needed to maintain a balance between development and water quality protection. Now it is time for you to ask Pulaski County.
Tell your elected representative to Pulaski County Government to amend proposed Chapter 8 to require minimum size lots of 5 acres.
The following is a statement issued by Tetra Tech when asked to review the proposed regulations. But first you must know who Tetra Tech is.
Tetra Tech is considered on of the premier water resource consultants in the nation. For over twenty years, they have been the primary contractor in the area of watershed and water quality programs for the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Tetra Tech has provided watershed resources planning support to the Army Corps of Engineers, more than 40 states, and numerous local and municipal agencies.
What did Tetra Tech have to say about the proposed regulations?
“Without implementing the provisions of the Plan (watershed management plan http://www.protectarkansaswater.org/plan.htm) for undisturbed open space and limited Force Mains, the clear incentive for development will be to use the Performance Standards approach to engineer as high of a density as possible for a given parcel.”
What does this mean?
The proposed regulations encourage the development of house upon house upon house. Additionally, the lake will be protected by the impact of such intense development through man made structures.
Why are man-made structures bad?
1. They are unproven to work. While man-made structures are in use in other areas, there are none who have been tested in the conditions that are unique to the Lake Maumelle basin.
2. Man-made structures must be maintained. Who will maintain them? The proposed regulations place this responsibility in the hands of neighborhood associations and bills of assurance both of which have a very long and clear history of ineffectiveness.
3. The proposed regulations are written in such a way that the fox maybe guarding the hen house. It is not clear yet if independent confirmation will be made of the proposed structure designs.
Additional statement by Tetra Tech
“In summary, the provisions for wastewater and open space under the currently proposed subdivision regulations would expose Lake Maumelle to substantially higher risk than recommended by the Plan, endorsed by the majority of the PAC (including County
representation), and adopted by the CAW Board of Commissioners. We strongly encourage the
County to include the Plan provisions for conserving undisturbed open space and capping force
line system design flows. There is strong precedent elsewhere in the United States that water
supply protection requirements are reasonable and do not constitute takings if they reflect a strong
balance between providing economic growth opportunity and protecting public health and safety
in a water supply watershed.”
What do we want?
We call upon Pulaski County Government to amend and enact the proposed subdivision rules and regulations chapter 8 to require large fix lots of five acres. We believe this is imperative to the future of our drinking water. This will directly address some of the concerns outlined by Tetra Tech in the above paragraph. “We strongly encourage the
County to include the Plan provisions for conserving undisturbed open space….”
The number “five acres” is not a random number but one based on the Lake Maumelle Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan and the associated computer modeling. It is important to note that five acres also represents a compromise on behalf of the community because the Plan calls for so much more. We have chosen to make this compromise at this time in order to attain protective and feasible regulations that can begin protecting the lake NOW - on the first day it is passed. It is our hope that once this provision is enacted we can begin to work with Pulaski County Government to enact all the provisions called for in the Plan in order to assure the future of the lake.
The conservation of open space is a foundational principal in water resource management. While the term “Conservation Design” is used in the proposed chapter 8, in practice, its requirements are far short of the design standards required. Large Fixed lot requirements must be reinstated into Conservation Design.
If you do not protect it, who will?
Join with Your Fellow Citizens for a
Rally in the Rose Garden
Pulaski County Court House
(corner of Markham and Broadway)
Thursday, March 5, 2009
12 Noon – 12:30
Lake Maumelle is located in the forest of western Pulaski County and provides pristine drinking water for 398,000 people in central Arkansas.
The first regulations intended to protect Lake Maumelle are currently under consideration by Pulaski County government and they favor intense development.
The data has been collected and closely studied. The science clearly tells us that this shallow lake’s water quality will decline if this aggressive, high-density development occurs.
Lower impact development is the best choice for the water, the land, and the property value of all citizens and business owners. Should a few profit at the expense of an entire community?
Attend the Rally so you can tell Pulaski County Government to Limit Development to 1 house per 5 acres.
Pulaski County has heard from the big developers.
Have they heard from you?
Do you want hundreds of houses built on your
drinking water reservoir or do you want thousands?
