MPA PUBLIC POLICY ALERT
NETWORKING. ADVOCACY. EDUCATION.
In keeping with MPA’s mission, “to advocate responsible development and further the interests of the real estate and development industry through education, public policy advocacy and networking.”
FROM PIMA COUNTY CHIEF BUILDING OFFICIAL YVES KHAWAM:
In our continued commitment to streamline the development process and per request of our stakeholders, DSD and RWRD have decoupled wastewater connection permits from building permits for unincorporated Pima County. This process change provides the following immediate benefits to the industry:
Building permits connecting to the RWRD public sewer are issued in an accelerated manner prior to RWRD approval for all projects with the exception of those not having obtained preliminary sewer layout approval, private sites containing public infrastructure, or unplatted sites which may require a flow-through analysis.
Payment of sewer connection fees may be deferred to final inspection (residential projects) or certificate of occupancy (commercial projects)
In order to successfully implement this more expedient release of building permits, responsibility lies exclusively with the applicant to obtain all RWRD approvals prior to needing to occupy the structure. Please note that occupancy approval shall not be granted prior to RWRD approval of the connection to the public sewer! Building permits issued under this new process contain the following condition:
**Notice** This building permit is issued without public sewer connection approval. It is strictly the responsibility of the owner and/or person doing the work to ensure that approval to connect is obtained from Regional Wastewater Reclamation Department (RWRD) or other applicable wastewater provider. Final inspections and/or certificate of occupancy for the building/space shall not be released prior to connection approval from wastewater provider or DEQ approval of alternative disposal system. It is strongly recommended that owner/contractor solicit all requisite approvals from wastewater provider prior to proceeding with building construction which is released entirely at risk and without any guarantee of subsequence sewer connection approval. RWRD connection information is available at www.pima.gov/wwm/developer.htm.
This new pilot process has been implemented for unincorporated Pima County only at this time. RWRD shall follow up with a communication on potentially extending the process to the municipalities should the County implementation yield successful outcomes.
For more information, please contact Yves.Khawam@pima.gov
