Surprise! You’re in a flood zone!

After waking up this morning and having a cup of coffee I came across the following article in the LA Times while progressing through my daily news read:

 Homeowners forced to buy flood insurance after FEMA redraws maps

I had eerie flashbacks to our own situation here in Marana back in 2006 after moving into my house because .. well.. the same thing happened!

Some background to catch you up:

http://www.michaelkrotchie.com/fema-revising-flood-plain-maps-in-pima-county/
http://www.michaelkrotchie.com/marana-floodplain-issue-closer-to-being-resolved/

I find it frustrating that FEMA proposes “revised” floodplain maps without first consulting with the areas involved. In most cases the town/city/county(s) end up coming out of pocket for a private study to be performed to find out if FEMA’s assessment really is valid.

Here in Marana, most of the areas placed in the new floodplain were removed, with only a small portion being re-classified into the floodplain.

Essentially what is happening is that FEMA is playing the “better safe than sorry” card and drawing new maps to be in “danger zones” and then placing the onus on homeowners or government officials to prove them wrong. Don’t get me wrong, no one wants to be unsafe, but no one wants to suffer from the effects of being in a floodplain if they don’t have to.

(Just a brief note if you didn’t read the above articles, for federally backed mortgages (almost all of them are), flood insurance is required if you are designated to be in a floodplain.)

Marana Floodplain Issue Closer to Being Resolved!

For those of you located in Marana (including me!) we can all breathe a huge sigh of relief! Just saw in the Arizona Daily Star that FEMA is expected redrawn maps to exclude much of Marana that was placed in a floodplain last fall. Read my article from August 2007 about the Marana floodplain issue.

A brief excerpt:

The seven-month study, which to date has cost the town more than $300,000, shows that only about three square miles of the area in question should fall within a flood zone, and therefore would require homeowners with federally-insured mortgages to purchase flood insurance.

“This is, by far, better than any of our previous studies we’ve had,” Marana town engineer Keith Brann said. “It’s very much money well spent.”

Marana officials will brief the town council on the results of the study during a special meeting at 6 p.m. tonight.

Brann said it is expected that FEMA will complete its review of the study by Oct. 1, with new flood maps approved as soon as November.

The matter isn’t completely finished but it’s looking much better than it did at this time last year.

It certainly makes me feel better for all the homes that have been bought in Gladden Farms / Rancho Marana during the past year; I have a feeling that many homeowners (and agents) didn’t know about this storm bubbling beneath the surface.

Check the AZ Star’s website tomorrow for more details, I’ll follow up also with my thoughts and comments!

Saguaro Springs – A New Subdivision Coming to the Tucson Real Estate Market

Greetings everyone! Just wanted to let you know about an upcoming subdivision in the Tucson Real Estate market, Saguaro Springs.

Saguaro Springs is a 2,500 home project being developed jointly by KB Homes and Empire Companies and is nestled behind Rattlesnake Pass by the intersection of Silverbell Road and Twin Peaks Road in NW Tucson. It is slated to be built in the same manner as the existing Gladden Farms subdivision north of Tangerine Road with large greenbelts, walking paths and tree-lined boulevards. A neighborhood Community Center will include a fitness center, pool area, youth center and banquet facilities with meeting rooms for casual or formal events. There are currently 6 floorplans being offered ranging from 1,422 to 2,273 square feet. More info here from the KB website.

Responding to the quickly growing senior population in the Tucson real estate market, Saguaro Springs will also have a 600 home “‘age-restricted” section of homes in the NW corner of the development. Currently zoned R-6, which means 6,000 square-foot minimum lots, the “age-restricted” section may include smaller plots of land.

One of the main concerns with the current residents of Continental Ranch is the growing traffic headache. With only one freeway entrance readily accessible to most of the community (Cortaro Farms Road) the new additions of thousands of residents at Saguaro Springs will become a headache very quickly. The Town of Marana has already set money aside to improve Twin Peaks Road west of Continental Ranch. There has been talk of creating a new freeway entrance by extending Twin Peaks Road east to I-10 for several years but nothing has come of it yet. Hopefully they can figure something out soon!

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On a side note, to pay for the improvements spurred by Saguaro Springs and all the recent and upcoming growth in Marana the Town is looking at implementing a higher property tax rate to generate more income.

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I tried to include as much information in the included pictures as possible by showing where I took the pictures and in what direction, and also included a few panorama shots I assembled. Enjoy!

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EDIT: 5/16/2008:

I spoke with a KB Sales Rep at one of their other communities and asked about Saguaro Springs, and I was told the community is on hold “until further notice” because of the softened housing market. If you drive out there you can see the models are up, main street is paved, and the land is graded. We shall see when and if this development is ever brought back to life!

UPDATE: 5/16/2008:

The Saguaro Springs master-planned is now on hold according to this just-published article from the Arizona Daily Star. Too bad since all the infra-structure of the community is already complete! We’ll have to wait and see where this one goes.