BOARD02497

• Board Meeting Date: 7/14/1971
• Description: Agenda or Table of Contents, Minutes, Memos
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Meeting

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SENATOR SHOEMAKER:

MR. SPARKS:

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authority rests with the local people. But we
have given them the go ahead. It does require
our consent before they can zone this area and
we have given that. We have done all that we
can under the law.

We have no authority in my opinion to give
up the channelization at this point and utilize
the funds that the legislature gave us for other
purposes. It would be a simple matter for you
people in the legislature to remedy that if you
saw fit. But at this point we say that we have
no authority to do anything except to pursue the
plan which was presented to your committee and
to the other members of the legislature."

"As I recall, the appropriation was reduced
from a million dollars to two hundred thousand
for the express purpose of investigating the
possibility of flood plain zoning for this channel-
ization."

"I pointed out before the Joint Appropriations
Committee that we had already given our consent
that this area could be zoned. However, the
zoning will take care of nothing as far as the
floods are concerned.

The question is, whether this area is to be
flooded or whether it is not to be. The zoning
itself is simply a law and it won't keep the
floods out. But zoning does prescribe it as a
flood hazard area and would prohibit the con-
struction of any structures which would cause
an obstruction of the stream or endanger lives.
In this way zoning is very valuable. But the
decision as to whether or not this area to be
flooded is not ours. We have provided all the
facts that the local people need to make the
decision. We would be pleased to pass on the
responsibility for the channelization to someone
else. It has been a nightmare to us~ We are a
public agency and, like the legislature, we
want to conform to the desires of the local
people. But it is sometimes difficult for us