What is a Common Plan of Development?

As part of Maricopa County's Stormwater Quality Management and Discharge Control Regulation,  an owner or operator who intends to disturb an area of land that is equal to or greater than one acre, or that is less than one acre but is part of a larger plan of development that disturbs one or more acres of soil, must obtain approval from Maricopa County Stormwater Quality Program.

Definition

The United States NPDES Construction General Permit defines this phrase as:

A contiguous area where multiple separate and distinct construction activities may be taking place at different times on different schedule under one common plan.

Common Plan of Development Example 1

A company has acquired 4 parcels. Even though each individual parcel is less than 1 acre, the entire disturbed acreage will be approximately 2 acres. This project would be classified as a Common Plan of Development, and would need a Maricopa County Stormwater Permit.   

4 acre split

Common Plan of Development Example 2

A company has acquired 5 parcels that are each less than one acre, but combined have a total disturbed acreage of approximately 3.35. The company has decided to develop and sell one parcel at a time before moving onto the next parcel. This project would be classified as a Common Plan of Development and would need a Maricopa County Stormwater Permit. 

Note: In our program we are concerned about the total amount of soil being disturbed over an entire project. Developing one parcel at a time does not change the total amount of soil being disturbed. 
5 parcel split

More Information:

Please visit NPDES General Permit Fact Sheet for more information from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 


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