The Archaeological_sensitivity_zones layer was developed to assist City staff in implementing City Manager Administrative Directive 1.07-7. This directive requires that all city projects or projects by others in the City right-of-ways have a professional archaeologist present to monitor any digging in an Archaeological Sensitivity Zone, and to notify the City Historic Preservation Office (which is sometimes able to give a waiver, depending on the nature of the subsurface impacts of the project). This layer is integrated into the right-of-way permit approval process since July, 2008. If a project within City right-of-way falls within an Archaeological Sensitivity Zone then language is inserted on the permit indicating the requirement for archaeological monitoring and notification to the City Historic Preservation Office..

City Archaeological Sensitivity Zones were created to cover the archaeological Priority Cultural Resources within the City limits identified in the Pima County Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan, a list of the most significant archaeological resources in eastern Pima County that was developed in consultation with local professional archaeologists and preservationists, including City and County staff for cultural resources preservation. In order to comply with state regulations prohibiting public officials from revealing archaeological site locations and boundaries, and to create an additional buffer beyond currently know site boundaries, the zones were generalized to align with the closest quarter-section lines as delineated in Pima County's trs4.shp and the City limits as delineated in lim_tuc.shp.