HomeMy WebLinkAboutUpdate Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habiat Conservation Plan .S -COI
CITY OF PALM DESERT
DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
MEMORANDUM
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Jeff Winklepleck,Parks and Recreation Planning Manager
DATE: January 11, 2001
SUBJECT: Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan/ Natural
Communities Conservation Plan Update
Attached is a copy of the Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan/Natural
Communities Conservation Plan (MSHCP/NCCP) update which was presented on December 8,
2000 to the CVAG Technical Advisory Committee. The update identifies the MSHCP/NCCP
schedule as well as identifying implementation alternatives and associated costs.
According to the schedule,consensus of the jurisdictions will be sought in February on the preferred
alternative for the conservation plan and implementation methods. Pages 7 through 9 of the handout
show the alternatives, costs and potential scenarios with local, state and federal participation.
/attachments
CITY COUNCIL ACTION:
APPROVED DENIED
RECEIVED
MEETING DATE ,r)I - ► -
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
VERIFIED BY: �(2 ( AA4
Original on File with City Clerk 's Office
, ,
Separate
Attachment
Item 5
CVAG
TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2000
10:00 A.M.
MSHCP/NCCP Schedule
August, 2000
> Administrative Review Draft Transmitted to Agencies
September 1, 2000
• 24 month period for completing MSHCP, permit issuance, etc. commences
January, 20001
• Scientific Review Panel
• Complete agreements with RCFCWCD, DWA, CVWD, MWD re: their coverage
under and contributions to the MSHCP
February, 2001
➢ Achieve consensus among jurisdictions on Preferred Alternative for conservation
plan and implementation methods
March, 2001
• Revised draft of MSHCP/NCCP prepared
• Complete screen-check DEIR/EIS prepared
May, 2001
Release public review draft MSHCP/NCCP and DEIR./EIS
November, 2001
> Submit Draft plan, DEIR/EIS, Implementing Agreement, permit applications to
USFWS and CDFG
Natural Communities Addressed in the MSHCP
Active Desert Dunes
Stabilized and Partially Stabilized Desert Dunes
Active Desert Sand Fields
Ephemeral Desert Sand Fields
Stabilized and Partially Stabilized Desert Sand Fields
Mesquite Hummocks
Mesquite Bosque
Sonoran Creosote Bush Scrub
Sonoran Mixed Woody and Succulent Scrub
Mojave Mixed Woody Scrub
Desert Saltbush Scrub
Desert Sink Scrub
Southern Arroyo Willow Riparian Forest
Sonoran Cottonwood-Willow Riparian Forest
Southern Sycamore-Alder Riparian Woodland
Coastal and Valley Freshwater Marsh
Cismontane Alkali Marsh
Desert Dry Wash Woodland
Desert Fan Palm Oasis Woodland
Arrowweed Scrub
Semi-desert Chaparral
Chamise Chaparral
Redshank Chaparral
Peninsular Juniper Woodland and Scrub
Mojavean Pinyon-Juniper Woodland
Species Proposed for Coverage
Peninsular bighorn sheep, Ovis canadensis cremnobates (FE/ST)
Palm Springs (round-tailed) ground squirrel, Spermophilus tereticaudus chlorus'
Palm Springs pocket mouse, Perognathus longimembris bangsi'
Southern yellow bat, Lasiurus ega or xanthinus'
Desert tortoise,Xerobates or Gopherus agassizii (FT/ST)
Arroyo toad, Bufo microscaphus californicus (FE/SC)
Desert slender salamander, Batrachoseps aridus (FE/SE)
Flat-tailed horned lizard, Phrynosoma mcallii (FPE)
Desert pupfish, Cyprinodon macularius (FE/SE)
Yuma clapper rail, Rallus longirostris yumanensis (FE/ST)
California black rail, Laterallus jamaicensis (ST)
Burrowing owl, Speotyto cunicularia (SC)
Least Bell's vireo, Vireo bellii pusillus (FE/SE)
Yellow warbler, Dendroica petechia brewsteri (SC)
Yellow-breasted chat, Icteria virens (SC)
Southwestern willow flycatcher, Empidonax traillii extimus (SE/FE)
Summer tanager, Piranga rubra'
Gray vireo, Vireo vicinior (SC)
Le Conte's thrasher, Toxostoma lecontei (SC)
Crissal thrasher, Toxostoma crissale (SC)
Coachella giant sand treader cricket, Macrobaenetes valgum'
Coachella Valley Jerusalem cricket,Stenopelmatus cahuilaensisl
Coachella Valley grasshopper, Spaniacris deserticolat
Casey's June beetle, Dinacoma caseyi'
Dark aurora blue butterfly, Euphilotes enoptes cryptorufes'
Coachella Valley milk-vetch,Astragalus lentiginosus var. coachellae (FE)
Triple ribbed milk-vetch, Astragalus tricarinatus(FE)
Mecca aster,Xylorhiza cognata'
Little San Bernardino Mountains Gilia, Gilia maculata (FC)
Orocopia sage, Salvia greatael
Key: FE = Federal Endangered
FT = Federal Threatened
FPE = Proposed for Federal Endangered listing
FC = Candidate for federal listing, sufficient information exists
to support a proposal to list
SE = State Endangered
ST = State Threatened
SC = Species of Special Concern (a state list of species that are at risk
due to habitat modification or destruction, over-collecting, disease,
or other threats)
Existing Land Uses
Use Total Acres °A) of Plan
area
Urban 67,364 5.90
Rural, Rural Residential 12,516 1.10
Agriculture 84,852 7.50
Lake (includes the Salton Sea) 43,460 3.80
Reservoir 816 0.07
Wind Energy Uses 4,356 0.40
Quarry 928 0.09
Landfill 412 0.04
Public and Private Non-Conservation Lands 2 320,566 28.20
Open Space - Public/Private Conservation Lands 600,991 52.90
TOTAL AREA COVERED BY PLAN 1,136,261 100.00
Indian Reservation Lands -Not a Part 69,578
TOTAL ALL ACRES IN PLAN AREA 1,205,839
General Plan Land Use Designations:
Conservation Alternative 2
Use Total % of % of
Acres Conservation Projected
Areas Future Land
Uses
Lands Designated as Open Space
Watercourse, Water Resource 8,552 1.3 16.5
Open Space and Vacant Land
Private Land - Open Space& Conservation 6,987 1.0 35.6
Other Vacant Private Land 8,568 1.3 60.8
Desert Areas, ldu/10 acres 73,004 10.9 66.5
Mountainous Areas, 1 du/lo acres 52.298 7_8 73.2
Subtotal-Private Open Space 149,409 22.3 55.3
Public Land -Open Space - Conservation 459,122 68.4
Public Land - Open Space -Non-conservation 10.010 1_5
Subtotal-Public Open Space -169.13 2 69.9 77.7
Lands Designated Residential: Minimum Lot Size 2.5 - 10 acres
Very Low Density (3B), 2.5-5 acre min. 2,951 0.4 46.8
Very Low Density (4), 5 acres and larger 1,522 0.2 28.9
Subtotal 4,473 0.66 38.7
Lands Designated Residential: Minimum Lot Size 1.25 -2.5 acres
Very Low Density (3A-SV), 1.25-2.55 acre min. 5,873 0.9 41.6
Lands Designated Residential (Minimum Lot Size < 1.25 acres), Commercial, Industrial,
Public Facilities
Very Low Density (3A), 0.5-2.5 acre min. 3,682 0.6 40.3
Very Low Density Residential 0-2 du/acre 18,916 2.8 62.3
Low Density Residential, 3-6 du/acre 13,688 2.0 18.7
Medium Density Residential, 7-15 du/acre 702 0.1 5.3
High Density Residential, 16-21 du/acre 1 0.001 0.06
Very High Density Residential, 22+ du/acre 42 0.006 5.4
Tourist-Resort/Hotel 24 0.004 2.6
Parks, Golf Courses, Schools, etc. 1,408 0.21 15.2
General and Neighborhood Commercial 863 0.13 6.4
Public Facility, Gov't Buildings, Health Care, etc. 291 0.04 7.1
Light and Heavy Industrial 609 0.09 4.9
Transportation, Utilities 65 0.009 1.1
Subtotal -10,291 6.3 23.0
Lands Designated for Agriculture 2,102 0.31 3.5
TOTAL 671,280 100.0 59.1
General Plan Land Use Designations:
Conservation Alternative 3
Use
Total % of % of
Acres Conservation Projected
Areas Future Land
Uses
Lands Designated as Open Space l4,l34 l.9 25.7
Watercourse, Water Resource
Open Space and Vacant Land 7 956 1 0 40.5
Private Land -Open Space & Conservation 10,577, 1 0 05
Other Vacant Private Land 0,577 12.314 75.082.7
Desert Areas, l du/l0 acres 990,823 2_3 82.7
Mountainous Areas, 1 du/lo acres 21 3 79.8
Subtotal-Private Open Space 180.470 2� 6
Public Land - Open Space - Conservation 468.849
Public Land -Open Space -Non-conservation 10.590 1_46� 0 7�
Subtotal-Public Open Space 479.439
Lands Designated Residential: Minimum Lot Size 2.5 - 10 acres 55.2
Very Low Density(3B), 2.5-5 acre min. 3,482 0.47
39.7
3 0.28
.
Very Low Density(4), 5 acres and larger 2 5 09 093 0 7 7
Subtotal
Lands Designated Residential: Minimum Lot Size 1.25 - 2.5 acres 1 5 gp 0
Very Low Density (3A-SV), 1.25-2.55 acre min. 11,286
Lands Designated Residential (Minimum Lot Size < 1.25 acres), Commercial, Industrial,
Public Facilities Very Low Density (3A), 0.5-2.5 acre min. 4,580 1
0.6 2 6 50 50..
Very Low Density Residential 0-2 du/acre 20,734 2 8 68 3
3
Low Density Residential, 3-6 du/acre 20,963
2,500 0.34 19.0
Medium Density Residential, 7-15 du/acre 00 0.0135.8
High Density Residential, 16-21 du/acre 59 .8
Very High Density Residential, 22+ du/acre 356 0.0080.05 37.1
Tourist-Resort/Hotel 0.27 391
Parks, Golf Courses, Schools, etc. 2,0142,274 21.7.
General and Neighborhood Commercial0.05 0.31 8.9
8
Public Facility, Gov't Buildings, Health Care, etc. 367 0 51 30.1
Light and Heavy Industrial 3,775
Transportation, Utilities 263 0.04 4_5
57,977 7.9 33.1
Subtotal
Lands Designated for Agriculture
2,679 0.4 4.4
TOTAL 737,517 100.0 64.9
Three Scenarios for Local, State, and Federal Shares of Acquisitions
Local Share State and Federal Share
Acres Projected Acres Projected
Purchase Purchase
Price Price'
Scenario 1, 50,501 $ 69,746,634 146,413 $102,904,125
Conservation
Alternative 2
Scenario 1, 84,336.5 5331,462,63-4 163,941.5 $145,275,352
Conservation
Alternative 3
Scenario 2, 65,638 $ 57,550,253 131,276 $115,100,536
Conservation
Alternative 2
Scenario 2, 82,759 S158,912,662 165,518 $317,825,324
Conservation
Alternative 3
Scenario 3, 98,457 $ 86,325,398 98,457 $ 86,325,398
Conservation
Alternative 2
Scenario 3, 124,139 S238,368,993 124,139 3238,368,993
Conservation
Alternative 3
This is not a commitment of either state or federal dollars. It is a commitment that the state and
federal governments would be responsible for conserving the indicated number of acres.
Scenario 1 assumes that:
1. State and federal contributions will come primarily in the form of additional
acquisitions in areas where state and federal agencies have past or current acquisition
programs and are the primary land managers. In these areas, it is assumed that the
state and federal agencies will acquire 90% of the land and local entities 10%.
2. In areas where local, state, and federal acquisition partnerships are already in effect,
such as in the sand source area for the CVFTL Preserve, these will continue. The
relative shares of acquisition responsibility will be 50% for the state and federal
governments combined and 50% for the local share.
3. In areas where the state and federal governments do not have a significant presence,
the local share will be 90% and the state and federal share 10%.
Scenario 2 assumes that the local, state and federal shares of acquisition are determined
without reference to geographic areas, and the state, federal, and local shares are one-
third each.
Scenario 3 assumes that the state and federal share combined and the local shares shall
each be one-half.
Potential Implementation Funding Sources
Local Share.
> Funding would come in part from a mitigation fee or a requirement for habitat
replacement. The mitigation fee could be either a standardized fee of so many dollars
per acre, or a variable fee based on the relative level of impact.
> Other local funding sources could include landfill tipping fees, a portion of sales tax
revenues if a new measure (perhaps tied to a sales tax increase for transportation)
were approved by voters, or another broadly distributed funding source, and
contributions.
> Acquisitions involving local jurisdictions and nonprofit organizations - and not
including state and federal funds - are in excess of 30,000 acres since 1986.
> The size of a mitigation fee will depend on the total funding needed for the Plan, the
local share of that, and how much of the local share needs to be met through a
mitigation fee (as opposed to tipping fees, sales tax revenue or other local sources). It
is instructive to note that the CVFTL mitigation fee collections ($600/acre) averaged
$463,890 per year between 1989 and 1998. The single year high was $767.506.
State Share.
> Funding could come from a variety of sources, including the Wildlife Conservation
Board, state bond funds appropriated to the Coachella Valley Mountains
Conservancy, appropriations from the legislature, and state grant programs.
> In the past, the Wildlife Conservation Board has acquired more than 26.000 acres in
the Santa Rosa Mountains, and additional lands in the Fringe-toed Lizard Preserve.
> The 1988 park and open space bond measure provided $19 million for acquisition for
the Indian Canyons Heritage Park. The Conservancy received $5 million from
Proposition 12, passed in March, 2000. Additional Proposition 12 funds. as well as
Proposition 13, a state water bond measure also passed in March, 2000, may be
available through grants and other state agencies.
> In the last six years, state grants have provided $1,540,000 in acquisition funds.
Federal Share.
> The primary federal sources of funding are the Land and Water Conservation Fund
(LWCF) and Section 6 Cooperative Endangered Species Act Fund.
> The former has provided more than $14 million to BLM since 1990 for acquisitions
in the Santa Rosa Mountains National Scenic Area, Morongo Canyon Area of Critical
Environmental Concern, and Dos Palmas Area of Critical Environmental Concern.
> Recently, $1.5 million in Section 6 money was made available through USFWS for
acquisition adjacent to the Fringe-toed Lizard Preserve. Additional funds may be
available this year.
Other federal acquisition sources include land exchanges and federal grants. Land
exchanges have resulted in acquisition of thousands of acres of habitat in the San
Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains and in the Fringe-toed Lizard Preserve. While the
available land base has been significantly reduced by past exchanges, BLM is
pursuing additional exchanges specifically to help implement the Plan.
Background on Administrative Review Draft of MSHCP/NCCP
Current Situation
The Administrative Review Draft (Admin Draft) of the MSHCP/NCCP is currently being
Leviewed by those agencies that are expected to be signatories to the Plan, i.e.. cities, the
County, CDFG, USFWS, special districts, BLM, USFS, and the National Park Service.
The recent MOU on the CVFTL issue calls for a 24-month timeline, which began
September 1, 2000, to complete the Plan and obtain permits.preferred To adh
re to alternatiis timeline,
we need to get consensus among these agencies on a
the
conservation plan itself and the implementation and funding mechanisms within the next
5 months so that a Public Review Draft and a Draft EIR/EIS can be released in May,
2001. Thus, timely responses to the Admin Draft are essential. To further the dialogue on
the Admin Draft, this study session is being held for the TAC; a similar one will be
conducted with the Executive Committee.
Conservation Alternatives
The Admin Draft presents 3 conservation alternatives:
1. Alternative 1: Public lands and private conservation lands only alternative. This
alternative includes all local, state, and federal agency lands in the Plan area with
sufficient conservation management that have habitat for the species included in the
Plan or have one of the natural communities included in the Plan. This alternative also
includes private conservation lands that have habitat for the species included in the
Plan or have one of the natural communities included in the Plan. (A map of these
areas will be presented at the study session.) No new areas would be acquired for Plan
purposes. The local jurisdictions would contribute to the management of the existing
conservation areas as mitigation for the habitat loss allowed under the Plan. Some of
the areas are well protected, but habitat fragmentation is a problem in other areas
where considerable private lands still exist. On the valley floor, the only significant
conservation areas would be the three existing Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard
preserves and Dos Palmas ACEC. The sand sources for the fringe-toed lizard
preserves are not adequately protected, and, collectively, the valley floor preserves do
not provide adequate habitat for most of the species proposed for coverage. It is not
anticipated that this alternative would provide incidental take permits for most (or
any) species.
2. Alternative 2: Core Habitat, Essential Ecological Processes, and Linkages. This
alternative was developed by the Scientific Advisory Committee. This alternative
would establish conservation areas that protect core habitat for the species
and natural
those
communities included in the Plan, ecological processes necessary
to areas, and linkages. The conservation areas include the Alternative 1 lands as well as
private lands essential for core habitat, ecological processes,
and
li kageand .p New
management prescriptions are proposed for the existing public
ate
conservation lands where needed, and the private lands would be protected through
acquisition, general plan policies, ordinances, and planning tools. (A map of these
areas will be presented at the study session.) This alternative adds to the public and
private conservation lands described in the previous alternative by protecting private
lands in the mountains necessary to avoid habitat fragmentation, protect essential
ecological processes, and maintain linkages. On the valley floor, this alternative
builds on the existing Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard preserves and Dos Palmas
ACEC by adding adjacent habitat for the species and natural communities included in
the Plan, protecting the essential ecological processes that maintain the habitat areas,
and protecting linkages between the major Creek area
mountainse east of High way In
621s
alternative creates new preserve areas in the Snow
along Mission Creek and Morongo Wash, and at the Whitewater River delta at the
northwest end of the Salton Sea.
3. Alternative 3: Expanded Conservation Alternative. This alternative expands
Alternative 2 by including the high conservation acreage alternative areas and
additional areas that were recommended for further consideration by USFWS and
CDFG. (A map of these areas will be presented at the study session.)
A hydrological study is currently in progress to provide additional information that will
be useful in evaluating whether conservation of some of the areas proposed for
consideration by USFWS and CDFG is necessary. Overall, Alternative 3 would more
than double the cost of implementing the conservation Plan and would seriously constrain
development. The focal point for discussion of th Alternative!on 2 orternatives Alterticrtcls veyV 3 aort lta
e
preferred alternative should be. Should it be
modification of one of these?
Implementation Alternatives
Three alternative approaches to implementation are discussed in the Admin Draft.
1. Tool Box Approach to Implementation. The Tool Box approach derives its name from
the use of a variety of mechanisms or tools to achieve the protection of the
conservation areas as delineated in Section 4'miri mitigation for development outside
he main components of this
approach are the conservation program, requiredg
the conservation areas, restrictions on development within the conservation areas, and
permitted uses within the conservation areas. Private lands within the conservation
areas would be conserved through a variety of tools, including acquisition,
conservation banking, flood management policies, compatible uses, and planning
mechanisms such as existing zoning restrictions and development standards,
environmental constraints sheets, density transfer, and cluster development.
Acquisition from willing sellers will be the single most important tool to ensure the
protection of the conservation areas. A local, state, and federal funding partnership
will implement the acquisition program. Acquisition priorities will be defined and
updated by the Plan Implementation Committee. The relative share of funding
contributed by the federal, state, and local governments toward acquisition has not yet
been determined. Local, state, and federal acquisition partners will coordinate their
efforts to obtain maximum benefit from each funding source. In addition to that
provided through development mitigation requirements, local funding can come from
a combination of potential sources, including taxes (sales, transient occupancy,
utility), tipping fees, benefit assessments, or general obligation bonds.
Development outside of conservation areas would rthreat threatened,ive incidental
endangered species.
to develop regardless of the presence of sensitive,
Except in limited instances required by the Plan for a few species about which more
information needs to be generated through Plan implementation, development outside
of the conservation areas will not be required to conduct biological surveys for the
species covered by the Plan. The environmental document for a project outside a
conservation area may utilize information from the Plan and its EIR/EIS to identify
potential impacts of the project on species and natural communities. Compliance with
the Plan will constitute adequate mitigation for project impacts. For most projects this
would consist of paying a mitigation fee.within thec conservation areas inave the
lieu of
alternative of providing replacement habitat
paying a fee.
Protection of the conservation areas is the heart of the Plan and the basis for the
issuance of incidental take permits for development outside the conservation areas.
The Plan must provide adequate certainty that the conservation areas will be
protected. In the absence of sufficient funds to acquire all the private land within the
conservation areas before development is proposed on any of those parcels, the Plan
must provide a means to limit development in conservation areas to that which is
consistent with the Plan's conservation objectives. These objectives include protecting
a minimum of 90% of the habitat in the conservation areas for each of the species and
natural communities included in the Plan, maintaining the viability of essential
ecological processes, and maintaining the viability of linkages between conservation
areas. In assessing measures to provide this protection, the reviewer should consider
the extent of lands within the conservation areas already protected by public agencies
and private conservation organizations, the extent of lands within the conservation
areas that are currently designated as open space in general plans, and the limited
extent of land within the conservation areas that have
onlyd use8 1%oof the land within the
esignations other than
open space. This limited extent of land accountsfor
conservation areas under Alternative 2 and 10.51% under Alternative 3. If agreement
is reached on how to protect lands designated as open space, 91.9% of the
conservation areas will have adequate protection land
can be acquired under Alternative 2. (Potential control mechanisms and the maximum
levels of development allowed within conservation areas will be discussed at the
study session.) The areas where the biggest threats exist are the sand source areas for
the Willow Hole Preserve and the Coachella Valley Fringe-toed Lizard Preserves.
These should be high priority for acquisition. There is, in fact, an acquisition effort
with approximately$6 million already available under way in the sand source area for
the latter preserve. There is currently no funding available for acquisitions in the sand
source area for the Willow Hole area.
ch
2. Purchase of All At-Risk Areas Approach to Implementation This pp local assfunumes
adequate funding sources from a combination of federal, state,
ands to
purchase all private lands within the conservation areas prior to development. The
state and federal funding commitment has not yet been determined, but in other plans
of this type, the state and federal governments have expressed theist share
n state ans d
acres to be acquired rather than specific dollar amounts. The
federal contributions would be available depends upon actions by the Legislature and
Congress. Local funding sources could include One mitigation
tmethod fee,
front-load ing s, sales tax
funds for
or other tax revenues, and general fund
acquisition of conservation areas before development can occur would be the issuance
of bonds by local jurisdictions. These would need to be backed by funding
commitments, either general funds, loans or "lines of credit" from various "investors",
or new state or federal programs to provide such lines of credit. Either local investors
or the state or federal government would enter into an agreement with a local
government to establish a line of credit with the state. The local government would
then issue bonds to acquire habitat, allowing them to front load the critical
acquisitions to implement the Plan. The line of credit is tantamount to underwriting
the bond measure. If the local government can pay off the bonds with its own revenue
sources, such as mitigation fees, sales tax, tipping fees, etc., then it would not draw on
the line of credit. If, however, in a given year it has insufficient revenue to make its
bond payments, it would draw from its line of credit. This loan would be at a
specified interest rate. The local government would be required to pay back the loan
over time using mitigation fees, tipping fees, and other available funding sources,
including the general fund if needed. It should be noted that no such program
morf
underwriting bonds by the state or federal government or by private
s
currently exists. Establishing such a program within a reasonable period of time
would be a condition of Plan approval.
3. Habitat Transaction Method. The Habitat Transaction Method (HTM) relies in part
on market forces to steer development away from high conservation value areas,
where mitigation requirements would be high, to areas with lower conservation
value and lower mitigation requirements. The required mitigation in these areas
would, in turn, create a market for and help fund the acquisition of land within the
high conservation value areas.
All parcels in the Plan area are assigned a conservation value. The core habitat,
essential ecological process areas, and the linkage areas necessary for the
conservation of the species and natural communities included in the Plan would
have the highest value. For example, these areas might have a value of 6 units per
acre. To obtain conservation credits that could be sold, a landowner would need to
place a conservation easement on the property or convey title to the property to an
acceptable conservation agency. The conservation credits received could then be
sold to proponents of projects that would be required to mitigate by acquiring lands
or purchasing conservation credits in the high onservationtion valuealue of thereas. The
impa impacted
mitigation requirement would be based on t
lands. This might range from 1 unit per acre to 4 units per acre. A mitigation ratio
would be determined for projects. This would depend on the total amount of acres
that need to be conserved in the Plan area, the total amount of land projected to be
developed, and the amount of conservation to be accomplished through mitigation
instead of by public agency purchase using local, state, and federal funding sources.
In addition to acquisition of high conservation value areas through project
mitigation, an acquisition program funded by federal, state, and other local sources
would also acquire lands within the high conservation value areas
The HTM assumes that the mitigation requirement will be a disincentive for
development in the high conservation value areas. Similarly, the HTM relies on
conservation credits granted for preserving parcels in these areas to provide
landowners with an economic incentive to preserve their property and sell the credits
to proponents developing parcels outside conservation areas. To achieve conservation
certainty, however, it is necessary to protect 90% of the high conservation value areas.
The HTM must not allow development in excess of this to occur in the high
conservation value areas. The Plan would, therefore, identify safety nets and a
monitoring system for the species and natural communities to avoid or minimize
biological impacts in the high conservation value areas. The Plan would specify
remedial actions if Plan monitoring indicated that the safety net limits on habitat loss
in the conservation areas were at risk of being exceeded. If the levels were actually
exceeded, the permits would be suspended or revoked.
For each species and natural community included in the Plan the basic safety net
would be that development could not be allowed on more than 10% of each species'
habitat and each natural community area in the high conservation value areas. Similar
safety nets would be established for essential ecological process areas and linkages.
Based on recommendations from the SAC, the protection of 90% of each quarter
section in essential ecological process and linkage areas would constitute the safety
net. If habitat loss occurs in the high conservation value areas, the Implementation
Committee would assess additional threats of habitat loss, update acquisition
priorities, and identify strategies for increasing the rate at which the habitat is
protected, such as developing additional incentives to encourage the sale of
conservation credits in the areas at risk. If disturbance reaches the 7.5 percent level
(out of the 10 percent total allowed), the Implementation Committee would
ouldtriggnotif
appropriate jurisdictions of how many more acres of disturbance
er the
suspension of the Plan's coverage for the affected species or natural community. A
mandatory 120 day negotiation period for any development projects proposed in the
affected high conservation value areas would also be implemented.
For the safety net provisions to be effective a real-time monitoring system is required.
This monitoring system would require that each local agency notify the
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