The El Dorado board will explore the smoothest way to manage the area's natural resources.
By Cathy Locke - Bee Staff Writer
Two
years after a complex planning process ended in adoption of the county's
blueprint for growth, El Dorado County supervisors are seeking a less-grueling
path to implementation.
The Board of Supervisors on Nov. 6 will consider how it wishes to pursue natural resources conservation. Under the county general plan adopted in 2004, a plan for managing natural resources must be developed by 2009.
The general plan calls for an integrated natural resources management plan covering habitat for special-status species, deer migration and wetlands and riparian life, as well as native vegetation and aquatic environments, including streams, rivers and lakes. The plan also must include measures for protecting, acquiring, managing and monitoring habitat, as well as compensating for losses due to development.
The county has the option of preparing a regional conservation plan that would meet federal and state regulatory requirements.
Paul Cylinder of the consulting firm Science Applications International Corp. outlined benefits and drawbacks of various approaches during an Oct. 23 board workshop.
Many of the requirements of the integrated natural resources management plan overlap with those of the federal and state endangered species acts, Cylinder said. But under provisions of those acts, the county could pursue a comprehensive regional habitat conservation plan that would streamline the environmental review process for public and private development projects.
Under a federally approved habitat conservation plan, Cylinder said, the county would receive permits authorizing the taking of habitat.
The integrated natural resources management plan identifies habitat and mitigation measures, "but it doesn't give you the permits," Cylinder said, explaining that permits would have to be obtained from state and federal agencies on a project-by-project basis.
With a federal habitat conservation plan and state natural community conservation plan, the county and developers would have more certainty of the costs of compensating for lost habitat, he said.
Cylinder said the federal and state plans offer a "no surprises" assurance that regulatory agencies won't come back and ask for additional land, water, or money, provided the plan is implemented in accordance with the permit.
Also, he said, no additional mitigation measures would be required for species added to endangered species lists during the term of the plan.
The federal and state plans, however, can take more than three years to complete, he said, adding that a non-regulatory integrated natural resources management plan could be developed on a shorter timeline.
Whatever the approach, Cylinder advised, "Keep it simple."
Mitigation measures should be simple enough to give future decision makers flexibility, he said, while providing sufficient detail to allow issuance of permits.
Board Chairman Jack Sweeney said he was didn't want the county to become bogged down in the process and would like to see a tighter timeline.
"It took 15 years to get a general plan," he said. "In the next 3 1/2 years, we will have at least two new supervisors on the board. If we could get (the plan) done before that occurs, it might be of great political benefit."
Sweeney said he views the general plan requirements for an integrated natural resources management plan and establishing biological corridors as a unit. "We have a place for human activities and a place for wildlife activities," he said.
Sweeney called for a plan tailored to the county's needs but one that could be expanded into a federally approved habitat conservation plan.
Art Marinaccio of Shingle Springs said the three major areas of concern are the gabbro soils in the western part of the county that support rare-plant species, riparian areas and oak woodlands.
Rare-plant preserves already have been established to protect the gabbro soils, he said.
The primary issue is the oak woodlands, which, Marinaccio argued, have been poorly defined in the general plan.
"We need to get a better understanding of what we need to accomplish biologically," he said.
Pursuing the state or federal planning process would be a "black hole," he said. "Get something in hand that we can perhaps build on. That would be much more sensible than jumping into the abyss."
Valerie Zentner, executive director of the El Dorado County Farm Bureau, said the organization has not supported habitat conservation plans because they often look to agricultural lands as mitigation sites.
She urged the board to form an advisory group to assist in developing a plan.
"The public needs to be engaged early on," Zentner said.
Sweeney asked Cylinder and county staff members to provide cost estimates for the various planning approaches at the Nov. 6 workshop.
Cylinder said the cost is driven by the scope of the plan, rather than the type of plan. Costs for developing a plan can range from $1 million to $3 million, he said.
But without a regional plan, Cylinder said, the cost of identifying mitigation measures and securing permits on a project-by-project basis could run about $50,000 per project. For 50 projects, he said, the total would be about $2.5 million.
Plan implementation -- acquiring land and restoring and managing habitat -- can cost hundreds of millions of dollars over 30 to 50 years, he said.
The activities typically are funded through a combination of mitigation fees, grants and legislative allocations, he said.
The Nov. 6 workshop will begin at 9 a.m. in the Board of Supervisors meeting room, 330 Fair Lane, Building A, Placerville. Information and updates on the integrated natural resources management plan process are available on the county Development Services Department's Web site at www.co.el-dorado.ca.us/DevServices/index.html.
