MEMORANDUM Community Development Resource Agency

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MEMORANDUM Community Development Resource Agency

TO:

FROM:

Board of Supervisors

Steve Pedretti , CORA

BY: Gregg McKenzie, PCCP Administrator Laurie Morse, Real Estate Services

DATE: February 5, 2019

SUBJECT: County of Placer I Westervelt Ecological Services, LLC Agreement for Conservation Easement Purchase and Sale and related Consultant Services Agreement I Markham Ravine Property 296.19±-acre parcel west of the City of Lincoln, CA

ACTION REQUESTED

1. Adopt a resolution authorizing the acquisition of a Conservation Easement over a 296.19±­acre portion of two parcels (APNs 021-030-065 & 060) in the proposed Placer County Conservation Program's Reserve Acquisition Area immediately west of and adjacent to South Brewer Road and south of Markham Ravine, approximately 0.5 mile south of Nicolaus Avenue from Westervelt Ecological Services, LLC for $2,354,711 , authorize the Director of Public Works, or designee, to take all necessary actions to complete the acquisition including the execution of the Agreement for Purchase and Sale and recordation of the Conservation Easement in substantial conformance with the template subject to County Counsel concurrence; and to add the Conservation Easement to the County's comprehensive capital asset listing.

2. Approve a Consultant Services Contract with Westervelt Ecological Services, LLC and authorize the Community Development Resource Agency Director, or designee, to execute the contract for conservation land studies, wetland mitigation credits, maintenance, monitoring, reporting, and other necessary services for the property in an amount not to exceed $7,870,431.

3. Find that the acquisition of a Conservation Easement and approval of the Consultant Services Agreement for the Markham Property are Categorically Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections15308 actions taken by regulatory agencies, as authorized by state or local ordinance, to assure the maintenance, restoration , enhancement, or protection of the environment; and, Section 15313 Acquisition of Lands for Wildlife Conservation Purposes including (a) preservation of fish and wildlife habitat.

BACKGROUND On March 20, 2018, the Board of Supervisors considered the draft material price and terms for the acquisition of a conservation easement for $2,354, 711 , Consultant Services Agreement for wetland mitigation credits and services estimated in the amount of $7,705,009, and directed staff to return to the Board with the final contracts for its consideration. The subject property is located at 402 South Brewer Road, west of the City of Lincoln, CA (Attachment B - Property). The Property is bound by South Brewer Road to the east, Markham Ravine to the north, agricultural uses to the south, and the westerly property boundary serves as the common east-west border of Sutter and Placer counties. The property has been utilized for cattle grazing and irrigated pasture since the

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1930s and is zoned F-B-X 80 AC. Westervelt had previously submitted a draft Mitigation Bank Enabling Instrument to the state and federal regulatory agencies for the proposed Markham Ravine Mitigation Bank. The Bank included a plan to establish and sell wetland mitigation credits to projects both in and outside of Placer County. Westervelt subsequently suspended its bank application and instead appended its proposed Markham Mitigation Plan to the Western Placer County In Lieu Fee Program as the first proposed implementation project. In 2018, in anticipation of the approval and adoption of the In Lieu Fee Program and PCCP, Westervelt purchased the property and constructed the wetland mitigation project at-risk but in accordance with a County grading permit, CEQA Notice of Determination, and state and federal regulatory permits.

County & Wildlife Agency Approval Staff submitted the Markham property description, associated PCCP conservation values, and proposed mitigation credits to the state and federal agencies for their pre-acquisition review and concurrence as required by the terms of the PCCP and Western Placer County In Lieu Fee Program. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service provided their concurrence by letter dated October 30, 2017 as did the California Department of Fish & Wildlife subsequently.

A conservation easement is proposed to be acquired over the Property to protect its preserved and restored conservation values. This strategic conservation of lands is designed to jump start implementation of the In Lieu Fee Program and PCCP by proactively initiating the design, approval, and construction of mitigation projects so as to be prepared to implement and stay ahead of . demand and satisfy the mitigation requirements of public and private project related impacts to wetlands and endangered species habitat. The acquisition of a conservation easement is consistent with a number of adopted policies and programs that have been developed since the 1994 Countywide General Plan Policy update meeting a number of open space and habitat conservation initiatives as outlined in the attached General Plan Policy Consistency document (Attachment - D) and further described below:

2000 Placer Legacy Open Space and Agricultural Conservation Program - developed to implement the open space and conservation goals, policies and programs of the General Plan including program elements designed to address regulatory requirements associated with biological resources (i.e ., state and federal endangered species acts and federal wetland regulations). Chapter 4 of the Program specifies conservation objectives throughout the unincorporated County. The following objectives are relevant to this acquisition:

• Prioritize the acquisition of agricultural property that contains multiple conservation values.

• Preserve outstanding areas of natural vegetation including oak woodlands, riparian areas and vernal pools.

2001 PCCP - The PCCP was initiated to implement several Placer Legacy Program elements in addition to the General Plan 's conservation goals. In November 2018, the County submitted the Public Review Draft PCCP documents including a public review draft EIR/EIS to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for listing in the Federal Register. Upon federal listing, a concurrent 60-day local public review period for the EIR/EIS will commence and is anticipated in 2019. The PCCP is designed to balance comprehensive landscape level conservation with economic opportunity, while providing regulatory coverage and streamlining for state/federal endangered species and wetlands regulated by the federal Clean Water Act. The Property is located within the PCCP's Reserve Acquisition Area as depicted in PCCP Location Map (Attachment - C) with the property location generally depicted by a star.

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2004 Placer County Board of Supervisors Placer Legacy - PCCP Early Acquisition Priorities - In December 2004, the Board of Supervisors directed staff to prioritize early acquisition efforts on those habitat types that would provide essential benefits to the implementation of the PCCP. Habitat in this geographic area is essential to the successful implementation including stream systems and vernal pool grasslands. The Property contains a segment of the Markham Ravine stream system, restored vernal pool and riparian wetlands and grasslands, as well as and other sensitive species and nesting and foraging habitats being wholly consistent with the Board's direction.

2018 Western Placer County Voluntary Interim In Lieu Fee Program - On December 4, 2018 the Board considered and authorized the County Executive Officer to sign the Enabling Instrument for the Western Placer County Voluntary Interim In Lieu Fee Program if in substantial conformance with the final Program documents approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' lnteragency Review Team. The Corps' Notice of Intent to approve the Enabling Instrument was issued on January 18, 2019. At this time it is anticipated that Westervelt's Markham Ravine Mitigation Plan will be approved by the regulatory agencies either concurrent with or shortly after the In Lieu Fee Program's Enabling Instrument.

Compensatory Mitigation Project Demand The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lnteragency Review Team (IRT), comprised of state and federal regulatory and wildlife agencies, has chosen to utilize the In Lieu Fee Program as part of their permitting strategy for pending large development projects. For example, the Placer Vineyards Specific Plan (PVSP) project proposes to purchase wetland credits from the In Lieu Fee Program to offset its unavoidable losses of wetlands and habitat. A recent PVSP projection estimated the need for approximately 150 acres of wetland restoration credits necessary for construction of its backbone infrastructure and first phases of development beginning in the 2019 construction season.

In addition, there are a number of other reasonably foreseeable projects approved or pending approval by various federal, state, and local governments that could use the In Lieu Fee Program to offset unavoidable impacts to aquatic resources. Since the status and amount of aquatic resources potentially impacted under these permits is difficult to estimate with certainty, the Corps prepared a cumulative impact analysis (January 6, 2016) as part of the PCCP's EIR/EIS and 404 wetland permitting strategy. For these purposes, if the reasonably foreseeable projects resulted in a proportional loss of aquatic resources, the net anticipated reasonably foreseeable loss would be approximately 165.65 acres of wetlands that could potentially add to the initial demand for credits under the In Lieu Fee Program.

As a result and as part of the In Lieu Fee Program, the IRT will issue credits to the County in advance of constructing mitigation projects to fulfill the obligations created by transferring those credits to and collecting fees from public and private development projects. Upon receipt of fees and transfer of credits to the project applicants, the County would be accepting responsibility for developing compensatory mitigation projects, such as the Markham project, in accordance with the terms of the In Lieu Fee Program.

The proposed Markham conservation easement and Consultant Services Agreement would serve to satisfy a portion of the advance credits issued to the County. This strategy is unique to the County and especially so in having a previously constructed mitigation project ready to partially fulfill these requirements. Other In Lieu Fee programs collect fees and only then identify and build projects to satisfy similar requirements.

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CONSERVATION EASEMENT In October 2017, the County received a willing seller letter from Westervelt stating their interest in negotiating the sale of a conservation easement over the Property. As described in the Agreement for Purchase and Sale, Westervelt is willing to sell a conservation easement for $2,354,711 or approximately 60 percent of the PCCP average estimated fee title value for similar wetland properties. The PCCP land cost estimates are based on a series of studies and land value analyses prepared by Bender Rosenthal , Inc. and most recently updated in 2017 and assigned scarcity factors by the Hausrath Economics Group for the purpose of estimating conservation and wetland property values. These analyses set a weighted average fee title value of wetland properties at $13,250 per acre.

PCCP Markham Category $/Acre 296.19 PCCP Fee Title Value $13,250 $3,935,250

PCCP CE Value (60% of Fee) $7,950 $2,354,711

Acquisition Type - CE

PCCP ILF Funding Source - Fees

Proposed Total Cost - $2,354,711

While recent appraised values have been relatively consistent with the estimated PCCP land values for similar sized parcels, they do not recognize significant existing or restored wetland values. Reliance on appraised value estimates can result in significant lost opportunity costs, especially where scarce wetland and species habitats are not taken into consideration, as has been illustrated by other recent County wetland property acquisitions (e.g. , Bradley Property 2018).

The draft PCCP Cost and Funding Plan is principally based on wetland mitigation projects being designed and built on lands acquired in fee title. This is due to the lands used for wetland mitigation projects being subject to restrictive use conditions and the terms of the conservation easement substantially limiting the range of future allowable uses, thus limiting the residual value of the property. In this case and as a mitigation banking company, Westervelt understands and agrees to these limitations and seeks to retain fee title ownership of the property. Since the negotiated value of the conservation easement is set at 60% of the estimated PCCP fee title value, and since the wetland mitigation project was previously constructed in 2018, the lower conservation easement purchase price and reduced construction risk coupled with offsetting costs that would otherwise be incurred for construction oversight, staffing, overhead, and meeting other required PCCP objectives, allow more flexibility in the cost of the separate mitigation credits and services.

MITIGATION CREDITS & SERVICES AGREEMENT In addition to the acquisition of a conservation easement, a Consultant Services Agreement includes terms obligating Westervelt to provide all services necessary for the planning, design, approval , construction, maintenance, interim monitoring and reporting necessary to deliver mitigation credits approved and released by the IRT to the County under the In Lieu Fee Program.

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As the owner and manager of property and as a reputable company providing ecological and mitigation banking services, staff believes Westervelt to be uniquely positioned and qualified to provide effective and cost efficient services in the early implementation stages of PCCP and In Lieu Fee Program. While the PCCP and final approval of the In Lieu Fee Program are still pending, the start-up costs associated with either or both programs would necessitate hiring, training, and managing staff in order to efficiently implement a design/build wetland mitigation project. Including these services in the Consultant Services Agreement would promote significant operational efficiency and cost savings. If successful , a similar model could be utilized for other properties and projects with Westervelt or other alternative service providers. In addition to the wetland mitigation credits, Westervelt would also provide PCCP specific services at rates for similar services reflected in the public review draft PCCP Cost and Funding Plan. The following credit types and corresponding fees would be contingent on state and federal agency approval of Westervelt' s draft Markham Mitigation Plan, the In Lieu Fee Program, and the County's collection of fees:

PCCP/ILF Credit Type

Category Credit/ Acre

Vernal Pool 35.24 Restoration Complex wetlands

River ine/Riparian 17.0 Restoration

Emergent Marsh 0 NA

Aquatic/Wetland 0 NA

PCCP Grassland 244.95 Restoration

Uplands

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; · , .-.} l 1 ·· :' ·I; H .' .. ~~·rr~~. - ., ·T~,··.,ir.,·11· ;".Ji(c·111Jfc i) ~· I

1. Mitigation Plan Develooment

Mitigation Plan Design and Permitting $112,376.00 Upon !RT Plan $112,376.00 approval

2. Credits1

Vernal Pool & Vernal Pool Complex (35.24 $160,000.00/acre $5,638,400.00 acres1 Upon County sale of Advance Credits and/or Transferred

Riverine Riparian (17.00 acres) $100,000.00/ acre Credits

$1, 700,000.00

3. PCCP Manaaement Maintenance Monitorina and Reporting

Reserve Management $3,388.00/year Annually for 3 years, $10,164.00

Natural Community Monitoring $20,614.67 /year commencing in $61,844.00

Species Monitoring $29,178.00/year calendar year 2019

$87,534.00 4. PCCP Reserve Site Imorovements and Grassland Management

Site Improvements $74,442.33/year Annually for 3 years, $223,327.00

Interim Grassland Management, Enhancement, $11,262/year

commencing in $36,786.00 and Fuel Load Treatment calendar year 2019

TOTAL $7,870,431.00 1 Acreages and payments for credits in the above table are as proposed in the Markham Ravine Mitigation Plan are estimates and may be adjusted based on final /RT approval.

The estimated maximum total cost to deliver the wetland restoration credits and to provide the required PCCP related services including management, monitoring, and improvements for a 3-year term was originally estimated at $7,705,009 as presented to the Board for its direction in March 2018. This cost has since been revised through final negotiations to the estimated amount of $7,870,431 to reflect additional credits associated with the rehabilitation of 0.48 acre of vernal pool complex wetlands and average costs associated with PCCP related services. The County would collect fees corresponding to the applicable credit types and amounts approved for release by the IRT and transferred to projects. The County would then remit fee amounts to Westervelt as assigned to the released credits as well as to acreages covered by the conservation easement.

While the conservation easement cost and other costs for providing additional PCCP specific services including Reserve System Management, Natural Community Monitoring, Species Monitoring and others over a 3-year term are consistent with the draft PCCP Cost and Funding Plan, the per credit costs are higher and reflect the reduced risk in acquiring credits from a previously constructed mitigation project and costs associated with construction equipment, fuel , labor, and other recent construction related cost increases. However and as noted under the conservation easement section above, these costs are offset by the lower price per acre of acquiring a conservation easement versus the PCCP assumed cost for acquiring land in fee title.

As a whole, the purchase of the conservation easement and mitigation credits and services is consistent with the projected PCCP and In Lieu Fee estimates, notwithstanding future annual fee adjustments to reflect then current costs and comprehensive fee studies and adjustments required not less than every five years.

If the County were to alternatively propose to acquire similar credits from a mitigation bank as allowed by the In Lieu Fee program and draft PCCP, assuming such credits in the types and

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amounts were available in the current market, following is a rough estimate of similar costs. This is an estimated range of mitigation bank costs for a similar project in the current market and is not intended to represent an estimate of private mitigation bank costs or economic profit.

Mitigation Bank Comparable

Total Cost

Mitigation Bank Acres

Cost/Acre Vernal Pool

$7,929,000 -$225,000 - 35.24 $250,000 $8,810,000

Riverine/Riparian 17.0 $1,445,000 -

$85,000 - $100,000 $1,700,000 Emergent Marsh - NA N/ A Aquatic/Wetland - NA N/A PCCP Grassland Swainson's hawk 244.95 $2,939,400 $12,000

Total Range $12,313,400

-$13,449,400

In addition to the total proposed Markham cost being consistent with the draft PCCP costs and roughly comparable to current mitigation bank costs, there are significant value added components included as part of the Markham project. These would include the preservation of stream system and species habitat restoration requirements that would satisfy other related PCCP specific requirements.

Additional Conservation Values The public review draft PCCP (December 2018) includes requirements for the preservation and restoration of specific resources and habitats found within the Property. Implementation of the Markham Mitigation Plan and conservation easement contribute to and provide added benefits not specifically included as costs but that satisfy several PCCP early implementation requirements as follow:

• In addition to the restoration of approximately 17 acres of riparian wetlands immediately adjacent and connected to Markham Ravine, the conservation easement will protect portions of the 1.25 mile stream length as it meanders on and off the Property. Protection of this portion of the Markham Ravine stream system will advance the County's interest in meeting the objectives of the draft PCCP ultimately requiring the preservation of 88.6 linear miles of streams in western Placer County.

• In 2018 and in several monitoring years prior, a Tricolored blackbird colony with an estimated 8,000 individuals successfully nested on the Property in the riparian cover associated with Markham Ravine. Preservation of this well documented nesting site

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through the conservation easement will protect the first of two nesting sites required by Year 15 of PCCP plan implementation. In addition, this PCCP objective also requires the protection of a minimum of 200 acres of foraging habitat in proximity to the nesting site. As such, the restoration of 244.95 acres of grassland as part of the Markham project provides additional foraging habitat otherwise needing to be acquired to comply with the requirements of the draft PCCP.

• The draft PCCP includes an objective requiring the restoration of 1,000 acres of grasslands. As such, the Draft PCCP Cost and Funding Plan estimates a total of 122 acres of vernal pool grasslands would be acquired and restored in the early years of implementation. The Markham project will result in the acquisition of approximately 244. 95 acres of restored vernal pool grasslands pursuant to the requirements of the Mitigation Plan.

• The advance restoration of grasslands also partially fulfills the draft PCCP objective to increase ground squirrel populations as foraging habitat for Swainson's hawk and Western burrowing owl.

• The restoration of the Property also provides for PCCP covered species foraging , protection of potential Swainson's hawk nesting trees, as well as Western pond turtle and Western burrowing owl habitat through the preservation and restoration of the Property.

Contingencies The terms of both the conservation easement Purchase and Sale Agreement and the related Consulting Services Agreement necessarily rely on the satisfaction of several contingencies. These contingencies include each of the following:

• Final approval of the Western Placer County In Lieu Fee Program and/or the Placer County Conservation Program by the state and federal agencies and adoption of such Programs by the Placer County Board of Supervisors.

• The IRT's approval of the Markham Ravine Mitigation Plan. • The restored wetlands meeting the performance standards approved by the IRT as part of

the Markham Mitigation Plan and the IRT's release of such credits to the County in the types and amounts identified.

• Finally, payments under the terms of these agreements are ultimately contingent on the state and federal agencies directing compensatory wetland and related species habitat mitigation to the In Lieu Fee Program and/or the PCCP, and public and private land development project related impacts triggering the County's collection of fees.

Given these contingencies, the terms of the agreements provide that the County will direct all funds collected from credit sales under the In Lieu Fee Program and/or PCCP to be paid exclusively to Westervelt until full payment is received for the conservation easement and mitigation credits and services provided. However, this limitation would not apply to any .credits, land, or habitat types not included as part of the Markham project (e.g., vernal pool preservation, oak woodland, etc.).

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT The acquisition of a PCCP and In Lieu Fee Program compliant conservation easement over the Property is consistent with Placer County General Plan policy 6.C.1 . to identify and protect significant ecological resource areas and other unique wildlife habitats critical to protecting and sustaining wildl ife populations. As such, the acquisition is Categorically Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections15308 actions taken by regulatory agencies, as authorized by state or local ordinance, to assure the maintenance,

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restoration , enhancement, or protection of the environment; and, Section 15313 Acquisition of Lands for Wildlife Conservation Purposes including (a) preservation of fish and wildlife habitat. Westervelt' s project specific grading permit and all other maintenance, monitoring, and services necessary to establish the mitigation credits were previously subject to the County's separate project specific CEQA review and a Notice of Determination filed with the State Clearinghouse (SCH No. 2012012044) on October 24, 2012.

FISCAL IMPACT The full cost of the Markham conservation easement is proposed to be offset by public and private project mitigation fees collected through the In Lieu Fee Program and the PCCP. The planning, design, approval, construction, maintenance, short term monitoring, and reporting and other PCCP services necessary to deliver perfected mitigation credits to the County would also be offset by public and private project mitigation fees collected through the In Lieu Fee Program and PCCP. No commitment of the County General Fund is proposed under this proposal aside from normal and routine staff time and related costs included in departmental budgets.

ATTACHMENTS A Resolution B. Property Map C. PCCP Reserve Location D. General Plan Consistency

On file with the Clerk of the Board: Conservation Easement Agreement for Purchase and Sale and Consultant Services Agreement with Westervelt Ecological Services, LLC.

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Before the Board of Supervisors County of Placer, State of California

In the matter of: Markham Ravine Conservation Easement Purchase and Sale Agreement and Consultant Services Agreement Resolution No.: ____ _

The following Resolution was duly passed by the Board of Supervisors of the County of

Placer at a regular meeting held February 5, 2019, by the following vote on roll call :

Ayes:

Noes:

Absent:

Signed and approved by me after its passage.

Chair, Board of Supervisors

Attest:

Clerk of said Board

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WHEREAS, Westervelt is the owner of APN Nos. 021-030-065 arid 021-030-060 comprising approximately 296.19± acres, located on the west side of South Brewer Road, west of the City of Lincoln, California, as shown on Exhibit A (the "Property"); and WHEREAS, Westervelt is willing to sell to County of Placer and the Placer County Board of Supervisors is concurrently considering for its approval the acquisition of a Conservation Easement over the Property for the purchase price of Two Million, Three Hundred and Fifty Thousand, Seven Hundred and Eleven and No/100 Dollars ($2,354, 711 ); and WHEREAS, the County of Placer provided public notice pursuant to Government Code Section 25350; and WHEREAS, the Property is located within the PCCP's Reserve Acquisition Area, the Western Placer County In Lieu Fee Program's Service Area, and contains significant wetland and endangered species habitat conservation values, including Markham Ravine; and WHEREAS, Westervelt has prepared the Markham Ravine Mitigation Plan as appended to the Western Placer County In Lieu Fee Program and has been or will cause to be approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' lnteragency Review Team; and WHEREAS, the County of Placer anticipates significant demand for wetland mitigation credits from existing approved and Corps of Engineers' permitted projects identifying the Western Placer County In Lieu Fee Program for purchase of compensatory wetland mitigation credits; and WHEREAS, Westervelt is willing to perform the services necessary to establish and provide wetland mitigation credits in the number, type, and for the amount identified in both the Markham Ravine Mitigation Plan and the Western Placer County In Lieu Fee Program; and WHEREAS, the acquisition of a PCCP and In Lieu Fee Program compliant conservation easement over the Markham Ravine Ranch property is consistent with Placer County General Plan policy 6.C.1 . to identify and protect significant ecological resource areas and other unique wildlife habitats critical to protecting and sustaining wildlife population, and as such, the acquisition is Categorically Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15308 actions taken by regulatory agencies, as authorized by state or local ordinance, to assure the maintenance, restoration, enhancement, or protection of the environment; and, Section 15313 Acquisition of Lands for Wildlife Conservation Purposes including (a) preservation of fish and wildlife habitat; and WHEREAS, Consultant's project-specific County of Placer grading permit and all other construction, maintenance, monitoring, and related services necessary to establish the Markham Ravine Mitigation Project and wetland mitigation credits were previously subject to and approved under the County's separate project specific grading permit and CEQA review, and a Notice of Determination filed with the State Clearinghouse (SCH No. 2012012044) on October 24, 2012.

BE IT RESOLVED, BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF THE COUNTY OF PLACER:

1. Adopts a resolution authorizing the acquisition of a Conservation Easement over a 296. 19±-acre portion of two parcels (APNs 021-030-065 & 060) in the proposed Placer County Conservation Program's Reserve Acquisition Area immediately west of and

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adjacent to South Brewer Road and south of Markham Ravine, approximately 0.5 mile south of Nicolaus Avenue from Westervelt Ecological Services, LLC for $2,354, 711 and authorize the Director of Public Works, or designee, to take all necessary actions to complete the acquisition including the execution of the Agreement for Purchase and Sale and recordation of the Conservation Easement in substantial conformance with the template subject to County Counsel concurrence, and to add the Conservation Easement to the County's comprehensive capital asset listing.

2. Approves a Consultant Services Contract with Westervelt Ecological Services, LLC and authorize the Community Resource Agency Director, or designee, to execute the contract for conservation land studies, wetland mitigation credits, maintenance, monitoring, reporting, and other necessary services for the property in an amount not to exceed $7,870,431.00.

3. Finds the acquisition of a Conservation Easement and approval of the Consultant Services Agreement Categorically Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections15308 actions taken by regulatory agencies, as authorized by state or local ordinance, to assure the maintenance, restoration , enhancement, or protection of the environment; and, Section 15313 Acquisition of Lands for Wildlife Conservation Purposes including (a) preservation of fish and wildlife habitat.

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Attachment B

Markham Ravine Ranch

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DATA DISQAJMER Th& fect1.ire$ en thlS m.;ip W6<e pr~red fo, geogrophk purpo,es or,I':' and are not rilende-d io llutr<:ie !eQol bo.mdor1H « supareede !ocol ordinane6S Offdol 1nfcrrnat1c,, eoncern1"3 th& Se.ohos depici&d a, thi: mop shoold be cbomod from f«'Cf~ doo.>menh ond kcal g0rt'ern'1g ogenc1&1

D Conservation Easement

~ Easement Exclusion Areas

County Boundary

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D Other Parcels

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Stream - Intermittent

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Attachment C PCCP RESERVE LOCATION

DRAFT PCCP RESERVE MAP (1·3·19)

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Attachment D

General Plan Policy Consistency

1994 General Plan - identifies key policies and programs that are consistent with and would be implemented through the proposed acquisition:

Program 6.5. The County shall work toward the public acquisition of creek corridors, wetlands, and significant ecological resource areas as public open space where such areas cannot be effectively preserved through the regulatory process. Public protection may take the form of fee acquisition or protective easements and may be carried out in cooperation with other local, state, and federal agencies and private entities.

Policy 6.C.1. The County shall identify and protect significant ecological resource areas and other unique wildlife habitats critical to protecting and sustaining wildlife populations. Significant ecological resource areas include the following:

e. Large areas of non-fragmented natural habitat, including Blue Oak Woodlands, Valley Foothill Riparian, vernal pool habitat.

f. Identifiable wildlife movement zones, including but not limited to, non-fragmented stream environment zones, avian and mammalian migratory routes, and known concentration areas of waterfowl within the Pacific Flyway.

Policy 6.C.6 Habitats of rare , threatened or endangered species shall be preserved.

Policy 6. C.12. The County shall cooperate with, encourage, and support the plans of other public agencies to acquire fee title or conservation easements to privately-owned lands in order to preserve important wildlife corridors and to provide habitat protection of California Species of Concern and state or federally listed rare, threatened, or endangered plant and animal species.

Policy 6.0 .3. The County shall support the preservation of outstanding areas of natural vegetation, including, but not limited to, oak woodlands, riparian areas, and vernal pools.

Policy 6.0 .6. The County shall ensure the conservation of sufficiently large, continuous expanses of native vegetation to provide suitable habitat for maintaining abundant and diverse wildlife .

Policy 6.E.5. The County shall coordinate with local, state, and federal agencies and private organizations to establish visual and physical links among open space areas to form a system that, where appropriate, includes trails. Dedication of easements shall be encouraged, and in many cases, required as lands are developed and built.

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