21.210.040 Habitat preservation requirements.
The provisions of this section shall apply to all development projects as follows:
A. Hardline Preserve Areas. Properties or areas of the city identified in the HMP as existing hardline preserve areas are shown on Figure 5 of the HMP. Properties or areas of the city identified in the HMP as proposed hardline preserve areas are shown on Figures 8 through 25 and 34 through 40 of the HMP. These areas shall be prohibited from development located in or encroaching into the hardline preserve area. Minor modifications to the boundaries of the proposed hardline preserve area shall only be allowed if approved as an equivalency finding pursuant to Section 21.210.090 of this chapter. Incidental take of covered species and direct impacts to habitat shall only occur outside the boundaries of the hardline preserve areas. Hardline preserve areas are to be designated as biological open space and preserved in such designation in perpetuity.
B. Standards Areas. Properties or areas of the city identified in the HMP as standards areas (HMP Figure 26) shall comply with all the habitat preservation standards contained in Section D.3(C) of the HMP which are incorporated by reference. Incidental take of covered species and direct impacts to habitat shall not be permitted in these areas until a development project is approved which complies with the standards and provides any land to the habitat preserve areas as required by the standards.
C. Additional Mitigation. In addition to setting-aside land for the preserve area, all impacts to habitat and covered species shall be mitigated as follows:
1. All development projects which impact habitat shall provide on-site or off-site replacement habitat in accordance with the mitigation ratios contained in Table 11 in Section D.6 of the HMP. Preference shall be given for on-site mitigation unless off-site mitigation provides for improved quality or configuration of open space. Replacement habitat shall be identified as part of the approval of the development project.
2. Larger, connected areas of habitat that is not impacted by development or brush management and preserved on-site within the boundaries of the property where the project is located shall be credited toward the mitigation ratios.
3. If at least sixty-seven percent of the habitat on the property where the development project is located is preserved, the project shall not be required to obtain off-site mitigation land in compliance with the mitigation ratios except if: 1) the project would otherwise be inconsistent with the HMP, IA, MHCP, and NCCP and 10(a)1(B) permits; 2) the proposed on-site preservation would reduce the city’s ability to meet the specific habitat conservation obligations in the HMP; and/or 3) the areas to be preserved on-site would not benefit the city’s preserve system (e.g., habitat exists in a small, isolated patch or patches outside of the focus planning area, and containing no narrow endemic species).
4. Mitigation of impacts through habitat restoration or habitat creation shall be allowed in limited circumstances and shall be mitigated at a higher ratio as determined by the city in consultation with the wildlife agencies.
D. Additional Conditions. In addition to the requirements, standards and conditions contained in subsections A, B and C of this section, the following additional conditions of coverage shall apply to all development projects. These conditions are intended to reference existing requirements and conditions contained in the HMP, IA, MHCP, and NCCP and 10(a)1(B) permit conditions; the conditions listed below are not intended to add additional requirements or conditions above those contained in the HMP, IA, MHCP, and NCCP and 10(a)1(B) permit conditions:
1. Impacts to narrow endemic species shall be avoided to the maximum extent practicable in conformance with the narrow endemic species policy contained in the MHCP and incorporated herein by reference, however where impacts to a narrow endemic species population are demonstrated to be unavoidable, impacts shall be limited to five percent of the total narrow endemic species population within the boundaries of the property where the development project is located. Relocation of the narrow endemic species cannot be used to meet the five percent numeric standard.
2. Grading for a development project during wildlife breeding seasons shall be prohibited, except as provided by the HMP and MHCP, unless a minor adjustment is specifically approved by the city and the wildlife agencies.
3. All development projects shall be located and designed to minimize overall impacts to natural habitat.
4. All fuel modification (brush management) zones required as a result of the development project, and as required by the fire marshal, shall be located outside the preserve areas, shall be considered impacted and shall be mitigated according to subsection C of this section.
5. Impacts to wetland and riparian habitats shall be avoided to the maximum extent possible. All development projects that would affect these habitats must demonstrate that the impacts: 1) cannot be avoided by a feasible alternative; 2) have been minimized to the maximum extent practicable; 3) mitigated at a minimum 3:1 ratio; and 4) will be mitigated in ways that assure no net loss of habitat value or function.
6. Impacts to vernal pools shall be avoided. In the event that no project alternative is feasible that avoids all impacts on a particular property, the impacts must be minimized and mitigated to achieve a no net loss of biological functions and values through strict adherence to the wetland avoidance and mitigation criteria (Section 3.6.1 of MHCP Volume I), standard best management practices (MHCP Appendix B), and revegetation guidelines (MHCP Appendix C).
7. In the standards areas, sixty-seven percent of coastal sage scrub and seventy-five percent of the gnatcatchers located in the area shall be preserved. Some areas may preserve more or less than these percentages due to parcel size, location, resources, or long-term conservation potential as approved by the city and the wildlife agencies.
8. All development projects shall comply with the applicable standards of the MHCP (dated March 2003) and the measures to minimize impacts to covered species described in Section D.6, Table 9 and Appendix C of the HMP.
9. All development projects located in the coastal zone shall also be required to comply with the additional, general conservation standards contained in Section D.7, Standards 7-1 through 7-12 of the HMP and the additional, parcel-specific conservation standards contained in Section D.7, Standards 7-13 and 7-14 of the HMP as incorporated into the local coastal program.
E. Habitat In-Lieu Mitigation Fee. Development projects which are subject to additional mitigation pursuant to subsection C of this section and which impact habitat types D, E and F listed in Table 11 of the HMP shall pay a fee in an amount to be determined by city council resolution, in lieu of providing on-site or off-site mitigation land. The fee shall be used to fund the acquisition of habitat land in the MHCP as required by the HMP and implementing agreement. The fee shall be adjusted as necessary to acquire suitable habitat on a per acre basis comparable to the land being developed. (Ord. NS-783 § 1, 2006)