21.210.050 Habitat management requirements.

All development projects shall be required to provide for the permanent management, maintenance and biological monitoring in perpetuity of all on-site and off-site mitigation land and all habitat preserve areas within the boundaries of the property in which the project is located according to the provisions of this section:

A.     Standard of Management. All preserve areas shall be managed, maintained and monitored according to the standards contained in Section F.2 of the HMP, Volume 2 and 3 of the MHCP and the citywide open space management plan.

B.     Funding of Management. Based upon the management plan required by subsection D of this section, the developer shall provide a nonwasting endowment or other secure financial mechanism acceptable to the city planner to the identified conservation entity in an amount sufficient for management, maintenance and monitoring of the preserve areas and mitigation land in perpetuity. The endowment will be tied to the preserved land for which it is provided and will be held by the city or a third-party financial entity approved by the city with demonstrated success in managing endowments. Only the interest accrued from the endowment shall be paid to the property manager.

C.     Conservation Easement Required. A conservation easement shall be placed on all preserve areas to ensure the area will be preserved in perpetuity, managed and maintained for its biological value and to prevent uses which will impair or interfere with the conservation of the area. At a minimum, the required conservation easement shall include the following:

i.      Identification of grantee, underlying land ownership, and third-party beneficiaries including the city and the wildlife agencies;

ii.      Permitted and prohibited uses;

iii.     Grantor’s duties and responsibilities as per the preserve management plan, which may be amended from time to time;

iv.     Enforcement provisions.

D.     Preserve Management Plan. Prior to recordation of a final map (if applicable) or prior to issuance of a grading permit, the developer shall be required to submit a plan to identify how the preserve areas and mitigation land will be managed and maintained for the first year after the areas are set aside for preservation. The plan shall include the costs for managing and monitoring the areas in perpetuity and shall identify a conservation entity, subject to approval by the city planner, to serve as preserve manager and who possesses the necessary biological qualifications and experience to manage and monitor the preserve areas in perpetuity. The plan shall be based on the results of a property analysis record (PAR) or other method acceptable to the city planner. The plan shall commit the preserve manager to prepare a permanent preserve management plan and annual work plans and shall give the city the right to enforce the preparation and execution of the plans. The plan shall be approved by the city planner. The preserve management plan shall include the following:

i.      An overall vision of the preserve area, its role in the citywide preserve system and its regional relationship;

ii.      The baseline biological conditions as identified in field surveys of the property not more than one year old including an identification of the covered species that occur or have the potential to occur in the preserve area and the known or expected threats to the biological value of the area;

iii.     Identification of resource management goals and specific conservation objectives based on the vision for the preserve area and baseline biological conditions;

iv.     Area-specific management directives based on the resource goals and conservation objectives;

v.     A description of preserve-level and subregional monitoring activities which shall be consistent with the HMP and MHCP volume I and II.

Appendix D of the citywide open space management plan contains an outline of the required format for preserve management plans.

E.     Annual Work Plan. Each year, the preserve manager shall be obligated to submit to the planning division an annual work plan for each preserve area. The work plan shall identify specific problems and how they will be addressed, the planned monitoring and management actions for the year and include a prioritization of specific management needs and area-specific management directives. (Ord. CS-164 §§ 10, 11, 2011; Ord. NS-783 § 1, 2006)