The purpose of this section is to establish standards for habitat mitigation banks and habitat management areas in order to:

A. To help ensure that habitat mitigation banks and activities within habitat management areas are located, constructed, and managed in a manner that is consistent with the General Plan, compatible with surrounding land uses to the extent feasible, and sensitive to the needs of the County’s agricultural economy, the protection of biological resources, flood protection, vector control, and other appropriate local and regional concerns.

B. To require the proponents of habitat mitigation and management projects to design and implement projects that achieve multiple community objectives, and that include management plans or similar means of ensuring the responsible stewardship of such projects over time.

C. To protect agricultural lands and agricultural operations in the vicinity of habitat mitigation banks and habitat management areas from adverse effects and financial impacts.

D. To promote and encourage resource conservation activities that support active and ongoing agricultural use of a habitat mitigation bank or habitat management area.

E. To avoid significant concentrations of habitat management areas in areas of the County suitable for agricultural production.

F. To provide a mechanism and opportunities for the County and interested citizens to participate in the process of review habitat mitigation and management projects by establishing a permitting process that includes public hearing requirements and other opportunities for public input. (Ord. No. 765 § 2 (Exh. A) (part))

44-5.30.010 Applicability.

This section applies to the following:

A. The establishment of a habitat mitigation bank or a habitat management area on agricultural lands that would result in the conversion of the land from an agricultural use to a nonagricultural use is subject to the requirements of this section.

B. Habitat mitigation banks and habitat management areas established on lands zoned for agricultural use, but which are fallow, un-farmed, or in a naturalized condition shall be subject to the conditions of this section if the habitat mitigation bank or habitat management activities would preclude the future use of the land for active agricultural activities and operations. Examples include the placement of a conservation easement on an agricultural parcel that would preclude the use of the parcel for agricultural activities or operations in the future.

C. The establishment of a habitat mitigation bank on agricultural lands that would not result in the conversion of the land to a nonagricultural use is not subject to the requirements of this section. Examples include mitigation banks for species foraging habitat on lands that are actively farmed or conservation easements on parcels that remain in active agricultural production.

D. Nothing in this section is intended to restrict or in any way affect or impair the agricultural use of land within the County. In some cases, state and federal laws may regulate certain types or characteristics of projects covered by this section. This section shall be construed to provide the County with the maximum control consistent with such other laws. (Ord. No. 765 § 2 (Exh. A) (part))

44-5.30.020 Zoning Requirements, Exemptions, and Excluded Activities.

A. Zoning Requirements. Subject to the exemptions set forth below, no person shall engage in grading, clearing, or other activities, including the recordation of a conservation easement, with the intent to implement a habitat mitigation bank or a habitat management plan that would preclude or limit the use of an agricultural parcel from active agricultural use without first applying for and receiving a General Plan Amendment and a Rezone to designate and zone the parcel Resource Management (R-M).

B. Exemptions. The following projects shall be exempt from the General Plan Amendment and Rezone requirements, and other provisions of this section:

1. All covered habitat mitigation and management projects that do not create 10 or more acres of new habitat, or result in the loss of 10 or fewer acres of agricultural land.

2. The recordation of conservation easements that do not preclude the continued active agricultural use of the land as a primary activity.

3. Limited term pilot projects undertaken for scientific research and related purposes, including feasibility assessments, in connection with the potential future implementation of a covered habitat mitigation or management project. Such projects are not covered by this section so long as they occur in a time and manner that does not substantially interfere with the reasonable agricultural use of the pilot project site, or adversely affect surrounding lands and surrounding agricultural operations.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, any expansion or other change to a covered habitat mitigation or management project previously covered by one or more of these exemptions shall require a General Plan Amendment and Rezone to Resource Management if the proposed expansion or other change would remove the project, viewed as a whole, from the scope of these exemptions.

C. Activities Not Covered. The following activities do not constitute covered habitat mitigation or management projects, and are not subject to regulation under this section, so long as they are undertaken in the usual and customary manner prevailing in the County at the time this section was adopted:

1. All activities undertaken in connection with, and in furtherance of, the agricultural use of land. This includes, but is not limited to, the construction and maintenance of stock ponds and small reservoirs, tail-water ponds, irrigation canals and sloughs, rice fields, and similar activities.

2. Projects undertaken for the primary purpose of flood control, flood protection, or related matters of flood safety and the protection of life and property.

3. The winter flooding or agricultural fields for the primary purpose of providing temporary habitat for migratory waterfowl, provided such flooding does not occur in a time or manner that prevents or substantially interferes with the reasonable agricultural use of the site or adversely affect surrounding lands. (Ord. No. 765 § 2 (Exh. A) (part))

44-5.30.030 General Plan Amendment and Rezoning Application Contents and Review Procedures.

A. General Plan Amendment and Rezoning Applications and Review Procedures. General Plan Amendment and Rezoning applications and review procedures shall be governed by Article 44-1 of this zoning code.

B. Application Contents. An application for a General Plan Amendment and Rezone to Resource Management for a covered habitat mitigation bank or habitat management project shall include all of the following:

1. Appropriate site-specific technical reports, including but not limited to such documents as a biological resources analysis, a hydrology analysis, a geotechnical analysis, and an engineered excavation plan. The types of reports that may be required may vary depending on the existing site features and characteristics, the surrounding land uses, and the nature of the proposed habitat management activity. Upon request, the Director will advise an applicant of the types of reports and studies that should be submitted with a General Plan Amendment and Rezone application, or in connection with environmental review of a proposed project. In some instances, the applicant may be able to satisfy these technical report requirements by providing documents prepared in connection with applications to other federal, state, or local agencies relating to the project.

2. A site plan showing property lines, assessor’s parcel numbers, on-site and adjoining land uses, surrounding property owners, topography, access, and existing/proposed patters of vegetation and surface water coverage.

3. A proposed management plan that identifies how the project will be operated and managed over time. Among other things, the management plan should explain how the project will be actively operated and managed in perpetuity to ensure that its environmental and other benefits are realized on a continuous basis, how vector control issues will be addressed, if applicable, and how any unanticipated events and impacts to surrounding land uses, particularly agricultural operations, will be addressed. The proposed management plan shall also include measures to address on-site and offsite crop depletion to the extent it is a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the proposed project. The management plan should also identify established long-term funding sources to be used for implementation of the management plan.

In addition to the foregoing, the Director may require additional information relevant to the project, as needed, to perform appropriate environmental analysis, to determine whether the proposed project may affect public health, safety, and welfare, whether the project may result in detrimental impacts to surrounding agricultural lands and agricultural operations, and for other good cause as determined by the Director at his or her sole discretion. (Ord. No. 765 § 2 (Exh. A) (part))