COUNTY COUNSEL'S OFFICE - B. THOMPSON 

Receive update on Regional Conservation Investment Strategy program.  Provide direction to staff as desired.  Potentially approve a letter recommending a boundary and/or text change, and/or requesting exclusion from the RCIS program.

SBC FILE NUMBER: 160

On September 22, 2016, Governor Brown signed AB 2087 into law. This new law establishes a conservation planning tool called a Regional Conservation Investment Strategy (RCIS) to promote the conservation of species, habitats, and other natural resources and enable advance mitigation for public infrastructure projects. Proponents believe that RCIS provides a voluntary, non-binding assessment and analysis of conservation resources in a region including opportunities to protect rare, unique land cover types, agricultural lands, and focal species, and to promote habitat connectivity and climate resilience. Infrastructure agencies and developers can use an approved RCIS to guide voluntary investment in conservation actions (protection, restoration and enhancement) in advance of projects’ impacts, and secure mitigation credit agreements. Mitigation credit agreements are instruments that provide assurances that conservation investments can be credited for future development permits.  

The Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority agreed to be the local sponsor for developing an RCIS for a study area that includes Santa Clara County and northern San Benito County that encompasses watersheds that affect the Soap Lake Floodplain in the Upper Pajaro River region. This area is also near several planned transportation infrastructure projects, including Valley Transportation Agency’s (VTA) US 101 widening project and State Route 152 trade corridor, that could require mitigation for impacts to habitat, floodplain values, farmland and connectivity. 

Consistent with AB 2087, the RCIS is designed as a voluntary tool that does not create or modify regulatory requirements or affect existing local land use authority, including the general plans of cities and counties.  By including this portion of San Benito County in the Study Area, the RCIS could facilitate future mitigation credit agreements for County infrastructure agencies and help improve project delivery for developers by pre-identifying areas where mitigation could be focused.  

Assembly Bill 2087 (2016) authorized state or local public agencies to complete a voluntary pilot program to identify priority lands for future mitigation and conservation open space uses, and to secure approval from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) for an approved “Regional Conservation Investment Strategy” (RCIS) identifying such priority mitigation lands and describing the natural resources values warranting priority mitigation and conservation status. 

The RCIS statute does not require local agency or landowner notice or consent to be included within the RCIS.  In 2016, the Santa Clara OSA chose to initiate an RCIS pilot program.  San Benito County has not consented yet to the inclusion of San Benito County lands in the Santa Clara OSA RCIS, although such consent is not required. 

The Draft RCIS was prepared by ICF International under the direction of a project steering committee consisting of the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority, the Valley Transportation Authority, the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency and The Nature Conservancy.  

An administrative draft of the RCIS was completed and submitted for review by CDFW earlier in 2017.  As San Benito County was not part of the steering committee, and therefore did not participate in the administrative draft process.  CDFW provided comments to the Santa Clara OSA.  On or about January 22, 2018, the draft was released for a 60 day public comment period.  After the public comment period, the CDFW-reviewed and revised RCIS may be approved  by CDFW.  

Areas within San Benito County designated for future development pursuant to the County’s General Plan are identified within the RCIS study area.  The Board reviewed the draft RCIS and submitted comments thereon in a letter dated March 20, 2018 (attached.)

 Landowner Concerns as Relayed to County Staff.

Landowners are concerned that the Santa Clara OSA RCIS is potentially inconsistent with and undermines the employment and economic development planned in the San Benito County General Plan.  Concerns about the effect of the RCIS have arisen since litigation in Los Angeles County referencing a draft RCIS for the Antelope Valley, in that if the Santa Clara OSA RCIS designates San Benito County within the RCIS, such a designation could be used by litigation and agency advocacy by opponents of future development. 

1.  Consider whether to request a boundary and/or text change, or request exclusion from the RCIS.

2.  If desired, approve draft letter.