HomeMy WebLinkAbout1991-10-08 - AGENDA REPORTS - FUND REQUEST SCRIVER (2)AGENDA REPORT
City Manager Approval
Item to be presented b :
CONSENT CALENDAR Councilmember Heidt
DATE: October 8, 1991
SUBJECT: Fund Request for.Santa Clara River Enhancements
DEPARTMENT: City Manager
BACKGROUND:
The Valencia Company recently pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges that
the developer illegally altered the beds of the Santa Clara River and Bouquet
Creek.'
At issue were charges that Valencia Company widened the McBean Parkway bridge
crossing the Santa Clara River without benefit of the appropriate permit.
Contractors working on the bridge evidently failed to minimize impacts to,
native vegetation and river bed through earth movement activities. Another
area .of concern related to grading activities associated with the Builder's
Discount shopping center project. These alterations to the Santa C1ara.River
are viewed as potentially impacting critical habitat to the unarmored
threespine stickleback and the least Bell's vireo.
The case, settlement contains two major elements. The first component is a
requirement that Valencia Company revegetate a 20 acre portion of the river at
an estimated cost of $300,000. The second condition is a $90,000 restitution
payment to be deposited in the California Department of Fish and Game
Preservation Fund.
There exists no mandate that monies deposited in the Fish and Game
Preservation Fund be expended in the community in which they were originally
collected. As the Santa Clara River is one of the few remaining natural
waterways in Southern California, it would seem appropriate for the $90,000 to
be allocated toward local river enhancements.
RECOMMENDATION:
Send a letter to the Director of the California Department of Fish and Game
requesting that the $90,000 restitution paid by the Valencia Company be spent
locally in connection with improvements to the Santa Clara River.
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