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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-09-27 - AGENDA REPORTS - HABITAT CONSERVATION GRANT (2)Agenda Item: 0 CITY OF SANTA CLARITA AGENDA REPORT CONSENT CALENDAR City Manager Approval: Item to be presented by: Travis Lange DATE: September 27, 2005 SUBJECT: HABITAT CONSERVATION FUND GRANT APPLICATION RESOLUTION DEPARTMENT: City Manager's Office RECOMMENDED ACTION 1. City Council adopt a Resolution approving the Habitat Conservation Fund Grant application 2. Authorize the City Manager, or designee, to sign all documents required to file the application and receive the grant, if awarded, subject to the approval of the City Attorney. 3. Direct the City Manager or designee to appropriate, upon grant award and execution of agreements, in the amount not to exceed $195,000 to be reimbursed by the State of California, into revenue account number 453-5177 and expenditure account 1298-8001. 4. The appropriation would occur only if the grant has been awarded and the City Manager (or designee) has approved and signed all required agreements with the granting agency. BACKGROUND Since the City's incorporation in 1987, the City has made a significant effort to preserve green belts and open space areas both within and outside of the City. This includes implementing the vision of the first and subsequent City Councils to buffer the Santa Clarita Valley with an open space green belt to help maintain the character and quality of life for residents. During The Big Picture Action Plan process, several open space goals were reaffirmed and established. One goal was to acquire 1,000 acres of additional open space lands within the Valley, including lands that will help complete the green belt around the City through cooperative means. In addition, Adopted: Fe&o. O s- n 3 acquisition of the Santa Clara River Corridor was reaffirmed as an important goal. This grant will help acquire open space that will contribute to the overall health of the Santa Clarita Valley. The greenbelt surrounding the Valley and the bisecting Santa Clara River corridor supports the quality lifestyle enjoyed in Santa Clarita. Open space provides visual relief and creates a buffer from growth and overcrowding. The City values cooperative projects. This acquisition is being pursued in conjunction with efforts by the The Nature Conservancy, Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy, Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, California Department of Fish and Game, Fish and Wildlife Service, Wildlife Conservation Board and the Missing Linkages Project. This grant will provide matching funds to a Federal Section 6 grant that the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority has pursued in cooperation with the Fish and Wildlife Service, with support of all the other entities mentioned. This grant application will receive the same level of support. Both grant funding sources need to work cooperatively, as neither application will have sufficient funds to fully acquire the properties. The City has been approached by the group to apply for this grant, as local governments only are eligible for these funds. The Nature Conservancy will be the property owner upon acquisition which will likely transfer to the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority over the course of the project. If awarded, the grant would help purchase and conserve up to five contiguous parcels (acquisition parcels) totaling 43.15 acres within the upper Santa Clara River drainage in the community of Soledad, Los Angeles County. The properties lie adjacent to County of Los Angeles owned property in the river, Bureau of Land Management land to the north, and the Angeles National Forest to the south. Acquiring property is this area is consistent with the City's green belt and Santa Clara River Corridor goals. Conservation of the acquisition parcels would provide significant recovery benefits to several federal and state listed species, which are the focus of this proposal. The parcels are comprised of mature southern cottonwood willow riparian woodland with understory stratification which is highly suitable for breeding habitat for southwestern willow flycatcher and least Bell's vireo. All of the parcels contain braided Santa Clara River channel bottom rising into alluvial terraces. The terraces and channel bottom provide high quality foraging and breeding habitat for unarmored three -spine stickleback and arroyo toad as well as habitat for the slender -horned spineflower. Acquisition of these parcels would also contribute to the protection of habitat connectivity and a wildlife movement corridor between the northern (Sierra Pelona Mountains) and southern (San Gabriel Mountains) halves of the Angeles National Forest. The two halves are separated by a large expanse of privately owned land and State Route 14, the Antelope Valley Freeway. The parcels are included in a proposed Conceptual Area Protection Plan (CAPP) that encompasses a wildlife movement corridor that is in danger of being lost. Numerous agencies and nonprofit conservation organizations have cooperated in the development of the CAPP. Acquisition of the CAPP parcels is critical for the maintenance of healthy plant and wildlife populations in the Angeles National Forest, as well as helping to maintain their connectivity to other natural habitats in the upper Santa Clara River watershed. Acquisition of these parcels will widen the protected portion of the juncture between the wildlife movement corridor and the southern half of the Angeles National Forest. The grant, if awarded and implemented, would meet several goals. The project would help the City's open space goals through cooperative efforts. The effort would conserve threatened and endangered species' habitat. It would also help support a critical wildlife corridor in the area. The funded project would support a buffer from growth and overcrowding. ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS Do not approve the Resolution or apply for the grant application to purchase open space in the green belt surrounding the Santa Clarita Valley. FISCAL IMPACT If approved, the Resolution will allow the grant to be submitted and the City Manager or designee to sign required agreements. In addition, by approving the Resolution and the application, the City Council is directing the City Manager or designee to appropriate ,upon grant award and execution of agreements, in the amount not to exceed $195,000 to be reimbursed by the State of California, into revenue account number 453-5177 and expenditure account 1298-8001. The appropriation would occur only if the grant has been awarded and the City Manager (or designee) has approved and signed all required agreements with the granting agency. These funds would work with a Section 6 grant awarded to the MRCA, working as a match for each other. Additional matching funds would come from The Nature Conservancy volunteering legal and property assistance for the acquisition in the amount of $10,000 and City staff time administering the grant. The City would have to pay a $25 filing fee for a Categorical Exemption under CEQA. ATTACHMENTS Resolution