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Update on Habitat Planning in Santa Clara County
by Brian Schmidt
A multi-year effort to create the Santa Clara County Habitat Conservation Plan/Natural Communities Conservation Plan (the “Habitat Plan”) could result in the largest land acquisition in the County in decades, but could also harm endangered species if not handled correctly.
How the Plan Would Work
Ultimately, more than 40,000 acres of the most valuable habitat could be purchased, improving public land management for endangered species, and modifying land use policies to restrict impacts on native species. The goal of the plan is to go beyond requiring mitigation for harm that development causes to endangered species by requiring habitat expansion and improvement so they are actually better off than they were before development occurred.
All this comes with a large caveat. The plans currently in place seem reasonable, but making them work correctly needs further development. Take the issue of funding — will it be enough to buy and maintain all the habitat that the plan calls for? Some 40% of the funding relies on outside grants — is that realistic? Additional funding would supposedly come from the Santa Clara Open Space Authority, but the Authority’s funding is tied up in litigation brought by the Taxpayer’s Union, so that funding is in doubt. These issues will need resolution.
Coyote Valley Status Unclear
With the Specific Plan for Coyote Valley on hold, it is unclear whether other proposed developments in the valley will affect the Habitat Plan. Old plans that may be revived, like the Coyote Valley Research Park (the “Cisco” project) are supposedly exempt from the Plan — but they would be vulnerable to legal challenges if someone with the resources could take them on. New plans like the potentially destructive Gavilan College proposal also need consideration.
Threats Outside the County Line
New threats are happening just outside the County borders, too. In San Benito County, a proposed 6,000 unit development just on the county border threatens the integrity of a floodplain and important wildlife corridor, along with all its other environmental impacts. These issues will have to be considered during the plan development.
Monitoring the Plan
The Committee for Green Foothills remains active in monitoring the plan, and Committee Advocate Brian Schmidt has served on a Stakeholder Committee for several years. A recent workshop co-sponsored by the Committee publicized some environmental issues, so we will be doing our best to make sure the County ends up with the best result.
Published Spring 2008 in Green Footnotes.
Page last updated September 13, 2010.
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