Yolo County Department of Community Services prepared an Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) (File 2010-004, December 2016) pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for the project. The IS/MND requires compensatory mitigation for the conversion of 8.7 acres of Swainson’s hawk foraging habitat, as per Mitigation Measure BIO-1, which states:
BIO-1. As a condition of approval, the applicant will be required to mitigate for the loss of Swainson’s hawk habitat by complying with the mitigation requirements of the Yolo Habitat Conservancy, such as paying a per-acre mitigation fee; securing a minimum 8.7-acre conservation easement; participating in a JPA approved Mitigation Bank; or working directly with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Staff have identified a potential collaborative approach to implementing this requirement involving the so-called Reiff Property, located north of Woodland along Cache Creek adjacent to the Granite Capay and Granite Esparto mining sites. Granite Construction (“Granite”) currently owns the property, but it has provided an irrevocable offer of dedication to the County (approved by the Board on October 11, 2016) which will be accepted by the County no earlier than January 1, 2021. Granite retained the right to use a majority of the Reiff Property for Swainson’s hawk foraging habitat mitigation (about 91 acres of the 117.24-acre property) in its Development Agreement for the Granite Esparto project (approved by the Board on November 8, 2011).
This leaves a portion of the property potentially available for County mitigation needs. The attached memo by Jim Estep (Estep Environmental Consulting) briefly describes the characteristics of the property and the opportunity—through a coordinated approach with Granite—to conserve both grassland foraging habitat and a riparian corridor with suitable Swainson’s hawk nesting habitat. As the memo states:
Approximately 2,000 feet of Cache Creek runs through the southern portion of the property. This area supports high value cottonwood/willow riparian forest and is considered important nesting habitat for Swainson’s hawks in Yolo County. Protecting this area in addition to the adjacent grassland foraging habitat will significantly enhance the overall value of the property.
Because of the increased conservation benefit of protecting both riparian and grassland portions of the Reiff Property, staff recommend that the Board authorize a coordinated approach to conservation with Granite. Under this approach, County staff will take the lead in drafting a conservation easement and management plan that will cover the mitigation needs of both entities. The Cache Creek Conservancy (or another appropriate land trust or similar authorized easement holder) will hold the easement and an endowment fund for compliance monitoring and related matters. The County and Granite will contribute proportionally (in relation to their respective mitigation requirements) to the endowment.
If authorized to proceed in the manner set forth above, staff will commence drafting a conservation easement and management plans using templates provided by the Yolo Habitat Conservancy. Staff anticipate concluding the process by recording the conservation easement early in 2018, and will return to the Board for any further actions or approvals if necessary. |