Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Areas (ESHA) Overview Slide 1

Section ESHA Definition "Environmentally sensitive area" (ESHA) means any area in which plant or animal life or their habitats are either rare or especially valuable because of their special nature or role in an ecosystem and which could be easily disturbed or degraded by human activities and developments. Slide 2

Section Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Areas; Adjacent Developments (a) Environmentally sensitive habitat areas (ESHA) shall be protected against any significant disruption of habitat values, and only uses dependent on those resources shall be allowed within those areas. (b) Development in areas adjacent to environmentally sensitive habitat areas (ESHA) and parks and recreation areas shall be sited and designed to prevent impacts which would significantly degrade those areas, and shall be compatible with the continuance of those habitat and recreation areas. Slide 3

1.A geographic area can be designated ESHA either because of the presence of individual species of plants or animals or because of the presence of a particular habitat. 2.In order for an area to be designated as ESHA, the species or habitat must be rare OR it must be especially valuable. 3.And, the area must be easily disturbed or degraded by human activities. Important Elements to the Definition of ESHA Slide 4

One test for making an ESHA finding is determining whether a species or habitat is rare. We have a number of resources for determining whether a species or habitat is rare: - Federal List of Endangered & Threatened Species - State List of Endangered & Threatened Species - California Native Plant Society Rare Plant Inventory - California Department of Fish and Game - Species of Special Concern - California Natural Diversity Database How We Determine Rarity? Slide 5

Species Listing Status Southern California Federally Endangered Steelhead Tidewater Goby Federally Endangered Arroyo ToadFederally Endangered Coastal California Federally Threatened Gnatcatcher Least Bell’s VireoFederally Endangered State Endangered Pacific Pocket MouseFederally Endangered Examples of Federal & State Listed Species - Endangered: Taxa which are in danger of becoming extinct throughout all or a significant portion of their range. - Threatened: Taxa which are likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future in the absence of special protection Slide 6

Hoffman’s Rockcress CNPS List 2 Examples of California Native Plant Society Listed Species Bigleaf Crownbeard CNPS List 1B San Luis Mariposa Lily CNPS List 1B CNPS 1B: plants that are rare, threatened, or endangered in California and elsewhere. CNPS 2: plants that are rare, threatened, or endangered in California, but more common elsewhere. Slide 7

Examples of Department of Fish and Game Species of Special Concern Globose dune beetle Coast Horned Lizard Dusky Footed WoodratNorthern Harrier Slide 8

Native Grassland Photo credit: Google Images Slide 9

Photo credit: Jonna Engel Coastal Dunes Slide 10

Maritime Chaparral Photo credit: Jonna Engel Slide 11

Coastal Woodlands; e.g. Monterey Pine Forest Slide 12

Santa Monica Mountains Photo credit: Jonna Engel Coastal Sage Scrub Slide 13

Especially Valuable Habitat Areas Photo credit: AJ Skiles Monarch Butterfly Habitat Photo credit: Google Images Gnatcatcher occupied CSS Marine Mammal Haul Out Areas Photo credit: Google Images Slide 14

ESHA: Easily Degraded or Disturbed? Slide 15

How Do We Protect ESHA? - Staff makes recommendation for what constitutes ESHA – what’s on the ground is what matters - Avoid the ESHA (only resource dependent uses allowed in it) - Buffer the ESHA - Mitigate Unavoidable Impacts – if project is permitted Slide 16

ESHA Determination and Protection Issues - Level of ESHA Degradation/Disturbance - Patch Size - Level of Fragmentation - Differences of Opinion between CCC Technical Staff and Applicant’s Consultants: - ESHA/non-ESHA - ESHA boundaries - Level of degradation/disturbance - Habitat type - No ESHA “light” – an area is either ESHA or not ESHA, nothing inbetween - Dated LCP’s – not all the ESHA is identified - LCP ESHA Maps – not all the ESHA is mapped - Critical that ESHA be protected in place; can’t move ESHA – Bolsa Chica Decision - ESHA Buffers – many LCP’s have inadequate ESHA buffer policies - Constitutional Takings Slide 17

North Coast North Central Coast South Central Coast Central Coast South Coast San Diego Coast Standard of Review: City or County LCP’s or Coastal Act