CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MULTIPLE SPECIES HABITAT CONSERVATION PLAN (MSHCP) DECEMBER 20, 2011
Workshop Overview City Council Workshop – No Action Taken MSHCP Historical Overview Regional Conservation Authority (RCA) History Conservation Before and After Endangered Species Acts (ESA) vs. MSHCP Transportation Link Murrieta MSHCP Participation 2
Murrieta Pros and Cons 3
MSHCP – Murrieta Pros and Cons Pros Streamlined the process for individual property owners, developer, and the City for public projects Certainty for development projects Project review with the plan as opposed to direct consultation with the Wildlife Agencies Project review under CEQA relies on the MSHCP Streamlined process for individual single-family homes Provides more local control on the development process General Plan 2035 uses MSHCP EIR 4
MSHCP – Murrieta Pros and Cons Pros (continued) More efficient and user friendly process Coverage under the Endangered Species Acts 10(a)(1)(b) Incidental Take Permit Murrieta has endangered species and habitat 5
MSHCP – Murrieta Pros and Cons Cons Murrieta has more areas identified for conservation than many cities, due to Occupation of endangered species Suitable habitat for endangered species Mitigation resolved before land use approval Added mitigation fee for land development Linked to Measure “A” Funding City is now participant in the process and before we were not 6
MSHCP - Conservation Conservation Acreage Comparison 7 Western Riverside County Plan Acreage City of Murrieta Acreage Land needed for Reserve153,000 acres2,390 acres* Land Currently in Reserve44,000 acres670 acres * Midpoint range of 1,580 to 3,200
Projects Under the MSHCP 8
MSHCP – Murrieta Development Projects Work together withowners and developers and balance the MSHCP with individual project proposals Joint Project Review’s (JPR) Completed – 44 9
MSHCP – Infrastructure Benefits Murrieta Project Specific Examples Jackson Avenue Bridge Project Temporary Fire Station No. 5 Guava Street Bridge Meadowlark/Whitewood Phase 1 10
MSHCP – Infrastructure Benefits Developer Project Specific Examples Murrieta 18 Office Project Murrieta Market Place Loma Linda University Medical Center – 4 ac Parking Jefferson Business Center Ivy House Project 11
MSHCP – Single-Family Homes Existing Single-family homes are in the Plan Area Must comply with Zoning requirements Must comply with Zoning requirements Individual New Single-family homes can be built on a lot Expedited Review Process working with City staff Expedited Review Process working with City staff Improvement over prior process of working directly with the Federal and State Wildlife Agencies Improvement over prior process of working directly with the Federal and State Wildlife Agencies 12
Withdrawal Considerations 13
MSHCP – Potential Impact of Withdrawal Potential impacts to the County and other cities and participating Agencies Threat of the Wildlife Agencies pulling the Permit or parts of the Permit if Murrieta pulls out City would be subject to the Endangered Species Acts Single-family homes would be subject to the Endangered Species Acts and small property owners would need go through the same process as developers 14
MSHCP – Potential Impact of Withdrawal Development project and single-family home applications would return to the prior process Property owner and developer direct consultation with Wildlife Agencies City have no involvement in the process No CEQA coverage under MSHCP General Plan EIR for Biology would need to be redone Project by project review of infrastructure projects Circulation Element streets and ESA permits, as needed 15
MSHCP – Potential Impact of Withdrawal Project Specific Impacts Public infrastructure projects also would no longer benefit from “take” authorization (endangered species) or Plan coverage to allow development EIR may be required for key infrastructure projects EIR may be required for key infrastructure projects 16
Future Projects Processed Under the ESA North Murrieta Technology Corridor North of Hospital (land not within Golden City or Murrieta Highlands SP) North of Hospital (land not within Golden City or Murrieta Highlands SP) Along east City boundary (north of Clinton Keith Road) Along east City boundary (north of Clinton Keith Road) Baxter Road extension east Baxter Road extension east Keller Road Interchange (south side) Keller Road Interchange (south side) Keller Road extension east Keller Road extension east New Antelope New Antelope 17
Future Projects Processed Under the ESA South Murrieta Business Corridor Adams Avenue street improvements Adams Avenue street improvements Madison Avenue at Warm Springs Creek Madison Avenue at Warm Springs Creek Other Projects Murrieta Creek Project Murrieta Creek Project Casa del Oso Oro bridge widening Casa del Oso Oro bridge widening Central Murrieta Plans and Infrastructure Central Murrieta Plans and Infrastructure 18
Next Steps Prepare MSHCP Implementation Program 19
City Council Discussion 20
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MSHCP – Murrieta Development Projects JPR Breakdown (44 total) 3 Meet and Confer 3 Meet and Confer 0 Ad Hoc Committee with RCA Board 0 Ad Hoc Committee with RCA Board 11 Commercial development 11 Commercial development 14 Residential Subdivision 14 Residential Subdivision 3 Commercial Industrial Subdivisions 3 Commercial Industrial Subdivisions 2 Withdrawn 2 Withdrawn 1 No HANS application submitted to process 1 No HANS application submitted to process 22
Recommendation 23
MSHCP - History MSHCP Streamline Endangered Species Act (ESA) compliance Protect threatened and endangered species and their habitat (assembling wildlife reserve areas) Return local control to County and cities Provide certainty to developers project processes Provide certainty for infrastructure construction Provide habitat and open space for the future 24
MSHCP - Conservation Conservation Intent Conserve focus species and their habitats Conserve large habitat blocks and diversity Keep reserves contiguous and connected Protect reserves – encroachment and non-native species 25