County Plans and Regulations Providing Conservation Benefits at Multiple Scales

• Author: Rebecca L. Kihslinger/James M. Mcelfish Jr.
• Pages: 105-106

Explanation of Chapters Seven to Nine

County Plans and Regulations Providing

Conservation Benef‌its at Multiple Scales

The second set of case studies focuses on local government land use planning

and growth management actions. The three counties prof‌iled here demonstrate

the variety of tools—from comprehensive land use plans, zoning, and overlay

zoning to Habitat Conservation Planning under the Endangered Species Act

(ESA)—that can be employed to achieve habitat conservation objectives.

Chapter Seven

Eastern Contra Costa County, California: Habitat Conservation Planning

for Future Development (174,000 acres)

Contra Costa County, California, is undergoing rapid development from the

San Francisco Bay area, and has prepared a Habitat Conservation Plan

(HCP)/Natural Community Conservation Plan for the eastern part of the county

under the federal ESA, the California ESA, and the California Natural Com-

munity Conservation Planning Act. The plan aims to streamline the endangered

species permitting process through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the

California Department of Fish and Game, while providing a framework for mak-

ing local development decisions in the context of a regional HCP for the county.

The plan proposes to address approximately 13,000 acres of impacts to lands

in a 174,000-acre planning area and identif‌ies a preserve system of between

23,800 and 30,300 acres of land to be connected to regional conservation lands

for the benef‌it of 28 special-status species. The permittees are also working

with the relevant agencies to develop a regional permit for impacts to juris-

dictional wetlands and waters.

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