East Contra Costa County, California: Habitat Conservation Plan/Natural Community Conservation Plan

• Author: Rebecca L. Kihslinger/James M. Mcelfish Jr.
• Pages: 107-132

chapter seven

East Contra Costa County, California:

Habitat Conservation Plan/Natural

Community Conservation Plan

Contra Costa County is located just east of the San Francisco Bay and Oak-

land, California, and north of Alameda County. The county was historically

agricultural and includes prominent publicly owned open space features such

as Mount Diablo, but has experienced rapid development as population

increased in the East Bay area. The county,with a 2000 population of 948,000,

and including such population centers as Antioch, Concord, and Richmond, is

expected to grow by 127,000 people by 2025.1Although 35% of Contra Costa

County’s potential conservation greenbelt lands are already permanently pro-

tected, 82,200 of the county’s 462,400 acres currently have a high probability

of development. A signif‌icant portion of this population growth is expected in

the eastern portion of the county, currently characterized by rural land uses and

substantial open space.

In response to a growing concern over the rapid pace of development,endan-

gered species listings, and the cumulative loss of habitat for native species, the

county and four of the eastern county cities began work on a habitat conser-

vation plan/natural community conservation plan (HCP/NCCP) in 1999. (See

Fig. 7.1.) The purpose of the plan is to provide a coordinated regional approach

to regulatory requirements concerning the conservation of species listed as

threatened or endangered under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA)

and the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the conservation of those

species habitat as well. The plan aims to streamline the endangered species

permitting process through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and Cal-

ifornia Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), while providing a framework

for making 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

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between 23,800 and 30,300 acres of land to be connected to regional conser-

vation 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

jurisdictional wetlands and waters.

HCPs

The ESA prohibits the “taking” (killing or harming) of species that are listed

as “endangered” or “threatened” under the law or any activities that destroy

the habitat necessary for their survival.2However, in 1982, Congress amended

§10 of the Act to allow incidental take of species. The amendment allows the

FWS and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s)

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to permit in advance activities that

may “take” protected species provided the taking is the result of otherwise law-

ful activity and that the impacts are minimized and mitigated to the maximum

extent practicable.3In order to receive an incidental take permit,applicants must

108 nature friendly land use practices at multiple scales

Figure 7.1 East Contra Costa County HCP/NCCP Plan Area. With permission from the

Contra Costa County Community Development Department.