Plan will protect habitat, streamline process for developers, agencies
Published in the Oct. 16, 2013 issue of Morgan Hill Life.
By Robert Airoldi
Photo by Robert Airoldi
Morgan Hill Mayor Steve Tate signs the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Conservation Plan earlier this month.
After more than a dozen years of planning, an agreement was signed earlier this month that launches the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Plan, a nearly 47,000-acre preservation area in South County.
The HCP will preserve land north of Anderson County Park. That preservation will ensure the protection of local animal and plant species.
“No matter how you feel, once you develop land it’s gone forever,” said Gilroy Mayor Don Gage, who was one of the officials from six different local government agencies who gathered atop Anderson Dam for the ceremony Oct. 3. “It’s very important we do this.”
Representatives of the Santa Clara County, the cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill and San Jose, as well as the Santa Clara Valley Water District and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, are members of the new SCVHCP, a joint powers authority created to administer the habitat.
The plan is both a habitat conservation plan and a natural conservation plan. It will help private and public entities plan and conduct projects in ways that lessen impacts on natural resources, including specific threatened and endangered species, according to a news release. It also will identify regional lands that will be preserved or restored to benefit those species.
“In providing a long-term, coordinated program for habitat restoration and conservation, the plan aims to enhance the viability of threatened and endangered species throughout Santa Clara Valley,” the release stated.
For landowners looking to develop land, the plan streamlines the permitting process by pre-identifying mitigation obligations. For private developers and public agencies, the plan offers a streamlined process for planned development, infrastructure, operations and maintenance activities, such as the wastewater treatment plant operated by Gilroy and Morgan Hill that is in need if expansion.
When complete, 46,920 acres of land will be permanently protected.
“It will reduce uncertainty for developers, enhance economic vitality and protect our environment,” said San Jose City Councilwoman Rose Herrera. “It’s not one or the other, it’s both.”
