To: Board of Supervisors General Government Committee
From: Supervisor Brown and Supervisor Gjerde
Meeting Date: July 10, 2017
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Department Contact: |
Supervisors Brown and Gjerde |
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463-4441 |
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CEO Resource/ Contact: |
Kenneth Spain |
Phone: |
463-4441 |
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Time Allocated for Item: 30 min |
Agenda Title:
title
Discussion and Possible Direction to Staff Regarding Regulations Pertaining to Conservation Easements, Records Retention, and Oversights
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Recommendation:
recommendation
Provide direction to staff regarding regulations pertaining to conservation easements, records retention, and oversights.
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Previous Board/Board Committee Actions:
On June 20, 2017, the Board of Supervisors referred this issue to the General Government Committee. The County of Mendocino applied for and was awarded a grant from the Department of Conservation Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program. Further action was taken to have the grant administered by the Mendocino County Resource and Conservation District.
Summary of Referral:
Supervisor Carre Brown attended the Mendocino County Core Planning Team meeting for the Department of Conservation Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program (SALCP) grant awarded to the County of Mendocino and administered by the Mendocino County Resource and Conservation District. The grant, in the amount of $93,400, is to be expended on the creation of the sustainable agricultural land strategy plan for the County (Attachment 1). Part of the strategy is to assess current protections of agricultural lands by the County and to develop recommendations to implement Mendocino County General Plan’s Agricultural Resource Policies. At the May 31 meeting the Core Planning Team reviewed the work plan for the grant agreement and discussed a strategy for further completing the grant tasks.
One topic discussed at the meeting was on recorded conservation easements on property and the need to provide the County’s permitting departments with a procedure to follow when considering approval of development permits on property with a recorded easement. Mendocino County General Plan Policy RM 32 states that it is necessary to use conservation and open space easements among other tools to:
• Protect, restore and enhance significant resource values.
• Reduce premature conversion of resource lands in and around community areas.
• Provide linkages between natural resource areas.
To enact the County Policy it is important that permitting departments work to ensure that the conservation values and measures described in conservation easements on specific parcels are maintained in perpetuity. Currently, the Assessor’s Office data system does not provide information readily available on understanding the specific terms and conditions on conservation easements.
The General Government Standing Committee is directed by the County Board of Supervisor to develop a recommendation to implement a notification procedure for all permitting departments to follow when a conservation easement is found to be legally recorded on a parcel with the Assessor’s Office before issuance of any develop permit.
Supplemental Information Available Online at: N/A
Fiscal Impact:
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Source of Funding: Unknown |
Budgeted in Current F/Y: Unknown |
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Current F/Y Cost: Unknown |
Annual Recurring Cost: Unknown |
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Supervisorial District: All |
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CEO Liaison: Kenny Spain, Administrative Analyst |
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CEO Review: Yes |
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Comments: