COUNTY OF SAN MATEO Inter-Departmental Correspondence
PLANNING AND BUILDING DEPARTMENT
DATE:			January 26, 2009
BOARD MEETING DATE:			February 10, 2009
SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:			10 days, within 300 feet
VOTE REQUIRED:			Majority
TO:		Honorable Board of Supervisors
FROM:		Lisa Grote, Director of Community Development
SUBJECT:		EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Consideration of a request to accept and record a Habitat Easement, as required by a Conditional Use Permit condition of approval for a telecommunications tower farm located on San Bruno Mountain, in the unincorporated Brisbane area of San Mateo County.
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt a resolution authorizing the acceptance and recordation of a Habitat Easement, consistent with the San Bruno Mountain Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) of 1982 and subsequent updates.
VISION ALIGNMENT
Commitment: The proposed project keeps the commitment of “Preserving and providing people access to our natural environment.” Accepting the Habitat Easement will preserve the open space character of the subject parcel for the foreseeable future.
Goals 13 and 14: The proposed project achieves Goal 13: “Fix the boundary between open space and development to protect the quality of the natural environment.” This proposal contributes to this commitment as it preserves open space and serves to protect habitat in an environmentally sensitive area. The proposed project also achieves Goal 14: “Important natural resources are preserved and enhanced through environmental stewardship.” This proposal contributes to this goal by restricting the existing telecommunications related uses of the property to their current locations.
BACKGROUND
Proposal: The applicant has requested a renewal of the Use Permit to allow continued operation of a telecommunications facility on San Bruno Mountain. A review of the Conditions of Approval from the last renewal, July 2000, identified an outstanding condition that required the applicant to dedicate a habitat easement to the County for all lands which are outside the existing and proposed development areas. This particular condition was derived from the 1982 San Bruno Mountain Habitat Conservation Plan’s Radio Ridge management unit section.
As this particular condition has been included in several permit renewals without compliance, staff required that the applicant comply with the outstanding condition prior to the Use Permit Renewal and public hearing before the Zoning Hearing Officer. The applicant has coordinated with the Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) coordinator, TRA Environmental Sciences, Inc., to formulate the required habitat easement in accordance with goals and objectives of the HCP.
DISCUSSION
A number of rare and endangered species have been identified on San Bruno Mountain. While the dominant vegetation community found on the mountain is coastal scrub/ chaparral, with smaller areas of grassland intermixed, there are also several rare plant species, including two State of California listed endangered plants, Montara Mt. manzanita and Pacific manzanita. In addition, the presence of endangered butterflies and the necessary habitat in which to support them are also present. In order to increase the butterfly’s chance of survival and to protect sensitive habitats, the HCP identified specific methods and policies to be implemented. The granting of the habitat easement was one of the specific requirements identified by the San Bruno Mountain Habitat Conservation Plan Steering Committee as a means to protect the largely undeveloped ridge top area. The recordation of the habitat easement, in conjunction with the policies of the HCP, will limit the future development to the already disturbed areas of the parcel and thereby protect the surrounding sensitive habitat.
FISCAL IMPACT
None.