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Home My WebLink About2011-06-28; City Council; 20614; PURCHASE GNATCATCHER CORE AREACITY OF CARLSBAD - AGENDA BILL 13 AB# MTG. DEPT. 20.614 6/28/22 PF.M AUTHORIZATION TO NEGOTIATE THE PURCHASE OF COUNTY GNATCATCHER CORE AREA CONSERVATION CREDITS DEPT. DIRECTOR (c^rtf CITY ATTY. r/f CITY MGR. /\jJ RECOMMENDED ACTION: Adopt Resolution No. 2011-159 ., authorizing the City Manager or Designee to negotiate the purchase of County Gnatcatcher Core Area Conservation Credits. ITEM EXPLANATION: The City of Carlsbad's Habitat Management Plan (HMP) was approved on November 9, 2004. As part of the HMP, the City is obligated to conserve 307.6 acres of high quality coastal sage scrub in an area designated as the "County Gnatcatcher Core Area" as a regional conservation requirement. The City has satisfied 264.58 acres of the requirement through mitigation of public and private projects, including the purchase of 50.13 acres of conservation credits at the Alemir property in January, 2011. A total of 43.02 acres of mitigation credits is still required to meet the City's obligation under the HMP. Per the Implementing Agreement, the City is required to secure the remaining 43.02 acres of conservation credits by 2054. This Gnatcatcher Core Area conservation has traditionally taken the form of both property acquisition, and provision of additional funding for long term management and monitoring of the conserved lands. The US Fish and Wildlife Service approached the City with a unique opportunity to purchase conservation credits through only the provision of funds for long term management and monitoring of an existing property, without the need for property acquisition. The area of proposed conservation credit is located within the Multiple Habitat Conservation Program (MHCP) Gnatcatcher Core Area adjacent to the southeastern City boundary. Formerly known as the Perkins property, the land is now owned by The Conservation Fund, a non-profit organization that facilitates conservation and preservation of natural open space lands. According to US Fish and Wildlife, a total of 30.09 acres of conservation credit is available for the funding of long term management and monitoring of the 154 acre property at a purchase price of $868,302. The terms of payment, which could possibly be made annually over a four year period, and timing for receipt of the conservation credits, have yet to be finally negotiated and will be included in the agreement. Because the current opportunity represents substantial savings, staff is recommending pursuing this opportunity at this time. The City Manager or Designee will return with an agreement between US Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Game, and The Conservation Fund to purchase 30.09 acres of MHCP Gnatcatcher Core Area conservation credits at The Conservation Fund property, and request funding at that time. DEPARTMENT CONTACT: Michael Grim 760-602-4623 mike.arim@carlsbadca.gov FOR CITY CLERKS USE ONLY. COUNCIL ACTION: APPROVED DENIED WITHDRAWN AMENDED Dn D CONTINUED TO DATE SPECIFIC CONTINUED TO DATE UNKNOWN RETURNED TO STAFF COUNCIL RECEIVED THE REPORT/PRESENTATION OTHER -SEE MINUTES D D Page 2 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT: The proposed action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3)"General Rule", as it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment. FISCAL IMPACT: The City's HMP Mitigation Fee was created in 2005 to fund the Gnatcatcher Core Area conservation requirement. The fee study at that time estimated the cost of conservation to be $49,500 per acre, or $1,489,455 for 30.09 acres. Therefore, the current proposal from US Fish and Wildlife, at a cost of $868,302, represents a 42 percent savings over the originally estimated cost. In January, 2011, the City purchased 50.13 acres of conservation credits at the Alemir property. There were not sufficient funds available in the HMP Mitigation Fund at that time, so an advance was made from the General Fund in the amount of $230,755. The City's purchase price for the 30.09 acres of conservation credit is $868,302. Subsequent to the purchase made in January, the City collected additional Mitigation fees from development, and there is a current balance of $92,781 available in the fund. Therefore, an additional advance is needed in the amount of $775,521. With this additional advance, the total owed to the General Fund from the HMP Mitigation Fee fund will be $1,006,276. Estimates for future development revenues total approximately $1.7 million coming in over the next 20 years, and will be sufficient to repay the two advances. Table of Conservation Credit Purchases January 2011 Alemir purchase Advance from General Fund Current proposed purchase Advance from General Fund Total cost of purchases Paid from available funds Total General Fund Advance Acres 50.13 30.09 80.22 Funding $ 1,354,237 $ 230,755 $ 868,302 $ 775,521 $ 2,222,539 $ 1,216,263 $ 1,006,276 Cost per Acre $ 27,015 $ 28,857 $ 27,706 EXHIBITS: 1 . Resolution No. 2011-159 authorizing the City Manager or Designee to negotiate the purchase of County Gnatcatcher Core Area Conservation Credits. 1 RESOLUTION NO. 2011-159 2 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, AUTHORIZING THE CITY 3 MANAGER OR DESIGNEE TO NEGOTIATE THE , PURCHASE OF COUNTY GNATCATCHER CORE AREA CONSERVATION CREDITS. 5 WHEREAS, the City is obligated to conserve 307.6 acres of high quality coastal 6 sage scrub within the MHCP Gnatcatcher Core Area as a requirement pursuant to the 7 its Habitat Management Plan which was approved by the City Council on November 9, 8 9 2004; and, 10 WHEREAS, the City has fulfilled 264.58 acres of this MHCP Gnatcatcher Core 11 Area conservation requirement; and, 12 WHEREAS, out The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed that the City 13 fund long term management and monitoring of property within the MHCP Gnatcatcher 14 Core Area owned by The Conservation Fund to receive 30.09 acres conservation credit; and, 16 WHEREAS, the purchase price of this conservation credit is $868,302; and, 17 WHEREAS, the City's cost for MHCP Gnatcatcher Core Area conservation is 18 funded by revenue from the HMP Mitigation Fee fund; and 20 WHEREAS, the HMP Mitigation Fee fund currently has $92,781 available for this 21 purchase; and, 22 WHEREAS, $775,521 would need to be advanced from the General Fund to the 23 HMP Mitigation Fee fund to complete the purchase; and, WHEREAS, the General Fund has sufficient funds to loan for acquisition of said 25 conservation credits, and the loan would be repaid with future Mitigation Fee revenues. 26 // 27 28 1 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of 2 Carlsbad, California, as follows that: 1. The above recitations are true and correct. 4 2. That the City Manager or Designee is authorized to negotiate with US Fish 5 and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Game, and The6 Conservation Fund on behalf of the City, and return with an agreement for the transfer of real property conservation credits for 30.09 acres of MHCP 9 Gnatcatcher Core Area. 10 // 11 // 12 „ 13 // 14 15 16 17 18 " 19 // 20 // 21 // 22 „ 23 24 25 26 27 28 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED at a Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City of Carlsbad on the 28th day of June 2011, by the following vote to wit: AYES: Council Members Hall, Kulchin, Blackburn, Douglas. NOES: None. ABSENT: Council Member Packard. RAINE M. WOOD, City Clerk (SEAL) Authorization to Negotiate the gPurchase of HMP Conservation CreditsCreditsAgendaBill#20 614Agenda Bill # 20,614David Hauser, Director PEMJune 28, 2011 BackgroundBackground•HMP Approved in 2004lii•Implementing Agreement requirement:–Total of 307.6 acres of coastal sage scrub by 2054–264.58 acres completed–43.02 acres remaining CurrentOpportunityCurrent Opportunity•To secure additional conservation creditsUSFWShdCittffiM2011–USFWS approached City staff in May 2011–30.09 acres$–Purchase price is $868,302 –Paid over 4 years SAN MARCOSCarlsbadPreserveSA N ELIJO Carlsbad's Contribution Toward the MHCP California Gnatcatcher Core AreaS.D.COUNTYCarlsbadORDE L F IN FOREST RDSSaann MMaarrccooss CCrreeeekkCARLSBADCarlsbadPreserveRDS.D.COUNTYPerkinsPropertyRANCHO SANTA FE RENCINITASJ:\Requests2010Plus\PropEnviron\Stormwater\4631647_11 StaffAnalysisStaff Analysis•2006feeprogramprojections=$49 500/acre2006 fee program projections = $49,500/acre•Proposed cost = $28,857/acre 42%i–42% savings•Mitigation Fee Fund–($230,755) liability•Advance from the General Fund –Estimated at $775,000 StaffRecommendationStaff Recommendation•AdoptResolutionNo2011‐159Adopt Resolution No. 2011159 Thank you !