Development Can Still Increase Threefold Under Coachella Valley Habitat Plan

Editorial, Palm Springs Desert Sun, around September 9, 2007
http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007709090309

After more than 12 years in the planning stages, the Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan is ready to be adopted. Approval means smart development and land conservation can commence without confusion - everyone will be on the same page.

Unfortunately, Desert Hot Springs did not join in time and will not be included in the plan before its scheduled adoption. The plan, however, can be amended to include DHS later. City leaders should work vigorously to ensure DHS is included in the overall plan.

"This is important for habitat and will focus development on the valley floor," said John Wohlmuth, executive director of the Coachella Valley Association of Governments. "It will assist in planning our community for a long time."

We couldn't agree more. The $1.8 billion plan increases the amount of land set aside for conservation, expedites road projects for better transportation and allows enough development for the population of the valley to triple to 1.1 million people, effectively allowing us to control how we grow.

In addition, the plan outlines a fee structure, so developers will have certainty on their side before starting a project. They'll pay the fee and get their permits.

The development impact fee is $5,370 per acre for commercial and industrial projects. The residential fee is based on a sliding scale related to density, which could work out to about $1,200 per new single-family home.

Development impact fee money will provide about 50 percent of the money needed to purchase more land for conservation.

The other half will come from state and federal contributions.

Over the next 30 years, the Coachella Valley Conservation Commission will buy 180,000 acres at fair market value from private owners whose property falls within protected multispecies habitat. The property surrounds the valley floor, for the most part, and includes hillsides and some unforgiving desolate areas, as well as areas along fault lines. (Private owners do not have to sell, but can only develop 10 percent of their land under the plan.)

That land, plus 60,000 acres of conservation habitat that has already been purchased will ensure 240,000 acres of protected land.

Development can still increase three fold because more than 180,000 acres remain for new development in the Coachella Valley.

Ultimately, the reserve system will amount to a total of 745,000 acres, which includes purchased land and land already owned by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

Although some cities were initially skeptical and opponents viewed the plan as a "land grab," it appears compromise and common sense has won. This plan, which keeps control on the local level, saves developers from the nightmare of wading through bureaucratic red tape from the state and feds in relation to the endangered species act, and that goes for road projects as well.

It also protects our beautiful valley and the special heritage of the desert.

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A response from one reader:

How uninformed can any editor be? Either you are uninformed or a puppet for the building industry. Just last week, the D.C. Court decision in Spirit of the Sage Council et al v. U.S. Secretary Kempthorne said that across the board Habitat Conservation Plans do not conserve or promote recovery of the species. However, the conditions of the HCP can be legally challenged. The San Diego District Court, in Center for Biological Diversity v. Bartel, decided that the Habitat Conservation Plan itself must provide for conservation and can not give No Surprises assurance to developers without causing harm to the endangered species. Surely, this Habitat Con Plan will also be litigated! The text of the Endangered Species Act, states that the permit applicant must pay for the plan and its implementation. Why should the state or federal government use taxpayers money subsidize a development plan that only leads to the majority of endangered species to be killed and habitat destroyed?
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For more information on the Coachella Valley plan, go to http://www.cvmshcp.org/

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Feds Cough Up $$ for Coachella Valley Land

Government Patching Up Public Lands

http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=116&sid=1236674

http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/info/newsroom/2007/september/CDDNews0745_scarlett_FLTFA_rollout.html

August 31, 2007 - 6:57pm By JOHN HEILPRIN
Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - The government is buying 9,000 acres in seven Western states, the first such purchases under a 2000 law intended to help land managers patch up fragmented national parks, forests, refuges and other public lands. Among the 19 places being purchased for $18 million from private landowners are lands around the Coachella Valley in California, the North Platte River in Wyoming, the Santa Fe River in New Mexico and the Snake River in Idaho. Other states where the government is buying lands under this program are Arizona, Colorado and Oregon. The lands will be added to those overseen by the Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service, all part of the Interior Department, and by the Forest Service, part of the Agriculture Department. Officials say the purchases also will help protect bighorn sheep, desert tortoises and other species, along with recreation and cultural resources like hiking trails and prehistoric rock paintings.

Approximately $850,000 of these funds are going toward the acquisition of the 321 acres in the Joshua Hills being added to the Preserve as part of a phased acquisition to provide critical linkage between the Preserve, a BLM Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), and Joshua Tree National Park.

"What we're increasingly trying to do is to create unfragmented landscapes, and this will help do that," Deputy Interior Secretary Lynn Scarlett said in an interview Friday. Congress established the fund in 2000 to buy private "inholdings" from people willing to sell lands to the government that are surrounded by or next to public ranges, forests, parks or refuges managed by those four agencies. It also authorized those agencies to sell fragmented or isolated parcels that are difficult to manage or other lands close to urban areas that might be better used and valuable for residential or commercial developments. In 2000, BLM identified 3.3 million acres that could be sold off under the program. It manages almost 260 million acres in 12 Western states _ about one-eighth of the land in the United States. BLM figures show that it has raised nearly $95 million from such sales so far, about half of it in Nevada. Of that money, 80 percent by law must be used to buy other public lands; the other 20 percent can be used for BLM administrative costs. But the Bush administration, eyeing the possibility of $350 million in BLM land sales, has proposed amending the law to let the government use most of the money for deficit reduction, according to The Wilderness Society, an advocacy group. Scarlett urged Congress to reauthorize the 2000 Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act, which is set to expire in 2010. "It allows us to actually acquire lands for the purposes that the public land agencies exist," she said. "It just uncomplicates matters for them."

Land dedicated to Fringe-toed Lizard Preserve

Michelle Mitchell • The Desert Sun • September 5, 2007

http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007709050316

More than 300 acres of land was dedicated Tuesday to the Coachella Valley Fringe-toed Lizard Preserve.

The 321-acre parcel is part of an 8,880-acre acquisition that serves as a wildlife movement corridor between the preserve and Joshua Tree National Park.

"To me, the biggest part of this is the wildlife corridor that it creates," said Kathy Dice, state parks superintendent for the Salton Sea sector. "It keeps the whole (animal) population healthier."

Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior Lynn Scarlett was on hand for the dedication and said the area is a priority for conservation.

This is "not conservation for a moment, but conservation for an age," Scarlett said.

The $26 million purchase was funded through local, state, federal and nonprofit funding.

The first steps have been taken to classify a 5,000-acre portion of the preserve as a state park, Dice said.

Buford Crites, vice president of the nonprofit group Friends of the Desert Mountains, said conservation efforts such as this are going to set the Coachella Valley apart from other areas suffering from urban sprawl.

The Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard permit, which allows valley growth while providing protection for the threatened lizard, conditionally was extended until March.

If approved by valley cities and agencies, the broader Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Plan will replace the fringe-toed lizard permit and protect the lizard as well as 26 other species.

The Coachella Valley Association of Governments and Coachella Valley Conservation Commission will consider the multi-species plan in a special meeting Monday.

FOR MORE INFO: http://www.coachellavalleypreserve.org/

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Lone Holdout in Coachella Valley Wildlife Plan Changes Mind

http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070711/NEWS07/707110315

Desert Hot Springs may sign on to habitat plan, 7-11-07

By Denise Goolsby and Mariecar Mendoza • The Desert Sun

The Desert Hot Springs City Council voted Tuesday to work with the Coachella Valley Association of Governments on a regional plan it originally rejected that is designed to balance environmental needs and the area's growth.

The council voted 3-1, with Councilwoman Mary Stephens dissenting and Councilman Hank Hohenstein absent, to work with CVAG and the Coachella Valley Conservation Commission to join the long-planned Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan.

"We chose not to participate and it is now my firm belief for the betterment of the community as a whole that the city must, in good faith, negotiate," Councilwoman Yvonne Parks said. "It's in the best interest of the city and its economic future."

Councilwoman Mary Stephens was not as enthusiastic.

"I have a problem with this," she said. "I don't like the idea of this being last-minute."

Seven developers and residents spoke at the meeting, many opposing the move.

Desert Hot Springs was the only valley city not to join the plan last year, citing concerns that it would not be able to move forward with two projects - a golf resort and a possible College of the Desert campus.

Since then, CVAG has revised the multi-species plan without the city and plans to have it fully approved sometime this fall.

The 75-year conservation plan would protect 240,000 acres of open space for 27 endangered and threatened species - including the Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard and Peninsular bighorn sheep - while still allowing the valley's population to nearly triple to 1.1 million by build-out in 2066.

The current plan that is set to expire next month protects the lizard but not the other species.

John Wohlmuth, executive director of CVAG, said he's worked with the city for the past week and a half to draft the Memorandum of Understanding the council discussed Tuesday.

CVAG's position has been, "Does Desert Hot Springs want to participate in the plan and, if so, how can we help them in the future," Wohlmuth said.

The agreement's proposed conditions include:

A major plan amendment to include Desert Hot Springs.

The county's support of Desert Hot Springs' proposed annexations.

A follow-up agreement to address the potential development of a College of the Desert campus on Palm Drive on county land.

The formal agreement is expected to come before the City Council on Aug. 7.

The city's initial opposition was tied to its aspirations to develop Palmwood Golf Club, a 2,114-acre project off Indian Avenue and Highway 62 that would include two golf courses, a 400-room hotel and 1,800 homes.

The Riverside County Local Agency Formation Commission, which has annexation authority, approved Desert Hot Springs' annexation of land for the Palmwood Golf Club in April.

After the approval, many agencies challenged the decision. In May, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club sued the agency.

The two environmental groups claim the commission violated provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act by annexing the land and is jeopardizing the multi-species plan.

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Judge Halts Chino Canyon Grading in Palm Springs

http://saveourmountains.com/

Palm Springs, May 16, 2007

Superior Court Judge Harold Hopp issued a preliminary injunction today to prevent Shadowrock from grading in the heart of Chino Canyon. The Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity asked the Court to enjoin the developer from grading until the court could rule on their lawsuit claiming that the City of Palm Springs had illegally extended the Shadowrock Development Agreement.

The Court agreed with the Sierra Club and the Center, finding that there was a likelihood they would prevail, and that if grading were to proceed, the damage to Chino Canyon would be irreparable. The ruling protects Chino Canyon and the voter's right of referendum.

According to D. Wayne Brechtel, Sierra Club legal counsel, "Shadowrock was hoping to do some grading so that it could claim it had vested its development rights and no longer needed the ten-year extension that is scheduled for a public vote this November. The court put the brakes on the ill-advised plan and put Shadowrock on notice that it cannot circumvent the court's jurisdiction or the voter's right of referendum."

Last spring, by a 3-2 vote the Palm Springs City Council narrowly approved a 10 year extension of the already 13-year old Shadowrock Development Agreement. Immediately, Save Our Mountains collected enough signatures to refer the decision to the voters of Palm Springs. The election will take place on November 6.

Jono Hildner, Chair of Save Our Mountains and head of the "NO on Shadowrock" campaign said, "Today the Court recognized that beginning to grade the site was an end run by Shadowrock to avoid the will of the people. This decision is an important victory for all who want to preserve Chino Canyon and ensure that the citizens get to exercise their right to say NO to this devastating project."

"We are looking forward to the vote in November," says Hildner, "where it will become crystal clear to the City that residents care for the scenic beauty and environment of the Chino Canyon and will go to the ballot and say NO to the kind of reckless development allowed in the Shadowrock Development Agreement."