Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/14/1995, 1 Presentation Slides (may be out of order)SEI-71NG A GOAL FOR SUSTAINABILITY AND INCORPORATING NATURAL HABITAT CONSERVATION INTO THE PLANNING PROCESS -PROLOGUE- SUSTAINABLE NON -SUSTAINABLE 0 Which of these Decision- a inn? Models will the City of San Luis Obispo Follow? "LAST MAY, WE SET OUT TO TAKE ANOTHER'BOLD STEP BY ADOPTING; SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AS A LIFESTYLE, AS THE CENTER OF OUR D R!-TO-DAY DECISION- MAKING 13" Jose G.laria Rr,,u:scz, President of Costa Rica, Sept. S4. "ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ARE INDISSOLUBLE ELEMENTS OF THE SAME QUESTION. THE ONLY HOPE FOR CHANGE IS THAT, SOONER OR LATER, EVEN THE RICHEST IN THE WORLD WILL BE EFFECTED BY SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION. THEREFORE, AS ALWAYS IN THE PAST, REASON WILL BE IMPOSED BY DESPAIR AND NOT AS A TIMELY, PROGRESSIVE AND VOLUNTARY DECISION." Marc J. Dourojeanni, Chief, Environmental Division, Inter -American Development Bank "fan 'Luis Obispo should be a well balanced comr,riu.;rL,dty. Environmental, social, and economic factors must be taken into account on important decisions about Sank Luis Obis po's future. A healthy econo f, tniy depends on a health' environment. `Protection of the environment will depend on a - I h economy to pay for it. The social fabric of the community for both residents and visitors must also be part of that balance." -Cover Sheet for ESTF Vision Statement- (1) Recognize Valuable Ecosystems Within Existing City Control (a) Creeks and Riparian Habitats. (b) Wetlands Other Than Creeks. (c) Serpentine Habitats. (d) Valley Foraging Habitats as Grasslands and Grazing Lands. (e) Oak Woodlands, Scrublands, and Hillside Grassland and Chaparral. (f) Wildlife Migration Corridors. (a) Creeks and Riparian Habitats • Provide humans shade and beauty • Provide migration corridors for animals • Provide shelter for breeding and nesting birds • Provide shelter for amphibians, reptiles and mammals • Provide animals their sources of food, • Are habitat for water dwelling creatures. The issues:• • Setbacks, • Protection of flows, • Instream flow needs • Removal of exotic plant species (for example German ivy and giant reed) and • Removal of debris and flood control. • Protection of ephemeral streams • Access and disturbance (b) wethHii(ls )Vier TIi,,—M CreelCs ® South Side of the So<<:th street f tills, ® Tank Farm Road area, ® Upstream of Lagt na La►�e ® Around Froom Creek. Other valuable wetlands are partly protected, including those bearing listed plant species at Lagu ii a Lake Park. The city should consider creating some wetlands in association with its water treatment needs. (C) Serpeiithie Habitats The serpentine hills around San Luis Obispo offer one of the rarest habitats in North America relative to soils and the plants that the soils support. (d) galley Foraging Habitats as Grasslands and Grazing Lands. As valley grasslands are underlain by rich soils, they once supported the greatest abundancies of life. They are the default environment for development in the past and present. The city should endeavor to retain some grasslands as part of the open space to maintain as high a biodiversity as possible. (e) Oak Woodlands, Scrublands, and Hillside Grassland and Chaparral. Many of these habitats are relatively undisturbed by man, due to their inaccessibility, their steepness, and relatively low impacts from cattle (f) Wildlife migration corridors The most commonly overlooked aspect of habitat conservation is wildlife corridor, usually because values of the corridor lie beyond boundaries of the section of land being evaluated. the the the In a few decades the Irish Hills and Morros could be as isolated as the Palos Verdes Peninsula. We must prevent the genetic isolation of populations. Planners can maintain corridors by preventing strip developments that acts as a barriers, and by providing a limited number of opportunities for wildlife to cross major transportation routes. This is consistent with the "Green Belt" concept. �Hghway lol There should be no further through the water expansion of the city waters gap at Cuesta Park. The watershed above this point should through a count" _ be managed g unty city -landowner M®U full compensation to lan � with downers to maintain the existing building densities and existingland uses. The north -South corridor for wildlif through the Santa Lucia Mountains starts at this point and continues to Santa M attempt should be ma Margarita. Some de to mitigate the barrier effect caused by Highwa 1 habitat in b Y 01. Serpentine the lulls flanking the water valley grassland ha bi tat b gap' and etween the base of the Cuesta Grade and the Cues should al to Park water gap so be protected. Highway One Management will require annexation or city/county MOU with landowner approval and compensation. The southernmost east -west wildlife corridor crosses Highway 1 around the famous old Mail Pouch barn, connecting Bishop Peak habitat to that of the Santa Lucia Mountains via Cal Poly lands. Development of lands under County jurisdiction and the Men's Colony are producing a barrier effect further to the west, and the same developments are also disturbing the open space aspects of the Green Belt. It is, therefore, critical to maintain a hard edge at the present city limit, to contiguously cluster (cf. the county's scattered cluster) any building beyond the limit, and to maintain broad open areas around any clusters. There is still room for high density housing adjacent to Poly. and south of the Highway 1-Highland Avenue entrance. I,ands bet`�/een Higliwab�s 1 1()1 4. Sensitive serpentine habitat behind Cal Poly should remain in native vegetation. The high _ quality grasslands between Cal Poly, and the cRange should be managed Santa Lucia Ray for high biodiversity, and will require a Cit -Count - Ca1Pol 1vI0U. y Y y Livestock and crop management practices at Cal Poly should be changed to enhance and protect the watershed of upper San Luis Obispo Creek pp p , especially in the riparian corridors of Bnzziolari and Stenner Creeks. There is room for further development b Cal Polythe i p Y in region on of the old airfield at Cal Poly. Particular attention should be given to Corral de Piedra Creek and its ecosystem. This could become the central part of a southern east -west corridor across the valley. A northern east -west corridor can still be protected through the rapidly developing zone south of the airport, with the corridor passing to the north of Country Club Estates. Southern Edge, There is an extensive and lightly developed corridor along Davenport Creek that extends in width to the north side of Buckley Road. The open nature of this corridor should be maintained through a county -city MOU approved by adjacent landowners. Lot line adjustment and clustering should be used. The riparian and grassland connection with the South Street Hills should be protected by the City immediately to prevent total isolation from the southern habitats. .aye` - .. ,t .�.•.�,t::. , \, � P \\\ �" .,,ram \\\\\\\ \\\\`\\ �' �\\,� 7�\,�r\\ � �• •� tom\ �1,' ,�F•' \'. \�•, �, _\' 1.; •',.�', :.,. \ t: NZ ONN \\ \\ wo law / �� � �r � '•✓ `.. � vim•'• of tg\\gg� XX 61 IN ON NO \\ \\\' ,• � ,� � ,',,s�=,• µ •fit: .• .,\.` e - Y ••,\\\ \\ ��. ��.`•;�i �i ,, �' • l,! fir.: r" '';r'N,'r. p.. 0 , io kW nR g, NV VIV It. IV \ \ \ \ \ \ \ `� �1• •} I..\ NX An V, 0 , \'� \` 'I 1. \ \\` \`\\ IS, E N\ V\1 4Z .......... �N N X\\\\ O Y XN \x AN • \\\ \\\ \\ \ \\ ` \• \ •\ \\• `� \\ .J V% V W\ A M, NO �.ON N PP NO it Oil x 'A 01 0. Ir 2o, % IN .......... el� V,1 `%Fri� all Bull z C) cc 0 (2) Establish Political Control*: (a) Develop a Joint Powers MOU with the County and Landowners,, (b) Clarify in advance the terms and conditions for a program for the annexation of lands to Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) . (c) Develop a program and funding mechanism for acquisition of lands for conservation purposes. *Nothing can be done without either annexation or a joint powers MOU with the county as to zoning and land management around the city. As it presently stands, the green belt concept offered in the Fall 1992 Open Space document has no legal standing. (2) POLITICAL CONTROL The city should convene a series of planning conferences with la ndowners, city planning staff, and county planning staff to agree on areas that might be considered for either a joint powers planning vehicle or annexation. This would address the 'revenue -neutral' requirement of the county relative to annexation of its territory, the relationship of those lands to existing city land use plans and to county land use zoning, the �Issessment of landowner desires, and the consideration of compensation for perceived or real take through land use change. The conference could initiate research into vehicles such as TDC's, lot line adjustment, purchase of conservation easements or other methods to achieve results mutually beneficial to the residents of San Luis Obispo and to the landowners. Consultation with LAFCO should continue concurrently with the conferences. (3) Develop a Meaningful Conservation Element with "Teeth" (a) Do a preliminary habitat assessment at primary wildlife corridor points around the city. (b) Develop a master plan'that contains a meaningful conservation element that will 'stick'. (One general plan amendment in the center of a wildlife corridor can shut the door on the entire corridor.) (1) the city and the county develop an Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and a Joint Master Plan for the city fringe areas, or (2) the city obtains control of those lands by annexation. (It is city policy that lands may be annexed to this end.) The residents of the city are concerned about sprawl, and have expressed this concern at the polls (through initiatives, measures, etc.) If sprawl is not a viable option for a majority of citizens, the alternative use of the land as some sort of open space is characterized by many conflicts of values. For example: Should housing be concentrated in clusters or should it be absent? Should existing underlying lots be utilized in their present configurations, or should either Transfer of Development Credits (TDC's) or lot line adjustment be used to remove building rights from certain areas? How much of an open space acreage can be devoted to golf course or other recreational uses, how much remain in agriculture? The disciplines of ecology, economics and planning should be used as the tools that help guarantee sustainable, long term ecological and economic health' _ within -'the San Luis Obispo Panning Area. -DIALOG- Tt is a given that most of the space around the City of San Luis Obispo between the existing city limits and the "greenbelt boundary" is not currently under the city's political control. It is controlled by landowners under the jurisdiction of San Luis Obispo County. Much of the city is built out to the city limit, and there is very little room to develop either a greenbelt or a wildlife corridor. It is therefore critical that either: Continued growth is not sustainable on a global or local basis. Growth caused by following this paradigm of the Industrial Revolution has resulted in the serious decline of the Earth's biological resource base We must change our foal and re- orien, t she use of tools to meet that goal. We believe that an achievable common goal could be: To create a prosperous, sustainable future for the City of Sam Luis Obispo and surrounding lands within the San Luis Obispo Creek watershed,, But most of these questions ignore wildlife and ecological needs. Houses, golf courses, and agriculture usage, as such, have very little to do with the reeds of wildlife, or with the inherent ecological values of the land. While realizing that a particular piece of land cannot serve all purposes, it may be able to be managed for more than one value. Assuming that the city and county does recognize the ecological values, it should be possible to have houses, agriculture and golf courses and still preserve something of nature's values. It is to this end that the following statement is offered for consideration by the City Council.