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Home My WebLink AboutAGENDA REPORT 2017 0118 CCSA REG ITEM 10J ITEM 10.J. CITY OF MOORPARK,CALIFORNIA City Council Meeting /./8o?oi Acliow: MOORPARK CITY COUNCIL -� AGENDA REPORT TO: Honorable City Council FROM: David A. Bobardt, Community Development Director DATE: January 11, 2017 (CC Meeting of 1/18/2017) SUBJECT: Consider Letter of Support for Initiation of Ventura County Wildlife Corridor Overlay Zone - BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION On January 24, 2017, the County of Ventura will be considering whether or not to initiate the processing of a new Wildlife Corridor Overlay Zone to add standards for development to enable and not impede the movement of wildlife and connectivity of habitat in existing wildlife corridors in unincorporated Ventura County. Preservation of wildlife corridors is important to protect the genetic diversity and health of wildlife as it allows for breeding to take place among a larger pool of animals. Although the staff report will not be publicly available until January 19, 2017, Chair of the Board of Supervisors Linda Parks has provided information on this zoning effort, attached as Attachment 1. A close up of the regional wildlife corridors in the Moorpark area is included in Attachment 2. As seen in these exhibits, wildlife corridors that connect the Sierra Madre Mountains to the Santa Monica Mountains go through and adjacent,to the City of Moorpark. In Moorpark, the wildlife corridors are primarily on property that is undeveloped and zoned as open space. Policy 15.5 of the City's Land Use Element states, "The City shall require developers to maintain wildlife corridors to allow for the passage of animals between designated open space or recreational areas." Preservation of the regional wildlife corridors through Moorpark depends on efforts of both the City and County. The establishment of an overlay zone by the County would support the goals and policies of the City's General Plan, and a letter of support is recommended (Attachment 3). Should the County decide to proceed with this overlay zone, staff would return to the City Council with a request to consider initiating a Zone Change and Zoning Ordinance Amendment establishing a similar overlay zone in Moorpark to protect this regional corridor. 138 Honorable City Council January 18, 2017 Page 2 STAFF RECOMMENDATION Authorize City Manager to send letter on behalf of City Council expressing support for the initiation of processing a new Wildlife Corridor Overlay Zone. Attachments: 1. Background Information: Wildlife Corridor Overlay Zone 2. Close-Up of Moorpark Area 3. Draft Letter of Support 139 ,cd C)i F,I/4, 14-t1", ;t,-- -.:;. (/'' 0 "I'-'(1!' ,' -:0.:.c1,76 MEMBERS OF THE BOARD LINDA PARKS 41' A Ak > Chair 111110'„: -,:-„,..: 4„ STEVE BENNETT i -L, -Nowt, % 1'I PI;- KATHY L LONG .4/F. 0104\ PETER C. FOY JOHN C.ZARAGOZA BOARD OF SUPERVISORS LINDA PARKS C 0 U Di T Y OF V E DI TURA SUPERVISOR,SECOND DISTRICT 625 WEST HILLCREST DRIVE,THOUSAND OAKS,CA 91360 (805)214-251.0 FAX:(805)480-0585 E-mail: Linda.Parks@ventura.org BACKGROUND INFORMATION:WILDLIFE CORRIDOR OVERLAY ZONE Board of Supervisors Agenda,January 24,2017,3PM The proposed Wildlife Corridor Overlay Zone has been studied in various forms by the County for several years. The Board of Supervisors will decide whether to initiate the processing of the new zone at its January 24th meeting at 3PM. The public can speak at the meeting(most effective),or email comments to: Kari.Finley@ventura.org. The staff report for this item will be posted January 19th on the County of Ventura web page: (http://www.ventura.org/meetings-and-broadcasts). Based on sophisticated mapping from the South Coast Missing Linkages Project(a collaborative effort by the National Park Service,U.S. Forest Service,California State Parks,the State Resources Agency,Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy,the Nature Conservancy,and South Coast Wildlands,among others),the Ventura County Wildlife Corridor Zone would act as an overlay ' zone that would add standards for development,such as building setbacks,night lighting, and fencing,in order to enable and not impede the movement of wildlife and the connectivity of habitat in existing corridors. The ability for wildlife to cross between large natural land masses is critical to their survival. Some species,including mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains,are essentially on an island of nature surrounded by freeways,roads and urban development that limit their ability to roam. This constriction of movement threatens wildlife by reducing genetic diversity and increasing incidents of roadkilL Establishing safe passage along existing wildlife corridors can make the difference as to whether species continue or decline in our region. Unobstructed wildlife corridors can also enhance public safety. If development chokes off a wildlife corridor,wildlife disperse into urban areas. Protecting wildlife corridors keeps wildlife away from urban areas,reducing interactions between wildlife and people,and wildlife and domestic animals. The Wildlife Corridor Zone can also be used to identify areas and implement measures to reduce car collisions with animals. Ventura County is fortunate to have a development pattern of open space buffers between cities, and it is here in the unincorporated county where the wildlife corridors exist. Seeing that these corridors continue unobstructed is a key component of Ventura County's environmental stewardship. CC ATTACHMENT 1 140 0 Peppered Paper J IL • .•,A fie ree(~; '''- r/ ...-— e V // 0 �% .,,. ..; ti ',- ir, .7/ , / ti. 1 7 /#31. / Af../.1 :141 ,Alth e �' //i r/ 1 / , ,tei .." . -,-, % X 01 k0r MppfpEifk � 1' .. .__- -__ . - �,� � � Sim itfrAd ,.,it,...,,,, 404 #71,74'''fr4 ,_..rii fr / - = 40'4" , / Alpyirdfiphri , ;•-• , . z k r / , A.,. 410v,,,, . ilk,. ,, Itsiro,._1_,_- , ..,,,,,_:,,,-...:_1,4-"-_ - 0, . - 1.10,- ..„..„..... .:.,, , . t, ,*, , . ...., .., ... Thousandvans , . lilt . ., , Close-Up of Protected Resource Areas and Wildlife Corridors in Moorpark Area CC ATTACHMENT 2 142 P, a K C4�• CITY OF MOORPARK ipw4 i*fire `�� COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT I 799 Moorpark Avenue,Moorpark,California 93021 _0000 10, \. .,_. .. �{ Main City Phone Number(805)517-6200 Fax(805)532-2540 www.moorparkca.gov January 19, 2017 Honorable Chair Linda Parks County of Ventura Board of Supervisors 800 South Victoria Avenue Ventura, CA 93009 Re: January 24, 2017 Consideration of Initiation of Wildlife Corridor Overlay Zone Dear Honorable Chair Parks and Board of Supervisors, On January 18, 2017, the City Council of the City of Moorpark considered the proposal by the County of Ventura to initiate a Wildlife Corridor Overlay Zone and voted to extend its support for this effort by the County. Wildlife corridors in Ventura County that,connect the Sierra,Madre Mountains to the Santa Monica Mountains are important to protect thebonetic diversity and health of wildlife as it allows for breeding to take place among�a larger pbol=of animals. These corridors pass through unincorporated C4Uflty land as wellsas throtjgh incorporated cities, including Moorpark. Policy 15.5 of Moorpark"s Land Use Element stotes, "The City shall require developers to maintain wildlife corridors to allowf> r the,,passage*animals between designated open space or recreation 4reas 't,However, p;`reservation of the`'regional wildlife corridors through Moorpark dep �s� "ends of effo ,;of both`ahe City and,�County. The establishment of an overlay zone by the County would support the goals and policies of the City's General Plan. Should the County decide,to proceed With the establishment of a Wildlife Corridor Overlay Zone, the City Council will consider a similar effort for wildlife corridors that extend through Moorpark. City staff will be available to provide information on wildlife corridors within Moorpark to support the County's effort. Please let=me know if you have any questions. Sincerely, Steven Kueny City Manager CC ATTACHMENT 3 cc:Honorable City Council; Deborah S.Traffenstedt,Assistant City Manager;David A. Bobardt,Community Development Director 143 JANICE S.PARVIN ROSEANN MIKOS,Ph.D. DAVID POLLOCK KEN SIMONS MARK VAN DAM Mayor Councilmember Councilmember Councilmember Councilmember