ORD 391U ORDINANCE NO. 391U
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS
VERDES RELATING TO THE CONSERVATION AND
MANAGEMENT OF COASTAL SAGE SCRUB HABITAT,
ESTABLISHING REGULATIONS AND PROCEDURES
APPLICABLE THERETO, AMENDING THE RANCHO
PALOS VERDES MUNICIPAL CODE AND DECLARING
THE URGENCY THEREOF.
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES
DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The City Council finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Pursuant to the authority provided by the Natural Community
Conservation Planning Act of 1991(commencing with Section 2800 of the California
Fish and Game Code), the City has entered into a formal planning agreement with the
California Department of Fish and Game ("DFG") for the purpose of implementing a
natural community conservation plan ("NCCP") to provide for the regional protection and
perpetuation of natural wildlife diversity while allowing compatible land use and
appropriate development and growth in areas where there is coastal sage scrub ("CSS")
habitat.
(b) The City is actively engaged in the planning and preparation of a NCCP
pursuant to the planning agreement. During the planning period, it is desirable to
ensure that activity in the City is consistent with the goals, objectives, and efforts of the
NCCP process through the adoption of regulations that both respect property rights and
protect the public health, safety and general welfare.
(c) CSS habitat supports a unique diversity of plant and wildlife species and is
a valuable natural resource for the City and its residents. The United States Fish and
Wildlife Service ("FWS") has identified CSS habitat as critical habitat essential to the
conservation of several endangered and threatened species, including the coastal
California gnatcatcher (the "gnatcatcher").
(d) Unregulated removal of CSS, results in the elimination of critical habitat,
reduces the natural species diversity in the City, and appreciably reduces the likelihood
of the continued survival of the gnatcatcher, particularly if such removal occurs during
the breeding season of the gnatcatcher that occurs annually between February 15 and
August 31. Similar impacts could occur from removal of occupied habitat that is not
CSS.
(e) CSS conservation and management is consistent with the efforts of the
City and the requirements of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the
California Department of Fish and Game and will support the natural resource
management activities of the City in its role as lead agency in the preparation of the
sub-regional NCCP for the Palos Verdes Peninsula Sub-area.
Section 2. Title 17 of the Rancho Palos Verdes Municipal Code is hereby
amended by adding Chapter 17.41 thereto to read as follows:
"Chapter 17.41. Coastal Sage Scrub Conservation and Management.
17.41.010. Short title.
17.41.020. Purpose and intent.
17.41.030. Application of chapter.
17.41.040. Definitions.
17.41.050. Prohibited conduct.
17.41.060. Exemptions.
17.41.070. Action by the director.
17.41.080. Appeal.
17.41.090. Violations and penalties.
17.41.010. Short Title. This chapter shall be known and may be cited as
the "Rancho Palos Verdes Coastal Sage Scrub Conservation Ordinance."
17.41.020. Purpose and intent. This chapter establishes policies,
regulations, and standards necessary to ensure that the City will continue to realize the
benefits provided by its natural environment. The City Council finds and declares that it
is necessary to adopt this chapter to promote the public health, safety and general
welfare by providing requirements and procedures that reduce potential adverse
impacts on threatened or endangered species, which could be directly created or
indirectly induced by the unregulated removal of CSS habitat and other vegetation that
is occupied by threatened or endangered species, regardless of whether such removal
occurs in connection with proposed and existing developments. Coastal sage scrub
habitat has been designated by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as critical
habitat essential for the continued survival of, among other species, the coastal
California gnatcatcher. Therefore, this chapter establishes a regulatory process for
approval of, weed abatement and other activities undertaken on properties that are
greater than two acres in size to ensure that such activity does not jeopardize the
continued viability of any endangered or threatened species due to the removal of or
impact to occupied habitat.
17.41.030. Application of chapter. This chapter shall apply to all
properties in the city that are greater than two acres in size within the geographical
limits of the City, including any areas subsequently annexed by the City, unless state or
federal law prescribes otherwise.
17.41.040. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following
definitions shall apply unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
a. "City" means the City of Rancho Palos Verdes.
Ordinance No. 391U
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b. "City council" means the city council of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes.
c. "Coastal sage scrub or coastal sage scrub plant community ("CSS")"
means a vegetation community composed of relatively low-growing
summer deciduous and succulent plants. Coastal sage scrub is the more
general name for vegetation communities known as maritime succulent
scrub, Diegan (or Riversidian) sage scrub, southern coastal bluff scrub,
inland sage scrub, alluvial fan scrub, and mixtures of vegetation
communities containing coastal sage elements and providing suitable
gnatcatcher habitat. Characteristic plants of this community include, but
are not limited to, California sagebrush (Artemisia californica), ashy-leaf
buckwheat (Eriogonum cinereum), California sunflower (Encelia
californica), coyote brush (Baccharis pilularis), California buckwheat
(Eriogonum fasciculatum), lemonadeberry (Rhus integrifolia), purple sage
(Salvia leucophylla), black sage (Salvia mellifera), prickly pear and cholla
cactus.
d. "Department of Fish and Game" means the California Department of Fish
and Game.
e. "Director" means the Director of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement
for the City of Rancho Palos Verdes.
f. "Fish and Wildlife Service" means the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service.
g. "Gnatcatcher" means the coastal California gnatcatcher (Polioptila
californica), a small insectivorous songbird that inhabits almost exclusively
the coastal sage scrub plant community, although it is found in other plant
communities. The gnatcatcher has been listed as a threatened species
under the federal endangered species act. The continued existence of the
gnatcatcher is threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation occurring in
conjunction with urban and agricultural development.
h. "Habitat modification" means altering, clearing, cutting, destroying,
relocating, or removing any coastal sage scrub, or any other act, which
causes, or may be reasonably expected to cause the reduction in habitat
value of a coastal sage scrub plant community including weed abatement
activities. "Habitat modification or removal," includes, but is not limited to,
damaging the plant or root systems by machinery, storage of materials, or
soil compaction, excessive pruning, weed abatement, paving with
concrete, asphalt, or other impervious material, in the immediate vicinity of
the coastal sage scrub, or in a manner which may reasonably be expected
to kill a coastal sage scrub plant community, using herbicides to control or
kill coastal sage scrub vegetation, or excessive or inadequate irrigation.
Ordinance No. 391U
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i. "Natural communities conservation plan" means a plan for the
conservation of natural communities using an ecosystem approach
prepared pursuant to the State of California's Natural Communities
Conservation Planning Act.
j. "Weed abatement" means, for the purposes of this chapter only, the
removal of vegetation by any means, on any property in the City that is
greater than two acres in size, but excluding minor tree trimming and
minor removal or maintenance of minor ornamental vegetation that does
not constitute or contain CSS and is not occupied by an endangered or
threatened species.
17.41.050. Prohibited conduct. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm,
business, corporation, or any other entity to clear, cut, destroy, relocate, trim, prune,
burn, remove or otherwise injure or perform habitat modification work on any CSS
habitat, or weed abatement on any property containing CSS habitat, or on any property
greater than two acres in size and that is within the geographical limits of the City
without first complying with the provisions of this Chapter.
17.41.060. Exemptions. The provisions of this Chapter shall not apply to
any of the following, provided that the party seeking exemption submits a request to the
director for an exemption determination based on one of the following grounds:
a. Removal of CSS or any other form of habitat modification or weed
abatement for the purpose of fire protection, such as the establishment of
fuel modification zones and fire breaks, thinning or brush clearing;
provided such actions follow a written plan or a written order that is issued
or required by the Los Angeles County Fire Department or by another
governmental entity;
b. Removal of CSS or any other form of habitat modification required by any
written local, county, state, or federally mandated health and safety order;
provided such removal or clearing of vegetation follows a written plan
approved and required by the applicable City, State, or Federal
government;
c. Removal of CSS or any other form of habitat modification performed by
the City or by another governmental entity or by a utility in response to an
emergency, in order to protect the public health and safety. This
exemption does not require a request or determination by the director prior
to undertaking the habitat removal or modification or weed abatement;
d. Loss of CSS that is the result of a natural event, such as landslide, fire or
flood.
e. Removal of CSS pursuant to a validly issued 4(d) permit;
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f. Weed abatement of non-CSS vegetation provided that the applicant or
owner first submits a current biological survey identifying those areas of
the property that contain CSS, those areas that contain no CSS, and
demonstrating that no areas of the property are occupied by threatened or
endangered species. The biological survey shall be prepared by a
qualified registered biologist within the last 6-months before vegetation
removal is commenced, and shall contain, at a minimum, the following:
(i). a plot plan generally depicting the subject property and the area(s)
where vegetation is proposed to be removed, identifying all property lines
and the location of any and all CSS on the property,
(ii) a calculation in acres, or fractions thereof, of the total area of CSS
located on the subject property, and the total area, or fractions thereof, of
CSS that will be the subject of the alteration or habitat modification,
(iii) a description of the type of CSS present on the property and its
habitat value,
(iv) evidence and documentation establishing whether any vegetation
community on the site is occupied by endangered or threatened species,
and
(v) evidence and documentation establishing that the proposed activity
does not "take" a protected species under either the federal or state
endangered species acts
17.41.070. Action by the director. Upon receipt of a request for an
exemption determination for weed abatement or habitat modification or removal under
one of the exemptions set forth in Section 17.14.060, the director shall promptly review
the accompanying material as required by Section 17.41.060, including the biological
survey. After completing this review, the director shall take one of the following actions:
a. If the information provided by the property owner demonstrates to
the satisfaction of the director that the proposed removal is exempt, the director shall
issue a written notice to proceed to the property owner; or
b. If the director determines that the proposed activity is not exempt,
no habitat removal or modification activities shall be conducted unless and until a 4(d)
permit is obtained, or until adequate information is provided to warrant the granting of a
notice to proceed.
17.41.080 Appeal. The applicant or any interested person may appeal
the director's decision on the notice to the City Council, pursuant to Chapter 17.80
(Hearing Notice and Appeal Procedures) of this title. The property owner shall not
remove or alter any CSS habitat until the appeal period has been exhausted.
Ordinance No. 391 U
Page 5 of 8
17.41.090 Violations and penalties. A violation of any provision of
this chapter is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand
dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment in the county jail for a period not exceeding six (6)
months, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Any person found to have violated any
provision of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of a separate and distinct offense for
each day, or portion thereof, during which such violation continues, and shall be
punishable accordingly. In addition to the foregoing, the City may require re-vegetation
work be performed by the violator, at a ratio to be determined by the director, and may
assess a fine in an amount necessary to assure that the CSS that was improperly
removed can be replaced and maintained for a minimum period of five years or until the
CSS is reestablished and sufficient to cover any other costs incurred by the City in
achieving compliance with this Chapter. Further, the City shall not accept for
processing, or grant approval of, any application for development, use, permit, or other
entitlement pursuant to Titles 15, 16, or 17 of the Municipal Code until such time that the
property owner has complied with the provisions of this chapter and other applicable
provisions of the Municipal Code.
Section 4. If any section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause,
phrase, or portion of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any person or place, is
for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction,
such decision shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this ordinance. The City
Council hereby declares that it would have adopted this ordinance, and each and every
section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion thereof,
irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, subdivisions,
sentences, clauses, phrases, or portions thereof be declared invalid or unconstitutional.
Section 5. Urgency findings.
(a). CSS habitat supports a unique diversity of plant and wildlife species and is
a valuable natural resource for the City and its residents. The United States Fish and
Wildlife Service ("FWS") has identified CSS habitat as critical habitat essential to the
conservation of several endangered and threatened species, including the coastal
California gnatcatcher (the "gnatcatcher"). The unregulated removal of occupied CSS
habitat, or other occupied vegetation, appreciably reduces the likelihood of the
continued survival of the gnatcatcher.
(b) Without the adoption of this ordinance, property owners could remove
habitat without any review by the City or FWS to ensure that the habitat is not occupied
by a threatened or endangered species.
(c) The City has been advised that owners of certain properties in the City
have removed CSS previously, and that these property owners will continue to remove
CSS habitat in the future.
(d) The City has been informed by a letter dated May 16, 2003, from York
Long Point Associates that that organization intends to "mow grass/weeds", or conduct
"weed abatement activities," on an approximately 90 to 100 acre area that has been
Ordinance No. 391 U
Page 6 of 8
previously shown to contain CSS plant communities, and which has the potential to be
occupied by the Gnatcatcher, and without completion of a biological survey of the site to
ascertain whether the 90 to 100 acre weed abatement area is currently occupied by the
Gnatcatcher, it is possible that the weed abatement activity could violate the City's
NCCCP 4(d) permit requirements and the Federal Endangered Species Act.
(e) The breeding season of the Gnatcatcher is from February 15 through
August 31 of each year, and during this period Gnatcatchers and their habitats are
particularly sensitive to disturbances, whether that habitat is CSS or non-CSS.
(f) An ordinance is necessary to ensure that the City receives notice of
proposed habitat modifications and weed abatement activities in order to ensure that
such activities do not threaten the continued survival of the gnatcatcher, and to provide
a regulatory process by which habitat modification and/or weed abatement activities can
be approved and undertaken, after completion of appropriate site specific surveys. The
modification or removal of occupied habitat, whether CSS or non-CSS, jeopardizes the
continued survival of the gnatcatcher, which will adversely affect the City and its
residents. Such activities also thwart the City's efforts to prepare a NCCP final preserve
plan.
(g) In order to protect the public health, safety and welfare, it is necessary for
the City of Rancho Palos Verdes to adopt an urgency ordinance, which will become
effective immediately, so that property owners cannot continue to conduct weed
abatement and habitat removal or modification activities without first requesting an
exemption determination from the City for their proposed actions.
Therefore, this ordinance is necessary for the protection of the public health, safety
and welfare and shall take effect immediately upon adoption as an urgency ordinance.
Section 6. This ordinance has been reviewed in accordance with the
requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the State CEQA
Guidelines (14 Cal. Code Regs. § 15301), and the City's environmental guidelines. This
ordinance establishes a regulatory process for the protection of the environment.
Accordingly, the City Council finds the ordinance to be exempt from CEQA as a Class 8
Categorical Exemption in accordance with the State CEQA Guidelines (14 Cal. Code
Regs. § 15308).
Section 7. The City Clerk shall cause this Ordinance to be posted in
three (3) public places in the City within fifteen (15) days after its passage, in
accordance with the provisions of Section 36933 of the Government Code. The City
Clerk shall further certify to the adoption and posting of this Ordinance, and shall cause
this Ordinance and its certification, together with proof of posting, to be entered in the
Book of Ordinances of the Council of this City.
Section 8,. This Urgency Ordinance shall be effective for 45 days from its
date of adoption, unless otherwise extended in accordance with the provisions of
Government Code Section 65858 (a).
Ordinance No. 391U
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PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED THIS 20th day if Ma 2003.
Y
bb
May.
Attest:
t,
City Clerk
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES )ss
CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES )
I, JO PURCELL, City Clerk of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes, do hereby
certify that the whole number of members of the City Council of said City is five; the
foregoing Ordinance No. 391 U was duly and regularly adopted by the City Council of
said City at a regular meeting thereof held on May 20, 2003, and that the same was
passed and adopted by the following roll call vote:
AYES: Clark, Gardiner, McTaggart, and Mayor Pro Tem Ferraro
NOES: None
ABSENT: Mayor Stern
ABSTAIN: None
.. 4
City Clerk
Ordinance No. 391U
Page 8 of 8
RANCHO
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) SS AFFIDAVIT OF POSTING
CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES )
The undersigned, being first duly sworn, deposes and says:
That at all times herein mentioned, she was and now is the appointed City Clerk
of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes;
That on May 29, 2003, she caused to be posted the following document entitled:
Ordinance No. 391 U —An Ordinance of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes Relating to
the Conservation and Management of Coastal Sage Scrub Habitat, Establishing
Regulations and Procedures Applicable thereto, Amending the Rancho Palos Verdes
Municipal Code and Declaring the Urgency Thereof, a copy of which is attached hereto,
in the following locations:
City Hall Ladera Linda Community Center
30940 Hawthorne Blvd. 32201 Forrestal Drive
Rancho Palos Verdes Rancho Palos Verdes
Ryan Park Hesse Park
30359 Hawthorne Blvd. 29301 Hawthorne Blvd.
Rancho Palos Verdes Rancho Palos Verdes
I certify under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is a true and correct affidavit of
posting.
iily „
i
City Clerk
W:\Ordinances\affidavits\Ordinance 391 U-Conservation&Management of Coastal Sage Scrub Habitat.doc