CC SR 20160315 H - 2013 PVPLC Annual Report for PV Nature PreserveRANCHO PALOS VERDES CITY COUNCIL
AGENDA REPORT
AGENDA DESCRIPTION:
MEETING DATE: 03/15/2016
AGENDA HEADING: Consent Calendar
Consideration and possible action to receive and file the 2013 PVPLC Annual Report
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
Receive and file the 2013 Annual Report submitted by the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land
Conservancy regarding its management activities for the Palos Verdes Nature
Preserve.
FISCAL IMPACT: None
Amount Budgeted: N/A
Additional Appropriation: N/A
Account Number(s): N/A
ORIGINATED BY: Ara Mihranian, Deputy Community Development Director
REVIEWED BY: Terry Rodrigue, Interim Community Development Director +
APPROVED BY: Doug Willmore, City Manager's
ATTACHED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS:
A. Cover letter from Andrea Vona, PVPLC Executive Director (page A-1)
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION:
The City's Natural Communities Conservation Plan (NCCP) calls for the Palos Verdes
Peninsula Land Conservancy (PVPLC) to serve as the City's habitat manager for the
Palos Verdes Nature Preserve. In this capacity, the PVPLC is required by the NCCP to
submit certain annual reports to the City and wildlife agencies (the California
Department of Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). Specifically,
the PVPLC is required to submit a monitoring report on its habitat restoration areas in
the Preserve and on its exotic plant removal efforts.
Pursuant to the NCCP approved by the City Council in 2004 and the formal
management agreement authorizing the PVPLC to manage and restore the Preserve
habitat on behalf of the City, the PVPLC has submitted, for the City Council's
acceptance, the 2013 Annual Report summarizing the PVPLC's management activities.
An electronic copy of 2013 the Annual Report was posted on the City's website and an
electronic link to the Annual Report was provided to the Council via e-mail on March 2,
2016. In an effort to save paper, a hard copy of the Annual Report is not attached to
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this Staff Report, but can be provided to Councilmembers upon request. It is also
available electronically at http://www.rpvca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/8261.
The 2013 Annual Report covers the period between January 1, 2013, and December
31, 2013. The report describes the PVPLC's habitat management activities relating to
habitat enhancement and restoration, property maintenance and monitoring, vegetation
and wildlife monitoring, trail management and monitoring, and volunteer involvement
during the 2013 calendar year. According to the attached letter from PVPLC Executive
Director Andrea Vona (Attachment A), the report is consistent with the reporting
requirements of the NCCP. Furthermore, the wildlife agencies have reviewed and
accepted the report as presented.
2013 Habitat Loss Tracking Report
As part of the Annual Report, the NCCP requires the City to track and report all of the
coastal sage scrub (CSS) habitat loss. According to the "Habitat Loss Tracking Report"
for the 2013 calendar year, a total of 0.15 acre of CSS was lost for a variety of reasons.
Night Use in the Preserve
The NCCP also requires that the City annually report permitted nighttime activities in the
Preserve as summarized below for 2013:
MRCA Ranger -led night hikes: 5 night hikes/75 participants
Sierra Club -led night hikes: 7 hikes/approximately 105 participants
The nighttime hikes listed above only occurred in the Portuguese Bend Reserve.
Public Notification
On March 2, 2016, an e-mail was sent to the subscribers of the Palos Verdes Nature
Preserve listserv, announcing the availability of the 2013 Annual Report (with a link to
view the document), and the date of tonight's City Council meeting. To date, no public
comments were submitted to the City. Public comments submitted after the transmittal
of this Staff Report will be provided to the Council as "Late Correspondence."
CONCLUSION:
Staff has reviewed the 2013 report and believes that it is consistent with PVPLC's
preserve habitat management responsibilities. It should be noted that the City Council
accepted the 2014 PVPLC Annual Report at its February 2, 2016, meeting. Since then,
Staff realized the 2013 PVPLC Annual Report had inadvertently not been presented to
the City Council last year, which is why it appears on tonight's agenda.
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PALOS VERDES PENINSULA
PRESERVING LAND AND RESTORING HABITAT FOR THE EDUCATION AND ENJOYMENT OF ALL
February 15, 2016
Ara Mihranian
City of Rancho Palos Verdes
30940 Hawthorne Boulevard
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90274
Subject: 2013 Annual Report for the Rancho Palos Verdes Draft Natural
Communities Conservation Plan and Habitat Conservation Plan
Dear Ara,
The 2013 Report for the Draft Natural Communities Conservation Plan and Habitat
Conservation Plan was submitted to the wildlife agencies as well as your department for review
in April of 2015. The wildlife agencies have accepted the reports as presented.
These reports are part of our commitment under our management agreement with the City as
well as the requirements of the Draft NCCP/HCP. As part of the final submission of this
annual report to the Wildlife Agencies, the City must include a Habitat Tracking Report and a
report on the night use activities in the Preserve.
Thank you very much for your consideration as we all work together to maintain and improve
upon this wonderful local natural land.
Sincerely,
Andrea Vona
Executive Director
916 SILVER SPUR ROAD # 207. ROLLING HILLS ESTATES. CA 90274-3826 T 310.541.7613 WWW.PVPLC.ORG
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