Thank you for your coverage of the proposed Santa Clara Valley
Habitat Conservation Plan.
Dear Editor,
Thank you for your coverage of the proposed Santa Clara Valley Habitat Conservation Plan.
There have been many public statements about the proposed HCP, some of which may create confusion, so here are some clarifications.
Nearly all rural development on the valley floor will be unaffected by the HCP. Property owners on the valley floor who are not currently subject to endangered species permitting plans and fees would not be in the plan and are thus exempt from HCP permits and fees – unless, in the rare case, sensitive habitat is disturbed, like wetlands, streams, ponds, etc.
The Habitat Conservation Plan does not place a new burden on developers.
In the absence of an HCP, public agencies and private landowners still are, and will be, subject to state and federal endangered species protection law.
Currently, affected land owners spend considerable time, effort, and money to comply with endangered species permitting with no guarantee when or if permits will be issued and what mitigation will be imposed.
The Habitat Plan would bring this process from U.S. Fish and Wildlife and California Fish and Game to the local level to reduce the time it takes, and provide transparency, consistency, and predictability to endangered species permitting so that affected private landowners and developers can confidently rely upon the rules to make business decisions.
For those developers currently caught – sometimes for years – in the existing endangered species permitting process, the HCP will be a welcome improvement over the status quo.
Deputy County Executive Sylvia Gallegos,
county of Santa Clara
