(2)AR 011607 Endangered Species - Laserfiche WebLink

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potential air and water quality impacts in performing its land use planning functions, property owners and wildlife agencies do not. The Service recognizes the importance of concurrent local regulation of conservation activities. According to the Conservation Bank Guidance: Conservation banks covered by this policy are those established to meet the requirements of the ESA. State or local laws may also impose requirements that can be met by the measures provided for in a conservation bank. When that is the case, the Service requires that the relevant state or local government entity be given an opportunity to participate in the development of a conservation banking agreement and to become a party to it. The Service will coordinate its requirements with those of State or local government entities to the extent possible in order to minimize expenses, burdens, or duplicative requirements for bank sponsors, project proponents, and other governmental agencies. Although the Service will encourage the. appropriate State and local governmental agencies to participate in the development of conservation banking agreements and to become parties to them, the failure of such other agencies to participate in developing, or to sign an agreement that otherwise meets the requirements of this policy and of the ESA, shall not preclude the Service from entering into such an agreement. (Conservation Bank Guidance, at pp. 11-12 (emphasis added).) Thus, federal, state and local regulation of conservation activities may properly overlap. Similarly, regulation of conservation activities by local government will not interfere with protection of endangered species. Moreover, the City could not legally interfere with the Service's activities under the Federal Endangered Species Act. In addition to the physical impacts caused by habitat conservation and management, habitat conservation may also disrupt land use planning by altering the assumptions on which a general plan is based. For example, the City's General Plan must demonstrate that it has sufficient developable land available to satisfy its projected housing need. (Gov. Code, § 65583, subd. (a)(3).) If the City's Community Development Department were unaware that a site was encumbered by a conservation easement, a shortage of developable residential property may result. Conversely, if the City's Community Development Department learned that a conservation easement was created on land that was originally designated as residential, it may be appropriate to allow industrial or commercial uses on adjacent parcels. Another potential planning challenge posed by conservation easements is their duration. While general plan designations may be