The San Mateo Resource Conservation District (RCD), as Lead Agency under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), issued a Notice of Exemption for the San Mateo Resource Conservation District Service Area Boundary Expansion Project. This project is exempt under CEQA according to Class 20, Section 15320 and 15061(b)(3).
The RCD proposes to expand its district service area boundary (via annexation) to encompass its full Sphere of Influence. The current district boundary is not contiguous and does not reflect the district’s services or community need for its services. The boundaries include properties in western San Mateo County from the boundary with San Francisco to the boundary with Santa Cruz County, generally from Skyline Boulevard to the Pacific Ocean, and exclude most developed residential areas. The proposed change to the district’s boundary would expand to the district’s entire Sphere of Influence (updated 2020) to include developed residential areas and extend the eastern boundary to Highway 280. This updated boundary would:
- more accurately represent what the district is, where it provides services, whom it benefits, and where benefits accrue;
- help the district prioritize and include additional areas for services, funding, and other resources;
- better enable the district to address threats and provide services at an appropriate scale (e.g. climate change, wildfire, species extinction, water pollution);
- provide a deeper bench from which to recruit board members;
- enable the district to access additional funding sources to serve constituents and the lands in the areas proposed for inclusion; and
- enable the district to pursue an expanded stable funding base, reducing dependence on uncertain grants and increasing the financial security of the District to continue its services.
- No project implementation is proposed as part of the service area boundary expansion or otherwise currently proposed in the expansion areas, nor would the SOI be expanded. There is no potential for significant impacts.
- The prosed service area boundary expansion (annexation) is subject to review and approval of the San Mateo Local Agency Formation Commission.
Documents
The Notice of Exemption can be found on the Office of Planning and Research CEQAnet Web Portal here (State Clearinghouse Number 2022030474).