Update 10/21/22: The SMRCD Board of Directors approved the proposed project. The subsequent Notice of Impending Development is available here.
The California Coastal Commission certified the San Mateo Resource Conservation District’s (SMRCD) “San Mateo County Forest Health and Fire Resilience Public Works Plan” (PWP) on July 8, 2021. The goal of the PWP is to meet the need for programmatic permitting for high-priority forest health and fuels management projects to reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire and improve ecological conditions for various plant communities within the coastal zone. The PWP provides a planning framework to efficiently review and authorize vegetation management projects within the Program Area over a ten year period using principles, strategies, and best management practices that align forest health and fire resiliency planning with the protection of coastal resources.
Consistency determinations for individual Projects proposed as part of the PWP are made by the Coastal Commission and are subject to public review and comment and a public hearing. Individual projects proposed under the PWP must be locally approved by the SMRCD Board of Directors at a public meeting, and a Notice of Impending Development, along with data demonstrating the Project is consistent with the certified PWP, must be presented at a public hearing of the CA Coastal Commission to determine if the proposed Project is consistent with the certified PWP.
SMRCD will host a public meeting of the Board of Directors to consider and approve one proposed PWP project, the Butano State Park Forest Health Project,
on October 20, 2022 at 4:00 p.m.
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89675733636
If you are using a computer or other device to join the meeting, you may click here. A computer video camera is not required to participate. If you do not have access to a computer or internet during this meeting, or if your computer does not have audio, you can call in by phone: (669) 900-6833 and enter the meeting ID: 896 7573 3636 when prompted.
Supporting documents for the proposed project (Butano State Park Forest Health Project) can be accessed and downloaded at the links below or you may request hard copies by contacting fire@sanmateoRCD.org or 650-712-7765 x107.
- DRAFT Project Specific Analysis and Addendum to the CalVTP PEIR, Butano State Park Forest Health Project (updated 10/13/22)
- Summary of Edits to the Project Specific Analysis document linked above
- Avoidance Measure Recommendations for Marbled Murrelets in the Santa Cruz Mountains Following the CZU Lightning Complex
Questions and comments regarding the projects currently proposed under the San Mateo County Forest Health and Fire Resilience Public Works Plan can be directed to:
David Cowman
Forest Ecologist
San Mateo Resource Conservation District
david@sanmateoRCD.org
650-712-7765 x107
Written comments are due by October 19, 2022. Oral comments will continue to be received at the October 20, 2022 meeting.
If approved by the SMRCD Board, SMRCD will submit a Notice of Impending Development to interested parties and to the CA Coastal Commission who will then make a consistency determination regarding these projects at a public hearing in November. For more information regarding the CA Coastal Commission public hearing, contact:
Daniel Nathan
Wildfire Resilience Coordinator
California Coastal Commission
Daniel.Nathan@coastal.ca.gov
415-904-5251
Or visit coastal.ca.gov/meetings/mtgdates.html.
About the San Mateo Resource Conservation District: The SMRCD is a public, non-regulatory special district that helps people protect, conserve, and restore natural resources through information, education, and technical assistance. Serving as a local hub for conservation efforts, SMRCD works with a wide variety of partners, including farming and ranching operations, landowners and managers, and federal, state and local government agencies. For more information visit sanmateorcd.org.
About Public Works Plans: A PWP is a land use planning document that plans for and sets a framework for implementing a specific public works project or array of public works-related activities. A PWP provides a land use planning alternative to Local Coastal Programs (LCPs) for obtaining approval of large or phased public works projects, as well as any development proposed by a special district, and remains under the authority of the Coastal Commission irrespective of coastal permit jurisdictional boundaries. A PWP is an alternative to project-by-project review for public works, which would otherwise require multiple coastal development permits for different components of the public works project. For more information contact the Coastal Commission at statewideplanning@coastal.ca.gov.