County Supervisors Approve Development in Sandhills Habitat

Residents in and around the sandhills habitat in the San Lorenzo Valley and parts of Bonny Doon will now be able to make changes or improvements to their homes without getting federal permits under a new plan passed by the Santa Cruz County Board Of Supervisors.

The Board unanimously approved the Sandhills Interim Programmatic Habitat Conservation Plan (IPHCP) on Tuesday, which will allow permits for development and renovations to be issued at the county rather than federal level.

Previously homeowners had to apply to the federal government because the land—the only known home to the Mount Hermon June Beetle—is subject to the endangered species act rules for construction. To even remodel a porch on an existing home in the area required permits to be reviewed by the Environmental Protection Agency, and several others.

“This is a problem when people want to make small changes to their houses, because people are not going to be able to afford the federal permits and make improvements,” said Supervisor Mark Stone who represents the area.

This led to illegal construction projects becoming the norm, according to Stone, because the federal permits take months to process and are more expensive than ones from the county.

“This is the only place in the world that these sandhills exist,” Stone said.

Stone says the plan for the county to take over the permitting process has been in the making since 1999 when it became clear that the county had to find a compromise that would allow people to remain in their homes, while protecting the beetles. The creatures live just inches under the sand, and some people claim that even having access to trails in the habitat could wipe out the species.

Local Fish and Wildlife Service officials will oversee the new permitting process under the agreement, which is good for the next five years. The hope is that a permanent policy will be in place by the time the current plan expires in 2016.

Development will be limited to renovations to existing single-family homes, and homeowners must get permits before they begin construction. Disturbance to the land would be limited to 15,000 square feet on each property.

Supervisor John Leopold directed staff to form a fee policy that would charge residents who have made improvements in defiance of the permit process. He says he doesn't want this to be seen as endorsing actions that bypassed the old permit process, no matter how complicated or slow.

“We charge fees to people who haven't paid taxes or fees, can we make a distinction here?” Leopold said.

Stone says the new rules could be used to build new homes in the area, but it would be limited to small residential projects and no multiple house units would be permitted.

“It’s really aimed at renovations, but it could be used for new family residences,” Stone said.

The Scotts Valley City Council will discuss a similar plan at its Wednesday night meeting.