Santa Clara Valley Habitat Plan - Land Cover Fee

“This Plan utilizes a variety of private and public development-based fees to fund mitigation that will offset losses of land cover types, covered species habitat, and other biological values. These one-time fees pay for the full cost of mitigating project effects on the covered species and natural communities. Once paid, applicants do not need to find their own mitigation to satisfy state and federal endangered species laws.”

“The development impact fees collected by the Habitat Agency are used to fund: land acquisition; reserve management and maintenance; monitoring, research and scientific review; western burrowing owl conservation strategy; habitat restoration and creation; program administration; post-permit term costs, and plan preparation cost recovery.”

“Public and private covered activities are subject to the land cover fee for permanent impacts on any land cover type besides urban-suburban, landfill, reservoir, or agriculture developed (a fee for temporary impacts is described below in this section).”

Mitigation Fee Ordinance (No. 2013-01), Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency

“The Habitat Agency's Mitigation Fee Ordinance (No. 2013-01) does not preclude early payment of fees.”

“For private projects, mitigation fees are required to be paid before or at the time the grading permit for the project is issued. If a grading permit is not required, fees must be paid before or at the time the first construction permit is issued.”

City of Morgan Hill (the applicable participating jurisdiction)

“All fees paid by private applicants to participating jurisdictions will be collected by the applicable jurisdiction. Fees paid to participating local jurisdictions will be transferred to the Implementing Entity on a regular basis, but at a minimum, annually.”

“All development that occurs on land mapped by the Habitat Plan as "urban-suburban", "landfill", "reservoir", or "agriculture developed" land cover types (see Chapter 3 for land cover type descriptions) is exempt from development fees, with the exception of the nitrogen deposition fee and burrowing owl fee, if it is not located in or adjacent to a parcel that contains a stream, riparian woodland or forest, wetland, pond, or serpentine.”

“If a landowner or Permittee conveys a portion of the development site (either in fee simple or a conservation easement) to be included in the Habitat Plan Reserve System and the Implementing Entity and the Wildlife Agencies approve the inclusion, the portion of the property included in the Reserve System would not be assessed the land cover, serpentine, burrowing owl, and/or land cover temporary impact fees, as appropriate.”