The City of Carlsbad Habitat Management Plan (HMP) is a regulatory document that provides a plan for assembling the city's preserve system and guiding development within the city. The plan promotes conservation of habitat to support native plants and animals, active management of conserved lands, and public use that is compatible with habitat and species protection.

The overall goal of the HMP is to contribute to the regional biodiversity and the viability of rare, unique, or sensitive biological resources throughout the City of Carlsbad. The specific biological and conservation objectives of the HMP are to:

• Conserve the full range of vegetation types remaining in the city, with a focus on rare and sensitive habitats;
• Conserve rare vegetation communities;
• Conserve areas of habitat capable of supporting the HMP covered species in perpetuity;
• Maintain functional wildlife movement corridors and habitat linkages within the city and across the region, including linkages that connect coastal California gnatcatcher populations and movement corridors for large mammals;
• Maintain functional biological cores; and
• Conserve narrow endemic species and maintain populations of target species.

At build-out, the Preserve System is expected to be approximately 6,478 acres, consisting mostly of native upland and wetland habitats, including coastal sage scrub, chaparral, oak woodland, riparian scrub, riparian forest, freshwater marsh, and grasslands. As of 2019, a total of 6,187 acres have been preserved (96% of the target acreage). The city owns and manages 10 percent of these lands. The remaining HMP lands are owned and managed by California Department of Fish and Wildlife Service, Center for Natural Lands Management, San Diego Habitat Conservancy, Urban Corps Habitat Services, private HOAs and business associations. 

The preserve system consists of large blocks of undeveloped native habitats interconnected with habitat linkages, which allow plants and animals to move between the large core areas. The preserve system is being assembled through a combination of the following:

• Conservation of lands already set aside as protected open space, 
• Contributions from private development projects, and
• Acquisition of private lands with regional habitat value from willing sellers.

There are several primary entities involved in implementation of the plan, including the (a) City of Carlsbad, (b) preserve steward, who assists the city with coordination of management activities, (c) preserve managers, who have direct responsibility for daily on-the-ground implementation, and (d) wildlife agencies, who oversee HMP compliance. 

The HMP qualifies as a Habitat Conservation Plan HCP pursuant to the federal Endangered Species Act, which is a plan designed to offset any harmful effects that a proposed activity, such as development, might have on a federally threatened or endangered species. An incidental take permit is required if "take" (harm, harass, or kill) of a threatened or endangered species is anticipated.

A Natural Communities Conservation Program (NCCP) identifies and provides for the regional or area-wide protection of plants, animals, and their habitats, while allowing compatible and appropriate economic development pursuant to the NCCP Planning Act. The HMP is a type of NCCP Plan.

The MHCP is a subregional NCCP planning program designed to develop an ecosystem-scale preserve in northwestern San Diego County.  The current MHCP study area consists of seven incorporated cities (Carlsbad, Encinitas, Escondido, Oceanside, San Marcos, Solana Beach, and Vista). The MHCP is a framework document that guided the development of the city-specific HMP.
 

The HMP implementing agreement contains the conservation, monitoring, and management responsibilities, assurances of implementation, and corresponding authorizations for the take authorization holder (city) and the wildlife agencies.

The Growth Management Plan listed open space as one of the critical 11 facilities that were important to preserving the quality of life in Carlsbad. Developers are required to contribute fees or set aside land for open space as they plan and develop their projects. It is important to note that:

• "Open space" is an ambiguous term that may be applied to many different types of land uses.
• Cities have different models of how open space is planned, paid for, and maintained.
• Cities define open space according to their general plan. There are five different categories of "open space" defined in Carlsbad's General Plan:

1. Habitat preserved for preservation of native biological resources (HMP lands)
2. Outdoor recreation
3. Public health and safety
4. Aesthetic, cultural, and educational uses
5. Agricultural, mining, fishing, and water management.

• The Growth Management Plan includes a goal of 40 percent of planned open space throughout the city.

A preserve is an area set aside for the protection of native species and vegetation communities. The land is protected by open space zoning, a conservation easement, or other mechanism. "Preserving" land generally refers to the securing of land for the purpose of natural resources protection. "Conserving" land also means protecting the land, but generally includes active management of the habitats and species within the preserve.

Because of the highly urbanized condition of our region, natural habitat tends to be fragmented and interlaced with development. This results in larger edge-to-area ratio (i.e. smaller, isolated pieces of habitat have more edges adjacent to development than a single, large block of land). More edges lead to more detrimental "edge effects," which include direct and indirect impacts from human activity. Edge effects can include excessive noise or nighttime lighting, which can disrupt breeding behavior of some sensitive bird species; infestation by non-native plant species; pollutants (e.g. pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, discarded oil or paint thinner, etc.) from adjacent commercial or residential land use; impacts from pets chasing wildlife or leaving waste which is not cleaned up by their owners; and changes in hydrology from adjacent irrigation. 

The two greatest threats to the preserve system are invasion from non-native plant species and unauthorized human activities. For example, pampas grass, a common ornamental plant in backyards, can invade natural stream courses and choke out native species that provide habitat for sensitive bird species. This grass spreads quickly and is very difficult and costly to remove.

Unauthorized human activities include off-trail use in areas not designated for this activity, resulting in denuded areas, erosion, and sedimentation into stream channels. 

A covered species is a species that has been determined to be adequately protected under the HMP preserve design. The HMP provides for the conservation of 25 species.

Narrow endemic species are native species with restricted geographic distributions, soil affinities and/or habitats. Because of their narrow habitat preferences, these species are at much greater risk because they only occur in limited areas. 

The HMP preserve system supports coastal sage scrub, maritime succulent scrub, southern mixed chaparral, chamise chaparral, southern maritime chaparral, native and non-native grassland, coast live oak woodland, southern willow scrub, mulefat scrub, southern coast live oak riparian forest, southern cottonwood-willow riparian forest, freshwater marsh, southern coastal salt marsh, cismontane alkali marsh, estuarine wetlands, open water, and vernal pools.

Mitigation is an avoidance, minimization, or modification of a potentially harmful effect to native habitats or species caused by project or activity. Much of the preserve system is being built as mitigation for environmental impacts caused by private development projects in the city (e.g., land set aside and protected to mitigate for land that is developed).

The public will have access to parts of the preserve system in a way that maintains the biological integrity of the preserve system while allowing for public education, recreation, and enjoyment of the native landscape.

The primary objective of the preserve system is to protect biodiversity, natural vegetation communities, and ecological function in the long-term. Even lawful enjoyment of the outdoors can put undue stress on the ecosystem and cause degradation over time. Human presence often brings noise that can disturb wildlife breeding or foraging activity, and can cause soil erosion, invasion by non-native species, and increased pollution. The city must balance recreational needs of the public with protection of its biological resources. Some areas are off limits to the public because there are sensitive species that need protection, habitat restoration projects, wet trails that must dry out after a heavy rain, highly erodible soils, etc.

In general, hiking, bird-watching and other forms of passive (low-impact) recreational activities are allowed in areas that are open to the public. Pets are generally allowed on city trails as long as they are on a leash and their waste is removed. Picnics are OK as long as all associated trash (including uneaten food) is taken out of the preserve. Note that many preserve areas do not provide trash receptacles. Biking are allowed only in selected areas.  

No motorized vehicles are allowed anywhere in the preserve system. No camping is allowed, and smoking, fires, and firearms are prohibited. See additional postings at trailheads in each preserve for additional information.

Some of the trails in the Citywide Trails Program are within preserve areas and some are not. Please see the Citywide Trails Program website for trail maps, guidelines for trail use, and information on volunteering.

You can look at the HMP Preserve map to get a general idea or call the Planning Public Service Counter (760) 602-4610.  Existing Hardline, Proposed Hardline, and Standards areas are all part of the HMP Preserve.

Vegetation cannot be cleared within the HMP for fire safety reasons. In most cases, a minimum 60-ft fire suppression zone has been established around all structures, but outside of all preserve boundaries as part of the development process. In some cases, older preserves may include an area of fire suppression within the preserve boundary. In this situation, it is the responsibility of the preserve manager (which may be a Home Owners Association) to keep defensible spaces cleared in a manner that is consistent with the city’s Landscape Manual.

Yes, but all new projects must be consistent with the HMP. If your property falls within a "Standards Area" (see HMP map) your project will be required to comply with the zone-specific standards described in the HMP.  If your property falls within the Coastal Zone, your project must comply with the Coastal Zone Conservation Standards. Projects adjacent to the preserve must adhere to the Adjacency Standards. 

HMP compliance will be analyzed concurrently with CEQA compliance, thereby streamlining the permitting process.

The HMP planning area is an urban preserve system in which conserved habitat areas are adjacent to developed areas. In order to prevent negative impacts to the preserve, Adjacency Standards must be addressed during the planning process of projects adjacent to the preserve lands. These standards include the following issues:

• Fire management
• Erosion control
• Landscaping restrictions
• Fencing, signs and lighting
• Predator and exotic species control

Please see the City's Volunteer Opportunities website 

Please see the Citywide Trails Program website to find out more.

For emergencies call 9-1-1

Rosanne Humphrey, HMP coordinator (760) 602-4689,  rosanne.humphrey@carlsbadca.gov