Carlsbad, CA
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Habitat Management Plan Q&A
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.
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.
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:
- The Growth Management Plan includes a goal of 40 percent of planned open space throughout the city.
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.
Unauthorized human activities include off-trail use in areas not designated for this activity, resulting in denuded areas, erosion, and sedimentation into stream channels.
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