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December 8, 1994
San Diego, California

Presentations:

Brian Loew, Riverside County Habitat Conservation Agency

Tim Neely, Orange County Planning Department

Meryl Balko, City of San Diego, City Managers Office

Rick Alexander, HCP Consultant

• treat open space as infrastructure
• pay attention to small property owner; provide compensation [related to the comment that larger land holdings are relatively easier to include in HCPs]
• recognize deficiencies in county general plans, (e.g., National Forest in-holdings have been zoned as residential)
• need statewide growth management
• programs will fail without state and federal money
• recognize importance of RCDs and RC&D areas
• improve and strengthen Williamson Act
• timing is essential; need to resolve some issues ASAP
• identify what is financially realistic today

• create Public Mitigation Districts
• establish Environmental Crediting Districts (e.g., New York State's)
• use federal tax credit scheme (that would be transferable) to generate funding
• real estate transfer fees could be used to generate funds (refer to PCL's recent document identifying funding sources)
• identify problem with inheritance/estate taxes
• $2.5 billion available for lands 60 miles from Mexican border, via the BECC (Border Environmental Cooperation Commission) and NAD Bank (North American Development Bank); (CA not showing up for meetings)
• need a state-federal-local task force that looks into NAFTA s environmental funding opportunities
• use public land (TNC, TPL) trust programs to implement plans at lower cost
• transferable development credits useful technique that delivers equity
• life tenancy : offer freedom from property taxes for enrolled lands
• garbage tax
• impose fees for recreation use (bike, horseback, hiking)
• $1.00 per vehicle registration fee (with additions for each county)
• free up Land and Water Conservation Trust Funds