AGENDA STAFF REPORT

Agenda Item AGENDA STAFF REPORT ASR Control 11-000591
MEETING DATE:	04/19/11
legal entity taking action:	Board of Supervisors
board of supervisors district(s):	5
SUBMITTING Agency/Department:	OC Community Resources (Approved)
Department contact person(s):	Rich Adler (949) 923-3752
	Harry Huggins (949) 923-3749

Subject: Caspers Wilderness Park – Coto de Caza Property Acquisitions

ceo Concur	County Counsel Review		Clerk of the Board
Concur	Approved Agreement to Form		Consent Calendar
			3 Votes Board Majority

Budgeted: N/A		Current Year Cost: N/A		Annual Cost: N/A

Staffing Impact: No		# of Positions:		Sole Source: N/A
Current Fiscal Year Revenue: N/A
Funding Source: N/A

Prior Board Action: N/A

RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):

Find that the recommended actions are Categorically Exempt from the provisions of CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15307, 15313, and 15317.

Accept the Grant Deed from Coto de Caza Ltd. for two properties, a 0.7 acre parcel and a 68 acres parcel, as part of the Caspers Wilderness Park corridor in the unincorporated area in south Orange County.

Authorize the Chair of the Board to execute Grant Deed and return it to OC Parks for recordation.

SUMMARY:

Accepting the Grant Deed from Coto de Caza Ltd. for two properties, a 0.7 acre parcel and a 68 acres parcel, as part of the Caspers Wilderness Park corridor in the unicorporated area in south Orange County will support the protection of open space and preserve significant habitat values.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

In the 1990s the County began acquiring property and easements as part of an open space corridor between the northwest corner of Caspers Wilderness Park and the Cleveland National Forest (Exhibit A: Location Map). The corridor serves as a buffer between development in Coto de Caza, Dove Canyon, and Rancho Santa Margarita and the natural areas of Caspers Wilderness Park, the Starr Ranch Audubon Sanctuary, and the Cleveland National Forest. It also incorporates Regional Riding and Hiking Trail linkages between Caspers Wilderness Park, O’Neill Regional Park, and the Cleveland National Forest. The corridor is identified in the OC Parks property inventory as part of Caspers Wilderness Park and is managed by that park’s staff.

The corridor includes both County fee-owned property and property subject to County resource preservation easements. A resource preservation easement is sufficiently restrictive to preclude any development on the property that it encumbers.

Much of the property and easements within the corridor were acquired by the County in conjunction with development approvals for the Coto de Caza community. The master developer of the Coto De Caza community is Lennar Homes, dba Coto de Caza Ltd. As the Coto de Caza community is nearing build-out, Lennar is seeking to resolve a number of property ownership matters prior to relinquishing its role in the community. Two properties have been offered for acquisition in fee by the County as part of the corridor.

One is a 0.7 acre parcel (small yellow circle on Location Map) within the corridor and is already encumbered by a County resource preservation easement. The property remains owned by Lennar, and Lennar’s conveyance to the County of fee title will strengthen the County’s ability to protect the property and the adjacent natural areas.

The other property is 68 acres of open space with significant habitat values (large yellow circle on Location Map), approximately 20 acres of which is within the corridor and is already encumbered by a County resource preservation easement. The property is also owned by Lennar and is being offered to satisfy a 1998 habitat mitigation measure that required Lennar to provide the County with $150,000 to $250,000 for acquisition of 15 acres of habitat on privately-owned property within Coto de Caza (the Hunt Club). Since the property owner has been unwilling to sell the property, Lennar received approval last year from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the California Department of Fish and Game to offer the County fee title to the 68 acres (adjacent to the Hunt Club property) as an alternate way to satisfy the mitigation measure (Exhibit B: USFWS Letter).

Both properties enhance the buffer quality of the open space corridor, and the larger property includes a regional trail segment. Incorporating the properties into the OC Parks inventory will only require a slight increase to routine patrolling duties performed by OC Parks. Once the properties are owned in fee by the County, they will be eligible for enrollment in the Southern Subregion Habitat Conservation Plan, a joint resource protection effort of the County, the Rancho Mission Viejo Company, the Santa Margarita Water District, and the USFWS.

OC Community Resources recommends Board acceptance of the Grant Deed from Coto de Caza Ltd. for the properties (Exhibit C).

Compliance with CEQA: In accordance with CEQA Guidelines, Section 15307, 15313, and 15317 and Class 7 (Actions by Regulatory Agencies for Protection of Natural Resources), 13 (Acquisition of Lands for Wildlife Conservation Purposes), and 17 (Open Space Contracts or Easements), the proposed project is exempt from the provisions of CEQA, which reflects the independent judgment of the lead agency, Orange County, and satisfies the requirements of CEQA.

General Plan: The project is in conformance with the General Plan of the County of Orange pursuant to Government Code Section 65402.

Hazardous Materials: A hazardous materials assessment has been completed by Environmental Resources which revealed no recognized environmental conditions associated with the parcels.

OC Parks Commission: The item was considered and approved by the OC Parks Commission at its February 3, 2011 meeting.

FINANCIAL IMPACT:

N/A

STAFFING IMPACT:

N/A

EXHIBIT(S):

Exhibit A: Location Map
Exhibit B: USFWS Letter
Exhibit C: Grant Deed