Key Elements
From its inception, Placer Legacy has included work program elements to address regulatory requirements associated with biological resources (i.e., state and federal endangered species acts and federal wetland regulatory laws) and the non-regulatory conservation objectives of the Placer County General Plan. The Placer Legacy
Program will:
- Provide a wide variety of ownership, preservation, and funding methods to address the diverse circumstances present in the county;
- Benefit the county’s economic future by clearly maintaining Placer County as an outstanding place to live and do business;
- Maintain local land use control by taking a leadership role in the preservation of endangered species and habitat protection;
- Identify open spaces of importance to residents of the cities as well as the unincorporated area;
- Improve certainty in the regulatory process; and,
- Design the Program to allow phasing and early opportunities for successful implementation.
In order to develop a program that covers such a broad range of interests it is necessary to engage and involve the public at many levels. One of the more common methods is to create stakeholder working groups who are intended to represent a variety of interests during the program development phase of the Program. For the Placer Legacy effort, three working groups were formed: 1) a Citizens Advisory Committee, 2) an Interagency Working Group and 3) a Scientific Working Group. Additionally, the County formed a partnership with a local, non-profit business association, the Sierra Business Council.
Placer Legacy is an open space and agricultural conservation program coupled with a programmatic approach to natural resource regulation. The County is pursuing a Natural Community Conservation Plan (NCCP) under the State of California Natural Community Conservation Planning Act. The NCCP will be a comprehensive countywide plan for the conservation of all natural communities, endangered species and other less sensitive species of native wildlife, fish and plants.
The regulatory element of the program is intended to replace much of the project-by-project permitting that currently occurs through various agencies. Placer Legacy is the framework for guiding development and protecting open lands.
Through the strong and active support of Placer Legacy by citizens and political leadership, Placer County will retain its unique natural heritage, minimize conflicts between conservation and economic development, and enhance the prosperity of current and future residents.