(a) Generally. Subject to the exemptions set forth below, no person shall engage in grading, clearing, or other activities, including the recordation of a conservation easement, with the intent to implement a covered habitat mitigation project without first applying for and receiving a use permit under this Chapter, together with any other approvals required by federal, state, or local law.
(b) Advisory Determination Regarding Coverage. Prior to asserting an exemption under subsection (c)(iii) or (vi), below, a prospective project applicant must conduct a pre-application consultation regarding the need for a use permit under this Chapter or other potential County approvals. This consultation may be initiated by contacting the Office of the County Administrator, Natural Resources Division and submitting a written project description with sufficient detail to enable an evaluation of the applicability of one or more exemptions. Prospective project applicants asserting their project is exempt under other provisions of subsection (c) may, but are not required to, also seek a pre-project consultation in the same manner.
(c) Exemptions. The following projects shall be exempt from the use permit requirement and the other provisions of this Chapter:
(i) All covered habitat mitigation projects that do not create 10 or more acres of habitat.
(ii) All covered habitat mitigation projects that do not enhance, restore, or preserve 40 or more acres of habitat. This exemption may not be combined with the exemption in subsection (a), above, to exempt any covered habitat mitigation project that creates, enhances, restores, or preserves 40 or more acres of habitat.
(iii) Covered habitat mitigation projects that create, enhance, restore, or preserve riparian corridor (buffer), oak woodland, vernal pool, or native grassland/prairie habitats, unless any such project also includes one or more other habitat types that exceed the acreage limits set forth in subsections (a) or (b), above. The proponent of any project that qualifies for this exemption shall provide notice to the County of the proposed project before commencing construction or other activities in furtherance of the project.
(iv) Any covered habitat mitigation project that received all necessary County approvals prior to the effective date of this Chapter, or for which a complete application for such approval(s) was submitted prior to effective date (for projects of less than 160 acres only) of Yolo County Ordinance No. 1401, which established a moratorium on certain types of habitat projects.
(v) Any covered habitat mitigation project(s) undertaken by a person that entered into a Memorandum of Understanding or similar written agreement with the County addressing the implementation of such project(s) during the term of Yolo County Ordinance No. 1401 (including the term extension approved pursuant to Ordinance No. 1402), which established a moratorium on certain types of habitat projects. This exemption shall be limited in scope to the project and/or other activities specifically described in the Memorandum of Understanding.
(vi) Limited term pilot projects undertaken for scientific research and related purposes, including feasibility assessments, in connection with the potential future implementation of a covered habitat mitigation project. Such projects are not covered by this Chapter so long as they occur in a time and manner that does not substantially interfere with the reasonable agricultural use of the pilot project site or adversely affect surrounding lands.
(vii) Activities that require discretionary approval pursuant to Chapters 3, 4, or 5 of this Title 10.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, any expansion or other change to a covered habitat mitigation project previously covered by one or more of these exemptions shall require a use permit if the proposed expansion or other change would remove the project, viewed as a whole, from the scope of these exemptions.
(d) Activities Not Covered. The following activities do not constitute covered habitat mitigation projects and are not subject to regulation under this Chapter so long as they are undertaken in the usual and customary manner prevailing in the County at the time this Chapter was adopted:
(i) All activities undertaken in connection with, and in furtherance of, the agricultural use of land. This includes, but is not limited to, the construction and maintenance of stock ponds and small reservoirs, tail-water ponds, irrigation canals and sloughs, rice fields, and similar activities.
(ii) Projects undertaken for the primary purpose of flood control, flood protection, or related matters of flood safety and the protection of life and property.
(iii) The winter flooding of agricultural fields for the primary purpose of providing temporary habitat for migratory waterfowl, provided such flooding does not occur in a time or manner that prevents or substantially interferes with the reasonable agricultural use of the site or adversely affect surrounding lands.
(§ 5, Ord. 1426, eff. February 28, 2013; as amended by §§ 3–4, Ord. 1501, eff. August 23, 2018)