Region governed by new wildlife corridors

Animal protections put into place



SOUL MATES—A boy admires the mountain lion sculpture at the Agoura Hills Recreation Center. New protections for wildlife corridors in the region will make it easier for people and animals to coexist. Courtesy of Mike Bigalke, Landscape Structures Inc.

SOUL MATES—A boy admires the mountain lion sculpture at the Agoura Hills Recreation Center. New protections for wildlife corridors in the region will make it easier for people and animals to coexist. Courtesy of Mike Bigalke, Landscape Structures Inc.

Ventura County made history March 12 by becoming the first county in the nation to create special zoning for the protection of wildlife.

The so-called wildlife corridors hope to give threatened animals such as cougars more room to run between the mountains and the sea.

Three years in the planning and comprising some 500,000 acres with more than 7,390 privately owned properties, the newly zoned areas will be governed by a set of regulations that preserve the natural wildlife habitats that run between the Los Padres National Forest and the Santa Monica Mountains.

Drawing from more than 12-hours of sometimes heated discussion at last week’s meeting, the county’s Board of Supervisors approved sweeping restrictions on construction, brush clearance, fencing and lighting for most properties in the unincorporated areas of the Los Padres National Forest and parts of Oak View, the Simi Hills and the Tierra Rejada Valley.

In a 4-1 vote with Kelly Long dissenting, the supervisors ap- proved amendments to the county’s general plan and its noncoastal zoning ordinance by establishing two new “overlay zones”—habitat connectivity and wildlife corridors overlay zone and a critical wildlife passages overlay zone.

The habitat connectivity and wildlife corridors overlay zone extends from Fillmore in the east into Los Padres National Forest in the west. One corridor runs through the upper part of the county where it connects to forest lands behind Ojai, and two other corridors go through the forest to the coast.

Separately, the critical wildlife passage areas zone includes parts of Oak View, parts of the Simi Hills and all of the Tierra Rejada Valley.

None of the new zoning regulations apply to the county’s 10 cities or to any structures, fences and lighting in the rural county that already exist.

Supervisor Linda Parks, who championed the corridor laws, said the measure strikes a balance between the threat of species extinction due to over-development, and the rights of property owners who have vested interests in the newly designated corridors.

Pushback

Critics, including the Ventura County Coalition of Labor, Agriculture and Business, or CoLAB, a nonprofit coalition of farmers, ranchers and related businesses formed in 2010, say the new codes do little but add another layer of regulations on top of existing county laws.

Parks agreed that while ordinance is likely to face a court challenge by opponents, it is “rife with exemptions” that favor ranchers and farmers.

“This ordinance has lots and lots of exemptions for agriculture,” Parks said. “If you want to put up fencing, you can still put up fencing around crops. You can plant invasive plants for commercial purposes. You can graze in riparian areas.”

The changes in land use came as a compromise.

The supervisors voted to retain a 200-foot buffer next to creeks and streams, which planning commissioners recommended scaling back to 100 feet. Covered in the ordinance are the banks of the Ventura River from east of Lake Casitas to the Pacific Ocean.

The supervisors also retained the Tierra Rejada Valley as a critical passageway. Planning commissioners had recommended removing the Tierra Rejada from the wildlife passage zone.

Supervisor Steve Bennett called Tierra Rejada Valley— surrounded by Moorpark, Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks—a “choke point” for animals.

“The more narrow the corridor the more important it is that we have the protection,” Bennett said.

Turn down the lights

Restrictions within the wildlife corridors apply to nighttime lighting on properties, the types of fencing that can surround structures— and to the brush clearance and new construction within 200 feet of creeks and streams.

For example, decorative nighttime lights must be turned off after 10 p.m. unless residents are having a party. Non-security lighting, such as the lights on a tennis court, must point downward. Lighting used in greenhouses must be blocked out so that it’s not visible from the outside.

Owners have three years to replace their nonconforming lighting.

Lighting used for security is exempt, but lights must be under 850 lumens. A standard 60-watt light equals about 800 lumens.

Solid fences blocking animals are allowed within 50 feet of a house or other structure. The ordinance also permits other uses, including fencing for horses and other domestic animals and wholesale nurseries.

Brush clearance near creeks and streams on private ranches and farms is allowed, but only with the use of hand tools and chain saws. Bulldozing to clear brush within 200 feet of creeks and streams will require a special permit, as will grazing.

In addition, owners will need burn permits from the fire department to destroy overgrown vegetation near the creeks and streams on their properties.

Last week’s Ventura County action is seen as the first step in a broader awareness for wildlife protection.

“We hope other communities follow Ventura County’s lead in safeguarding wildlife as development pressure and climate change intensify,” said J.P. Rose, attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, a nonprofit animal rights group. “Ultimately we need state-led action to protect existing corridors and create wildlife crossings to save imperiled animals from becoming roadkill.”