Agenda - 10-06-1998 - 10a - Laserfiche WebLink

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36 NfEMORANDUM To: Board of Commissioners and Manager From: Alice Gordon Subject: PROPOSED REVISION TO COMMISSIONERS GOALS AND OBJECTIVES Date: May 2 S, 1998 CATEGORY: Resources Protection and Development GOAL: Natural Resource Protection (page 3 ) TASK: Evaluate "Resource Conservation" as a separate division in the Planning Department to give the function identity and a higher profile. According to the Revised Milestones for evaluating Resource Conservation as a function of county government, the commissioners are supposed to make a decision about this function in June 1998. Instead of establishing a new division of the Planning Department, I recommend that the commissioners establish a new Environment and Resource Conservation Det~artment to oversee the county's activities in the areas of environmental protection and resource conservation. ENVIRONMENT AND RESOURCE CONSERVATION DEPARTMENT Rationale The county commissioners have already recognized that resource conservation should have a distinct identity and a higher profile in county government. This separate function has been analyzed in the Technical Report entitled ~~rvation as a Function of Local Government. Orange County, April 1997. Using this report as a foundation but revising some of the concepts in the report, the commissioners should establish a new department to implement this function to give it the focus and resources it needs. Over the past decade the Planning Department has added a number of resource conservation activities and support for new advisory boards which in other jurisdictions are sometimes handled by a separate department. Also, the commissioners have discussed other initiatives, such as acquiring conserva- tioa easements or acquiring school park sites, which do not have enough county support to allow successful implementation. We need a comprehensive resource conservation program to protect land resources such as significant forests, farms, and historic sites Orange County should also protect its other important resources, such as air and water. All of these efforts should be centralized in a new department. FunctionslDutigs icompare with page 3-1 of the Technical Report) EnvimgmQgt~ Protection. Responsible for the county's efforts in the area of environmental protection. including protection of air quality, water resources, land and other resources, as stated in the county's current goals and objectives aad as stated in the charge to the Commission for the Environment. Land Acquisition and Related Activities. Responsible for conservation- related Land acquisition. conservadon easements, transfer of development rights and purchase of development rights and similar programs related to natural resource conservation, farmland preservation and conservation of cuicural, historical and archaeological resources. It would. be advantageous to have expertise in this area for smart negotiation of land purchases/easements.