Water Resource Protection Collaborative Garners Awards (2002-2006)
The Santa Clara County Water Resources Protection Collaborative
CONCUR worked with a broad cross-section of interests in California’s Santa Clara County (“Silicon Valley”) over a four-year period (2002-2006) to develop and ratify a series of landmark agreements for protecting water resources, and particularly stream resources, in this large and complex County. The Santa Clara Valley Water Resources Collaborative (WRPC, or Collaborative) was initially co-convened by the Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD) and the City of Cupertino in December 2002. Major participants in the Collaborative included representatives from the County of Santa Clara, all 15 cities in the County, the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, the Guadalupe-Coyote Conservation District, the Santa Clara County Farm Bureau, and representatives of property owners, environmental, community, business and agricultural interests.
The Collaborative faced two key challenges. One was to integrate the multiple, sometimes conflicting, approaches to land use planning and permitting in the 16 sovereign local land use agencies and the water district. A second was to address the diversity of streams and streamside resources in the different jurisdictions.
CONCUR’s prepared a Situation Assessment and a Convening Report spelling out the goals, composition, and funding of the Collaborative. With this blueprint in hand, the Collaborative worked over the next 3+ years to produce a series of ratified agreements to improve stream resource protection in the County. An early agreement in 2003 was a Memorandum of Consensus for Mutual Cooperation to Jointly Develop and Implement Water and Watershed Resources Protection Measures, Guidelines and Standards in Santa Clara County. This document was systematically presented for consideration by the respective governing bodies of the Water District, municipalities, and other Collaborative members.
In August 2005, the Santa Clara Valley Water Resources Protection Collaborative reached another major milestone by ratifying a number of key policy guidance documents. This included an agreement defining jurisdictional authority over land use permitting for all land uses adjacent to 1200 linear miles of streams in the County. It also included agreement on a detailed set of Guidelines and Standards for Land Use Near Streams for each city, the County, and the Water District to adopt. These Guidelines and Standards unified land use permitting near streams, with the goal of protecting and enhancing natural resources while allowing for continued economic development in Silicon Valley. Additionally, the parties agreed to establish an Early Consultation Program that formalized proactive interagency cooperation for large development projects, including local capital improvement projects.
In October 2006, the Collaborative reached agreement on an Adaptive Management Process. This process will provide a forum and procedure for all of the cities, the County, and Water District to annually evaluate the progress being made to protect streams and streamside resources, and to help ensure successful implementation of the Guidelines and Standards for Land Use Near Streams. The Collaborative also reached agreement on a new Mission Statement, Organizational Design, and annual Workplan for carrying out its future work.
Santa Clara County Local Governments Adopt Stream Protection Measures (July 1, 2007)
On July 1, 2007, new regulatory guidelines for protecting up to 4500 miles of streams throughout California’s Silicon Valley were adopted by members of the Water Resources Protection Collaborative. The guidelines include establishment of buffer areas to protect streams and streamside resources such as water quality, in-stream wildlife, riparian vegetation, stream banks and stream channels. By adopting the stream protection guidelines, local cities and the County of Santa Clara assumed enhanced permitting authority, transferring primary responsibility for streamside land use permitting from the Santa Clara Valley Water District to local governments.
Water Resource Protection Collaborative Garners Awards
The Water District and Collaborative received two public awards in 2005 in recognition of the success of the innovative, groundbreaking Collaborative process: 1) the Escaping the Constraints Award from the Public Officials for Environmental Reform, and 2) the Association of California Water Agencies’ Theodore Roosevelt Environmental Award for Excellence in Natural Resources Management, an award presented each year to recognize water agencies whose programs protect natural resources while meeting public needs.