On Tuesday, May 12, 2020, Vista City Council members voted 5-0 vote approve an amendment on a biological preserve that runs parallel with Hacienda Drive. The staff report is as follows:
Staff recommends a General Plan amendment and Zone Change to designate specific natural resource areas as open space and apply the biological preserve overlay zone. The subject areas are located within the City’s right-of-way areas and there are no parcel lines distinguishing these areas. The combined total acreage of the three areas is approximately 6.4 acres. These areas are currently undesignated in the General Plan Land Use Plan and Zoning Map and are considered unclassified under Development Code Section 18.06.050(D) until a zoning designation is adopted. The O Zone (open space) currently applies throughout several areas of the City where public parks and open space areas are located. The OS land use designation (open space) covers approximately 616 acres or 6 percent of the land area in the City, Open space is critical for the conservation and management of natural resources. Retaining open space in its natural state provides many benefits to the community, such as providing habitat for wildlife in urban areas and linkages to regional habitats and wildlife corridors; enhancing water quality and groundwater recharge; and providing natural systems that absorb and store CO2 from the atmosphere to help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.
The Biological Preserve Overlay Zone (BPO) designates land that the City has dedicated to the permanent conservation of biological resources. The BPO is identified as the City’s regional habitat preservation system in the General Plan. Biological conservation is the primary function of the approximately 297 acres of BPO land in the City. The BPO was also created to implement the North County Multiple Habitat Conservation Plan (MHCP), which was adopted by San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) in 2003. The North County MHCP covers 20,000 acres of preserve system in the north county area, including portions of Vista.
The presence of sensitive vegetation and wildlife communities within these subject areas help further define them as BPO lands with potentially viable wildlife corridors. The proposed amendments further support the General Plan’s Resource Conservation and Sustainability Element Policy 8.3 to preserve sensitive lands, including permanent bodies of water, floodways, and slopes over 35 percent, as open space for resource conservation and public safety purposes.
