STATE OF
(1) The California
Constitution has recognized
(2) The California
legislature has mandated in Government Code § 65300 that each county shall prepare a
comprehensive plan, and stated legislative intent in Section
65300.9 that the county planning shall be coordinated with federal and state program activities, and has
mandated in Section 65103 that county local plans and programs must be coordinated with
plans and programs of other agencies.
(3) Siskiyou County has
adopted a General Plan that contains land use, safety and open space elements intended to
specify plans and measures for managing the production of
resources, for outdoor recreation and for public safety consistent with the edicts of California
Constitution, Article XXVII, and the
observance of specific Action Programs setting forth how the goals of the element will be
achieved.
(4) Government Code
section 65352 requires this
TITLE 10. PLANNING AND ZONING CHAPTER
12.
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Sec.
10-12.01. Findings. The Board
finds:
(a) Actions of state and federal agencies to plan, adopt rules or regulations, acquire
land or interest in land, in fee or through easements, promulgation of programs, land
adjustments, and other activities of these agencies can have significant effects on the
customs, culture, economy, resources, and environment of the County of Siskiyou and its
citizens.
(b) In order to protect the customs, culture, economy, resources, and environment of the
County of Siskiyou, it is critical that federal and state agencies recognize and address
the effects of any actions proposed within the County which may affect matters, including,
but not limited to, economic growth, public health, safety and welfare, land use, the
environment, conservation of natural resources, such as timber, water, fish, wildlife,
mineral resources, agriculture, grazing, and recreational opportunities.
(c) The coordination and consideration of the County's interest is required by law, such
as in those requirements set forth in the National Environmental Protection Act, the
National Forest Management Act, the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act, the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act, the Federal Administrative Procedures Act, the State of
California Public Resources Code, the California Environmental Quality Act, and numerous
other federal and state statutes and administrative procedures.
(d) These various state and federal laws provide for participation by
(e) There is general County concern that, in the past, the legally required process of
notification, referral, and coordination of activities described above may not have been
consistently followed by state and federal agencies, which has led to concerns by the
County and its residents that uncoordinated actions may have been adopted contrary to the
requirements of law and potentially detrimental to the customs, culture, economy,
resources, and environment of the County of Siskiyou.
(f) There is a clear need to establish an effective and consistent joint procedure for
advance notification, referral, coordination, and participation to be followed by all
state and federal agencies when undertaking activities or actions affecting the public
health, safety, land use, customs, culture, economy, conservation of natural resources and
environment of the County of Siskiyou, which procedure provides for a timely advance
notice of opportunities for participation which are essential to the integrity of the
decisionmaking processes of these state and federal agencies.
(g) In order for this coordination and consultation to be meaningful, the said notice and
opportunity for input shall be given at the earliest possible stage of the federal and/or
state governments' contemplation or consideration of a particular course of action with
regard to land use plans, actions, or decisions affecting land use in Siskiyou County and
such notice shall be given with sufficient specificity and prior to any psychological
momentum having been developed with regard to the particular plan, action, or decision.
(§ I(part), Ord. 99-08, eff.
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Sec.
10-12.02 Notification, referral, and consultation procedures.
In order to
permit timely advance notification, referral, consultation, coordination, and
participation in proposed actions of state and federal agencies:
(a) All federal and state agencies shall inform the County of Siskiyou, or its designee,
of all pending, contemplated or proposed actions affecting local communities, citizens, or
affecting County policy, and shall, if requested by the County, coordinate the planning
and implementation of those actions with the County or its designee(s). Such notification
shall include a detailed description of the proposed plan, procedure, rule, guideline, or
amendment sufficient to fully inform lay persons of its intent and effects, including the
effects on the resources, environment, customs, culture, and economic stability of the
(b) The Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors shall be consulted in accordance with the
laws and regulations of the State of
(c) All federal and state agencies shall, to the fullest extent permissible by law, comply
with all applicable procedures, policies, and practices issued by the
(d) When required by law or when requested by the County of Siskiyou, all federal and
state agencies proposing actions that may impact citizens of the County of Siskiyou shall
prepare and submit in writing, and in a timely manner as soon as is practicable, report(s)
on the purposes, objectives and estimated impacts of such actions, including
environmental, health, social, customs, cultural and economic impacts, to the County of
Siskiyou. Those reports shall be provided to the
(e) Before federal and state agencies can alter land use(s), environmental review of the
proposed action shall be conducted by the lead agency and mitigation measures adopted in
accordance with policies, practices, and procedures applicable to the proposed action and
in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws. Impact studies shall, as
needed, address the effects on community and economic resources, the environment, local
customs and public health, safety, and welfare, culture, grazing rights, flood prone areas
and access and any other relevant impacts.
(f) For the purposes of this ordinance, each federal and state agency shall, unless
specifically authorized otherwise, give the required notice(s) to the
Siskiyou
Yreka, CA
96097
(g) Not less than five (5) complete copies of the written documents supporting the
proposed action shall be provided to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors at the above
referenced address in such a timely manner so that there can be meaningful review and
input sufficiently in advance of the action.
(h) Notification of the availability of related documents shall be available for the
minimum time set forth by the federal and state statute for such review or, if none is
established by law, for a period of not less than forty-five (45) days prior to the
proposed date of action, adoption or approval. This time is necessary to ensure adequate
local opportunity for consideration and response. (§ I(part), Ord. 99-08, eff.
CEQA
(1) The California
Environmental Quality Act requires the preparation of an analysis to evaluate the impact
of economic and social effects resulting from a project to physical changes caused by the
economic or social changes.
(2) The
REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION
(1) Government Code §
65070 provides that preparation of state and
regional transportation plans be performed in a cooperative process involving local
government.
WATER CODE
(1) Water Code §§
8125-8129 the
STREETS
(1) In Streets and
Highways Code §§ 940-941.2 the California legislature has placed the general
supervision, management, and control of county roads and highways - including closing such
roads and removing and preventing encroachment
of such roads and highways, and since planning and actions with regard to such roads by
any federal or state agency must be
coordinated with the county.
PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE
(1) Public Resources
Code § 5099.3 the
FEDERAL
INTERGOVERNMENTAL
COOPERATION ACT
(1) The Intergovernmental Cooperation Act contains
specific coordinated planning requirements for local, state and federal agencies.
Presidential Executive Order 12372 requires
federal agencies to coordinate actions and projects with
local governments so that local impacts arising from federal
projects may be identified.
NEPA
(1) The National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), is intended to ensure that Federal agencies actively
participate as cooperating agencies in other agency's NEPA processes. The Council on
Environmental Quality regulations addressing cooperating agencies status (40 C.F.R. §§
1501.6 & 1508.5) implement the NEPA mandate that Federal agencies responsible for
preparing NEPA analyses and documentation do
so "in cooperation with State and local governments" and other agencies with
jurisdiction by law or special expertise. (42 U.S.C. §§ 4331 (a), 4332(2)).
(2) The Environmental
Protection Agency, charged with administration and implementation of the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), has issued regulations which require that federal
agencies consider the economic impact of their actions and plans on local government such
as
(3) NEPA requires
federal agencies to consider the impact of their actions on the customs of the people as
shown by their beliefs, social forms, and "material traits," it reasonably
follows that NEPA requires federal agencies to consider the impact of their actions on the
rural, land and resource-oriented citizens of Siskiyou County who depend on the
"material traits" including recreation, tourism, timber harvesting, mining, livestock grazing, and other
commercial pursuits for their economic livelihoods.
(4) NEPA requires
federal agencies to consider the impact of their actions on the customs, beliefs, and
social forms, as well as the
"material traits" of the people. It is reasonable to interpret NEPA as requiring
federal agencies to consider the impacts of their actions on those traditional and
historical and economic practices, including
commercial and business activities, which are performed or operated on federally and state
managed lands (including, but not limited to recreation, tourism, timber harvesting,
mining, livestock grazing, and other commercial pursuits.)
(5) 42 U.S.C. § 4331
places upon federal agencies the "continuing responsibility... to use all practicable
means, consistent with other considerations of national policy to... preserve important
historic, culture, and natural aspects of our national heritage." (Webster's New
Collegiate Dictionary (at 277, 1975) defines "culture" as "customary
beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a group; the integrated pattern of human
behavior passed to succeeding generations.”
FEDERAL
(1) 16 U.S.C. § 1604, the National Forest
Management Act, requires the Forest Service to coordinate its planning processes with
local government units such as
(2) Coordination of planning and management actions
is mandated by federal laws governing land management including the Federal land Policy
and Management Act, 43 176 US § 1701, and 43 U.S.C. § 1712, regarding the coordinate
status of a county engaging in the land use planning process, and requires that the
"Secretary of the Interior [Secretary] shall...coordinate the land use inventory,
planning, and management activities...with the land use planning, and management programs
of other federal departments and agencies and
of the state and local governments within which the lands are located." and
(3) The coordination
requirements of Section 1712 provide for special involvement by government officials who
are engaged in the land use planning process. Section 1712 sets forth the nature of the
coordination required with planning efforts by government officials and subsection (f) of
Section 1712 sets forth an additional requirement that the Secretary "shall allow an
opportunity for public involvement" (including local government without limiting the
coordination requirement of Section 1712 allowing land or resource management or
regulatory agencies to simply lump local government in with special interest groups of
citizens or members of the public in general.)
(4) Section 1712 also
provides that the "Secretary shall... assist in resolving, to the extent practical,
inconsistencies between federal and non-federal government plans" and gives
preference to those counties which are engaging in the planning process over the general
public, special interest groups of citizens, and even counties not engaging in a land use
planning program.
(5) The requirement
that the Secretary "coordinate" land use inventory, planning, and management
activities with local governments, requires the assisting in resolving inconsistencies to
mean that the resolution process takes place during the planning cycle instead of at the
end of the planning cycle when the draft federal plan or proposed action is released for
public review.
(6) Section 1712
further requires that the "Secretary shall... provide for meaningful public
involvement of state and local government officials... in the development of land use
programs, land use regulations, and land use decisions for public lands"; and, when
read in light of the "coordinate" requirement of Section 1712, reasonably
contemplates "meaningful involvement" as referring to on-going consultations and
involvement throughout the planning cycle, not merely at the end of the planning cycle.
(7) Section 1712
further provides that the Secretary must assure that the federal agency's land use plan be "consistent with state and local plans"
to the maximum extent possible under federal law and the purposes of the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act and distinguishes local government officials from members of the
general public or special interest groups of citizens.
ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT
(1) Title 16 USCS §
1531 of the Endangered Species Act declares the policy of the United States government as
encouraging interested parties such as local government to develop and maintain
conservation programs which meet national and
international standards and further declared that the policy of Congress that Federal
agencies shall cooperate with local
agencies to resolve water resource issues in concert with conservation of endangered
species.
(2) Federal agencies
implementing the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and the
271 Outdoor Recreation Coordination Act (16 U.S.C. § 4601-1 (c) and (d) are required by
Congress to consider local plans and coordinate directly with plans of local government
such as Siskiyou County
(1) Title 36 of the
Code of Federal Regulations, sets out the administration of the Forest Transportation
System. The Transportation Plan set out at 36 C.F.R. § 212.53 requires the responsible
official to "coordinate with appropriate...county, and other local government
entities when designating National Forest System roads...". 36
CLEAN WATER ACT, CLEAN
(1) Federal agencies
implementing the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and the
271 Outdoor Recreation Coordination Act (16 U.S.C. § 4601-1 (c) and (d) are required by
Congress to consider local plans and coordinate directly with plans of local government
such as Siskiyou County.