Assembl
A
lymemb
ber Eduaardo Gaarcia, 56tth Assem
mbly Disstrict
AB 1089 –
– Coachellaa Valley M
Mountains C
Conservan
ncy Board Updated: 4/13/15 BACKGROUND The Coachella Valley Mountains M
Conservancyy (Conservancy) was w
establish
hed in 1991 via state
e legisllation to protect p
the diverse eco
ological and
d biolo
ogical resourcces of the Coachella Valley. When firstt estab
blished, the primary purp
pose of the Conservancyy was to protect and conserve the natural resources in
n and around the mountains su
urrounding the Coachellaa Valleey. As a resultt, the Conservvancy was no
ot inclusive off citiess on the valle
ey floor, such as the citiess of Indio and
d Coacchella. Howeever, in 1996
6, state legisslation made the CVMC a a
part of the Natu
ural Resource
es Agency an
nd expanded
d e valley floor and coincide
e their boundaries tto include the
with the boundaries of the
e Multi Spe
ecies Habitatt Consservation Plan
n (MSHCP). The MSHCP aimss to conservve over 240,0
000 acres off n space and protect 27 plant p
and animal species.. open
One of the fastest growing areas in Riverrside County,, the C
Coachella Valley has a pro
ojected population growth
h of 6
600,000 over the next 10 years. The MSHCP
P enco
ompasses all 9 cities in the valley and provides a a
regio
onal vision for balanced
d growth to
o meet the
e requirements of the federal and state endangered
d speciies laws, while w
promo
oting opporrtunities forr tourism, recreatio
on and economic developm
ment. To fu
und the MSHCP implemen
ntation and management,
m
, all 9 cities in the C
Coachella Vallley, includingg the cities off Indio
o and Coach
hella, imposse a local developmentt mitiggation fee on o new com
mmercial and
d residential deveelopment. All 9
9 cities in Co
oachella Vallley are mem
mbers to the
e Coacchella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG).. The CVAG Conservation Co
ommittee oversees o
the
e a managem
ment of the MSHCP, and
d impleementation and partn
ners with orgganizations su
uch as the Co
onservancy to
o facilittate the acqu
uisition and managementt of lands forr conseervation. To date, the Conservancy has helped
d placee more than 46,200 acre
es into conse
ervation as a a
resullt of direct accquisition, or by facilitatin
ng acquisition
n transsactions. ISSU
UE Curreently, the Cities of Indio and Coachellaa do not have
e seat at the table o
of the Conservancy board despite the uthority to acq
quire MSHCP
P conservation
n Consservancy’s au
land on behalf o
of CVAG in, aand with fun
nds generated
d m, the cities off Indio and Co
oachella. from
Wheen first estab
blished, the C
Conservancy’s role was to
o prot ect the bio
ological resources in the mountains surroounding the Coachella V
Valley. As a result of the
e Citiees of Indio and Coacheella being ggeographically
y locatted on the vvalley floor, they were not included on
n the Conservanccy. When tthe boundaaries of the
e Consservancy weere expanded to coincide with the
e MSH
HCP, which inccludes the citties of Coacheella and Indio
o, thes e two citiees were still not inclu
uded on the
e Consservancy board. The cities of Indio
o and Coacheella are members of CVAG
G, whicch oversees im
mplementatio
on of the MSSHCP. Because
e the Conservancyy is CVAG’’s MSHCP implementing
g part ner, not haviing the cities of Indio and Coachella on
n the CConservancy board has th
he potential tto disrupt any
y futu re economicc growth op
pportunities by increasing
g builders due tto the lack off inclusivity in
n unceertainty for b
the CConservancy’’s decision maaking processs. To ensure incclusivity, beetter coord
dination and
d com munication, including tthe cities o
of Indio and
d Coacchella on the Conservancyy board is neeeded. BILLL SUMMARYY AB 11089 is a simp
ple bill that w
would expand the Coachella
a Valleey Mountain
ns Conservan
ncy governing board and
d terri tory, to include the Cities of Indio and Coachella. Supp
port  Coachellla Valley Mo
ountains Con
nservancy (Sponsorr)  City of In
ndio  City of C
Coachella  Supervissor John Ben
noit, Riversid
de County 4th District
 Friends o
of the Deserrt Mountainss  Granite C
Construction
n Co.  CVAG FOR
R MORE INFO
ORMATION Carloos Gonzalez, Policy Directo
or Statee Capitol, Roo
om 4162 Carloos.gonzalez@
@asm.ca.gov (9166) 319‐2056