Who is responsible for overseeing implementation of the Habitat Plan?
The Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency (Habitat Agency) is the agency primarily responsible for executing the requirements of the Habitat Plan, the federal and State endangered species permits, and the Implementing Agreement (the legal document between the Wildlife Agencies and co-Permittees to implement the Plan). The county and three cities are responsible for Plan compliance with respect to private development projects in their jurisdictions, and each co-Permittee is responsible for ensuring its own public projects are carried out in conformance with the Plan. The Habitat Agency will hold title to lands or easements it purchases and oversee cooperative agreements with land management entities that own and/or manage reserves as part of the Reserve System. The Habitat Agency may also provide funding to local land trusts and management agencies for them to purchase land for the Reserve System. The Habitat Agency will provide funds for reserve management and monitoring to those agencies and organizations with whom it contracts for such services.

The Habitat Agency is a joint powers authority (JPA) composed of the Cities of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, and San José, and the county. The JPA is limited to the four participating jurisdictions because the Joint Exercise of Powers Act requires that a JPA can only exercise powers held by all the participating agencies—and of the six participating agencies, only the four jurisdictions have the authority to adopt the Habitat Plan development fees. However, because all six agencies are responsible for implementing the Habitat Plan, each has a role in the Habitat Agency.

The Habitat Agency has two decision-making bodies, a Governing Board and an Implementation Board. Currently information on the Governing Board and Implementation Board can be found online; however, a new website is under development for the Habitat Agency. The Habitat Agency has joined the six other local agencies as a co-Permittee on the state and federal permits.

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1. What is the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Plan (Habitat Plan)?
2. Who developed the Habitat Plan? When was it approved?
3. What is a habitat conservation plan (HCP)?
4. What is a natural community conservation plan (NCCP)?
5. Why develop a joint HCP/NCCP?
6. What is "take"?
7. What are the benefits of the Habitat Plan?
8. What projects and activities are covered by the Habitat Plan?
9. What projects and activities are not covered by the Habitat Plan?
10. How long is the Habitat Plan in effect?
11. What are the boundaries of the Habitat Plan? How are the boundaries determined?
12. What does the Habitat Plan not do?
13. Who is responsible for overseeing implementation of the Habitat Plan?