Permitting Resources for Project Design and Biological Review
Save Time and Money
Designing your project to avoid or minimize impacts on sensitive biological resources can reduce the need for costly and time-consuming redesigns and make the permit application process more efficient.
- Does your property contain natural vegetation?
- Is your property adjacent to natural vegetation?
- Is your property located within 300 feet of a waterway, drainage, or wetland?
- Does your property contain trees?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, it is in your best interest to learn more about the nature of the biological resources on your property before you design your development project. Layers available on the Ventura County Biological Resources GIS Viewer are a good place to start, but maps are not comprehensive and do not show all biological information for individual parcels of land. For properties in or adjacent to land in a natural, undeveloped state, an on-site biological survey and report prepared by a qualified biologist will be required. A qualified biological consultant can help you design your project to avoid or minimize impacts on sensitive and protected biological resources.
Resources:
Biological Resources GIS Viewer Access important maps and GIS layers for the Ventura County environmental review of biological resources. | CEQA Initial Study Assessment Guidelines This webpage includes important information about the CEQA Initial Study Assessment Guidelines (ISAGs) and related resources. | Initial Study Biological Assessment (PDF Document) This document details the formatting and standards of submission for biological assessments conducted in the non-coastal zone of the County. |
Coastal Initial Study Biological Assessments (CISBA). Appendix E1, Section Sec. AE-1.3 in the Coastal Zoning Ordinance details the formatting and submission requirements for biological assessments conducted within or immediately adjacent to the County’s Coastal Zone. | Ventura County List of Qualified Biological Consultants A list of firms and biologists who have been approved to prepare biological documents for CEQA and coastal development applications. | Ventura County List of Qualified Biological Restoration Specialists A list of firms and restoration specialists who have been approved to prepare or implement restoration plans. |
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| Sustainable Building Siting and Landscaping Practice Guidelines This webpage provides information about building siting and landscaping practices, as well as resources supporting wildfire resilience. |
Required Biological Assessments--What You Need to Know:
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), County’s Initial Study Assessment Guidelines (ISAGs), and the County’s Local Coastal Program (LCP) require environmental review for certain developments (discretionary entitlements) that may potentially significantly impact the environment.
CEQA and the LCP require the staff agencies of Ventura County to identify significant impacts of a project on the environment or as in the case of the LCP, on protected coastal resources. CEQA does this through the Initial Study and/or EIR process. If the Initial Study through CEQA finds that there are significant impacts, an Environmental Impact Report is necessary to identify alternatives and to show how the significant impacts can be mitigated. Within the coastal zone, the LCP does this through the findings of the Coastal Planned Development Permit process.
There are very few circumstances in which review of aerial imagery and maps alone are sufficient to determine that a project would not impact sensitive biological resources. Therefore, biological assessments involving field surveys are often needed to inventory and evaluate potential impacts of the proposed development. These reports are referred to as an Initial Study Biological Assessment (ISBA) in the non-coastal zone and a Coastal Initial Biological Assessment (CISBA) in the coastal zone. The CISBA and ISBA reports are tailored to the requirements of applicable environmental laws for each area. For more detailed information, please see the public information brochure “Biological Resources and Development Permitting”.
The ISAGs is used by the County to provide consistency across proposed development projects both in the coastal and non-coastal zone when determining what aspects of the proposed development may have a significant impact to the environment. These Guidelines provide the County with a clear, methodical process using threshold criteria to determine what is considered a significant impact to the environment with regards to natural resources, hazards, land use, public facilities and services. Biological inventory information collected from the site (ISBA/CISBA) is used with the ISAG thresholds to help determine significant impacts to biological resources during the CEQA Initial Study process or the Coastal permitting process.
Coastal Zone:
To determine whether a project is located within the Coastal Zone, please refer to Coastal Zone Area Maps or the Coastal Zone Boundary layer in the Ventura County Biological Resources Viewer. Before developing plans for a project in the coastal zone please consult with the Planning Division or an Approved Qualified Biologist to determine if Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Areas (ESHA) will be impacted. If the project is subject to the ESHA regulations, the applicant will need to work with an approved Qualified Biologist to conduct a least damaging environmental alternatives analysis (LEDA) as required by the LCP. Prior to completing the CISBA, the applicant should schedule an ESHA pre-application review and consultation pursuant to Coastal Area Plan 4.1.3-3, Program 2 for all new coastal development. The consultation will address site specific requirements (fuel modification zone sizes, location of wells, surveys, etc.) needed to complete the LEDA and final CISBA.
Non-Coastal Zone:
Within the County’s Non-Coastal Zone, an Initial Study Biological Assessment (ISBA) may be necessary to inventory and evaluate the biological resources present on the project site and provide the needed information. For the Non-Coastal Zone the County provides a Pre-Application Consultation Service and initial project screening that should be utilized to help reduce unnecessary costs and delays with the project permitting process.
An ISBA is required to be prepared by an Approved Qualified Biologist who can delineate the significant biological resources found during the assessment, such as wetlands, special-status species or sensitive habitats, as well as analyze the project’s impacts to those resources. Applicants may select from the Approved Qualified Biologists list or, if another biologist is selected, the Division must first verify his/her qualifications and add him/her to the Approved Qualified Biologists list prior to initiating the ISBA.
A generalized description of projects that may not require an ISBA is summarized below. For the specific requirements, please see ISAG, Section 6.3.4.
In general, projects that may not require an ISBA:
- Projects that may be approved with a ministerial permit.
- Projects that are not proposing fuel modification or new wildlife impermeable fencing outside of a legally permitted graded pad area.
- Demolitions, remodels, additions to existing structures, construction of a new structures, that are within a legally permitted graded pad area or, if there is no graded pad, a previously legally permitted developed/landscaped area.
- Projects on land consisting of non-native grasslands totaling less than an acre that are surrounded by urban development (such as urban infill lots), provided that the non-native grasslands have no potential as habitat for special-status species.
- Modification to an existing permit that would not alter the conditions of approval or findings regarding environmental impacts.
Project Design Features that May Reduce the Scope of Impacts to Biological Resources:
While the ISAGs Section 6.3.4 provides detailed guidance on when an ISBA or CISBA is required for discretionary development, including the following design features in a project may reduce or eliminate the need to conduct biological review (consultation with Planning staff is still recommended). The proposed project does not:
- Extend beyond an existing development envelope (fuel modification zones or fencing).
- Include removal of native vegetation or impact surrounding natural areas.
- Include new wildlife impermeable fencing outside of 50 feet of the outer wall of an existing legally permitted structure.
- Site new development or fuel modification zone within 200 feet from a designated surface water feature, known drainage feature, creek or wetland.
- Distribute the existing and/or proposed development across the project site (e.g., the proposed development is sited in a concentrated area or clustered to minimize environmental impacts).
CEQA Environmental Document What to Expect:
Once an application has been submitted and deemed complete, the County reviews the project as the Lead Agency under (CEQA). When the application and ISBA are reviewed, County staff will prepare the appropriate environmental document depending on the significance of environmental impacts of the project. If the project’s impacts are deemed less than significant, a Negative Declaration (ND) or Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) will be prepared depending on the necessity of including mitigation measures. If the project’s impacts are deemed significant, an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) will be prepared. For more information about the CEQA process and determination of impacts, please visit the CA Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation webpage.
Mitigating Biological Impacts:
If the ISBA or Initial Study identifies a biological resource that could be significantly impacted by the proposed project, then the project can either be redesigned to avoid those impacts, lessen the impacts to a less than significant through mitigation measures, or the impacts may be mitigated by compensation. Compensating for the habitat loss (otherwise known as compensatory mitigation) is when the applicant replaces the same type of habitat that was removed or degraded (in-kind) by preserving offsite habitat, or the restoration/enhancement of in-kind habitat. The amount and type of replacement will depend on the rarity of the habitat lost and State agency requirements. Within the ISAGS, Sec. 6.5 (pg. 6-11), the County has general guidelines for implementing compensatory mitigation. Compensatory mitigation areas are required to be protected in perpetuity using a conservation easement or deed restriction.
If the impacts cannot be avoided or mitigated to a less-than-significant level an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is required to fully disclose any unavoidable impacts to the public. Note that mitigation for coastal protected resources such as Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Areas (ESHA) are under a different set of regulations and are dependent upon the permitted uses and site-specific conditions. However, in all circumstances, designing a project to avoid or minimize any project impacts will significantly reduce project costs, delays in the permit process, and extra work on part of the applicant that would be required to meet the compensatory mitigation requirements. To meet compensatory mitigation requirements, in most cases the applicant is responsible for finding and purchasing a suitable property, securing a conservation organization to take an easement, and/or hiring a consultant to conduct the required restoration and submit yearly monitoring reports. It is important for the applicant to weigh the trade-off of specific components of the proposed project design and understand what required mitigation that a particular project component may trigger if the impact cannot be avoided or minimized.
County Permits
Below are permits issued by Ventura County agencies that may be required depending on the type of biological resources that are impacted by a project. The Biological Resources GIS Viewer or the PWA GIS Viewer can be used to help to identify biological resources that may be impacted by projects and then the type of permit needed can be determined. Please note that the data in these viewers used to evaluate impacts are not exhaustive and should be used as a reference in conjunction with other data and on-site surveys for projects.
After County Approval: State & Federal Fees and Permits
Additional fees and permits may be required in accordance with State and Federal laws and regulations.
California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Fees:
CDFW collects fees during the filing of the Notice of Determination (when the environmental document is complete). The case planner will notify the applicant about the required fee, which varies depending upon the type of environmental document being prepared. If the environmental review determines that the project would not result in any impacts to biological resources, a small CDFW filing is still required, to file a “No Effect” determination from the Department of Fish and Wildlife. The assigned case planner can aid with preparation and submittal of the form(s).
Other Agency Permits:
In addition to County permits/entitlements, projects that have been assessed to significantly impact threatened or endangered species or other protected sensitive species or communities (i.e. special status species) require permits from state and/or federal agencies. Projects located in waterways or wetlands require permits from state and/or federal agencies as well. As an example, the Ventura County Wetland Project Permitting Guide describes the various wetland/ waters permits, situations which require permits, and how to obtain these permits. Below is a table that lists and describes the types of permits that may be necessary for a discretionary project.
Regulation | Agency | Type of Permits | Ventura County GIS Layer(s) | Additional Information and Resources |
Recovery Permit; Scientific Purposes, Enhancement of Propagation, or Survival Permits | FEMA Endangered Species Compliance | |||
US Army Corps of Engineers Regulatory Program Sacramento District: Section 10 and Section 404 A Guide to the Rivers & Harbors Act Section 10 Permit Requirements, Process, and Compliance | ||||
None | ||||
Streets and Highways Code – Division 1, Chapter 1, Article 3, Sections 117, 660 & 671.5 | None |
For more information on County Permits please review the brochure titled “Biological Resources and Development Permitting.” For more information on other agency permits visit the Cal Trans Biological Resources Webpage.
Contact Us
Abigail Convery
Senior Planner/Staff Biologist
abigail.convery@venturacounty.gov
(805) 654-2489
Contact Us
Abigail Convery
Senior Planner/Staff Biologist
abigail.convery@venturacounty.gov
(805) 654-2489