§ 8177-4.1.2. All new upland development shall be sited and designed to avoid adverse impacts on environmentally sensitive habitat areas.

(a)

In cases where environmentally sensitive habitat areas are located on a project site where the impacts of development are mitigated consistent with the LCP Land Use Plan, the County shall assure that all habitat areas are permanently maintained in open space through a recorded easement or deed restriction.

(b)

When such impacts of development would be unavoidable, the County shall ascertain within the specified project review period whether any public agency or nonprofit organization, including the National Park Service, Coastal Conservancy, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, State Department of Parks and Recreation, County Property Administration Agency, and Trust for Public Lands, is planning or contemplating acquisition of any portion of the subject property to preserve it in open space. The permit may not be approved if such agency or organization has been specifically authorized to acquire any portion of the property that would be affected by the proposed development and funds for the acquisition are available or could reasonably be expected to be available within one (1) year of the date of application for the permit. If the permit is denied for such reasons and the property has not been acquired by such agency or organization within a reasonable time, a permit may not be denied again for the same reasons.

8177-4.1.3  Construction and/or improvements of driveways or accessways that would increase access to any property shall be permitted only when it has been determined that environmental resources in the area will not be adversely impacted by the increased access. Grading cuts shall be minimized by combining the accessways of adjacent property owners to a single road where possible. The intent is to reduce the number of direct ingress-egress points from public roads and to reduce grading. At stream crossings, driveway access for nearby residences shall be combined. Hillside roads and driveways shall be as narrow as is feasible and shall follow natural contours.

8177-4.1.4  All proposals for land divisions in the Santa Monica Mountains shall be evaluated to assure that any future development will be consistent with the development policies contained in the LCP Land Use Plan. Where potential development cannot occur consistent with the LCP, the request for division shall be denied. Environmental assessments shall accompany tentative map applications and shall evaluate the ecological resources within and adjacent to the site and the consistency of the proposed division and development with the standards of the LCP. In addition, the following shall apply:

(a)

Future building envelopes shall be identified on all applications and on the final subdivision map.

(b)

All identified environmentally sensitive habitat areas and/or slopes over thirty (30) percent shall be permanently maintained in their natural state through an easement or deed restriction that shall be recorded on the final map, or on a grant deed as a deed restriction submitted with the final map. Development shall not be permitted in areas over thirty (30) percent slope.

(c)

All offers of dedication for trail easements shall be recorded on the final map. Trail easements established by deed restriction shall be recorded on the deed no later than final map recordation.

8177-4.1.5  New development shall be sited and designed to protect public views to and from the shoreline and public recreational areas. Where feasible, development on sloped terrain shall be set below road grade.

8177-4.1.6  Development shall not be sited on ridgelines or hilltops when alternative sites on the parcel are available, and shall not be sited on the crest of major ridgelines.

8177-4.1.7  Except within the existing South Coast community, as shown on the south coast subarea Land Use Plan map, all development proposals located within one thousand (1,000) feet of publicly owned park lands shall be sited and designed to mitigate potential adverse visual impacts upon park lands. Appropriate mitigation measures include additional landscaping, use of natural materials, low building profiles, earth tone colors, and the like. Development shall not be sited within five hundred (500) feet of a park boundary unless no alternative siting on the property is possible consistent with the policies of the Plan.

8177-4.1.8  Development shall neither preclude continued use of, nor preempt, the option of establishing inland recreational trails along routes depicted on the LCP Land Use Plan maps. A recorded offer of dedication or a deed restriction creating a trail easement shall be required as a condition of approval on property crossed by trails shown on the LCP Land Use Plan maps.

8177-4.1.9  All new trail corridors shall be a minimum of twenty-five (25) feet in width, with a larger corridor width for major feeder trails. The routing of trails shall be flexible in order to maintain an adequate buffer from adjacent development. Where feasible, development shall be sited sufficiently distant from the trail so as not to interfere with the trail route.

8177-4.1.10  Before a permit for development of any lot is approved, the suitability of that lot for public recreational use shall be evaluated within the specified project review period by the County in consultation with the State Department of Parks and Recreation and the National Park Service. If the County determines that the property may be suitable for such use, the County shall ascertain whether any public agency or nonprofit organization (see Section 8177-4.1.2(b) for examples) is planning or contemplating acquisition of any part of the subject property, or whether such agencies are specifically authorized to acquire any portion of the property that would be affected by the proposed development, or whether funds for the acquisition are available or could reasonably be expected to be available within one (1) year from the date of application for permit. If a permit has been denied for such reasons and the property has not been acquired by such agency or organization within a reasonable time, a permit may not be denied again for the same reasons.

8177-4.1.11  Any areas within the Santa Monica Mountains used for private recreational purposes shall continue to be so used unless it becomes unfeasible to do so. These properties are subject to the following:

(a)

The only principal permitted uses (not appealable to the Coastal Commission) on such properties are recreational uses. Planned Development Permits for new recreational uses, or the expansion of existing recreational uses, may be issued by the Planning Director in accordance with Article 11. Permits for all other uses shall be decided upon in accordance with Articles 4 and 11, and all other applicable provisions of this Chapter and the certified LCP Land Use Plan.

(b)

Prior to the granting of a permit that allows a conversion of recreational uses to non-recreation uses, Section 8177-4.1.10 shall be followed.

(Ord. No. 4451, § 9, 12-11-2012)