The San Mateo Resource Conservation District (SMRCD) has released a Draft San Mateo County Forest Health and Fuel Reduction Public Works Plan (PWP) for public review and comment.

View the San Mateo County Forest Health and Fire Resilience Public Works Plan (PWP) public draft by clicking here.

The goal of the PWP is to facilitate permitting of high-priority projects in the Coastal Zone that reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire and improve ecological conditions for forests, woodlands, and grasslands. The PWP provides a planning framework to efficiently review and authorize vegetation management projects within the Program Area over the next ten years using principles, strategies, and best management practices that align fire prevention planning with the protection of coastal resources. This draft PWP is the result of a coordinated planning process of the SMRCD and RCD of Santa Cruz County, in collaboration with State Parks, CALFIRE, California Coastal Commission, and staff of the planning departments of San Mateo and Santa Cruz Counties. A parallel Draft PWP has been noticed for public review in Santa Cruz County.

The SMRCD will be hosting a public hearing on the draft PWP via Zoom on June 17, 2021 at 4:00 pm.
web: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89675733636
phone: (669) 900-6833 US (San Jose)
meeting ID: 896 7573 3636 

The meeting agenda will be posted at least 10 days prior to the hearing and can be found on the SMRCD’s website at http://www.sanmateorcd.org/about/board-meetings/. Questions and comments regarding the Draft San Mateo County Forest Health and Fuel Reduction Public Works Plan can be directed to fire@sanmateoRCD.org. 

Comments are due by 5pm on June 16, 2021.

About Resource Conservation Districts: Resource Conservation Districts are public special districts that provide comprehensive, non-regulatory services to protect, conserve, and restore natural resources. Serving as local hubs for conservation efforts, RCDs across California work in partnership with landowners and managers, technical advisors, area jurisdictions, government agencies, and others. For more information visit www.sanmateorcd.org.

About Public Works Plans: A PWP is a land use planning document that plans for and sets a framework for implementing a specific public works project or array of public works-related activities. A PWP provides a land use planning alternative to Local Coastal Programs for obtaining approval of large or phased public works projects, as well as any development proposed by a special district, and remains under the authority of the Coastal Commission irrespective of coastal permit jurisdictional boundaries. A PWP is an alternative to project-by-project review for public works, which would otherwise require multiple coastal development permits for different components of the public works project.