Section 2815 Of Chapter 10. Natural Community Conservation Planning Act From California Fish And Game Code >> Division 3. >> Chapter 10.
2815
. The department shall establish, in cooperation with the
parties to the planning agreement, a process for public participation
throughout plan development and review to ensure that interested
persons, including landowners, have an adequate opportunity to
provide input to lead agencies, state and federal wildlife agencies,
and others involved in preparing the plan. The public participation
objectives of this section may be achieved through public working
groups or advisory committees, established early in the process. This
process shall include all of the following:
(a) A requirement that draft documents associated with a natural
community conservation plan that are being considered for adoption by
the plan lead agency shall be available for public review and
comment for at least 60 days prior to the adoption of that draft
document. Preliminary public review documents shall be made available
by the plan lead agency at least 10 working days prior to any public
hearing addressing these documents. The review period specified in
this subdivision may run concurrently with the review period provided
for any document required by the California Environmental Quality
Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public
Resources Code) that is associated with the natural community
conservation plan. This subdivision shall not be construed to limit
the discretion of a public agency to revise any draft documents at a
public hearing.
(b) A requirement to make available in a reasonable and timely
manner all draft plans, memoranda of understanding, maps,
conservation guidelines, species coverage lists, and other planning
documents associated with a natural community conservation plan that
are subject to public review.
(c) A requirement that all public hearings held during plan
preparation or review for approval are complementary to, or
integrated with, those hearings otherwise provided by law.
(d) An outreach program to provide access to information for
persons interested in the plan, including landowners, with an
emphasis on obtaining input from a balanced variety of affected
public and private interests, including state and local governments,
county agricultural commissioners, agricultural organizations,
landowners, conservation organizations, and the general public.