The RCD’s Santa Cruz County (RCDSCC) Forest Health and Fire Resilience Public Works Plan (PWP) was certified by the California Coastal Commission on June 25, 2021. View the Santa Cruz County Forest Health and Fire Resilience Public Works Plan here:
The goal of the RCDSCC PWP is to meet the need for programmatic permitting for high-priority forest health and fuels management projects to reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire and improve ecological conditions for forests, woodlands, and grasslands within the coastal zone. 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 PWP is the result of a coordinated planning process of the RCDSCC and San Mateo RCD, in collaboration with State Parks, CA Coastal Commission, and staff of the planning departments of Santa Cruz and San Mateo Counties, and in consultation with local Cal FIRE staff. A parallel PWP has been developed to serve the need in San Mateo County.
Consistency determinations for individual Projects proposed as part of the PWP are made by the Coastal Commission and are subject to public review and comment and a public hearing. Individual projects proposed under the PWP must be locally approved by the RCDSCC Board at a public meeting, and a Notice of Impending Development, along with data demonstrating the Project is consistent with the certified PWP, must be presented at a public hearing of the CA Coastal Commission to determine if the proposed Project(s) is/are consistent with the certified PWP.
About Public Works Plans (PWP): 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 (LCPs) 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. For more information contact the Coastal Commission at
