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DISCUSSION Benefits to the City of Pleasanton. Participation in the preparation of the conservation strategy would benefit Pleasanton through: o Significant cost savings for certain of the City's Capital Improvement Projects accruing from a streamlined environmental review process and greater certainty regarding project mitigation. Projects such as the Bemal Bridge widening at the Arroyo Del Valle have been postponed for several years in an effort to find suitable wetland mitigation areas. While adjacent areas may be suitable they are either under private ownership or owned by other entities unwilling to take on the added responsibility of either creating or officially documenting an environmental mitigation area on their land. The Dublin Canyon Road Bridge replacement project, and future enhancements to Wayside or Delucchi Park that encroach on or affect the adjacent creek or arroyo, are other candidates that may require mitigation measures that are either not readily available or viable in the immediate project area. The inability to provide suitable mitigation measures in a timely manner has, and continues to, increase project construction costs as projects are delayed due to the lack of suitable mitigation areas. o Implementation of the City's General Plan subregional Planning Element goal regarding preserving valuable natural resources and protecting public safety (Goal 2). Policy 3 and Programs 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3, address the need to share information about ecological resources and promote a program to preserve them at a subregional level; to promote the development of conservation strategies; and to promote a subregional approach to protection of valuable habitat areas. All of these programs would be implemented by the EACCS project. Status of the Project. Jones & Stokes has made progress on mapping tasks including developing draft land-cover classifications, species selection criteria, and draft wildlife species list. In addition, a public meeting was held in January to solicit interest from agencies, land owners, developers, and conservation organizations to participate in a Users Group which would meet regularly during the strategy development process to review and comment on draft materials and policies. Approximately 25 persons will be invited to participate in this group. Funding of Phases 2 and 3 of the project. As described in the attached Joint Funding and Contract Administration Agreement (Attachment 2), the $15,000 thus far committed by the City of Pleasanton, together with contributions from the other funding partners, is financing Jones & Stokes' work on Phase I (data collection and mapping) of the project. There is currently no funding agreement in place for Phases 2 and 3 although, as noted above, several agencies have made funding commitments. Although work on the EACCS project may proceed beyond Phase I without the City of Pleasanton's financial participation, the City would lose the opportunity to fully participate in shaping the strategy to our needs. Page 4 of 5