Special District
Special Districts Have Special
Environmental and Planning Needs
We understand the focused missions of special districts and authorities, like water, regional park and open space, school, fire, and waste management districts. Their environmental, resources management, or climate action planning needs must help them pursue their missions while achieving regulatory compliance and planning objectives. Ascent has the specialized experience to effectively and efficiently partner with these districts.
SPECIAL DISTRICT PROJECT TYPES
- Air quality guidance
- Campus plans and master plans
- CEQA compliance
- Climate action and implementation
- Park, trails, and open space management
- Port planning
- Renewable energy and transmission
- Solid waste
- Wastewater facilities
- Water supply
- Wildfire resilience and risk reduction
OUR SPECIAL DISTRICT SERVICES
- CEQA Compliance
- Park, Trails, and Open Space Management
- Renewable energy and transmission
- Wastewater Facilities
- Water Supply
- Wildfire Resilience and Risk Reduction
SELECT SPECIAL DISTRICT CLIENTS
- Bay Area Air Quality Management District
- East Bay Regional Park District
- Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District
- North Yuba Water District
- Merced County Regional Waste Managment Authority
- Metropolitan Water District
- Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
- Port of Los Angeles
- Port of Long Beach
- Reclamation District 2062
- Sacramento Municipal Utility District
- Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District
- Sacramento Water Forum
- Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority
- Santa Clara Valley Water District
- South Bay Waste Management Authority
- South Tahoe Public Utility District
- Tahoe City Public Utility District
- Tahoe Regional Conservation District
- Unified Port District of San Diego
- Yuba Water Agency
SPECIAL DISTRICT KNOWLEDGE
AB 2091 was signed by Governor Newsom on September 22, 2024, creating a new CEQA exemption for non-motorized public access. The new exemption applies to park districts and the Great Redwood Trail Agency (GRTA) when providing new nonmotorized public access to existing roads, trails, parking areas, and similar areas owned by the park district or GRTA. To use the new exemption, the lead agency must hold a public meeting to solicit input, consider effects on natural and tribal cultural resources, make required findings, and file a Notice of Exemption.
What is a “rare” species? In the context of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, this became a central question in the recent court decision, Nassiri v. City of Lafayette, et al., First District Court of Appeals, June 27, 2024. The Section 15380 definition of “Endangered, Rare or Threatened Species” has long been a part of the Guidelines. This section also mandates lead agencies to consider a species endangered, rare, or threatened if it can be shown to meet the qualifying criteria described therein, even when the species is not listed under either the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) or federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). Public agencies serving as a CEQA lead or responsible agency carry the responsibility to consider a species’ qualification as endangered, rare, or threatened under CEQA based on the facts of the project. This responsibility raises important issues for the environmental practitioner.
The Board of Forestry and Fire Protection announces the release of new tools for efficient California Vegetation Treatment Program (CalVTP) implementation and Project-Specific Analysis (PSA) preparation.
