RP plan to use wetlands for revenue bogged down

By Clark Mason
Article published - Jul 12, 2005

Rohnert Park's need for more revenue spawned a proposal that has made money for private entrepreneurs, but now the city is considering abandoning it because of bureaucratic hurdles that officials say may prevent the project from being profitable.

The irony of a government agency's being hindered by bureaucracy was not lost on City Manager Steve Donley, who said he's been complaining about such things for years. "We don't get any special privileges in dealing with federal agencies either," he said.

The project Rohnert Park had hoped to turn into a revenue source was a wetlands "bank" on 18 acres purchased by the city.

The City Council last year approved the $475,000 purchase of the property in what was touted as an innovative way for Rohnert Park to triple, or quadruple, its investment.

The need for mitigation banks on the Santa Rosa Plain was first highlighted in the early 1990s, when several flowering plants that populate seasonal wetlands were added to the endangered species list.

Developers were required to create their own wetlands to replace those lost during construction, but wetland banks allowed them to buy "credits" instead and start construction sooner.

Private entrepreneurs found the profit potential for those who develop wetlands could be huge. While it can costs $60,000 an acre to create wetlands, private habitat conservation banks in Sonoma County have commanded up to $450,000 an acre for developers to buy in.

But Rohnert Park officials say their project, conceived by former City Manager Carl Leivo, was more involved than originally thought.

"It's a five-year process with a lot of up-front money, and we may not get any wetlands out of it," Donley said.

"To establish a wetlands mitigation bank is a time-consuming process," Mayor Jake Mackenzie said Monday, adding that a final decision has not been made whether to sell the 18acres.

But the City Council tonight in a closed-door session will consider an offer to buy the land from a private group that develops wetlands. The mayor said the council may not be ready to take action right away.

"One of the things we're being educated on is the creation of (wetlands) banks and their complexities," Mackenzie said.

Experts say it typically takes several years to prepare wetland sites and get regulatory approvals from a list of agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S Fish & Wildlife, California Fish and Game and state water quality officials.

An array of experts need to be hired to create wetlands, including ecologists, hydrologists, botanists, zoologists, heavy equipment operators, surveyors and others.

The processing is done through government agencies that are understaffed. "They have a tremendous load and just don't have the staff," said Nathan Botwinik, a Santa Rosa real estate agent and wetlands expert.

"It's not a simple process," he said. "You have to duplicate what God created and that's not very easy to do.

Donley said the process takes a minimum of five years and has a "low probability of return."

"We don't want to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars and find out it didn't work out," he said.

While it is a risky, convoluted and expensive process, Botwinik said "there are many entrepreneurs who have taken that risk and are doing quite well."