Monument Springs Drive Roadway and Bridge Improvements Mitigation Bank Credits – Delegation of Acquisition Authority to City Manager
Adopt a Resolution of the City Council of the City of Rocklin Approving and Authorizing the City Manager to Execute All Necessary Documents for the Acquisition of Mitigation Bank Credits for the Monument Springs Drive Roadway and Bridge Improvements Project.
On June 24, 2025, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2025-137, approving the 2026-2031 Capital Improvement Program, which included the Monument Springs Drive Roadway and Bridge Improvements Project. The Monument Springs Drive Roadway and Bridge Improvements Project will create a roadway connection across Secret Ravine that would connect China Garden Road to Greenbrae Road.
The project is currently in the design and environmental permitting stage, and because the project will impact riparian woodland habitat as a result of its construction, the City is required to obtain a California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Streambed Alteration Agreement (SAA) pursuant to Fish and Game Code Section 1602. The SAA for the Monument Springs Drive Roadway and Bridge Improvements project has been issued by CDFW.
As a component of the SAA and associated Riparian Mitigation Plan, there is a section that identifies the obligation to compensate for the project’s adverse impacts to fish and wildlife resources, in this case riparian woodland habitat. For the Monument Springs Drive Roadway and Bridge Improvements project, the City’s compensation requirement is to purchase 0.98 acre of credits of riparian woodland habitat from a CDFW-approved mitigation bank.
On June 23, 2026, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2026-099 approving and authorizing the City Manager to purchase the necessary mitigation bank credits for the Monument Springs Drive Roadway and Bridge Improvements project and the Sunset Whitney Connector Bridge project. Subsequently, CDFW indicated to staff that the previously contemplated mitigation bank was not an acceptable mitigation bank due to the type of mitigation credits available at that bank, and directed staff to find a more appropriate mitigation bank. Staff has worked with the project consultants to identify a more appropriate mitigation bank, and CDFW has tentatively approved that the new mitigation bank provides the correct type of mitigation credits.
As a result of having to identify a new mitigation bank, the proposed purchase of the mitigation bank credits has resulted in increased costs beyond what was approved in City Council Resolution No. 2026-099, and on August 25, 2026, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2026-137 repealing Resolution No. 2026-099. For the identified mitigation bank, the cost to purchase an acre of riparian woodland habitat is $450,000/acre, which would require a payment of $441,000 for the 0.98 acre mitigation bank credit requirements needed for the Monument Springs Drive Roadway and Bridge Improvements project.
To facilitate the City’s purchase of the necessary mitigation bank credits, staff recommends the City Council delegate authority to the City Manager for the acquisitions of mitigation bank credits for the Monument Springs Drive Roadway and Bridge Improvements project.
Sufficient funds are available to support the staff recommendation, as the Monument Springs Drive Roadway and Bridge Improvements Project (Project No. 50173) is included in the adopted 2026-2031 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and funded in the 2026/27 Fiscal Year Operating Budget.