The Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to accept land-use jurisdiction previously administered by the March Joint Powers Authority (JPA), adopting a March Area Plan, a March development code ordinance and a resolution acknowledging prior March entitlements (agenda item 23.1).

County staff described the action as primarily administrative: the March area plan consolidates and copies existing JPA land-use designations and specific plans into county jurisdiction, while the March ordinance aligns hearing and processing procedures with county practice. "This is an administrative process, a copy paste, if you will, from March to the county," the Planning Department's assistant director told the board.

The transfer covers roughly 3,800 acres and includes several area-specific specific plans and prior entitlements. Staff noted that approved March JPA projects would remain recognized under county control; projects in progress would need to reapply to the county for independent review. Any future projects in the former March area will be processed under the March development code provisions adopted by the county but will follow county administrative procedures for hearings, environmental review and approvals.

Tribal governments active in the area raised questions during the public hearing. Representatives from the Pechanga Band of Luisef1o Indians and the Soboba Band of Luisef1o Indians described ongoing government-to-government consultation and asked the county to include additional policy language addressing tribal cultural resources and consultation procedures. Pechanga counsel said the tribe was not opposing the jurisdictional transfer but sought an explicit commitment recorded in the county record that prior to considering any land-use approvals, the county will complete government-to-government consultation and make planning decisions consistent with applicable law. The tribes proposed a specific edit to the area-plan policy on tribal cultural resources (policy MAP 9.8) limiting the policy's exclusion for already-entitled projects.

County staff and counsel said the county had worked with tribes over recent days on draft language and that a memorandum before the board reflected the best-effort outcomes of those consultations. The county also committed to returning with any needed cleanup to make sure March's prior entitlements are fully recognized in county records.

Because the action transfers existing plans rather than approving new projects, staff said it is categorically an administrative reorganization and is exempt from CEQA under the reorganization exemptions and the common-sense exemption.

Supervisors approved the administrative transfer and associated ordinances. Staff said it will continue tribal consultation and will return with any additional technical or legal cleanup items to ensure entitlements and settlement obligations are memorialized.