Board approves three-year pilot to pay tribes for CEQA consultation

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a three-year pilot on Aug. 19 to compensate local California Native tribes for consultation on county projects, with the stated goal of improving preservation of tribal cultural resources and making consultation a funded part of project review.

Panel and public support: County staff and tribal and conservation leaders described the pilot as a modest but meaningful correction to a long-standing inequity: governmental and private consultants are paid for project review while tribal representatives often attend and consult without compensation. "Each of these people are paid for their time. It is only tribal representatives that are expected to work on a volunteer basis," said Dr. Julissa Lopez of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band.

Program details and oversight: The pilot will allow applicants and the county to negotiate agreements with tribes for defined scopes of consultation and compensation; staff and supervisors characterized it as a three-year test to identify problems and make adjustments. The board included direction that applicants be part of agreements and requested a report back during the 2026 budget hearings to provide early implementation data on fees, frequency and how the process is working.

Vote and direction: The motion passed unanimously after several board members urged an implementation review and a report back during next year's budget hearings. Supervisors said the program is intended to increase tribal access to meaningful consultation and to recognize tribal expertise.

Ending: The pilot creates a county mechanism to fund tribal consultation on CEQA and land-use processes and is intended to be refined after an implementation period and reporting to the board.