COSAC discusses small-parcel funding criteria and project status; $6M noted as allocated

COSAC members spent part of the meeting refining a strategy for funding small parcels and reviewing the status of several county-supported projects.

On the small-parcel question, the committee acknowledged it has not formally defined a size cutoff but discussed using roughly "20 ish acres" as a working threshold because smaller parcels tend to have higher per-acre costs and are harder to match with other funding. Members said any policy would include scoring and would not categorically exclude donations of smaller parcels.

Committee members also said they will examine past dollars-per-acre data and consider property-value variation rather than relying only on averages when deciding eligibility and matching requirements.

On project status, the committee reported that the "first 6,000,000 has been spoken for" across several projects. Members named Elkhorn Ranch as funded with federal contributions and currently in due diligence, which could take "6 or 12 months." Harris Farms and Silva Farms were reported to have progressed (ground approval or active process), and county ownership and long-term management are still subject to future easement decisions or partnerships with local cities.

The committee agreed it is willing to draft nonbinding letters of support for property owners applying to other funding sources for conservation easements, provided such letters do not imply a financial commitment. Members offered to draft template language for review.

Next steps: COSAC will collect dollars-per-acre data, draft small-parcel criteria and scoring recommendations, and continue tracking due-diligence progress on county-funded projects.