Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency

What Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency does

The Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency is a California Joint Powers Authority formed in 2006 by four local-government partners — the City of San Jose, the County of Santa Clara, the Santa Clara Valley Water District (Valley Water), and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) — to implement the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Plan, an integrated 50-year Habitat Conservation Plan / Natural Community Conservation Plan (HCP/NCCP). The agency's principal product is a coordinated permitting framework that consolidates federal Endangered Species Act (Section 7/10), state NCCP Act, and Clean Water Act Section 404 review into a single application, covering 19 species and a 47,000-acre Reserve System that is being assembled over the plan's lifetime to offset development impacts in Santa Clara County. Its offering is augmented by Regional General Permit (RGP) #18, a five-year USACE permit issued January 28, 2021 (expiring January 28, 2026) that expedites Section 404 review across 17 activity categories, and an In-Lieu-Fee (ILF) compensatory mitigation program approved by the USACE Interagency Review Team on June 30, 2023, which sells mitigation credits for Clean Water Act impacts. Core supporting technology consists of an ArcGIS-based Geobrowser and an ArcGIS Open Data Portal that expose Reserve System boundaries, species ranges, and permit-area layers; mapping is descriptive rather than analytical, with no AI/ML components. The agency's revenue model is transaction-based: application and impact fees from private developers, plus public-agency reporting and ILF credit purchases, collected per project rather than through recurring subscriptions or tax allocation. Customer segments split between private applicants (developers and landowners) needing streamlined federal/state regulatory certainty and public applicants (cities, counties, water districts, transportation authorities) needing regional coordination for infrastructure. Headquarters are at 535 Alkire Avenue, Morgan Hill, California, with a staff of 8-9 led by Executive Officer Edmund Sullivan.

Name

Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency

Legal name

Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency

Website

https://scv-habitatagency.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency is a California Joint Powers Authority formed in 2006 by San Jose, Santa Clara County, Valley Water, and VTA that implements a 50-year HCP/NCCP, consolidating federal endangered species, state NCCP, and Clean Water Act permitting across a 47,000-acre Reserve System in Santa Clara County. It earns fee revenue from developers and public agencies via per-project application and In-Lieu-Fee mitigation credit sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Morgan Hill

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Habitat Plan Application and Permit Fees: The agency collects fees from applicants (private developers, public agencies) seeking coverage under the Habitat Plan. These fees fund the Reserve System establishment, monitoring, maintenance, and enhancement activities.
2. Regional General Permit Fees and In-Lieu-Fee Credits: The Regional General Permit (RGP) #18 provides an expedited framework for waters permitting. The In-Lieu-Fee (ILF) program allows applicants to satisfy Clean Water Act mitigation requirements through payment of Habitat Plan fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency implements the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Plan (HCP/NCCP), a 50-year program that combines a 47,000-acre Reserve System with a coordinated permit framework covering endangered species (Section 7/10) and Clean Water Act Section 404 compliance. Property owners, developers, and public agencies apply for coverage under the Habitat Plan, pay permit fees, and receive authorizations for activities affecting covered species and habitats in Santa Clara County.

Product overview

Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency operates a single integrated platform—the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Plan (HCP/NCCP)—which combines a 47,000-acre Reserve System, a portfolio of Habitat Restoration Projects, a Regional General Permit (RGP) #18 for Clean Water Act compliance, and an In-Lieu-Fee (ILF) mitigation program into one unified conservation framework. The offering is supplemented by a Geobrowser (ArcGIS mapping tool), Wildlife Connectivity resources, a Covered Species Program (19 species), GIS Data downloads, and application forms for permit applicants. There is no separate SaaS product architecture; rather, the agency provides a set of interconnected regulatory, conservation, and mapping services under the Habitat Plan umbrella.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Santa Clara Valley Habitat Plan
• Reserve System
• Habitat Restoration Projects
• Regional General Permit (RGP) #18
• In-Lieu-Fee (ILF) Program
• Habitat Plan Permit Application Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Formation of a 47,000-acre Reserve System of protected land over 50 years
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• USACE Interagency Review TeamcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 June 2023Approved the In-Lieu-Fee Enabling Instrument, which provides compensatory mitigation credits for Clean Water Act impacts through payment of Habitat Plan fees.
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (San Francisco District)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 January 2021Issued Regional General Permit (RGP) #18 to the Habitat Agency and Co-Permittees for impacts to waters of the U.S. associated with projects covered by the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Plan. The five-year permit provides expedited waters permitting framework.
• City of San JosecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of four original local partners that established the framework for the Habitat Conservation and Natural Communities Conservation planning process through a Memorandum of Understanding.
• Santa Clara CountycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of four original local partners that established the framework for the Habitat Conservation and Natural Communities Conservation planning process through a Memorandum of Understanding.
• Santa Clara Valley Water DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of four original local partners that established the framework for the Habitat Conservation and Natural Communities Conservation planning process through a Memorandum of Understanding.
• Santa Clara Valley Transportation AuthoritycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of four original local partners that established the framework for the Habitat Conservation and Natural Communities Conservation planning process through a Memorandum of Understanding.
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal wildlife agency that provides endangered species permitting approval and oversight for the Habitat Plan as part of the NCCP process.
• California Department of Fish and WildlifecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState wildlife agency that provides Natural Communities Conservation Plan (NCCP) approval and ongoing oversight as required by the NCCP Act.
• Cities of Gilroy and Morgan HillcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipating cities added through the September 2005 Planning Agreement, joining the original local partners in implementing the Habitat Plan.
• National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal agency providing biological opinion and approval for the Regional General Permit #18 for aquatic species protection.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SCVHA?mibextid=wwXIfr
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/santa-clara-valley-habitat-agency
• Instagraminstagram.com/scv_habitatagency?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency