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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHDP 02-10; Dunn Residence; Hillside Development Permit (HDP) (30)-dTATE OF CALIFORNIA 1 Governor’s Office of Planning and Research State Clearinghouse and Planning Unit Arnold Schwarzenegger Governor December 3 1,2003 Anne Hysong City of Carlsbad 163 5 Faraday Avenue Carlsbad, CA 92008 Sul?.iec(: Dum Residence - HDP 02-10 SCH#: 2003121007 Dear Anne Hysong: The State Clearinghouse submitted the above named Negative Declaration to selected state agencies for review. On the enclosed Document Details Report please note that the Clearinghouse has listed the state agencies that reviewed your document. The review period closed on December 30,2003, and the comments from the responding agency (ies) is (are) enclosed. If this comment package is not in order, please notify the State Clearinghouse immediately. Please refer to the project’s ten-digit State Clearinghouse number in future correspondence so that we may respond promptly. Please note that Section 21 104(c) of the California Public Resources Code states that: “A responsible or other public agency shall only make substantive comments regarding those activities involved in a project which are within an area of expertise of the agency or which are required to be carried out or approved by the agency. Those comments shall be supported by specific documentation.” These comments are forwarded for use in preparing your final environmental document. Should you need niore iiifonnation or clarification of the enclosed comments, we recommend that you contact the commenting agency directly. This letter acknowledges that you have complied with the State Clearinghouse review requirements for draft environmental documents, pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act. Please contact the State Clearinghouse at (91 6) 445-0613 if you have any questions regarding the environmental review process. Sincerely, L Terry Roberts Director, State Clearinghouse Enclosures cc: Resources Agency Jan Boel Interim Deputy Director 1400 TENTH STREET P.O. BOX 3044 SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA 95812-3044 (91 6p5-0613 FAX(916)323-30 18 www.opr.ca.gov Document Details Report - - State Clearinghouse Data Base 1 SCH# 2003121007 Project Title Dunn Residence - HDP 02-10 Lead Agency Carlsbad, City of Type Neg Negative Declaration Description Remedial grading to stabilize and create a developable building pad and development of an approximately 3,500 square foot single family residence, 1,800 square foot garage and a 640 square foot second dwelling unit above the garage on an existing 2.6 acre lot. Lead Agency Contact Name Anne Hysong Agency City of Carlsbad Phone 7601 602-4622 Fax email Address 1635 Faraday Avenue City Carlsbad State CA Zip 92008 ~ ~~ Project Location County San Diego City Carlsbad Region Cross Streets Highland Drive I Forest Avenue Parcel No. 156-051-24 Township Range Section Base ~ ~~ ~ Proximity to: Highways 1-5 1 Hwy. 78 Airports McClelland/Palomar Railways NCTD Schools Buena Vista Elementary Waterways Buena Vista Lagoon/Pacific Ocean ~ . ----- ~~~~ ~~ ~. ... ~~ ~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~.~.. Land Use VacantJR-IIRLM & OS Project lssues Coastal Zone: GeologicISeismic; Vegetation Reviewing Resources Agency; California Coastal Commission; Department of Fish and Game, Region 5; Agencies Department of Parks and Recreation; Regional Water Quality Control Board, Region 9; Department of Water Resources: Caltrans, Division of Aeronautics; Caltrans, District 11 ; California Highway Patrol; Native American Heritage Commission; State Lands Commission ~ ~~ Date Received 12/01/2003 Start of Review 1210112003 End of Review 1 U30J2003 Note: Blanks in data fields result from insufficient information provided by lead agency. r- 12/22/2003 16:35 .FAX 7604315902 US FISH AND WILDLIFE moo2 US. Fish and Wildlife Service 6010 Hidden Valley Road Carlsbad, California 92009 CA Dept. of Fish & Game ' Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office South Coast Regional Office 4949 Viewridge Avenue San Diego, California 92123 (760) 431-9440 (858) 467-4201 FAX (760) 431-5902 + 9618 FAX (858) 467-4299 .- In Reply Refer To: FWS-SDG-3806.1 Ms. Anne Hysong 1635 Faraday Avenue Carlsbad, CA 92008 City of Carlsbad ; - __ - -- r., \ Re: Comments on the Draft Mitigated Negative Declaration for the Dunn Residence in the City of Carlsbad, San Diego County, California (TM 03-082; SCH# 2Q&kSWM) 2003 121003 Dear Ms. Hysong: The California Department of Fish and Game (Department) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) (collectively, "Wildlife Agencies") have reviewed the above-referenced -&af Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) dated November 24,2003, received by the Wildlife Agencies on December 3,2003. The Wildlife Agencies have identified our concerns regard fig The comments provided herein are based on the information provided in the draft MND; the Wildlife Agencies' knowledge of sensitive and declining vegetation communities in San Diego County (County); and our participation in regional conservation planning efforts. We offer our recommendations and comments to assist the City of Carlsbad (City) in minimizing and mitigating future project impacts to biological resources on the Dunn residential construction site. __ the __~~ potential ~ effects of this project on biological resources and regional ~ conservation planning. ~ - - The primary concern and mandate of the Service is the protection of public fish and wildlife resources and their habitats. The Service has legal responsibility for the welfare of migratory . birds, anadromous fish, and endangered animals and plants occumng in the United States. Thr Service is also responsible for administering the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amende.' (Act) (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The Department is a Trustee Agency and a Responsible Agei;cy pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and is responsible for ensuring appropriate conseiation of fish and wildlife resources including rare, threatened, and endangered plant and animal species, pursuant to the California Endangered Species Act. The Department also administers the Natural Community Conservation Planning program (NCCP). The City is participating in the NCCP program by preparing a Multiple Habitat Conservation Program (MHCP) Subarea Plan that is currently in draft form. _ 12/22/2003 16:36 FAX 7604315902 US FISH AND WILDLIFE Ms. Anne Hysong (FWS-SDG-3806.1) @003 2 The 2.6-acre site is located at the northern terminus of Highland Drive between Marron Road and Yourell Avenue. The project proposes to build a 3,500 square foot single-family residence, 1,800 square foot garage/workshop, and 640 square foot second dwelling unit above the garage. The site is completely sunounded by vacant open space with the exception of a residential area to the southeast. Buena Vista lagoon is located approximately 250 feet northeast of the western portion of the project site. The parcel is located on north trending, mostly steep, sandstone bluffs and cliff faces. The proposed project area occurs within the planning area for the draft Carlsbad Subarea Habitat Management Plan (HMP). The HMP categorizes this site as occurring within Standards Area Zone 1 and Core Area 1 of the Focused Planning Area. According to the May 13,2002 biological letter report, the project site is comprised of coastal sage scrub, very disturbed coastal sage scrub/chaparral mix, eucalyptus woodland, ruderal vegetation, disturbed habitat, and arundo. Sensitive species observed on site include red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamuicensis) and turkey vulture (Cuthartes aura). Protocol surveys for the coastal California gnatcatcher (Poliuptila califomica californica; gnatcatcher) were not conducted. According to the MND, the structures will be built within the ruderal habitat and a 60-foot fire management zone around the structures will impact 0.04 acre of very disturbed coastal sage scrub/chaparral mix that is not capable of supporting the gnatcatcher. Impacts to the very disturbed coastal sage scrubkhapmal mix are proposed to be permitted through a de minimus habitat loss permit exemption and mitigated by the purchase of 0.08 acre of coastal sage scrub habitat in a mitigation bank acceptable to the City or the on-site restoration of 0.08 acre of coastal sage scrubkhaparral mix through hydroseeding with a native coastal sage scrub plant mix ._ - ~ --that_wdl_be monitored by the project biologistf or- one_y_ear_to_ensure_succ_ess. ~ ~- - __ We offer the following recommendations and comments to assist the City in minimizing and mitigating project impacts to biological resources on the Dunn residential construction site, and to assure that the project is consistent with on-going regional habitat conservation planning efforts. 1. For the Wildlife Agencies to concur that use of the de minimus habitat loss permit exemption is appropriate, the City must demonstrate that the following findings can be made: (1) the project occurs in low or medium value coastal sage scrub; (2) the project will not preclude preserve design; (3) project impacts are less than 1.0 acre of coastal sage scrub habitat; (4) no gnatcatchers will be impacted by the project; and (5) impacts to coastal sage scrub will be appropriately mitigated. In order to make these findings, we recommend the following: a. The quality of the coastal sage scrub on site should be evaluated using the flowchart in the NCCP Conservation Guidelines. b. Coastal sage scrub occurs to the north and west of the project site (Carlsbad HMP, Figure 3) and gnatcatchers have been documented nearby (MHCP Volume a). 12/32/2003 16:36 FAX 7604315902 US FISH AND WILDLIFE @I 004 Y Ms. Anne Hysong (FWS-SDG-3806.1) 3 Therefore, in order to detennine if gnatcatchers will be impacted by the project, we require updated protocol-level surveys. c. To ensure that impacts to coastal sage scrub will be appropriately mitigated, we recommend: 1) the purchase of 0.08 acre of coastal sage scrub habitat (2: 1 ratio) in a mitigation bank acceptable to the Wildlife Agencies or; 2) on site restoration of disturbed coastal sage scrubkhaparral at a 3:l ratio. Prior to clearing and grading, a Wildlife Agency-approved restoration plan should be prepared by someone with expertise in southern California ecosystems and native plant revegetation techniques. The plan should include, at a minimum: (a) the location of the mitigation site; (b) the plant species to be used; (c) a schematic depicting the mitigation area; (d) time of year that planting will occur; (e) a description of the irrigation methodology; (f) measures to control exotic vegetation on site; (g) success criteria; (h) a detailed monitoring program; (i) contingency measures should the success criteria not be met; and (j) identification of the entity(ies) that will guarantee achieving the success criteria and provide for conservation of the mitigation site in perpetuity. 2. We concur that the applicant, to avoid having to do protocol surveys, can assume that the project site is gnatcatcher-occupied, mi tigate at a 2: 1 ratio, and acquire a habitat loss permit through the City to permit the proposed loss of coastal sage scrub. - 3. - ._.. The proposed 60 foot fire buffer is a reduction from t&tan@rdlOO fog fire clegance in the Memorandum of Understanding with the local fire marshal. We request confirmation from the local fire marshal that the proposed design meets current safety standards and that future fuel mo&fication will not be necessary in the remaining coastal sage scrubkhaparral on site. - 4. The vegetative classification of ruderal habitat is not consistent with the Multiple Ha.bitat Conservation Program (MHCP). Appendix F, page F-3, states that the MHCP will no longer use ruderal as a vegetation community type. In place of this community type, the MHCP indicates that these habitats would mostly be defined as annual grassland, disturbed lands, and/or agricultural lands. The vegetative community should be re- evaluated and the proper classification made (see Sawyer and Keeler-Wolf, 1995). If annual grasslands are identified on site, we recommend that impacts be mitigated off site at a 0.5: 1 ratio within a mitigation bank approved by the Wildlife Agencies. 5. The breeding season for nesting birds occurs approximately February 15 through August 3 1; however, raptors may begin breeding as early as January. Several bird species may nest in the habitat on site. If construction is planned during the bird breeding season, we recommend hat the vegetation be cleared prior to the breeding season. Additionally, if construction occurs during raptor breeding season (approximately February 1 to August 30, or July 3 1 for Buteo spp.), a qualified biologist should conduct a pre- construction survey of the project site and surrounding habitat to determine whether there - 12/22/2003 16 : 37 FAX 7604315902 US FISH AND WILDLIFE 3SOG.l) 005 are active raptor nest8 within that area. Tfm active ncst is obwd, we recommend that a buffer be established between the construction activities and the nest so that nesting activities are not htemptd "he bufW should be a minimum of 500 feet and should bc in effect as long as construction is occurring and until the nest is no longek active. 6. The Wildlife Agencies recommend ths u6c of native plants to the greatest extent feasible in the landscape areas ou site. Landscaping should avoid planting, seeding, or otherwise introducing invasive exotic plant species. Exotic plant specits not to be used include those species listed on Lists A&B of the California Pest Plant Council's list of "Exotic Pest Plants of Greatest Ecological Concem in Califomia aa of October 1999." A copy of the complete list can be obtaiucd on the web site of the Califinnis Exotic Pcst Council at htED://www. Cdew C.OEZ. 7. In der to reduce the potenthl for indirect tffccts hm the proposed project, wc recommend that all outdoor lighting bc shielded and directed away fiom the remaining coastal saga scrub/chaparral habitat on site- If you havc any questions concerning the contents of tbis latter, plaase contact Nancy Frost (Department) at 858-637-551.1 or Kurt Roblck (Sewkc) at 760-431-9440. Thercse O'Rourka WilIiam E. Tippedv Assistant Field Supervisor ~ Dg&lIbgional Manager- -- ~ - U.S-Fish-aiiid-Wildlift5 Sece California Department of Fish and Game -~ CCI State Clearinghouse ,Litcratur e Cited SawYer, John O., and Todd JCecler-Wolf. 1495. A Manual of California Vegetation California Native Plant Society, Sacramclito, Cdifomia 471 pp. I i i i i i !