HomeMy WebLinkAboutCT 02-14; Bressi Ranch Residential; Tentative Map (CT) (28)REPLY TO
ATTENTION OF:
RECEIVED OCTl 62002
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
LOS ANGELES DISTRICT, CORPS OF ENGINEERS
VENTURA FIELD OFFICE
2151 ALESSANDRO DRIVE, SUITE 110
VENTURA, CALIFORNIA 93001
October 9, 2002
Office of the Chief
Regulatory Branch
Lennar Homes, LLC
Attention: Ms. Kristine Zortman
5780 Fleet Street, Suite 320
Carlsbad, California 92008-4700
Dear Ms. Zortman:
Enclosed you will find a signed copy of your Department of the Army Permit (File #
200200590-SKB). Please retain this copy for your files.
Thank you for participating in our regulatory program. If you have any questions, please
contact Shannon K. Bryant at (858) 674-6784.
Sincerely,
Mark Durham
Acting Chief, Regulatory Branch
Enclosure
RECEIVED OCT l 8 2002
LOS ANGELES DISTRICT
U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY PERMIT
Permittee: Lennar Homes, LLC (Ms. Kristine Zortman)
Permit Number: 200200590-SKB
Issuing Office:Los Angeles District
Date of Issuance: September 23,2002
Note: The term "you" and its derivatives, as used in this permit, means the permittee or any
future transferee. The term '"this office" refers to the appropriate district or division office of the
Corps of Engineers having jurisdiction over the permitted activity or the appropriate official
acting under the authority of the commanding officer.
You are authorized to perform work in accordance with the terms and conditions specified below.
Project Description: To permanently fill 2.50 total acres of jurisdictional waters of the United
States, comprised of 2.41 acres of wetlands and 0.09 acre of non-wetland waters (NWW) to
construct the Bressi Ranch Development as shown on the attached drawings. Impacts to Corps
jurisdictional wetlands will include 0.29 acre of southern willow scrub (SWS)/freshwater
marsh (FWM), 0.08 acre of SWS only, and 2.04 acres of non-native tamarisk scrub (TS).
The project includes the following: 623 homes; 130,000 square feet of open space (such as a
shopping center); 138,000 square feet of community facilities and/or a private school; and
approximately 2,160,500 square feet of industrial space (that may include such uses as
industrial, office, research and development, and warehouse). Necessary infrastructure
improvements will include providing utilities, and extending Poinsettia Lane, El Fuerte Street,
and Alicante Road on the proposed project site. Overall, the residential, industrial, and
commercial developments and related infrastructure (including the road extensions) will
impact a 441.2-acre footprint. The remaining 185.7 acres are proposed as six open space parcels
in the western, southern, and eastern regions of the site. (The open space and total impacts do
not equal 585.1 because some of the proposed impacts are slopes that will be revegetated with
native plant species and included in the open space total).
Furthermore, the project involves public and private trails, which have been designed so as not
to conflict with City of Carlsbad's Habitat Management Plan for Natural Communities open space
areas, wetland mitigation areas, and/or to impact Corps jurisdictional waters of the United
States. Trail widths are proposed to be approximately eight feet in width and would be located
as shown on the Bressi Ranch Master Plan attached to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Biological
Opinion (No. 1-6-00-F-915) dated August 16, 2001.
Project Location: The project site is a 585.1-acre area divided into two parcels, a northern and a
southern parcel, situated in the City of Carlsbad, in northwestern San Diego County, California.
The site is located southeast of the intersection of Palomar Airport Road and El Camino Real.
The area south of the site is currently undeveloped land that is part of the proposed Villages of
La Costa's Greens Project (File No. 992005400-TCD). To the east of the site, residential
construction called Rancho Carrillo (File No. 942085300-TCD) is currently underway. The
proposed project site drains into an unnamed tributary to San Marcos Creek, which flows into
Batiquitos Lagoon. (lat:33-7-30.0000 lon:117-15-30.9960)
PERMIT CONDITIONS
General Conditions:
1. The time limit for completing the authorized activity ends on September 23, 2007. If you find
that you need more time to complete the authorized activity, submit your request for a time
extension to this office for consideration at least one month before the above date is reached.
2. You must maintain the activity authorized by this permit in good condition and in
conformance with the terms and conditions of this permit You are not relieved of this
requirement if you abandon! the permitted activity, although you may make a good faith transfer
to a third party in compliance with General Condition 4 below. Should you wish to cease to
maintain the authorized activity or should you desire to abandon it without a good faith transfer,
you must obtain a modification from this permit from this office, which may require restoration of
the area.
3. If you discover any previously unknown historic or archeological remains while accomplishing
the activity authorized by this permit, you must immediately notify this office of what you have
found. We will initiate the Federal and state coordination required to determine if the remains
warrant a recovery effort or if the site is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic
Places.
4. If you sell the property associated with this permit, you must obtain the signature of the new
owner in the space provided and forward a copy of the permit to this office to validate the
transfer of this authorization.
5. A conditioned water quality certification has been issued for your project; you must comply
with the conditions specified in the September 16, 2002 certification as special conditions to this
permit. For your convenience, a copy of the certification is attached if it contains such conditions.
6. You must allow representatives from this office to inspect the authorized activity at any time
deemed necessary to ensure that it is being or has been accomplished with the terms and
conditions of your permit.
Special Conditions:
Prior to Impacts to Corps Jurisdiction
1. The permittee must take the actions required to record this permit with the Registrar of Deeds
or other appropriate official charged with the responsibility for maintaining records of title to or
interest in real property.
2. The permittee shall provide the Corps a final mitigation and monitoring plan for approval
prior to impacts to Corps jurisdiction based on the Bressi Ranch Draft Conceptual Mitigation Plan
by Helix Environmental Planning, Inc. dated January 11,1999. Specifically, the permittee shall
mitigate for Corps-jurisdictional impacts to 2.04 acres of non-native TS at a ratio of 1:1
creation/restoration and 2:1 for the remaining 0.46 acres. The compensatory mitigation shall
total 2.96 acres and shall be implemented along the main drainage in the southern portion of
the property. The following table summarizes the impacts and mitigation acreage.
Habitat Type
SWS/FWM
SWS onlv
TS
NWW
AM
FWM only
Total
Existing
0.29
5.82
2.31
0.13
0.12
0.07
8.74
Impacts
0.29
0.08
2.04
0.09
2.5
Remaining
-
5.74
0.27
0.04
0.12
0.07
6.24
Mitigation Ratio
2to1
2to1
1 to1
2to1
Mitigation Req'd
0.58
0.16
2.04
0.18
2.96
Creation/Restoration
0.24
2.72
2.96
SWS=southem willow scrub
NWW=non-wetland waters
FWM=freshwater marsh TS=tamarisk scrub
AM=alkali marsh
"The mitigation for impacts to TS will be out of kind because TS is a non-native habitat.
**Note: The 5.60 total acres of mitigation implemented in April 2000 at the Bressi Ranch mitigation site includes 0.10 acre of
sycamore oak woodland, 5.10 acres of SWS, and 0.40 acre of FWM of which 0.16 acre is compensatory mitigation for the Saxony
Road Pump Station nationwide permit (File No. 982023100-SKB). The remaining 2.48 acres satisfy California Department of
Fish and Game mitigation requirements and is considered a transitional wetland to upland habitat buffer for both the reauired
2.96 acres of mitigation indicated in the table above and 0.16 from the previous Corps permit.
3. The permittee shall post a performance bond with the Corps, or other Corps approved
agent, for grading, planting, irrigation, and 5 years of maintenance and monitoring of the
wetland mitigation site (including a 20% contingency to be added to the total costs) prior
impacts to Corps jurisdiction. This bond is to guarantee the successful implementation of the
wetland mitigation construction, maintenance, and monitoring. The surety company used
must be listed on the U.S. Department of the Treasury Circular 570 as a company holding a
Certificate of Authority as an Acceptable Surety on Federal Bonds. For a current list of
Treasury-authorized surety companies, write or call the Surety Bond Branch, Financial
Management Services, Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC 20227; (202) 874-6850.
4. The permittee shall preserve in perpetuity all mitigation and preservation areas by placing a
biological conservation easement in favor of an agent approved by the Corps on these areas.
The permittee shall submit a draft easement to the Corps for approval prior to its execution and
any impacts to waters of the United States. The easement shall state clearly that no other
easements or activities that would result in soil disturbance and/or vegetation removal, except
as approved by the Corps, shall be allowed within the biological conservation easement area.
The permittee shall submit the final easement within ID days of receiving Corps approval of the
draft easement. The permittee is also required to record this permit with the Registrar of Deeds
3
or other appropriate official charged with the responsibility for maintaining records of title to
or interest in real property.
5. The permittee shall implement a contractor education program to ensure that onsite
personnel are informed of the biologically sensitive resources associated with the project site
(approved project footprint) and compliance with all the terms and conditions herein.
Furthermore, the permittee shall provide the Corps documentation illustrating how the
contractor education program shall be implemented (e.g., handouts, bilingual
pamphlets/instruction, etc.) prior to onset of the activity authorized herein.
6. The permittee shall provide the Corps written notification a minimum of 5 days prior to the
start of the activity authorized herein as to the anticipated beginning and ending dates of
construction that shall include a breakdown of the timetable for impacts to waters of the United
States by parcel/phase of construction and mitigation implementation.
Project Implementation
7. The permittee shall staff a qualified biologist (see special condition 18 for qualifications)
onsite during all phases of construction and mitigation implementation to ensure compliance
with the requirements of this permit. The permittee shall provide the biologist's name, address,
telephone number, email address (if available), and work schedule on the project to the Corps
prior to the planned date of initiating the activity authorized by this permit. The onsite
biologist shall be authorized to halt any and/or all project activities that may be in violation of
the terms and conditions herein.
8. The permittee shall identify the limits of grading within and adjacent to jurisdictional
waters with bright orange fencing visible to personnel on foot or operating heavy equipment to
prevent additional impacts to waters of the United States including wetlands. If impacts to
Corps jurisdiction occur outside these limits, all work shall cease, and the Corps shall be
provided written notification within 48 hours. Any impacts to Corps jurisdictional waters of
the United States that occur outside the fenced and marked limits (approved project footprint)
shall be mitigated at a minimum 6:1 ratio of creation and/or restoration.
9. The permittee shall post a legible copy of this permit omite including all general and special
conditions herein at all times during the authorized activity.
10. The permittee shall permanently impact no more 2.50 acres of waters of the United States
comprised of 2.41 acres of wetlands and 0.09 acre of non-wetland waters. Specifically, the
wetland impacts shall consist of 0.29 acres of SWS/FWM, 0.08 acres of SWS only, 2.04 acres of
non-native TS and 0.09 acres of non-wetland waters.
11. The permittee shall submit monthly reports to the Corps beginning 30 days after initiating
activities on the project site (as indicated in special condition 6). The report shall include:
dated photographs (specify angle of picture, waterway, and reference site location on a site
map of sufficient scale to locate the reference site within a few feet), and a summary of all
project activities that document compliance with all the terms and conditions herein.
Mitigation
12. The permittee shall conduct a minimum of 5 years of maintenance and monitoring of
wetland mitigation areas. If success criteria are met earlier and all artificial water supplies to
4
the site have been stopped for a minimum of two years, the site may be considered, at the
Corps discretion, for early approval. In addition to the success criteria outlined in the Corps-
approved final mitigation plan, evidence of wetland hydrology and natural recruitment of
native wetland vegetation must be present in proposed wetland creation/restoration areas in
order to obtain final Corps approval. All irrigation equipment shall be removed from the
mitigation site(s) and a wetland delineation conducted in accordance with the 1987 Corps
Manual prior to Corps approval. Annual mitigation monitoring reports shall be submitted to
the Corps no later than May 31 of each year. The Corps understands installation of the
mitigation was completed in April 2000 prior to issuance of this Corps permit and the first year
monitoring report dated April 22,2002 was submitted to the Corps on May 17,2002.
13. The permittee shall arrange a site inspection/compliance check by the Corps at the end of
the five-year monitoring period and provide written documentation detailing how all success
criteria have been met. The request shall include: tables presenting the raw data collected and
analyses of the physical and biological data; qualitative and quantitative comparisons of
current mitigation conditions to pre-construction conditions and previous mitigation
monitoring results by year; and photo-documentation from established reference points. At
that time, all final contingency measures shall be implemented by the permittee as directed by
the Corps. The Corps must approve and provide written confirmation of the success of the
mitigation before monitoring shall be discontinued.
14. If changes are made to the mitigation design during its implementation, the permittee shall
notify the Corps. If the Corps determines the changes are greater than minimal, the permittee
shall coordinate with the Corps and obtain written approval prior to taking any remedial "on
the ground" action or making any change to the Corps-approved final mitigation plan. If
changes are determined by the Corps to be greater than rninimal, as-built drawings (including
representative cross sections referenced on plane view with changes from the conceptual plan
annotated) of the mitigation grading, planting, and irrigation shall be submitted to the Corps
within 3D days of implementing the redesigned mitigation.
15. The permittee shall submit a mitigation report (with topographic maps and planting
locations) to the Corps after completion of mitigation site preparation and planting, describing
as-built status of the mitigation project based on the approved final mitigation and monitoring
plan. The Corps understands the mitigation described above was initiated in April 2000.
Therefore, the permittee shall submit the mitigation report concurrent with the final mitigation
plan (special condition 2) prior to impacts to Corps jurisdictional waters of the United States.
16. The permittee agrees to use fencing, signs, and/or planted, non-invasive, native vegetation
as a barrier between Corps jurisdictional areas including mitigation sites and adjacent
development.
17. The permittee shall restore any mitigation areas damaged by natural storm flows during the
first three years after initial planting and restore areas damaged by vandalism and/or neglect
during the five-year minimum monitoring period. Any subsequent replanting shall follow the
initial planting procedures outlined in the final mitigation plan.
18. Management of conserved areas shall be performed by a management entity that is
experienced in (1) restoration and maintenance of native habitats in southern California,
especially riparian habitats; (2) measures required to avoid harassment of federally-listed
5
species; (3) performing proper monitoring of habitat viability and sensitive species; and (4)
identifying and implementing appropriate remedial measures necessary to ensure the long-
term viability and integrity of the preserved habitat. The Corps shall approve selection of the
management entity.
Endangered Species
19. The permittee shall implement all the terms and conditions of the Biological Opinion (No.
1-6-00-F-915) dated August 16,2001.
Cultural Resources
20. The permittee shall implement and complete a data recovery program for site CA-SDI-
14,592 in compliance with Appendix C, and the National Historic Preservation Act, and in
consultation of the California State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO). The site shall be
protected from construction activities until data recovery has been approved by SHPO and
fieldwork completed. Data recovery provides for a sample of the site to be excavated, artifacts
and ecofacts to be analyzed, special studies (i.e., radiocarbon dating, residue analysis, obsidian
hydration and sourcing) to be conducted, and a report of finding addressing the important
research questions to be prepared. The project archaeologist shall be responsible for ensuring
that all cultural remains collected are permanently curated at an appropriate institution.
21. The permittee shall also preserve the near-surface cultural resource site CA-SDI-9,846 by the
implementation of a capping and easement mitigation plan to protect the site from artifact
collecting. Capping includes placement of a semi-permeable layer of polypropolene geofabric
and a six-inch layer of clean, low saline sand and gravel fill across the site followed by a
minimum two feet of non-compacted fill soil. In addition, the site shall be fenced and a
conservation easement shall be recorded over the site to preclude vehicle traffic, excavations in
excess of two feet and planting of deep-root trees and shrubs. Complete avoidance of the site
may not, however, be feasible based on engineering and/or geo technical recommendations for
construction of Poinsettia Lane, El Fuerte Street, and a proposed detention basin. If avoidance
of site CA-SDI-9,846 is not feasible, then a data recovery program shall be implemented in
compliance with the City of Carlsbad's Cultural Resource Guidelines Criteria and Methodology for
Comphting a Data Recovery Program Phase III, as described above.
Further Information:
1. Congressional Authorities. You have been authorized to undertake the activity described
above pursuant to:
() Section 10 of the River and Harbor Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403).
(X) Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 US.C 1344).
() Section 103 of the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (33 U.S.C. 1413).
2. Limits of this authorization.
a. This permit does not obviate the need to obtain other Federal, state, or local
authorizations required by law.
b. This permit does not grant any property rights or exclusive privileges.
c. This permit does not authorize any injury to the property or rights of others.
d. This permit does not authorize interference with any existing or proposed Federal
project.
3. Limits of Federal Liability. In issuing this permit, the Federal Government does not assume
any liability for the following:
a. Damages to the permitted project or uses thereof as a result of other permitted or
unpermitted activities or from natural causes.
b. Damages to the permitted project or uses thereof as a result of current or future activities
undertaken by or on behalf of the United States in the public interest.
c. Damages to persons, property, or to other permitted or unpermitted activities or
structures caused by the activity authorized by this permit.
d. Design or construction deficiencies associated with the permitted work.
e. Damage claims associated with any future modification, suspension, or revocation of this
permit.
4. Reliance on Applicant's Data. The determination of this office that issuance of this permit is
not contrary to the public interest was made in reliance on the information you provided.
5. Reevaluation of Permit Decision. This office may reevaluate its decision on this permit at any
time the circumstances warrant. Circumstances that could require a reevaluation include, but are
not limited to, the following:
a. You fail to comply with the terms and conditions of this permit.
7
b. The information provided by you in support of your permit application proves to have
been false, incomplete, or inaccurate (See 4 above).
c. Significant new information surfaces which this office did not consider in reaching the
original public interest decision.
Such a reevaluation may result in a determination that it is appropriate to use the suspension,
modification, and revocation procedures contained in 33 CFR 325.7 or enforcement procedures
such as those contained in 33 CFR 326.4 and 326.5. The referenced enforcement procedures
provide for the issuance of an administrative order requiring you to comply with the terms and
conditions of your permit and for the initiation of legal action where appropriate. You will be
required to pay for any corrective measure ordered by this office, and if you fail to comply with
such directive, this office may in certain situations (such as those specified in 33 CFR 209.170)
accomplish the corrective measures by contract or otherwise and bill you for the cost.
6. Extensions. General condition 1 establishes a time limit for the completion of the activity
authorized by this permit. Unless there are circumstances requiring either a prompt completion
of the authorized activity or a reevaluation of the public interest decision, the Corps will normally
give you favorable consideration to a request for an extension of this time limit.
Your signature below, as permittee, indicates that you accept and agree to comply with the terms
and conditions this permit.
DATE
This permit becomes effective when the Federal official, designated to act for the Secretary of the
Army, has signed below.
Mark F. Sudol, D.Env.
Chief, Regulatory Branch
DATE
When the structures or work authorized by this permit are still in existence at the time the
property is transferred, the terms and conditions of this permit will continue to be binding on the
new owner(s) of the property. To validate the transfer of this permit and the associated liabilities
associated with compliance with its terms and conditions, have the transferee sign and date
below.
TRANSFEREE DATE
LOS ANGELES DISTRICT
U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS
CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY PERMIT
Permit Number: 200200590-SKB
Name of Permittee: Lennar Homes, LLC (Ms. Kristine Zortman)
Date of Issuance: September 23,2002
Upon completion of the activity authorized by this permit, sign this certification and return
it to the following address:
Regulatory Branch - Los Angeles District Office
ATTN: CESPL-CO-RS-200200590-SKB
P.O. Box 532711
Los Angeles, California 90053-2325
Please note that your permitted activity is subject to a compliance inspection by an Army
Corps of Engineers representative. If you fail to comply with this permit you may be subject to
permit suspension, modification, or revocation.
I hereby certify that the work authorized by the above referenced permit has been
completed in accordance with the terms and conditions of said permit.
Signature of Permittee Date
10