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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCT 98-17; Hadley Property; Tentative Map (CT) (26)gineering. Planning, Corporate Office: 760.942.5147 Environmental Sciences and 605 Third Street Fax 760.632.0164 & ASSOCIATES, INC.Management Services Encinitas, California 92024 13 November 1998 1724-01 Mr. Don Rideout City of Carlsbad 2075 Las Palmas Carlsbad, CA 92009 Re: Shrub Impacts on the Hadley Property, City of Carlsbad, California Dear Don: A biological survey was conducted by DUDEK (September 1998) for the approximately 14- acre Hadley property situated within Zone 20 of the City of Carlsbad. During the survey of the site, it was observed that the agriculture areas of the property had been recently disced. It was also noted that along the edge of the existing shrub community, some shrubs had also been removed during the discing operation. It appeared that as the equipment neared the edge of the shrubs, the discing equipment strayed at times into the shrub habitat. This resulted in the removal of a number of shrubs along the edge in some areas. A visit was made on 13 November 1998 to identify, as much as possible, the plant species that were removed or damaged by the discing operation. The shrubs removed (with approximate quantity) included: Scientific Name/Common Name Number Malosma laurina - laurel sumac approx. 6 Rhus integrifolia - lemonadeberry 1 Baccharis pilularis - coyotebush several to many Foeniculum vulgare - sweet fennel few Eriodictyon crassifolium - thick-leaved yerba santa many (dominant) Salvia mellifera - black sage few Adenostoma fasciculata - chamise few Yucca schidigera - Mojave yucca 2 None of these species is classified as sensitive by the jurisdiction or resource agencies. Although it is preferable to not affect the shrubs along the edge of the shrub line when brushing, the overall dominance of thick-leaved yerba santa as the affected shrub is of less concern due to its typical early colonizing ability and habit. Additionally, if is assumed that an approximately 5-foot wide swath of vegetation was affected along the shrub line, a total of 0.16 acre would be affected. This is an overestimate since a 5-foot width was not affected along the perimeter of the shrub line. Almost 4 acres of chaparral community is onsite within open space to compensate for this impact from the discing operation. The 21 September 1998 letter regarding the biological resources onsite identified the chaparral community onsite as southern mixed chaparral. Although our botanist and the City of Carlsbad Draft HMP concurred with this identification, upon my most recent visit, I feel the Mr. Don Rideout, City of Carlsbad Page 2 Re: Shrub Impacts on the Hadley Property 23 November 1998 vegetation community should be identified as southern maritime chaparral. Currently the resources agencies and jurisdictions are working on providing solid definitions of southern mixed and southern maritime chaparral so that these communities are correctly identified in the field by the numerous biologists in San Diego County. The habitat onsite contains 4 of the necessary indicators to conclude the habitat is southern maritime chaparral. These indicators are: wart-stemmed ceanothus, Nuttall's scrub oak, sandstone soils and location within the fog belt. The agencies currently feel that having 4 of the long list of possible indicators of maritime chaparral results in the conclusion that the habitat is maritime chaparral. Although changing the habitat mapped onsite from southern mixed to southern maritime chaparral changes the sensitivity of the habitat from not sensitive to highly sensitive and rare, there are still no impacts proposed to occur due to the development of the site, and the small impact resulting from sloppy discing is well compensated by the preservation of habitat onsite. Please feel free to contact me at (760) 942-5147 with questions or if you require additional information. Very truly yours, DUDEK & ASSOCIATES, INC. Anita M. Hay worth, Ph.D* Biologist V cc: Jack Henthorn, Jack Henthorn & Associates Wes Witt, Hadley Trust