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Home My WebLink AboutHMP 2020-0002; GOERTZEN RESIDENCE; BIOLOGICAL LETTER REPORT; 2019-10-18·- October 18, 2019 Mr. Greg Goertzen Directing Manager GS Development & Westcal PO Box 91335 San Diego, CA 92169 Subject: Biological Letter Report for the Parcel at El Fuerte Street and Acuna Court in Carlsbad, California. Dear Mr. Goertzen: Introduction The purpose of this report is to document the biological resources present on a vacant parcel for the proposed construction of a single-family home at the northwest corner of El Fuerte Street and Acuna Court in the southern portion of the City of Carlsbad (City), California (Assessor's Parcel number 215-491-09). Methods A visit was conducted on October 17, 2019 by Tierra Data biologist Scott Snover. The biologist spent approximately 45 minutes conducting wandering transects through the entire property, recording all plant and wildlife observations and creating a map of the existing vegetation communities and site conditions. The weather conditions were sunny and warm. Results The 0. 77-acre property is in a highly developed neighborhood of single-family homes. The project site is bounded by El Fuerte Street to the south, Acuna Court to the east, and single- family homes to the north and west (Figure 1 ). The calculations of habitat areas are provided for the entire property (Table 1 ); this assessment will provide the City with the needed data to identify compensation for the permanent development of a single-family home, landscaping, and all necessary construction buffers. Vegetation/Flora Five vegetation communities (classified according to Holland 1986) were found to occur on the property, mostly in a highly disturbed condition from mowing for brush management/fire control. The central portion of the property consists of highly Disturbed Coastal Sage Scrub habitat that had been mowed for fire control, pursuant to a fire department order, but has undergone regrowth in the last few months. Despite its diminutive stature, the area was dominated by typical coastal sage scrub plants including: laurel sumac (Malosma laurina), California sagebrush (Artemisia californica), California encelia (Ence/ia californica), and California buckwheat (Eriogonum californicum). Most of the remainder of the property is Disturbed Habitat supporting non-native grasses and forbs. Also present are Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus sp.) and Brazilian pepper (Schinus terebinthifo/ius) trees that were cut down but are now resprouting from stumps and roots in the soil. The southern and eastern edges of the property are a constructed slope supporting coastal sage scrub species (California buckwheat and California sagebrush) that were not mowed with the rest of the property and support mature shrubs. Also present on the western end of the slope is a small patch of non- native acacia shrubs (Acacia sp.), classified as Non-Native Vegetation. A cement brow ditch runs along the top of the slope along the southern edge of the property. 760.749.2247 I 10110 W. Lilac Road, Escondido, California 92026 I www.TierraData.com Coastal Sage Scrub Non-native vegetation Disturbed habitat • • • . Vegetation Communities and Current Conditions • • . . • • • . • • • • • • • • • • Mr. Greg Goertzen El Fuerte & Acuna Biology Report October 18 Page2 l"(•;:):•.'·.f California adolphia (Adolphia californica) [CRPR 2B.21 • • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • . • • • . • • • • • • . . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • •••••••••••••• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Previously cleared/mowed for fire control Constructed slope, vegetated, not mowed ~ 100-ft buffer from buildings c:::J EIFuerte parcel (APN 215-491 -09) --5 2.5 0 5 10 Meters 15 cio•-==••=::::11•c::::::::::iFcc1 10 5 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Figure I: Vegetation Communities and current conditions of APN 215-491-09. 760.749.2247 I 10110 W. Lilac Road, Escondido, California 92026 I www.TierraData.com Vegetation Community Coastal Sage Scrub Coastal Sage Scrub, Disturbed Non-Native Vegetation Disturbed Habitat Developed (brow ditch) Total Mr. Greg Goertzen El Fuerte & Acuna Biology Report October 18 Page 3 Acres 0.08 0.30 <0.01 0.38 0.01 0.77 Table 1: Vegetation Communities found at APN 215-491-0'J. Also present within the mowed coastal sage scrub are approximately 20 California adolphia (Adolphia californica), a California Rare Plant Rank (CRPR) 2B.1 sensitive species) (see Photo 1). The plants had been mowed during the fire clearing but had regrown to a height of approximately 10-20 centimeters (4-8 inches). While not a covered species under the City's Habitat Management Plan (HMP; City 2004) it is fairly common in Coastal Sage Scrub in western San Diego County and will likely be adequately conserved under the HMP. Photo 1. Californica adolphia (law greenish shrub in foreground). For a complete list of floral species observed please refer to Appendix A Additional pictures of the property are presented in Appendix B. As can be seen in Figure 1 much of the parcel lies within 100 feet of the adjacent homes to the north and west and those portions are potentially subject to regular fire clearing, removing their potential habitat value. The remainder of the parcel was also requested to be cleared by the fire department and the prior habitat was regrowing after clearing several month ago; however, it too can be legally mowed or grubbed at any time and its habitat value kept extremely low (see photos in Appendix B). 760.749.2247 10110 W. Lilac Road. Escondido, California 92026 I www.TierraData.com Wildlife Species Observed Mr. Greg Goertzen El Fuerte & Acuna Biology Report October 18 Page4 Only a single Western fence lizard ( Sceloperus occidentalis) was observed during the survey. No mammals or birds were observed on site reflecting the site's degraded condition. Two holes had been dug at some point in the past (Photos 2 and 3) and though efforts were made to cover the holes with plywood, large gaps still remained, presenting a trapping hazard for wildlife. A piece of plywood lying nearby one of the holes was used by the biologist to fully cover that hole, but no material was available on site with which to better cover the second hole. Photos 2 and 3. Excavated holes partially covered with plywood. The hole on the left was closed with the extra piece of plywood visible in the photo (ligh ter colored piece above the large plywood). Conclusion The investigated parcel is in a residential area, surrounded on two sides by homes, and two sides by streets with homes on the opposite sides of the roads. It has been put under an order to be cleared for fire prevention and is within 100 feet of homes to the north and west. While the parcel was ordered to be cleared, evidence of a patch of coastal sage scrub habitat remains and is re-growing; however, its habitat value is negligible, and it could be re-cleared at any time, making the parcel effectively completely disturbed. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call or email me. Sincerely yours, Derek H. Langsford, PhD, CSE Biology Practice Manager Certified Senior Ecologist, Ecological Society of America County of San Diego Approved Biologist 760.749.2247 I 10110 W. Lilac Road, Escondido, California 92026 I www.TierraData.com Appendix A: Plant and Wildlife Species Observed Monocots Poaceae Needle ass Poaceae Foxtail chess E C eraceae Tall sed e Diocots Aizoaceae Male hora crocea anthemum E Anacardiaceae Laurel sumac Anacardiaceae Brazilian e er tree E A iaceae Sweet fennel E Asteraceae California sa ebrush Asteraceae Baccharis sarothroides Desertbroom baccharis Asteraceae Centaurea melitensis Tocolote E Asteraceae Encelia cali ornica California encelia Asteraceae Glebionis coronaria Crown dais E Brassicaceae Mediterranean ho mustard E Australian saltbush E Watson's saltbush Russian thistle E Convolvulaceae . tenui olia San die o momin lor Cucurbitaceae Chilicothe Eu horbiaceae Ricinus communis Castor bean E Malvaceae M E 2B.I Scelo erus occidentalis Western fence lizard E = exotic (non-native) 760.749.2247 I 10110 W. Lilac Road, Escondido, California 92026 I www.TierraData.com Appendix B: Site Photos Photo 8-/. View from nortlnvest corner looking south past DH towards CSS-D. Photo 8-2. View from northeast corner looking west across DH. 760.749.2247 I 10110 W. Lilac Road, Escondido, California 92026 I www.TierraData.com Photo 8-3. View from northeast corner looking south, with resprouting Eucalyptus, DH, and CSS-D in the distance. Photo B-4. Resprouting Brazilian pepper tree in northwest corner of property. 760.749.2247 I 10110 W. Lilac Road, Escondido, California 92026 I www.TierraData.com Photo B-5. Resprouting laurel sumac and other coastal sage scrub shrubs. Photo B-6. View of southeast corner looking towards El Fuerte Street. 760.749.2247 I 10110 W. Lilac Road, Escondido, California 92026 I www.TierraData.com Photo B-7. View from middle of property toward southwest corner, with resprouting laurel sumacs. Photo B-8. View from middle of property toward northeast corner with some CSS-D in foreground and DH in distance. 760.749.2247 I 10110 W. Lilac Road, Escondido, California 92026 I www.TierraData.com