Appendix BIO Biological Resources Assessment
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Appendix BIO Biological Resources Assessment Rezone Sites for Housing Project Biological Resources Assessment SCH #2020030351 prepared by Rincon Consultants, Inc. 4825 J Street, Suite 200 Sacramento, California 95819 prepared on behalf of Sonoma County Permit Sonoma 2550 Ventura Avenue Santa Rosa, California 95403-2809 Contact: Nina Bellucci October 2020 RINCON CONSULTANTS INC. Environmental Scientists | Planners | Engineers rinconconsultants.com Rezone Sites for Housing Project Biological Resources Assessment SCH #2020030351 prepared by Rincon Consultants, Inc. 4825 J Street, Suite 200 Sacramento, California 95819 prepared on behalf of Sonoma County Permit Sonoma 2550 Ventura Avenue Santa Rosa, California 95403-2809 Contact: Nina Bellucci April 202 1 RINCON CONSULTANTS INC. Environmental Scientists | Planners | Engineers rinconconsultants.com This report prepared on 50% recycled paper with 50% post-consumer content. Table of Contents Table of Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................ 1 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 5 1.1 Project Location .................................................................................................................. 5 1.2 Project Description .............................................................................................................. 5 2 Methodology .................................................................................................................................. 8 2.1 Regulatory Overview ........................................................................................................... 8 2.2 Biological Study Area .......................................................................................................... 9 2.3 Literature Review ..............................................................................................................10 2.4 Desktop Mapping ..............................................................................................................11 3 Existing Conditions ........................................................................................................................13 3.1 Physical Characteristics .....................................................................................................13 3.2 Vegetation and Other Land Cover ....................................................................................16 3.3 General Wildlife ................................................................................................................25 4 Sensitive Biological Resources ......................................................................................................28 4.1 Special Status Species .......................................................................................................28 4.2 Sensitive Plant Communities and Critical Habitats ...........................................................31 4.3 Jurisdictional Waters and Wetlands .................................................................................34 4.4 Wildlife Movement ...........................................................................................................35 4.5 Resources Protected by Local Policies and Ordinances ....................................................36 4.6 Habitat Conservation Plans .................................................. 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Bookmark not defined. 5 Impact Analysis and Mitigation Measures ....................................................................................38 5.1 Special-Status Species .......................................................................................................38 5.2 Sensitive Plant Communities ............................................................................................46 5.3 Jurisdictional Waters and Wetlands .................................................................................47 5.4 Wildlife Movement ...........................................................................................................48 5.5 Local Policies and Ordinances ...........................................................................................49 5.6 Adopted or Approved Plans ..............................................................................................49 6 Limitations, Assumptions, and Use Reliance ................................................................................52 7 References ....................................................................................................................................53 8 List of Preparers ............................................................................................................................55 Biological Resources Assessment i Sonoma County Rezone Sites for Housing Project Tables Table 1 Total Acreage of 11 Biological Study Areas .......................................................................10 Table 2 Soil List for 11 Study Areas ................................................................................................14 Table 3 Vegetation Communities and Land Cover Types in the BSAs ...........................................17 Table 4 Federal and State-listed Plant Species with Potential to Occur in the BSA ......................29 Table 5 Special Status Plants Documented in the Plan Area .........................................................30 Table 6 Federal and State-listed Animals with Potential to Occur in the BSA ..............................30 Table 7 BSA Distance (miles) from Eight Federally Designated Critical Habitats .........................32 Appendices Appendix A Figures Appendix B Regulatory Framework Appendix C Special Status Species Evaluation Tables ii Executive Summary Executive Summary The Rezone Sites for Housing Project (project) includes up to 59 Potential Sites located in designated Urban Service Areas throughout unincorporated Sonoma County. The locations of the rezone sites include Geyserville, Guerneville, Forestville, Larkfield, Graton, Santa Rosa, Penngrove, Petaluma, Glen Ellen, Agua Caliente, and Sonoma. The Proposed Rezone Sites would be located within developed urban areas, surrounded by roads, commercial development, and residential neighborhoods. The Biological Study Areas (BSAs) examined for this analysis include the minimum boundary of all 59 sites in each of the 11 Urban Service Areas. Following this report, Appendix A presents report figures, and Appendix B outlines the applicable regulatory framework used in this analysis. Vegetation communities and land cover types within the BSAs were developed based on aerial imagery and information provided by the Sonoma County Water Agency; Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District; and the Sonoma County Vegetation Mapping and LiDAR Program (Sonoma County 2018). A total of 32 vegetation communities and land cover types were identified within the BSAs, ranging from wetlands and waters, to grasslands and woodlands. A total of 80 special status plant species have potential to occur within the BSAs (Appendix C). Those potentially occurring special status plants that are federally and/or State-listed as endangered or threatened, or those presumed present, are included below. Federally and/or State-Listed Plant Species Potentially Occurring in the Biological Study Areas Sonoma alopecurus Alopecurus aequalis var. sonomensis Baker's manzanita Arctostaphylos bakeri ssp. bakeri Clara Hunt's milk-vetch Astragalus claranus Sonoma sunshine Blennosperma bakeri Pitkin Marsh paintbrush Castilleja uliginosa Holly-leaved ceanothus Ceanothus purpureus Pappose tarplant Centromadia parryi ssp. parryi Vine Hill clarkia Clarkia imbricata Baker's larkspur Delphinium bakeri Loch Lomond button-celery Eryngium constancei Roderick's fritillary Fritillaria roderickii Boggs Lake hedge-hyssop Gratiola heterosepala Congested-headed hayfield tarplant Hemizonia congesta ssp. congesta Burke's goldfields Lasthenia burkei Contra Costa goldfields Lasthenia conjugens Pitkin Marsh lily Lilium pardalinum ssp. pitkinense Sebastopol meadowfoam Limnanthes vinculans Many-flowered navarretia Navarretia leucocephala ssp. plieantha Geysers panicum Panicum acuminatum var. thermale Biological Resources Assessment 1 Sonoma County Rezone Sites for Housing Project Federally and/or State-Listed Plant Species Potentially Occurring in the Biological Study Areas Hickman's cinquefoil Potentilla hickmanii Kenwood Marsh checkerbloom Sidalcea oregana ssp. valida Two-fork clover Trifolium amoenum Pacific Grove clover Trifolium polyodon A total of 31 special status animal species have some potential to occur in the BSAs, including 12 federal or state-listed species, and are presented below. Federally and/or State-listed Animal Species Potentially Occurring in the Biological Study Areas Crotch bumble bee Bombus crotchii Western bumble bee Bombus occidentalis California freshwater shrimp Syncaris pacifica Coho salmon - central California coast ESU Oncorhynchus kisutch Steelhead – central California DPS Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus pop. 8 Chinook salmon - California coastal ESU Oncorhynchus tshawytscha California tiger salamander Ambystoma californiense California red-legged frog Rana draytonii Tricolored blackbird Agelaius tricolor Swainson’s hawk Buteo swainsoni Northern spotted owl Strix occidentalis