Environmental Analysis

Environmental Analysis Environmental Analysis 4 Overlook Environmental Analysis 100 Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park impacts to the environment. These SUMMARY impacts could include soil disturbance, The California Department of Parks dust, increased erosion, altered and Recreation is the lead agency drainage patterns, lowered water responsible for the preparation of quality, degradation of cultural environmental review documentation resources, and degradation of sensitive for the proposed Santa Susana Pass plant communities or populations of State Historic Park General Plan in plants or animals. As a program EIR compliance with the California (first-tier, Guidelines Secs. 15166, Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as 15168), the General Plan identifies required by Public Resources Code potential broad-level environmental Sections 5002.2 and 21000 et seq. This impacts and mitigation. Additional General Plan provides guidelines for environmental review, specific long-term management, development, mitigation proposals, and monitoring and operation of Santa Susana Pass will be required under CEQA, State Historic Park. This Guidelines Sections 15152 and 15385, Environmental Analysis Section and as management or development plans other sections of this document, are proposed. All potentially incorporated by reference, constitute significant new adverse impacts will the first tier Environmental Impact be avoided, minimized, or mitigated Report (EIR) as defined in Sections below a level of significance. 15152, 15166, 15168 and 15385 of the 101 PROJECT DESCRIPTION CEQA Guidelines. It should be recognized that the level of detail Because the General Plan and EIR are addressed by this EIR is commensurate contained in a single document, the with the level of detail provided in the project description is discussed in the land-use proposals of the General Plan. Introduction (page 3) and Plan Section (page 57). In summary, the proposed As subsequent site-specific projects Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park (such as a Visitor Center or Staging General Plan includes modifications to Area) and management plans are land-use designations, the incor- proposed, they will be subject to poration of new guidelines for the further environmental review. protection of natural and cultural Appropriate environmental documents resources, and the development of will be prepared with specific appropriate recreational, interpretive, mitigation measures, as necessary, and operational facilities. when subsequent projects are proposed. The General Plan proposes to: Development, maintenance and use of • Establish management zones, facilities such as buildings, parking goals and guidelines to protect lots, campsites, trails, picnic areas, sensitive resources. interpretive stations, utilities, and • Consolidate visitor-serving septic systems have the potential for facilities and access points at significant short-term and long-term gateway areas and secondary Environmental Analysis access points located in existing meetings and six stakeholder locations and less sensitive or meetings), three plan alternatives were previously disturbed locations. considered during development of the proposed general plan. Each plan was • Provide accessible interpretive and recreational programs to the presented at the public meetings. It public. was emphasized at the meetings that one plan did not need to be selected The General Plan also establishes the over another, but rather elements from primary interpretive themes for each plan could be intermixed, to programs and activities. Additionally, create the best plan possible given the this General Plan contains specific often conflicting needs of resource proposals to consolidate the Park’s protection, visitor recreation and trail system and eliminate duplicate or education, and neighboring volunteer trails and relocate several communities. trails away from sites with sensitive resources. The Preferred Plan was originally developed to incorporate public ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING comment and the increasing amount of Please refer to the description of the resource and operational data environmental setting in the earlier discovered during the planning and sections: Existing Conditions and public involvement process. However, Issues (page 15), Natural Resources at the third public meeting, additional (page 16), Cultural Resources (page concerns were raised and a series of 25), Aesthetic Resources (page 42), stakeholder meetings were held to gain 102 Recreational Resources (page 43), additional input. The Preferred Plan Planning Influences (page 49), and was changed to reflect a number of Appendices A through F. these concerns. Locations for secondary public access to the Park Because the Park is situated in a were changed as well as some of the mountainous pass between the City of concepts for proposed uses. For Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley and example, the existing public access at Simi Valley in Ventura County, Jeffrey Mark Court will be closed and vehicular access to the Park is limited moved to another location to the east. to a few trailheads with parking either on City of Los Angeles streets or parks The Preferred Alternative (Preferred or Ventura County streets. There are a Plan) is discussed in the Plan Section number of trail access points into the starting on page 57 and shown in Park from local streets and three local Figure 5 (page 93). The alternatives parks. Please refer to Figure 2 which were developed to show a range in the shows the existing access into the amounts of land placed in different Park. management zones and the resulting effect that these zone designations may PLAN ALTERNATIVES have on the uses allowed within each Based on the accumulation of area. These alternatives are shown in information from resource studies, Figure 6 and are compared in the other agencies, Park managers, and the following Alternatives Matrix general public (at three public (Table 4). Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park Table 4: Alternatives Matrix Alternative 1/Least Preferred Plan Alternative 2 Environmentally Damaging Primary Historic Zone 155 acres* 248 acres* 174 acres* Scenic Ridge Zone 465 acres* 389 acres* 445 acres* North Forty Zone 21 acres* 2 acres* 21 acres* Riparian Zone 40 acres* 41 acres* 39 acres* Gateway Zone & Gateway = 2 Gateway = 2 Gateway = 4 Secondary Access Points Secondary Access = 4 Secondary Access = 5 Secondary Access = 2 Trail Mileage 9.2 miles 5 miles 9.5 miles Protects the most sensitive Essentially unchanged from resources with implementation existing conditions. Trails and Same as Preferred Plan except has of the General Plan guidelines. riparian area subject to erosion, Natural Resources fewer trails and potential All new potentially significant compaction, & denuded vegetation. wildlife/visitor conflicts. impacts will be below Potential significant impacts with significance. increased use over time. Provides protection for all Better protection than Preferred Plan Allows potential development in an significant cultural resources. because users are not active in areas area with sensitive prehistoric Cultural Resources No potentially significant with the most sensitive resources cultural resources. Potential unmitigated impacts. and the type of use is limited. significant unmitigable impacts. Potentially adverse visual Overall, better than the Preferred effects due to the introduction Plan because there would be less Alternative 2 would have similar of new facilities into the Park. development and fewer trails. effects to the Preferred Plan, Aesthetics Facilities will be designed to fit However, this alternative still may although some facility locations are the topography but may create a create a significant adverse visual in different areas. significant adverse effect to effect to some viewers because some some viewers. facilities will still be constructed. Reduction of some trail experiences for various user Alternative 2 would leave the trails groups due to the consolidation Significant reduction of recreational in essentially the same condition as Recreation and closure of some trails. experience for trail users of all types the existing network with some Other opportunities will be in the Park. consolidation of trails. made available to at least partially mitigate this effect. Potential effect due to new Same as Preferred Plan except for Less effect than the Preferred Plan Geological, Land Form, development but less than a slightly greater potential for because less development would be and Water Resources significant due to location and erosion and reduced water quality proposed. future design of facilities. from trail use. Provides a unique trail, cultural, and scenic experience and Less quality of recreational Visitor Services & education to the people of experience than the Preferred Plan Same as Preferred Plan Interpretation California including those with and a loss of existing recreational little opportunity to otherwise resources and trail use. visit remote areas. Park Operations Allows for efficient park Same as Preferred Plan except for operations, compliance with the Same as the Preferred Plan but potentially requiring more Americans with Disabilities Act fewer facilities to serve. personnel for resource protection of 1990, and Access to Parks enforcement Guidelines. *All acreage figures are rounded. The Gateway Zone and Secondary Access Points acreage amounts are included under the North Forty or Scenic Ridge acreages. Note: See following page for No Project Alternative

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