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Tenaya Lodge Facilities Upgrade Projeg Amended Site Plan/Amended Conditions No MARIPOSA COUNTY TENAYA LODGE FACILITIES UPGRADE PROJEG AMENDED SITE PLAN/AMENDED CONDITIONS NO. 2010-161 GENERAL PLAN/SPECIFIC PLAN/ZONING AMENDMENT NO. 2011-043 INITIAL STUDY/MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION ~AACH 18, 10 II MARCH 18.2011 TENAYA LODGE FACILITIES UPGRADE PROJEG AMENDED SITE PLAN/AMENDED CONDITIONS NO. 2010-161 GENERAL PLAN/SPECIFIC PLAN/ZON ING AMEN DMENT NO. 2011-043 INITIAL STUDY/MITIGATED NEGATIVE DEClARATION Reviewed and Approved by: MARIPOSA COUNTY PLANNING DEPARTMENT Prepared By: DESIGN, COMMUNITY & ENVIRONMENT Blair, Church & flynn ECORP (on511hing. Inc. H.T. Harvey & Anociates Illingworth and Rodkin Moore Twining Anociates, Inc. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION . I 2 INITIAL STUDY CHECKLIST ..••............••• . 3 3 PROJECT DESCRiPTION................... 7 4 ENVIRONMENTAL CHECKLIST AND FINDINGS 25 i. AESTHETiCS 25 II. AGRICULTURE & FORESTRY RESOURCES 27 III. AIR QUALITY 29 IV. BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES........................................................... • 36 V. CULTURAL RESOURCES... 41 VI. GEOLOGY AND SOILS 44 VII. GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS 48 VIII. HAZARDS & HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 50 IX. HYDROLOGY AND WATER QUALITY 53 X. LAND USE 57 XI. MINERAL RESOURCES 59 XII. NOiSE "' 60 XVI. TRANSPORTATIONfTRAFFIc.. 66 XVII. UTILITIES AND SERVICE SySTEMS 69 XVIII. MANDATORY FINDINGS OF SiGNIFICANCE............ ......•..... • 72 5. APPLICANTS AGREEMENT TO MITIGATION 75 6 MITIGATiON MONITORING AND REPORTING PROGRAM 79 7 REPORT PREPARERS 83 Attachments Attachment A: State and Public Agency Comments Attachment B: Proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration MARIPOSA COUNTY TENAYA LODGE FACILITIES UPGRADE PROJECT AMENDED SiTE PLANfAMENDED CONDITIONS NO. 1010·161 GENERAL pLANfSPECIFIC PLAN/ZONING AMENDMENT NO. 2011·04] TABLE or CONTENTS Figures Figure 3-1 Regional Location 8 Figure 3-2 Project Site 10 Figure 3-3 Existing \Y/astewater Treatment Systems 11 Figure 3-4 Current Fish Camp Town Planning Area Specific Plan Land Use Classifications for Tenaya Property 12 Figure 3-5 Location and Type of Existing Trees 14 Figure 3-6 WWTP Site Grading Plan 16 Figure 3-7 Proposed W\VTP Building Elevations 18 Figure 3-8 Plan of the Proposed WWTP Construction Site 19 Figure 3-9 Proposed \Vastewater Treatment Process Flow 21 Tables Table 3-1 RWQCB Order No. 99-086 Waste Discharge Requirements (Summary) 23 Table 4-1 Criteria Air Pollutant Standards, Effects, and Sources 31 Table 4-2 Maximum Measurements 33 Table 4-3 Existing Traffic Conditions at Project Site Entrances 68 '. INTRODUCTION This document is an Initial Study (IS) for the Tenaya Lodge Facilities Upgrade Project prepared by Mariposa County to determine if the project may have a significant effect on the environment. Under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), if a proposed project is to be carried out by a non· governmental person or entity, a public agency such as a City or a County shan act as the Lead Agency with responsibility for preparing an EIR Or Negative Declaration for the project. Pursuant to Section 15051 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Mariposa County is the Lead Agency for the Tena)'a Lodge Facilities Upgrade Project (Amended Site Plan/Amended Conditions 2010"161/ General Plan/Specific Plan/Zoning Amendment No. 2011-043). The Tenaya Lodge Facilities Upgrade Project (proposed Project) would take place at Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite (Tenaya Lodge), a classic mountain resort set in heavily forested lands outside the south gate of Yosemite National Park in the unincorporated community of Fish Camp, in Mariposa County, Cali­ fornia. The overall Lodge property includes the Tenaya Cottages, located adjacent to the main lodge facility on parcel APN 010-410-013. The proposed Project would involve the demolition and decom­ missioning of existing wastewater treatment systems, construction and operation of a replacement wastewater treatment plant (W\VTP), and improvements to an existing access road leading to the site of the proposed WWTP. Implementation of the Project would require amending the land use map in the Fish Camp Town Planning Area Specific Plan by reclassifying a 5.02-acre portion of parcel APN 010· 410-013 west of Jackson Road from Single-Family Residential (5-acre minimum) to Resort Commercial. A. Report Orgallizatioll This Initial Study is organized into the following chapters: Chapter 1: Introduction. This Chapter provides an introduction and overview of the Initial Study document. Chapter 2: Initial Study Checklist. This Chapter summarizes pertinent project details, including lead agency contact information} project location, and General Plan and Zoning designations. Chapter 3: Project Description. This Chapter describes the location and seuing of the proposed Tenaya Lodge Facilities Upgrade Project, along with its principal components. The Chapter also describes the policy setting and implementation process for the Project. MARIPOSA COUN"fY TENAYA LODGE FACILITIES UPGRADE PROJECT AMENDED SiTE PLAN/AMENDED CONDI"fIONS NO. 2010·161 GENERAL PLAN/SPECIFIC PLAN/ZONING AMENDMENT NO. 2011·04) tNTRODUCTION Chapter 4: Environmental Checklist and Findings. Making use of the CEQA Appendix G Environ­ mental Checklist, this Chapter identifies and discusses anticipated impacts from the proposed Project, providing substantiation of the findings made. The Chapter concludes with the determination, based on the analysis contained in this Initial Study, that a Mitigated Negative Declaration is appropriate for the proposed Tenaya Lodge Facilities Upgrade Project. 2 2 INITIAL STUDY CHECKLIST I. Project Title: Tenaya Lodge Facilities Upgrade Project (Amended Site Plan/Amended Conditions 2010-161 / General Plan/Specific Plan/Zoning Amendment No. 2011-043) 2. Lead Agency Name and Address: Mariposa Counry Planning Depanment P.O. Box 2039 5100 Bullion Street Mariposa, CA 95338-2039 3. Contact Person and Phone Number: Damon Golubics, Senior Planner (209) 742-1250 4. Project Locatiou: 1122 Highway 41 Fish Camp, CA 93623 5. Project Applicant's Name and Address: DNC Parks & Resorts at Tenaya, Inc. 40 Fountain plaza Buffalo, NY 14202-2885 6. General Plan Land Use Designation: See Project Description below 7. Zoning: See Project Description below 8. Description of Project: See Project Description below 9. Surrounding Land Uses and Setting: See Project Description below 10. Other Public Ageucies Whose Approval is Required: Regional Water Qualiry Control Board (RWQCB) 3 MARIPOSA COUNTY TENAYA LODGE FACILITIES UPGRADE PROJECT AMENDED SiTE PLAN/AMENDED CONDITIONS NO. 2010·161 GENERAL PLAN/SPECIFIC PLAN/ZONING AMENDMENT NO. 2011·043 INITIAL STUDY CHECKLIST All documents cited in this report and used in its preparation are hereby incorporated by reference into this Initial Study. Copies of documents referenced herein are available for review at the Mariposa County Planning Department, 5100 Bullion Street, Mariposa, CA, 95338, except fot the Cultural Re­ sources Inventory, which is confidential. ENVIRONMENTAL FAGORS POTENTIALLY AFFEGED The environmental factors checked below would be potentially affected by this project, involving at least one impact that is a Potentially Significant Impact, as indicated by the checklist on the following pages. 0 Aesthetics 0 Land Use/Planning 0 Agriculture & Forestry Resources 0 Mineral Resources 0 Air Quality 0 Noise ~ Biological Resources 0 Population & Housing ~ Cultural Resources 0 Public Services 0 Geology & Soils 0 Recreation 0 Greenhouse Gas Emissions 0 Transponation/Traffic 0 Hazards & Hazardous Materials 0 Utilities & Service Systems 0 Hydrology & Water Quality 0 Mandatory Findings of Significance Determination: On the basis of t!tis initial evaluation: o I find that the proposed Project COULD NOT have a significant effect on the environment and a NEGATNE DECLARATION will be prepared. t:8). I find that although the proposed Project could !tave a significant effect on the environment, there will not be a significant effect in this case because revisions in the Project have been made by or agreed to by the project proponent. A MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION will be prepared. D I find that the proposed Project MAY have a significant effect on the environment, and an ENVI­ RONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT is required. D I find that the proposed Project MAY have a "potentially significant impact" or "potentially sig­ nificant unless mitigated" impact On the environment, but at least one effect 1) has been adequately analyzed in an earlier document pursuant to applicable legal standards, and 2) has been addressed by mitigation measures based on the earlier analysis as described on attached sheets. An ENVI­ RONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT is required, but it must analyze only the effects that remain to be addressed. 4 MARIPOSA COUNTY TENAYA LODGE FACILITIES UPGRADE PROJECT AMENDED SITE PLAN/AMENDED CONDITIONS NO. 2010-161. GENERAL PLAN/SPECIFIC PLAN/ZONING AMENDMENT NO. 201 I-O~J INlllAL STUDY CH[crLIST D I fmd that although the proposed Project could have a significant effect on the environmentl be· cause all potentially significant effects (a) have been analyzed adequately in an earlier EIR or NEGATIVE DECLARATION pursuant to applicable standards, and (b) bave been avoided or mitigated pursuant to that earlier EIR or NEGATIVE DECLARATION, including revisions or mitigation measures that are imposed upon the proposed project, nothing further is required. Date Approved by: Date 5 MARIPOSA COUNTY TENAYA LODGE FACILITIES UPGRADE PROJECT AMENDED SITE PLAN/AMENDED CONDITIONS NO. 2010-161 GENERAL PLAN/SPECIFIC PLAN/ZONING AMENDMENl' NO. 2011·043 IN.ITIAL
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