No State Or Local Agencies Have Specific Jurisdiction Over Paleontological Resources on Private Lands
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3.10 Paleontological Resources STATE REGULATIONS No state or local agencies have specific jurisdiction over paleontological resources on private lands. No state agency requires a paleontological collecting permit to allow for the recovery of fossil remains discovered as a result of construction-related earthmoving on state or private land at a project site. LOCAL PLANS AND POLICIES There are no regional and local plans, policies, regulations, or laws related to paleontological resources that apply to the General Plan update. PROFESSIONAL PALEONTOLOGICAL STANDARDS The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, a national scientific organization of professional vertebrate paleontologists, has established standard guidelines that outline acceptable professional practices in the conduct of paleontological resource assessments and surveys, monitoring and mitigation, data and fossil recovery, sampling procedures, specimen preparation, analysis, and curation (Society of Vertebrate Paleontology 1995, 1996). Most practicing professional paleontologists in the nation adhere to the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology assessment, mitigation, and monitoring requirements, as specifically spelled out in its standard guidelines. 3.10.3 THRESHOLDS FOR DETERMINING SIGNIFICANCE The impact of the proposed project related to paleontological resources would be considered significant if it would exceed the following threshold of significance, in accordance with Appendix G of the CEQA Guidelines: ► Directly or indirectly destroy a unique paleontological resource or site or unique geological feature. In its standard guidelines for assessment and mitigation of adverse impacts on paleontological resources, the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (1995) established three categories of sensitivity for paleontological resources: high, low, and undetermined. Areas where fossils have been previously found are considered to have a high sensitivity and a high potential to produce fossils. Areas that are not sedimentary in origin and that have not been known to produce fossils in the past typically are considered to have low sensitivity. Areas that have not had any previous Page 3.10-4 City of West Hollywood General Plan Final EIR October 2010 3.10 Paleontological Resources paleontological resource surveys or fossil finds are considered to be of undetermined sensitivity until surveys and mapping are performed to determine their sensitivity. After reconnaissance surveys, observation of exposed cuts, and possibly subsurface testing, a qualified paleontologist can determine whether the area should be categorized as having high or low sensitivity. In keeping with the significance criteria of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (1995), all vertebrate fossils are generally categorized as being of potentially significant scientific value. A “unique paleontological resource or site” is one that is considered significant under the professional paleontological standards described below. An individual vertebrate fossil specimen may be considered unique or significant if it is identifiable and well preserved, and it meets one of the following criteria: ► a type specimen (i.e., the individual from which a species or subspecies has been described); ► a member of a rare species; ► a species that is part of a diverse assemblage (i.e., a site where more than one fossil has been discovered) wherein other species are also identifiable, and important information regarding life history of individuals can be drawn; ► a skeletal element different from, or a specimen more complete than, those now available for its species; or ► a complete specimen (i.e., all or substantially all of the entire skeleton is present). The value or importance of different fossil groups varies depending on the age and depositional environment of the rock unit that contains the fossils, their rarity, the extent to which they have already been identified and documented, and the ability to recover similar materials under more controlled conditions (such as for a research project). Marine invertebrates are generally common; the fossil record is well developed and well documented, and marine invertebrates would generally not be considered a unique paleontological resource. Identifiable vertebrate marine and terrestrial fossils are generally considered scientifically important because they are relatively rare. City of West Hollywood General Plan Final EIR Page 3.10-5 October 2010 3.10 Paleontological Resources 3.10.4 ANALYSIS OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCES The City of West Hollywood is completely built out with very limited availability of unconstrained vacant property. Future development within the City will primarily take the form of redevelopment and infill development focused in the five commercial subareas. Site redevelopment could involve earthmoving and excavation activities. Because of the large number of fossils that have been recovered from alluvial fan deposits similar to those that underlie the City, these units are considered paleontologically sensitive rock units under the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology guidelines (1995), suggesting that there is a potential for uncovering additional similar fossil remains during construction-related earthmoving activities in the City. Therefore, the potential for damage to previously unknown unique paleontological resources during earthmoving activities resulting from implementation of the General Plan is considered a potentially significant impact. With implementation of Mitigation Measure 3.10-1, program-level impacts to paleontological resources would be less than significant. Individual development projects would be reviewed for project-specific impacts during any required environmental review. If project-specific significant impacts are identified, applicable mitigation measures will be placed on the project as conditions of approval. 3.10.5 MITIGATION MEASURES Implementation of the following programmatic mitigation measure will reduce potential impacts to a less-than-significant level at this Program EIR level of analysis. Individual development projects would be reviewed for project-specific impacts during any required environmental review. If project-specific significant impacts are identified, applicable mitigation measures will be placed on the project as conditions of approval. 3.10-1 If paleontological resources are discovered during earthmoving activities, the construction crew shall immediately cease work in the vicinity of the find and notify the City. The project applicant(s) shall retain a qualified paleontologist to evaluate the resource and prepare a recovery plan in accordance with Society of Vertebrate Paleontology guidelines (1996). The recovery plan may include, but is not limited to, a field survey, construction monitoring, sampling and data recovery procedures, museum storage coordination for any specimen recovered, and a report of findings. Recommendations in the recovery plan that are determined by the lead agency to be Page 3.10-6 City of West Hollywood General Plan Final EIR October 2010 3.10 Paleontological Resources necessary and feasible shall be implemented before construction activities can resume at the site where the paleontological resources were discovered. 3.10.6 SIGNIFICANCE AFTER MITIGATION With the implementation of Mitigation Measure 3.10-1, impacts to paleontological resources would be reduced to a less-than-significant level. Also, in the event that resources were encountered, fossil specimens would be recovered and recorded and would undergo appropriate curation. City of West Hollywood General Plan Final EIR Page 3.10-7 October 2010 3.10 Paleontological Resources This page intentionally left blank. Page 3.10-8 City of West Hollywood General Plan Final EIR October 2010 3.11 Population and Housing 3.11 POPULATION AND HOUSING This section describes and evaluates the potential impacts on population, housing, and employment associated with the proposed General Plan. This section is based on data taken from the U.S. Census Bureau, the California Department of Finance (DOF), and SCAG. Since each of these organizations uses different methods of data collection and calculation, they do not always arrive at precisely the same results. Accordingly, the population, housing, and employment numbers used in this section’s analysis may vary, depending upon the source cited. However, the sources are relatively consistent with each other and data from all of them have been incorporated into this analysis. This section is also based on review of the West Hollywood General Plan Baseline Land Use Background Report, May 2008. 3.11.1 EXISTING ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING The most recent U.S. Census was published in 2000. Ten years have passed since the census data were collected. As data gathering for the 2010 census is ongoing, compiled census data will not be available for this analysis. To allow for meaningful analysis, updated estimates from the above cited sources were used as a supplement. DOF provides annually updated data regarding population, housing and employment. In 2008, SCAG, as part of its mandated planning functions, developed and published population, household, and employment growth projections for each jurisdiction in the region. The most current available SCAG projections were incorporated into the agency’s 2008 Regional Transportation Plan Growth Forecast. The Growth Forecast contains projections for each 5-year increment between 2005 and 2035. The numbers projected by SCAG in 2008 may vary when compared