Taylor Mountain Master Plan October 9,2012 October
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taylor mountain regional park and open space preserve Master Plan october 9, 2012 IAN CREELMAN IAN PHOTO: PHOTO: taylor mountain regional park and open space preserve Master Plan October 9, 2012 Prepared for Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District & Sonoma County Regional Parks This Page Intentionally Left Blank ii october, 2012 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS sonoma county board of supervisors Valerie Brown, 1st District David Rabbitt, 2nd District Shirlee Zane, 3rd District Mike McGuire, 4th District Efren Carrillo, 5th District sonoma county agricultural preservation and open space district Bill Keene, General Manager Sara Press, Associate Open Space Planner Sheri Emerson, Stewardship Program Manager sonoma county regional parks Caryl Hart, Director Mark Cleveland, Senior Park Planner Bert Whitaker, Park Manager Prepared by rrm design group Jeff Ferber, Principal Lief McKay, Principal Landscape Architect In association with Prunuske Chatham, Inc. WRA, Inc. Lisa Bush Range Management & Agricultural Consulting Architectural Resources Group Whitlock & Weinberger, Inc. Vicki Hill Environmental Planning LandPaths Taylor Mountain Regional Park and Open Space Preserve Master Plan iii This Page Intentionally Left Blank iv october, 2012 Table of Contents 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Overview and Purpose of the Master Plan ..................................................... 3 1.2 Components and Organization of the Master Plan ...................................... 3 1.3 Goals ..................................................................................................................... 5 1.4 Design Philosophy .............................................................................................. 6 1.5 Introduction to Guidelines and Standards ...................................................... 6 2. Background 9 2.1 History of the Property .................................................................................... 10 2.2 Public Acquisition of Property ........................................................................ 11 2.3 Regulatory and Policy Framework.................................................................. 12 2.4 Easements, Licenses and Life Estate ............................................................... 12 2.5 Master Plan Amendments ............................................................................... 16 3. Public Outreach Process 17 3.1 Purpose and Intent ............................................................................................ 18 3.2 Methodology ...................................................................................................... 18 3.3 Summary of Community Meetings ................................................................ 19 4. Environmental Setting 23 4.1 Regional Context .............................................................................................. 24 4.2 Adjacent Land Uses........................................................................................... 24 4.3 Geology and Soils .............................................................................................. 24 4.4 Watershed and Hydrology ............................................................................... 24 Taylor Mountain Regional Park and Open Space Preserve Master Plan v 4.5 Plant Resources ................................................................................................. 25 4.6 Wildlife Resources ............................................................................................ 25 4.7 Landscape Context and Ecological Processes ............................................... 26 5. Natural Resource Management 27 5.1 Goals for Natural Resource Management ...................................................... 28 5.2 Grasslands ......................................................................................................... 28 5.3 Scrub ................................................................................................................... 37 5.4 Forests and Woodlands .................................................................................... 38 5.5 Riparian Habitats .............................................................................................. 42 5.6 Seasonal and Perennial Wetlands ................................................................... 47 5.7 Special-Status Species ....................................................................................... 51 5.8 Invasive Plant Species ....................................................................................... 64 5.9 Invasive Animal Species ................................................................................... 72 5.10 Additional Biological Resource Protection.................................................... 73 5.11 Revegetation and Habitat Restoration ........................................................... 78 5.12 Climate Change ................................................................................................ 82 5.13 Monitoring and Adaptive Management ......................................................... 85 6. Grazing 93 6.1 Introduction and Background ......................................................................... 94 6.2 Existing Conditions Related to Grazing ......................................................... 97 6.3 Guidelines and Standards for Ongoing Grazing Management ................ 100 6.4 Grazing Infrastructure ................................................................................... 112 6.5 Avoiding and Minimizing Negative Effects of Grazing ............................. 117 6.6 Recommendations for Targeted Grazing ..................................................... 123 6.7 Grazing Agreement Compliance Monitoring ............................................. 128 vi october, 2012 7. Cultural Resources 131 7.1 Archaeological Resources .............................................................................. 132 7.2 Historical Resources ....................................................................................... 135 8. Conceptual Site Plan 147 8.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 149 8.2 Overall Concept Plan Description ................................................................ 150 8.3 Allowable Uses ................................................................................................. 151 8.4 Trails ................................................................................................................. 151 8.5 Staging Areas and Development Envelopes ................................................ 174 8.6 Utilities and Infrastructure ............................................................................ 205 8.7 Signage and Wayfinding ................................................................................. 206 8.8 Naming of Features ......................................................................................... 210 9. Operations and Maintenance 211 10. Community Stewardship 217 11. Implementation 221 11.1 Project Types ................................................................................................... 222 11.2 Implementation Phases .................................................................................. 222 11.3 Priority Setting ................................................................................................ 224 11.4 Funding Sources .............................................................................................. 224 12. References 227 Taylor Mountain Regional Park and Open Space Preserve Master Plan vii List of Figures Figure 1. Taylor Mountain Regional Context. .................................................................. 2 Figure 2. Former Property Holdings................................................................................ 15 Figure 3. Biological Communities.................................................................................... 31 Figure 4. Priority Areas for Natural Resource Management. ....................................... 35 Figure 5. Existing and Planned Infrastructure ............................................................. 107 Figure 6. Development Envelopes.................................................................................. 152 Figure 7. Conceptual Site Plan........................................................................................ 153 Figure 8. Major Trail Loops............................................................................................. 157 Figure 9. Trails Map .......................................................................................................... 163 Figure 10. Kawana Springs Resort Staging Area, Short-term Site Plan..................... 178 Figure 11. Kawana Springs Resort Staging Area, Long-term Site Plan. .................... 179 Figure 12. Petaluma Hill Road Staging Area Site Plan. ............................................... 189 Figure 13. Linwood Avenue Staging Area Site Plan..................................................... 191 Figure 14. Bath-Watt Staging Area Site Plan................................................................. 194 Figure 15. Farmers Lane Staging Area and Kawana Knoll Area Site Plan. ............... 199 Figure 16. Barn Area Site Plan ........................................................................................ 201 viii october, 2012 List of Tables