Draft Environmental Impact Statement Chapter 3 – Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences Chapter 3 – Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences Introduction This chapter presents the relevant resource components of the existing environment. It describes the resources of the area that would be affected by the alternatives. This chapter also discloses the environmental effects of implementing the alternatives. These form the scientific and analytical basis for comparing the alternatives described in chapter 2. Most specialists used a Geographic Information System (GIS) to calculate the miles and areas affected, or to model habitats. If specialists used models other than GIS, it would be described in their report. Analysis Assumptions The following assumptions were identified regarding the future use and management of the conveyed and acquired lands, as an aid in identifying the resources that may be affected by the proposal. All assumptions were based on the best scientific, social, and economic information available at the time of analysis. References to the information from which each assumption is based are provided. Government Camp: The Federal Lands to be Conveyed Future development is based on Clackamas County zoning regulations and the existing condition of the private parcel that lies between the two Government Camp parcels. This private parcel is assigned the same zoning criteria as the parcels to be conveyed. The Clackamas County Planning and Zoning Division was contacted for assistance in interpreting the zoning regulations (Project Record). The lands to be conveyed would be zoned primarily as Hoodland Residential (HR), with Open Space Management (GCOSM) buffers along the property lines (see figure 14). Mt Hood National Forest 61 Government Camp – Cooper Spur Land Exchange Figure 14. Clackamas County zoning districts and buffers for the parcels to be conveyed Mt Hood National Forest 62 Draft Environmental Impact Statement Chapter 3 – Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences Hoodland Residential (HR) is a single family residential zoning district that would permit development similar to the subdivision between the two parcels to be conveyed. HR is designated as Low Density Residential in the Clackamas County Comprehensive Plan.9 Section 317.01 of the Clackamas County Zoning and Development Ordinance describes the purpose, applicability, and uses permitted for the HR District. The types of uses that are prohibited are anything not listed as allowable, two-plus family dwellings and commercially related uses or services. Hotels and motels are also not allowed. Section 314.04 describes the applicable dimensional standards and allowed modifications. Minimum yard depth and building separation, and maximum lot coverage and building height are defined. There is no yard depth adjacent to the Mt. Hood National Forest. Maximum building heights are 40 feet, and up to 50 feet to accommodate understructure parking. Generally, residential development is prohibited in the Floodplain Management District regulated by Section 703, river and stream corridors, wetlands, mass movement areas regulated by Section 1003, and on slopes greater than 25 percent. The Government Camp Open Space Management District (GCOSM) is intended to preserve and manage the Government Camp Village open space resources for the benefit, health, and welfare of the people. These resources provide the community with recreation, water quality treatment facilities, natural protection areas and pedestrian networks. Section 711 of the Clackamas County Zoning and Development Ordinance describes the purpose, areas of application, uses, buffer areas, dimensional standards, and development standards for the GCOSM. It is oriented toward providing non-motorized recreational, natural, and visually appealing experiences. Residential development is prohibited. The interdisciplinary team developed the following list of assumptions based on the best available information at the time of their analyses. This list was developed through interpretation of the Clackamas County zoning ordinances, including the potential variances that could be approved at the time of development. It also assumes all required State and Federal laws regarding the protection of streams and wetlands would be followed. • All acreages and mileages are approximate. For consistency in the analysis, the numbers used throughout this EIS were generated using spatial data (i.e., Geographical Information Systems). All final acre values will be determined by a licensed surveyor at a future date. • Effects analysis assumes full development of the land. • Development on the parcels to be conveyed will be subject to State and County laws, building codes, and zoning regulations. • Size of the west parcel to be conveyed is 68 acres. • Size of the east parcel to be conveyed is 41 acres. • The wetland conservation easement would be approximately 31 acres and it includes locally inventoried wetland delineations plus geomorphic functional contributing areas. The latter was determined using bare earth LiDAR and ArcGIS hydro tools to define stream initiation zones and provincial topographic contributing areas which were then refined based upon field validation. 9 For more information regarding the Clackamas County Comprehensive Plan, please go to: http://www.clackamas.us/planning/comprehensive.html. Mt Hood National Forest 63 Government Camp – Cooper Spur Land Exchange • There are nine acres of wetlands, as delineated by the GIS dataset created by Terra Science, Inc. in 2006. Therefore, the acres of wetland protection within the lands to be conveyed ranges from nine to 31 acres. • 108 acres of parcels to be conveyed is currently Forest Plan LUA A11-Winter Recreation Area. • One acre of parcels to be conveyed is currently Forest Plan LUA A4-Special Interest Area. • There would be a non-exclusive trail easement under Clarification Act (definition provided in recreation section). • There would be an exclusive trail easement under Omnibus Act (definition provided in recreation section). • There would be a 24-foot trail easement (12 feet from center line) under Clarification Act, which is approximately three acres. • There would be a 32-foot trail easement (16 feet from center line) under Omnibus Act, which is approximately four acres. • There would be 65 developable acres after removal of wetlands, acres zoned as buffer and stream conservation areas, and if 15 percent of that area is removed for roads under Clarification Act. This could include approximately 260 lots. • There would be 54 developable acres after removal of wetlands, acres zoned as buffer, stream conservation areas, and wetland conservation easements, and if 15 percent of that area is removed for roads under the Omnibus Act. This could include approximately 212 lots. • Lots would be approximately 10,890 square feet (1/4 acre). • Lot coverage (impervious surface) would not exceed 40 percent. • The building type would be residential. • Building heights would not exceed 50 feet. • There would be no buffer (setbacks) along boundaries with NFS lands (open space zoning). • The existing Forest would be converted to non-forested lands. • The 6th field HUC is Zigzag Canyon. • There is 0.5 mile of stream with fish present. • There is 0.7 mile of stream with fish absent. • There is 0.5 mile of perennial stream. • There is 0.7 mile of intermittent stream. • The intermittent stream buffer width would be 50 feet from the streambank. • The perennial stream buffer width would be 70 feet from streambank. • There are 58 acres of Riparian Reserves as based on the Northwest Forest Plan definition. Mt Hood National Forest 64 Draft Environmental Impact Statement Chapter 3 – Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences Cooper Spur: The Private Lands to be Acquired • Special use permits would be issued for the management of the Cooper Spur Ski Area and Cooper Spur Mountain Resort. • The proposed permitted area for both the Cooper Spur Ski Area and Cooper Spur Mountain Resort would be approximately 129 acres. • If there is no interest/response to the special use permit prospectus’, or adequate proof of the ability to successfully manage and operate the facilities is not provided, then the facilities would be decommissioned • There are eight acres of existing wetlands. • The 6th field HUC is the Middle East Fork Hood River. • There are three miles of perennial streams. • There is 0.3 mile of intermittent stream. • There are approximately 166 acres of Riparian Reserves on the lands to be acquired based the Northwest Forest Plan definition. Past, Present, and Reasonably Foreseeable Actions The interdisciplinary team considered the effects of past actions as part of the existing condition. The current conditions are the sum total of past actions. The Council on Environmental Quality recognizes “agencies can conduct an adequate cumulative effects analysis by focusing on current aggregate effects of past actions without delving into the historical details of individual past actions” (Council on Environmental Quality 2005). Innumerable actions over the last century and beyond have shaped the Mt. Hood National Forest land base. Attempting to isolate and catalog these individual actions and their effects would be nearly impossible. By looking at current conditions, the effects of past human actions and natural events, regardless of which event contributed to those effects are captured. Courts have interpreted a “reasonably foreseeable future action” as one