JPR 18-02-28 RCA Findings
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March 23, 2021 Nino Abad City of Temecula 41000 Main Street Temecula, California 92590 Dear Mr. Abad: Please find the following JPR attached: JPR 18-08-30-01. The Local Identifier is Pala Community Park Sheet Pile Wall Construction Project. The JPR file attached includes the following: • RCA JPR Findings • Exhibit A, Regional • Exhibit B, Vicinity Map with MSHCP Schematic Cores and Linkages • Exhibit C, Vegetation • Exhibit D, Soil • Exhibit E, Conservation and Avoidance Areas Thank you, __________________________ Tricia Campbell Western Riverside County Regional Conservation Authority cc: Karin Cleary-Rose Heather Pert U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife 777 East Tahquitz Canyon Way, 3602 Inland Empire Blvd. #C220 Suite 208 Ontario, California 91764 Palm Springs, California 92262 RCA Joint Project Review (JPR) JPR #: 18-08-30-01 Date: 03/23/2021 Project Information Permittee: City of Temecula Case Information: Pala Community Park Sheet Pile Wall Construction Project Site Acreage: 0.62 acre Portion of Site Proposed for MSHCP Conservation Area: 0 acres Criteria Consistency Review Consistency Conclusion: The project is consistent with both the Criteria and Other Plan requirements with implementation of the measures presented in these Findings (including any measures within the project information provided to the RCA by the Permittee for this JPR). Applicable Core/Linkage: Proposed Constrained Linkage 14 Area Plan: Southwest APN Sub-Unit Cell Group Cell 961-450-001 SU-1 Murrieta Creek Not in a Cell Group 7445 951-450-002 7446 Project Information a. Project information provided by the Permittee included a JPR Application (revised March 15, 2021), City of Temecula Cover letter (revised March 3, 2021) both prepared by the City of Temecula, and Western Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan Consistency – Pala Community Park Sheet Pile Wall Construction1 (Analysis), (revised February 9, 2021), collectively prepared by City of Temecula, CWE Corporation, and Psomas. b. Project Location: The project is located in the City of Temecula at the north end of Pala Park. Surrounding land uses consist of residential development to the south and Temecula Creek to the north. c. Project Description: The project proposes installation of a sheet pile wall, approximately 427 feet in length, and an associated anchor system along the northern boundary of the existing soccer field in Pala Park. An impact pile driver will be used to install the sheet pile wall. The sheet pile wall will be driven to a maximum depth of 35 feet below ground surface. Wall anchors will be placed subsurface to hold the sheet pile wall in place in the event that Temecula Creek erodes further and potentially all the way to the sheet pile wall. Any excess materials will be hauled off the site. The sheet piles will be driven into the 1 City of Temecula, CWE Corporation, and Psomas. 2020. Western Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan Consistency – Pala Community Park Sheet Pile Wall Construction (February 9, 2021) prepared by City of Temecula, CWE Corporation, and Psomas. 1 RCA Joint Project Review (JPR) JPR #: 18-08-30-01 Date: 03/23/2021 ground causing vibration. Based on the subsurface conditions, the upper 20 feet of soil is loose to medium dense and below 20 feet, soil material becomes denser. Dense soils facilitate greater vibration. However, given that these denser soils are at deeper depths, vibration towards ground surface diminishes and vibration level is anticipated to be below the threshold that would cause damage to the surrounding area. Given the distance to the bank, 6-foot height of the bank, and depth to dense soils, the City has stated that significant vibration towards the bank is not anticipated. The proposed project limits of work cover 0.62 acre and include an approximately 0.35-acre area where equipment would be staged, 0.01 acre for the sheet pile, another 0.16 acre of staging area, and 0.10 acre for the access route from the staging area. Soils on site consist of Grangeville fine sandy loam, Hanford course sandy loam, Riverwash, and Tujunga loamy sand. On-site vegetation communities consist of ruderal, ornamental, and disturbed habitat. Relation to Reserve Assembly a. As stated in Section 3.2.3 of the MSHCP, “Proposed Constrained Linkage 14 consists of portions of Pechanga and Temecula Creeks, located in the southwestern region of the Plan Area. This Constrained Linkage connects Existing Core G (Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve) and Proposed Linkage 10 in the west to Existing Linkage A in the south. This Linkage bifurcates and may be used to move directly to the east, along Temecula Creek, or to the southeast, along Pechanga Creek to Existing Linkage A. This Linkage is constrained along most of its length by existing urban Development and the planned land uses surrounding the Linkage consist almost entirely of city (Temecula). I-15 also intersects the Linkage at its western terminus. Therefore, high quality Live-In riparian Habitat must be maintained, and movement Habitat for bobcat and mountain lion must be provided, as these species are known to use the Linkage for movement. This portion of Pechanga and Temecula Creek may serve as one component of a larger movement corridor for mountain lions traveling between the Santa Ana Mountains and the Palomar Mountains. A Linkage between these two mountain ranges would reduce the risk of extirpation of the Santa Ana Mountains population of mountain lion, which was considered to be “demographically unstable” without a movement connection (Beier 1993). Maintenance of contiguous Habitat with appropriate refugia for resting, such as rockpiles, brush piles, windfalls, hollow snags, and hollow trees, is important for dispersal of juveniles. Maintenance of existing floodplain processes and water quality along the creek is also important for wetland species noted in the table below.” (refer to MSHCP Table XXXX) b. A portion of the project site is located within Cell 7445, independent of a Cell Group. Conservation within this Cell will contribute to assembly of Proposed Constrained Linkage 14. Conservation within this Cell will focus on riparian scrub, woodland, forest and grassland habitat along Temecula Creek. Areas conserved within this Cell will be connected to riparian scrub, woodland and forest habitat proposed for conservation in Cell 7444 to the west and 7446 to the east, and to riparian scrub, woodland, forest, and grassland habitat proposed for conservation in Cell 7358 to the north. Conservation within this Cell will range from 10%-20% of the Cell focusing in the northern portion of the Cell. 2 RCA Joint Project Review (JPR) JPR #: 18-08-30-01 Date: 03/23/2021 A portion of the project site is also located within Cell 7446, independent of a Cell Group. Conservation within this Cell will contribute to assembly of Proposed Constrained Linkage 14. Conservation within this Cell will focus on riparian scrub, woodland, forest and grassland habitat along Temecula Creek. Areas conserved within this Cell will be connected to riparian scrub, woodland, forest, and grassland habitat proposed for conservation in Cell 7359 to the north and in Cell 7445 to the west. Conservation within this Cell will range from 10%-20% of the Cell focusing in the northern portion of the Cell. c. Rough Step: The proposed project is located within Rough Step Unit 5. According the MSHCP 2019 Annual report, Rough Step Unit 5 encompasses 91,734 acres within the southwestern corner of western Riverside County and includes the Santa Rosa Plateau, the Tenaja Corridor, and Murrieta Creek (see Figure 3-6, Rough Step Unit 5). This Unit is bound by Interstate 15 to the east, San Diego County to the south, and the Santa Ana Mountains in the Cleveland National Forest to the west and north. Within Rough Step Unit 5, there are 24,326 acres within the Criteria Area. Key vegetation communities within Rough Step Unit 5 include: coastal sage scrub; grasslands; riparian scrub, woodland, forest; Riversidean alluvial fan sage scrub; and woodlands and forests. Rough Step acreage goals are provided for each of these habitat types. Table 3-11, Rough Step Unit 5 Acreage Totals, also includes acres conserved for habitats for which Rough Step acreage goals do not exist. A total of 1,443 acres of conservation has been acquired within this Rough Step Unit. Losses to this unit total 2,172 acres, with remaining development allowance as followed: 185 acres of coastal sage scrub, 114 acres of grasslands, 8 acres of Riversidean alluvial fan sage scrub, and 198 acres of woodlands and forests. The riparian scrub, woodland, forest vegetation category is out of Rough Step balance by 1 acre. The RCA is actively engaged in acquiring parcels that would bring riparian scrub, woodland, forest back into Rough Step for Unit 5. The total acreage needed is 5.7 acres of riparian scrub, woodland, forest. The proposed project will impact 0.6 acre of grassland, not riparian scrub, woodland, forest vegetation. Therefore, the project does not conflict with Rough Step. ROUGH STEP MEASURE. In accordance with Section 6.7 in Volume I of the Plan, it is the Permittees responsibility that if the rough step rule is not met during any analysis period (performed annually by the RCA), the Permittees must conserve appropriate lands supporting a specified vegetation community within the analysis unit to bring the Plan back into the parameters of the rule prior to authorizing additional loss of the vegetation community for which the rule was not achieved. The Permittee must not cause additional loss of any rough step vegetation that is out of balance. Prior to vegetation removal, the City of Temecula will confirm with the RCA that the project will not impact out-of-balance Rough Step vegetation in the applicable rough step unit.