Land Use Technical Report August 2010 Land Use Technical Report
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I-70 Mountain Corridor Land Use Technical Report August 2010 Land Use Technical Report This page intentionally left blank. Land Use Technical Report Table of Contents Section 1. Purpose of the Report .............................................................................................. 1 Section 2. Background and Methodology ................................................................................ 1 2.1 Right-of-Way Acquisition and I-70 Highway Expansion into Currently Developed Lands2 2.2 Consistency with Land Use Planning and Zoning............................................................ 2 2.3 Induced Growth: Population and Development ............................................................... 3 2.3.1 Induced Population ................................................................................................4 2.3.2 Induced Development............................................................................................7 Section 3. Description of Alternatives ...................................................................................... 8 3.1 Minimal Action Alternative................................................................................................ 8 3.2 Transit Alternatives .......................................................................................................... 8 3.2.1 Rail with Intermountain Connection .......................................................................9 3.2.2 Advanced Guideway System.................................................................................9 3.2.3 Dual-mode Bus in Guideway .................................................................................9 3.2.4 Diesel Bus in Guideway.........................................................................................9 3.3 Highway Alternatives ....................................................................................................... 9 3.3.1 Six-Lane Highway 55 mph Alternative.................................................................10 3.3.2 Six-Lane Highway 65 mph Alternative.................................................................10 3.3.3 Reversible Lanes Alternative ...............................................................................10 3.4 Combination Alternatives ............................................................................................... 10 3.5 Preferred Alternative—Minimum and Maximum Programs............................................ 11 3.6 No Action Alternative ..................................................................................................... 11 Section 4. Affected Environment............................................................................................. 12 4.1 Federally Managed Lands ............................................................................................. 12 4.1.1 Bureau of Land Management, Colorado River Valley District..............................12 4.1.2 White River National Forest.................................................................................13 4.1.3 Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests ............................................................17 4.1.4 Special Use Permits.............................................................................................18 4.2 Non-Federal Lands ........................................................................................................ 18 4.2.1 Land Use and Planning Policies ..........................................................................18 4.3 Jefferson County Corridor Area ..................................................................................... 20 4.3.1 Population and Growth ........................................................................................22 Section 5. Environmental Consequences .............................................................................. 24 5.1 Direct Impacts................................................................................................................ 24 5.1.1 Federal Lands......................................................................................................24 5.1.2 Non-Federal Lands ..............................................................................................27 5.1.3 Compatibility with Land Use Plans.......................................................................28 5.2 Indirect Impacts.............................................................................................................. 31 5.2.1 Induced Population Growth..................................................................................31 5.2.2 Induced Development..........................................................................................33 5.2.3 Indirect Impacts to Federal Lands........................................................................35 5.3 Construction Impacts ..................................................................................................... 35 5.4 Impacts in 2050.............................................................................................................. 35 Section 6. Tier 2 Considerations ............................................................................................. 36 Section 7. Mitigation Strategies............................................................................................... 36 Section 8. References............................................................................................................... 37 I-70 Mountain Corridor PEIS Technical Reports August 2010 Page i Land Use Technical Report Appendices A Land Use Maps B United States Forest Service Land Management Standards and Guidelines C United States Forest Service Special Use Permits D Summary of I-70 Mountain Corridor Land Use Plans List of Charts Chart 1. Summary of United States Forest Lands within Project Footprint by Alternative.............................................................................................................. 25 Chart 2. Summary of Properties within Project Footprint by Alternative............................ 28 List of Figures Figure 1. Ten County Study Area .............................................................................................. 2 Figure 2. Forest Management Areas in West Half of the Corridor ....................................... 14 Figure 3. Forest Management Areas in the East Half of Corridor ........................................ 15 List of Tables Table 1. Percent Increase/Decrease from Baseline in Person-Trips...................................... 5 Table 2. Estimated Annual Average Daily Traffic (rounded)................................................... 6 Table 3. Summary of Corridor County Master Plan Topics Related to the Corridor .......... 21 Table 4. Population Projections .............................................................................................. 23 Table 5. United States Forest Service Management Area Prescription Impacts ................ 26 Table 6. Parcel Impacts by Location ....................................................................................... 29 Table 7. Parcel Impacts by Land Use Type ............................................................................ 30 Table 8. Growth and Population Predictions ......................................................................... 32 Table 9. Possible Worst-Case Acreage of Induced Development........................................ 33 Technical Reports I-70 Mountain Corridor PEIS Page ii August 2010 Land Use Technical Report Section 1. Purpose of the Report This I-70 Mountain Corridor PEIS Land Use Technical Report supports the information contained in Chapter 3, Section 7 of the I-70 Mountain Corridor Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS). This report describes: Methods used to identify land use and determine potential impacts of alternatives on land uses. Coordination with local, state, and federal agencies. Description of the existing land use in the Corridor Consequences of the Action Alternatives evaluated in the I-70 Mountain Corridor PEIS on land use. Considerations for land use for Tier 2 processes. Proposed mitigation strategies for land use. Section 2. Background and Methodology The study area for this Technical Report comprises the land in the counties immediately adjacent to the I-70 Mountain Corridor (Garfield, Eagle, Summit, Clear Creek, and Jefferson) for the direct impacts analysis. The indirect impacts analysis study area comprises nine counties surrounding the I-70 Mountain Corridor—Garfield, Eagle, Summit, Clear Creek, Lake, Park, Gilpin, Pitkin, and Grand. Jefferson County is excluded from the indirect impacts analysis because its growth trends are related primarily to the Denver metropolitan area rather than the I-70 Mountain Corridor, and the Action Alternatives minimally influence Jefferson County’s growth. The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and Federal Highway Administration (the lead agencies) collected land use management information for federally managed lands in the Corridor, along with planning and zoning documents from Corridor counties and municipalities. Direct consultation with the Corridor counties, municipalities, and other land management agencies was conducted to verify assumptions and obtain accurate land use data. Figure 1 below illustrates the five counties through which the I-70 highway runs, plus the additional five counties included in the indirect