Focused Special Study Area Report for the Bella Mar Project Project No. 631240 ,

Prepared for Red Tail Acquisitions LLC 2082 Michelson Drive, Fourth Floor Irvine, CA 92612

Prepared by RECON Environmental, Inc. 3111 Camino del Rio North, Suite 600 San Diego, CA 92108 P 619.308.9333

RECON Number 8575 August 12, 2020

Focused Special Study Area Report

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acronyms and Abbreviations ...... iii 1.0 Introduction ...... 1 2.0 Project Site...... 5 3.0 Proposed Project ...... 5 4.0 Special Study Report Criteria ...... 13 4.1 Assess Biological Resources ...... 13 4.2 Assess Hydrological Conditions ...... 21 5.0 Basis for Establishing Land Uses ...... 25 5.1 Identification of Areas for Preservation, Enhancement, and Restoration ...... 25 5.2 Identification and Designation of Areas for Development...... 25 5.3 Illustration of the Relationship of Proposed Land Uses with Adjacent Land Uses ...... 26 5.4 Provision of a Continuous Connection between the Otay Valley, Salt Works, and ...... 27 5.5 Description of the Proposed Circulation Systems...... 27 5.6 Public Facilities and Services ...... 29 6.0 Project Land Use Proposal ...... 29 6.1 and Nestor Creek ...... 29 6.2 Buffer Zones ...... 30 6.3 Goals of Otay Valley River Park ...... 30 6.4 Public Access ...... 31 6.5 Site Design ...... 31 6.6 Regulatory Compliance ...... 32 6.7 Conform with Related and Adopted Plans ...... 34 7.0 Programmatic Discussion of Special Study Area Outside Project Site...... 36 8.0 Conclusions ...... 36 9.0 References Cited ...... 36

Bella Mar Project i Focused Special Study Area Report

TABLE OF CONTENTS (cont.)

FIGURES

1: Special Study Area- Parcel Ownership ...... 2 2: Special Study Area- Conserved Lands ...... 3 3: Project’s Location within Otay Valley Regional Park Concept Plan ...... 4 4: Regional Location ...... 6 5: Project Location on Aerial Photograph ...... 7 6: Existing MHPA Boundary ...... 8 7a: Project Site Plan ...... 10 7b: Project Off-Site Improvements: Hollister Street Section ...... 11 8: Proposed MHPA Boundary Line Adjustment ...... 12 9: Special Study Area Vegetation ...... 14 10: Existing On-Site Biological Resources ...... 16 11: Special Study Area Watershed ...... 22 12: Proposed Conditions Drainage Map ...... 24

TABLES

1: Public and Private Ownership within the Special Study Area ...... 1 2: Special Study Area Vegetation ...... 13 3: Sensitive Plant Species with a Moderate Potential to Occur in the SSA ...... 17 4: Project’s Compliance with MSCP Land Use Adjacency Guidelines ...... 20 5: Requested Deviations ...... 33

ATTACHMENTS

1: Sensitive Plant Species Observed or with the Potential for Occurrence 2: Sensitive Wildlife Species Observed or with the Potential for Occurrence

Bella Mar Project ii Focused Special Study Area Report

Acronyms and Abbreviations

ALUCP Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan BLA Boundary Line Adjustment BMZ Brush management zone CAP Climate Action Plan CNDDB California Natural Diversity Database CPA Otay Mesa-Nestor Community Planning Area City City of San Diego Community Plan Otay Mesa-Nestor Community Plan Concept Plan Otay Valley Regional Park Concept Plan ESL Environmentally Sensitive Lands FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency I-5 Interstate 5 LDC Land Development Code MHPA Multi-Habitat Planning Area MSCP Multiple Species Conservation Program OVRP Otay Valley Regional Park NWR National Wildlife Refuge project Bella Mar Project SDMC San Diego Municipal Code SSA Special Study Area TPA Transit Priority Area USGS U.S. Geological Survey WMA Watershed Management Area

Bella Mar Project iii Focused Special Study Area Report

1.0 Introduction

Pursuant to Appendix 1B of the Otay Mesa-Nestor Community Plan (Community Plan), the project site is loca