San Francisco Bay Area Water Trail Plan Final Environmental Impact Report
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San Francisco Bay Area Water Trail Plan Final Environmental Impact Report March 2011 Prepared by: GAIA Consulting, Inc. with assistance from Prepared for: Grassetti Environmental California State Coastal Conservancy Consulting, URS Corpora- 1330 Broadway, tion, and H.T. Harvey & Suite 1300 Associates Oakland, CA 94612 Tel: (510) 286-1015 SCH # 2007112080 Fax: (510) 286-0470 VOLUME 1 SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA WATER TRAIL PLAN FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT ____________________________________________________________________________________ TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 1-1 2. RESPONSES TO COMMENTS ON THE DRAFT REVISED EIR ............................................ 2-1 2.1 Master Comment Responses ......................................................................................... 2-1 2.1.1 Master Comment Response 1: Funding of WT Program Activities, Trailheads, Trailhead Maintenance, Signage, Law Enforcement, and Mitigation Measures ........... 2-1 2.1.2 Master Comment Response 2: Enforcement of Mitigation Measures ................ 2-2 2.1.3 Master Comment Response 3: Feasibility and Adequacy of Mitigation Measures .............................................................................................................. 2-4 2.1.4 Master Comment Response 4: Proposed Additions or Changes to the List of Backbone Sites Included in the Water Trail Plan ....................................................... 2-9 2.1.5 Master Comment Response 5: Resources for and Coordination of Law Enforcement Activities ......................................................................................... 2-10 2.1.6 Master Comment Response 6: Complexity of Trailhead Designation Process and Related CEQA and Permit Requirements ............................................................... 2-12 2.1.7 Master Comment Response 7: CEQA Significance Thresholds ....................... 2-13 2.1.8 Master Comment Response 8: CEQA Analysis Issues ..................................... 2-14 2.2 Responses to Comments from Federal, State and Local Agencies .......................... 2-15 2.2.1 Responses to Comments from the United States Department of the Interior – United States Fish and Wildlife Service ............................................................ 2-15 2.2.2 Responses to Comments from the United States Department of the Interior – National Park Service ........................................................................................ 2-31 2.2.3 Responses to Comments from the State of California Department of Fish and Game .................................................................................................................. 2-33 2.2.4 Responses to Comments from the Contra Costa County Department of Conservation & Development ............................................................................ 2-35 2.2.5 Responses to Comments from the County of Marin Department of Parks and Open Space ........................................................................................................ 2-34 2.2.6 Responses to Comments from the County of Santa Clara Parks and Recreation Department ......................................................................................................... 2-36 2.2.7 Responses to Comments from the East Bay Regional Park District ................. 2-36 2.2.8 Responses to Comments from the Harbor Safety Committee of the San Francisco Bay Region......................................................................................................... 2-39 2.2.9 Responses to Comments from the City of Hercules .......................................... 2-41 2.3 Response to Comments from Organizations ............................................................. 2-42 2.3.1 Responses to Comments from Bay Access, Inc. ................................................ 2-42 2.3.2 Responses to Comments from Friends of Corte Madera Creek ........................ 2-45 2.3.3 Responses to Comments from Marin Audubon Society .................................... 2-46 2.3.4 Responses to Comments from San Francisco Board Sailing Association ......... 2-51 2.3.5 Responses to Comments from Save the Bay ..................................................... 2-52 SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA WATER TRAIL PLAN i COASTAL CONSERVANCY FINAL EIR MARCH 2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS 2.3.6 Responses to Comments from Shoreline Watch for San Jose ........................... 2-52 2.4 Responses to Comments from Individuals. ............................................................... 2-55 2.4.1 Responses to Written Comments from Norton Bell. ......................................... 2-55 2.4.2 Responses to Written Comments from Ted Choi – City Kayak ........................ 2-55 2.4.3 Responses to Written Comments from Arthur Feinstein (Consulting for Conservation) ..................................................................................................... 2-56 2.4.4 Responses to Written Comments from Beth Huning ......................................... 2-57 2.4.5 Responses to Written Comments from Paul Kamen. ......................................... 2-58 2.4.6 Responses to Verbal Comments from Paul Kamen. .......................................... 2-61 2.4.7 Responses to Verbal Comments from Jim McGrath ......................................... 2-62 2.4.8 Responses to Written Comments from Paul Nixon. .......................................... 2-63 2.4.9 Responses to Verbal Comments from Paul Nixon ............................................ 2-63 2.4.10 Responses to Written Comments from Gail Raabe. .......................................... 2-63 2.4.11 Responses to Written Comments from Richard Santos. .................................... 2-64 2.4.12 Responses to Verbal Comments from Richard Skaff ........................................ 2-64 2.4.13 Responses to Verbal Comments from Casey Walker ........................................ 2-65 3. COMMENTS ON THE DRAFT REVISED EIR 3.1 Comments from Federal, State and Local Agencies. Comments from the United States Department of the Interior – United States Fish and Wildlife Service Comments from the United States Department of the Interior – National Park Service Comments from the State of California Department of Fish and Game Comments from the Contra Costa County Department of Conservation & Development Comments from the County of Marin Department of Parks and Open Space Comments from the County of Santa Clara Parks and Recreation Department Comments from the East Bay Regional Park District Comments from the Harbor Safety Committee of the San Francisco Bay Region Comments from the City of Hercules 3.2 Comments from Organizations. Comments from Bay Access, Inc. Comments from Friends of Corte Madera Creek Comments from Marin Audubon Society Comments from San Francisco Board Sailing Association Comments from Save the Bay Comments from Shoreline Watch for San Jose 3.3 Comments from Individuals. Written Comments from Norton Bell. Written Comments from Ted Choi – City Kayak Written Comments from Arthur Feinstein (Consulting for Conservation) Written Comments from Beth Huning Written Comments from Paul Kamen SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA WATER TRAIL PLAN ii COASTAL CONSERVANCY FINAL EIR MARCH 2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS Verbal Comments from Paul Kamen Verbal Comments from Jim McGrath Written Comments from Paul Nixon Verbal Comments from Paul Nixon Written Comments from Gail Raabe Written Comments from Richard Santos Verbal Comments from Richard Skaff Verbal Comments from Casey Walker 4. MITIGATION MONITORING AND REPORTING PROGRAM ............................................... 4-1 SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA WATER TRAIL PLAN iii COASTAL CONSERVANCY FINAL EIR MARCH 2011 1 INTRODUCTION 1.0 – INTRODUCTION 1.0 INTRODUCTION This document, together with the San Francisco Bay Area Water Trail Plan Draft Revised EIR (DREIR), constitutes the San Francisco Bay Area Water Trail Plan Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) in accordance with Section 15132 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines. This FEIR contains limited additional information that was not included in the DREIR. This additional information clarifies, amplifies, or makes insignificant modifications to the information contained in the DREIR. The recommended alternative from the DREIR remains Alternative 3, the Enhanced San Francisco Bay Area Water Trail Plan (Enhanced Water Trail Plan), which was identified as the environmentally superior alternative. Following this introduction, Chapter 2 provides responses to the comments made on the DREIR during the public review period (August 3 – September 21, 2010, with one additional, accepted comment letter dated September 22), including comments made at the public hearing for the DREIR on August 24, 2010. Chapter 3 provides the comment letters and transcripts of the verbal comments received at the public meeting, and Chapter 4 contains the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP). Twenty-eight comment letters (including e-mails and transcripts of verbal comments) were received, some of which repeated concerns expressed in other letters. The most common areas of concern were on the adequacy or enforceability of mitigation measures, funding for mitigation measures and site improvements, the trailhead designation process, and aspects of the CEQA process. Responses to similar comments were grouped into eight master responses, which are presented