Watsonville City Plaza Expansion and Revitalization Project Initial Study – Mitigated Negative Declaration prepared by City of Watsonville Parks and Community Services Department 250 Main Street Watsonville, California 95076 Contact: Nick Calubaquib, Director prepared with the assistance of Rincon Consultants, Inc. 200 Washington Street, Suite 207 Santa Cruz, California 95060 October 2019 Watsonville City Plaza Expansion and Revitalization Project Initial Study – Mitigated Negative Declaration prepared by City of Watsonville Parks and Community Services Department 250 Main Street Watsonville, California 95076 Contact: Nick Calubaquib, Director prepared with the assistance of Rincon Consultants, Inc. 200 Washington Street, Suite 207 Santa Cruz, California 95060 October 2019 This report prepared on 50% recycled paper with 50% post-consumer content. Table of Contents Table of Contents Initial Study ............................................................................................................................................. 1 1. Project Title ......................................................................................................................... 1 2. Lead Agency Name and Address ......................................................................................... 1 3. Contact Person and Phone Number ................................................................................... 1 4. Project Location .................................................................................................................. 1 5. Project Sponsor’s Name and Address ................................................................................. 1 6. Setting and Surrounding Land Uses .................................................................................... 4 7. Description of Project ......................................................................................................... 7 8. Other Public Agencies Whose Approval is Required ........................................................11 Environmental Factors Potentially Affected .........................................................................................13 Determination ......................................................................................................................................13 Environmental Checklist .......................................................................................................................15 1 Aesthetics ..........................................................................................................................15 2 Agriculture and Forestry Resources ..................................................................................19 3 Air Quality .........................................................................................................................21 4 Biological Resources ..........................................................................................................27 5 Cultural Resources ............................................................................................................31 6 Energy ...............................................................................................................................43 7 Geology and Soils ..............................................................................................................45 8 Greenhouse Gas Emissions ...............................................................................................49 9 Hazards and Hazardous Materials ....................................................................................53 10 Hydrology and Water Quality ...........................................................................................57 11 Land Use and Planning ......................................................................................................61 12 Mineral Resources ............................................................................................................63 13 Noise .................................................................................................................................65 14 Population and Housing ....................................................................................................71 15 Public Services ...................................................................................................................73 16 Recreation .........................................................................................................................75 17 Transportation ..................................................................................................................77 18 Tribal Cultural Resources ..................................................................................................79 19 Utilities and Service Systems ............................................................................................81 20 Wildfire..............................................................................................................................83 21 Mandatory Findings of Significance ..................................................................................85 References ............................................................................................................................................87 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................................87 List of Preparers ............................................................................................................................89 Initial Study – Mitigated Negative Declaration i City of Watsonville Watsonville City Plaza Expansion and Revitalization Project Tables Table 1 Existing On-site Tree Inventory ........................................................................................... 9 Table 2 Construction Details ..........................................................................................................11 Table 3 Summary of City of Watsonville Post-Construction Requirements ..................................58 Table 4 AASHTO Maximum Vibration Levels for Preventing Damage ...........................................68 Figures Figure 1 Regional Location ................................................................................................................ 2 Figure 2 Project Location .................................................................................................................. 3 Figure 3 Site Photographs ................................................................................................................. 5 Figure 4 Watsonville City Plaza Conceptual Plan ............................................................................10 Appendices Appendix A Cultural Resources Technical Report ii Initial Study Initial Study 1. Project Title Watsonville City Plaza Expansion and Revitalization Project 2. Lead Agency Name and Address City of Watsonville Parks and Community Services Department 250 Main Street Watsonville, California 95076 3. Contact Person and Phone Number Nick Calubaquib, Director Phone: 831-768-3240 4. Project Location The Watsonville City Plaza Expansion and Revitalization project site is the Watsonville City Plaza at 350 Main Street (Assessor Parcel Number 017-112-01) in the City of Watsonville in Santa Cruz County, California. The plaza site is bordered by Main, East Beach, Union, and Peck streets in the City’s historic center. Watsonville is located approximately three miles east of the Pacific Ocean and borders the northwest banks of the Pajaro River and the Monterey County line. The City is situated approximately 18 miles southeast of the City of Santa Cruz, and approximately 19 miles north of the City of Salinas. The project site is 2.3-acres, including the 1.4-acre Plaza and portions of surrounding Peck Street and Union Street adjacent to the Plaza. Figure 1 shows the regional location of the project site. Figure 2 shows the proposed project site and surrounding uses. 5. Project Sponsor’s Name and Address Nick Calubaquib City of Watsonville Parks and Community Services Department 250 Main Street Watsonville, California 95076 Initial Study – Mitigated Negative Declaration 1 City of Watsonville Watsonville City Plaza Expansion and Revitalization Project Figure 1 Regional Location 2 Initial Study Figure 2 Project Location Initial Study – Mitigated Negative Declaration 3 City of Watsonville Watsonville City Plaza Expansion and Revitalization Project 6. Setting and Surrounding Land Uses The Watsonville City Plaza (Plaza) is a 1.4-acre plaza located in the southeastern portion of the City of Watsonville. The Plaza is rectilinear shaped (approximately 280’x240’), with the Peck Street and East Beach Street frontages longer than the Main Street and Union Street frontages. It is developed with turfed and planted areas, paved walkways, portable restrooms, park benches, lighting, a fountain, cannons, and a gazebo. The majority of the site is planted in turf grass, and is accented by numerous mature trees distributed throughout the site. Landscape planters are also prominent along the perimeter and surrounding the gazebo. Six paved walkways extend from the gazebo in all directions to the surrounding roadways. Figure 3 below provides photos of the project site. The project site is located in an urbanized area, neighbored by two-, three-, and four-story structures. The site is bounded