00087 PPllaacceerr CCoountuntyy,, CCaalliiffoorrniniaa August, 2003 Quad Knopf,Inc. Prepared by: Plan Team Community Foresthill Divide Planning Dept. Placer County Prepared for: Community Plan Foresthill Divide PPllaacceerr CCoountuntyy,, CCaalliiffoorrniniaa August, 2003 Roberta MacGlashan,Project Manager Contact: 784-7823 (916) Roseville, CA95678 One Sierragate Plaza, Suite270C Quad Knopf, Inc. Prepared by: Michael Wells,Senior Planner Contact: (530) 886-3000 Auburn, CA95603 11414 BAvenue Plan Team Foresthill DivideCommunity Placer CountyPlanningDept. Prepared for: Community Plan Foresthill Divide TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION 1-1 A. PURPOSE OF COMMUNITY PLAN 1-1 B. THE PLAN AREA 1-2 C. REGIONAL SETTING/CONTEXT 1-3 D. PLANNING PROCESS 1-3 E. PLAN ASSUMPTIONS 1-3 F. RELATIONSHIP TO COUNTY LAND DEVELOPMENT POLICIES 1-5 G. VISION STATEMENT 1-5 II. GENERAL COMMUNITY GOALS 2-1 III. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ELEMENT 3-1 A. POPULATION AND HOUSING 3-1 1. Purpose 3-1 2. Goals and Policies 3-2 3. Population 3-3 4. Housing 3-4 5. Implementation 3-7 B. LAND USE 3-16 1. Purpose 3-16 2. General Concepts/Description 3-17 3. Goals and Policies 3-24 4. Description of Land Use Districts 3-30 5. Implementation 3-41 C. COMMUNITY DESIGN 3-43 1. Purpose 3-43 2. Elements of Community Design 3-43 3. Goals and Policies 3-52 4. Implementation 3-57 D. PUBLIC FACILITIES 3-58 1. Purpose 3-58 2. Goals and Policies 3-58 i 3. Sewage Disposal 3-60 4. Water Supply 3-62 5. Education/Schools 3-64 6. Fire Protection 3-68 7. Public Protection 3-72 8. Drainage and Water Quality 3-74 9. Public Utilities 3-76 10. Other Public Services 3-77 E. PARKS AND RECREATION 3-81 1. Purpose 3-81 2. Existing Park and Recreation Facilities and Programs 3-81 3. Goals and Policies 3-88 4. Implementation 3-90 IV. RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ELEMENT 4-1 A. NATURAL RESOURCES/CONSERVATION/OPEN SPACE 4-1 1. Purpose 4-1 2. Goals and Policies 4-4 3. Discussion 4-15 4. Implementation 4-50 B. CULTURAL RESOURCES 4-54 1. Purpose 4-54 2. Goals and Policies 4-55 3. Discussion 4-56 4. Implementation 4-80 C. AIR QUALITY 4-82 1. Purpose 4-82 2. Goals and Policies 4-82 3. Discussion 4-85 4. Implementation 4-89 V. TRANSPORTATION AND CIRCULATION ELEMENT 5-1 A. PURPOSE 5-1 B. EXISTING TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM 5-2 C. GOALS AND POLIICES 5-7 D. IMPLEMENTATION 5-11 ii VI. IMPLEMENTATION 6-1 A. SUMMARY 6-1 B. ZONING AND LAND USE REGULATIONS 6-6 C. RELATIONSHIP TO THE PLACER COUNTY GENERAL PLAN AND REGIONAL PLANS 6-8 Appendices A Community Survey B Development Standards – “Forest Ranch” Specific Plan Area C Foresthill Community Design Guidelines D References for Cultural Resources iii LIST OF TABLES Page 3.A-1 Population Projections 3-4 3.A-2 Growth Scenarios in Plan Area 3-4 3.A-3 Foresthill Divide Housing Types, 1996 3-6 3.A-4 Projected Foresthill Divide Housing Need 3-6 3.A-5 Projected Foresthill Divide Housing Need by Housing Type 3-7 3.A-6 Unincorporated Placer County Regional Housing Allocation 3-7 3.B-1 Employment Projections by Sector 3-17 3.E-1 Summary of Recreational Areas and Facilities In or 3-84 Near the Plan Area 3.E-2 Trails On or Near the Foresthill Divide 3-85 4.A-1 Farmland Soils of Placer County 4-16 4.A-2 Listed and Special-Status Species Potentially Occurring 4-24 Within the Plan Area or Vicinity 4.A-3 Listed and Special-Status Species Potentially Occurring 4-26 Within the Plan Area or Vicinity 4.A-4 Timber Harvest Documents for Foresthill Community Plan Area, 4-46 1995-2000 4.A-5 Potentially Unstable Rock Units 4-48 4.A-6 Soil Erosion Hazards 4-49 4.C-1 Major Criteria Pollutants 4-86 4.C-2 Federal and State Ambient Air Quality Standards 4-87 4.C-3 Summary of Air Quality Data for Colfax and Auburn, 1995-1997 4-88 5-1 Two-Lane Rural Highway Level of Service Descriptions 5-4 iv 5-2 Evaluation Criteria or Level of Service 5-5 5-3 Existing Daily Roadway Traffic Volumes & Levels of Service (Weekdays) 5-6 6-1 Zoning Compatibility Matrix 6-6 v LIST OF FIGURES Following Page I-1 Community Plan Area 1-2 III-1 Land Use Diagram 3-16 III-2 Mixed-Use Areas 3-36 III-3 Plan Area Communities 3-44 III-4 Foresthill 3-44 IV-1 Vegetation Communities 4-18 IV-2 Vegetation Communities 4-18 IV-3 Potential Jurisdictional Waters of the United States 4-22 IV-4 Potential Jurisdictional Waters of the United States 4-22 V-1 Circulation Diagram 5-2 V-2 Existing Circulation System & Traffic Volumes 5-2 vi Foresthill Divide Community Plan I. INTRODUCTION A. PURPOSE OF COMMUNITY PLAN The Foresthill Divide Community Plan (FDCP), in combination with the Placer County General Plan, is the official statement of Placer County setting forth goals, policies, assumptions, guidelines, standards and implementation measures that will guide the physical, social and economic development of the Foresthill Divide Community Plan area to approximately the year 2022. The Plan will provide overall direction for future growth in the Foresthill Divide. The Community Plan, in combination with the Placer County General Plan, satisfies the requirements of California Planning and Zoning Law. The Plan is organized into the following elements and sections: Community Development Element Population and Housing Land Use Community Design Public Facilities Parks & Recreation Resource Management Element Natural Resources Cultural Resources Air Quality Transportation and Circulation Element The final chapter of this document, entitled Implementation, summarizes the implementation measures presented throughout the FDCP, and describes how the FDCP will be implemented through zoning and other methods. The FDCP also includes, as appendices, the Foresthill Community Survey conducted for the FDCP, development standards for the “Forest Ranch” Specific Plan area, and the Foresthill Community Design Guidelines prepared as part of the Plan. The FDCP provides an opportunity to comprehensively address issues facing the community and to responsibly and proactively plan for the next 20 years. The FDCP is being proposed as part of a 20-year review and revision of the current plan, and in conjunction with a community-wide “visioning” process. The Vision Statement developed by the Foresthill Divide Community Plan Team is presented at the end of this chapter. The FDCP includes the goals, policies, standards, implementation program, quantified objectives (for the Housing Element), the Land Use Diagram and the Circulation Plan Diagram, which together constitute Placer County’s formal policies for land use, development, and environmental 1-1 Foresthill Divide Community Plan quality. The following definitions describe the nature of the statements of goals, policies, standards, and implementation programs. Goal: The ultimate purpose of an effort stated in a way that is general in nature and immeasurable. Policy: A specific statement in text or diagram guiding action and implying clear commitment. Standard: A specific, often quantified guideline, incorporated in a policy or implementation program, defining the relationship between two or more variables. Standards can often translate directly into regulatory controls. Implementation Program: An action, procedure, program, or technique that carries out general plan policy. Implementation programs also specify primary responsibility for carrying out the action and a time frame for accomplishment. B. THE PLAN AREA The Foresthill Divide Community Plan area (Plan area) comprises approximately 109 square miles located in the foothills of the western slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in central Placer County. Several small, rural communities are located on the Divide, including Foresthill, Todd’s Valley, Baker Ranch, Michigan Bluff, and Yankee Jim’s. The majority of the Plan Area is forested and/or part of the steeply sloping topography that slopes to the Middle and North Forks of the American River. As shown in Figure I-1, the Plan area is generally bounded by: • North Fork of the American River, Shirttail Canyon, the watershed of Sugar Pine Reservoir, and Elliott Ranch Road on the west and north. • West branch of El Dorado Canyon on the east • North Fork of the Middle Fork American River and the Middle Fork American River on the south. The Foresthill Divide is a large ridge located within the American River Watershed that supports numerous small, rural communities. These communities include establishments that are remnants of the Gold Rush era, and are of unique historical and cultural value. As the communities have continued to grow, new developments have been introduced. While the Plan area remains predominantly rural in character, along with other unincorporated areas of the county, the Foresthill Divide has absorbed some of the growth in Placer County. This has resulted in the subdivision of land and the introduction of modern patterns of development characterized by large-lot residential development, development that occurs away from the core 1-2 Foresthill Divide Community Plan of the community, and automobile-oriented development. Development of the Plan area has also resulted in opportunities for re-use of existing structures and sites. C. REGIONAL SETTING/CONTEXT The FDCP is one of twenty-two Community Plans within the unincorporated area of Placer County. As stated in the Placer County General Plan, “[b]ecause of the diverse geography and land uses within the county…individual community plans have been prepared within the framework of the overall county plan to address the unique issues and concerns arising in the different unincorporated areas.” The Plan area is approximately twice the size of the area encompassed by the 1981 Foresthill General Plan, and includes areas previously subject to the 1994 Placer County General Plan and the 1981 Weimar/Clipper Gap/Applegate General Plan.