DRAFT Initial Study/ Mitigated Negative Declaration Hillsdale Middle School Field Lighting Project Prepared for: Cajon Valley Union School District 750 E. Main Street El Cajon, California 92019 Contact: Sharon Dobbins Prepared by: 605 Third Street Encinitas, California 92024 Contact: Carey Fernandes JUNE 2018 Printed on 30% post-consumer recycled material. Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration Hillsdale Middle School Field Lighting Project TABLE OF CONTENTS Section Page No. ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................... III 1 INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................1 1.1 Project Overview .................................................................................................... 1 1.2 California Environmental Quality Act Compliance ............................................... 1 1.3 Project Planning Setting .......................................................................................... 1 1.4 Public Review Process ............................................................................................ 2 2 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS .............................................................................................3 2.1 Environmental Factors Potentially Affected ........................................................... 3 2.2 Environmental Determination ................................................................................. 3 2.3 Mitigation Measures ............................................................................................... 3 3 INITIAL STUDY CHECKLIST ......................................................................................5 3.1 Aesthetics .............................................................................................................. 31 3.2 Agriculture and Forestry Resources...................................................................... 39 3.3 Air Quality ............................................................................................................ 40 3.4 Biological Resources ............................................................................................ 43 3.5 Cultural Resources ................................................................................................ 46 3.6 Geology and Soils ................................................................................................. 49 3.7 Greenhouse Gas Emissions ................................................................................... 52 3.8 Hazards and Hazardous Materials ........................................................................ 54 3.9 Hydrology and Water Quality ............................................................................... 58 3.10 Land Use and Planning ......................................................................................... 61 3.11 Mineral Resources ................................................................................................ 63 3.12 Noise ..................................................................................................................... 64 3.13 Population and Housing ........................................................................................ 74 3.14 Public Services ...................................................................................................... 75 3.15 Recreation ............................................................................................................. 76 3.16 Transportation and Traffic .................................................................................... 76 3.17 Tribal Cultural Resources ..................................................................................... 79 3.18 Utilities and Service Systems................................................................................ 80 3.19 Mandatory Findings of Significance ..................................................................... 82 4 MITIGATION MONITORING AND REPORTING PROGRAM ............................87 11022 i June 2018 Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration Hillsdale Middle School Field Lighting Project TABLE OF CONTENTS (CONTINUED) Section Page No. 5 REFERENCES AND PREPARERS ..............................................................................89 5.1 References Cited ................................................................................................... 89 5.2 List of Preparers .................................................................................................... 92 APPENDICES A Negative Phase I Cultural Resources Study Letter B Paleontological Resources Records Search C Hazardous Assessment for Hillsdale Middle School Field Lighting Project D Fieldwork Data and RCNM Inputs and Outputs for the Hillsdale Middle School Field Lighting Project FIGURES 1 Project Location ...................................................................................................................7 2 Site Plan ...............................................................................................................................9 3 General Plan Land Use Designation ..................................................................................13 4 Zoning ................................................................................................................................15 5 Surrounding Land Uses......................................................................................................17 6 Existing Conditions ............................................................................................................35 7 Noise Measurement Locations ...........................................................................................65 TABLES 1 Construction Activity Details ..............................................................................................6 2 Existing Short-Term Noise Measurements ........................................................................64 3 Construction Equipment Noise Levels ..............................................................................68 4 Construction Equipment By Phase ....................................................................................69 5 Construction Noise Modeling Summary Results ...............................................................69 11022 ii June 2018 Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration Hillsdale Middle School Field Lighting Project ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS Acronym/Abbreviation Definition CAPCOA California Air Pollution Control Officers Association CARB California Air Resources Board CBC California Building Code CNRA California Natural Resources Agency District Cajon Valley Union School District GHG Greenhouse gas NAHC Native American Heritage Commission NRCS Natural Resources Conservation Service SDNHM San Diego Natural History Museum SVP Society of Vertebrate Paleontology 11022 iii June 2018 Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration Hillsdale Middle School Field Lighting Project INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK 11022 iv June 2018 Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration Hillsdale Middle School Field Lighting Project 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Project Overview The Cajon Valley Union School District (District) intends to install field lighting at its athletic fields at Hillsdale Middle School (project). No field lighting is currently installed at the fields. Lighting would be installed at the existing football/soccer field and at the three existing baseball/softball fields. The baseball/softball fields are located west of the football/soccer field and near the intersection of Brabham Street and Fury Lane. Once installed, new lighting would facilitate nighttime use of the soccer/football field and baseball/softball fields. Nighttime use of fields would occur 7 days per week, and hours of operation would be until 8:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and until 5:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Non- school-related use of the fields during evenings is permitted but requires a facilities use permit from the District. District-controlled timers would be installed and programmed to shut off the lights at 8:30 p.m. on weekdays and 5:00 p.m. on weekends (when seasonally needed). 1.2 California Environmental Quality Act Compliance The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) serves as the main framework of environmental law and policy in California. CEQA emphasizes the need for public disclosure and identifying and preventing environmental damage associated with proposed projects. Unless the project or program is deemed categorically or statutorily exempt, CEQA is applicable to any project or program that must be approved by a public agency in order to be processed and established. The project does not fall under any of the statutory or categorical exemptions listed in the 2018 CEQA Statute and Guidelines (PRC Section 21000 et seq.; 14 CCR 15000 et seq.) and, therefore, must meet CEQA requirements. As detailed in the analysis presented in Section 3, implementation of the project would not result in a significant effect on the environment. Therefore, preparation of a Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) is appropriate and permitted by CEQA. 1.3 Project Planning Setting Hillsdale Middle School is located at 1301 Brabham Street in San Diego County, California. The school site is located outside of the El Cajon city limits and is within the unincorporated County of San Diego (County) community of Rancho San