Sanborn County Park Master Plan Draft Initial Study/ Mitigated Negative Declaration March 8, 2019 County of Santa Clara Parks and Recreation Department Los Gatos, CA Assisted by Placeworks Berkeley, CA TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................... IV PROJECT LOCATION .................................................................................................................................. 2 ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING....................................................................................................................... 2 EXISTING CONDITIONS .............................................................................................................................. 4 PROJECT DESCRIPTION ............................................................................................................................ 6 OTHER PUBLIC AGENCIES WHOSE APPROVAL IS REQUIRED .......................................................... 10 ENVIRONMENTAL CHECKLIST AND DISCUSSION OF IMPACTS......................................................... 11 A. AESTHETICS .................................................................................................................................. 11 B. AGRICULTURE AND FOREST RESOURCES .............................................................................. 14 C. AIR QUALITY .................................................................................................................................. 15 D. BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES ........................................................................................................... 20 E. CULTURAL/ HISTORICAL RESOURCES ...................................................................................... 27 F. ENERGY ......................................................................................................................................... 30 G. GEOLOGY AND SOILS .................................................................................................................. 32 H. GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS ................................................................................................. 35 I. HAZARDS AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS ................................................................................. 37 J. HYDROLOGY AND WATER QUALITY .......................................................................................... 40 K. LAND USE AND PLANNING .......................................................................................................... 46 L. MINERAL RESOURCES ................................................................................................................ 48 M. NOISE ............................................................................................................................................. 49 N. POPULATION AND HOUSING ....................................................................................................... 54 O. PUBLIC SERVICES ........................................................................................................................ 55 P. RECREATION ................................................................................................................................. 56 Q. TRANSPORTATION / TRAFFIC ..................................................................................................... 58 R. UTILITIES AND SERVICE SYSTEMS ............................................................................................ 66 S. TRIBAL CULTURAL RESOURCES ................................................................................................ 69 T. MANDATORY FINDINGS OF SIGNIFICANCE .............................................................................. 70 Sanborn County Park Master Plan Initial Study/ Mitigated Negative Declaration Page i List of Figures Figure 1 Regional Vicinity and Location Map ....................................................................................... 3 Figure 2 Master Plan Focus Areas ....................................................................................................... 5 Figure 3 Sanborn Core Use Area: Recommended Design Alternative ................................................ 7 Figure 4 Former Nursery Area: Recommended Design Alternative ..................................................... 8 Figure 5 Welch-Hurst Area: Recommended Design Alternative .......................................................... 9 List of Tables Table 1 Operational Criteria Air Pollutant Emissions Estimates ....................................................... 18 Table 2 Project GHG Emissions ........................................................................................................ 36 Table 3 Exterior Noise Limits ............................................................................................................ 50 Table 4 Existing Sanborn Park Trips on Weekends .......................................................................... 61 Table 5 Existing Sanborn Park Trips on Weekdays .......................................................................... 62 Table 6 Project Trip Generation ....................................................................................................... 63 Table 7 Roadway Daily Traffic Volumes and Levels of Service ....................................................... 63 Table 8 Intersection Levels of Service ............................................................................................. 64 Table 9 Parking Increases ................................................................................................................ 66 Page ii Sanborn County Park Master Plan Initial Study/ Mitigated Negative Declaration Appendices A. Air Quality and Greenhouse Gas Emissions B. Noise C. Transportation and Traffic Sanborn County Park Master Plan Initial Study/ Mitigated Negative Declaration Page iii INTRODUCTION Purpose of the Initial Study The purpose of this Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) is to identify any potential environmental impacts from implementation of the Sanborn County Park Master Plan (Project). Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15367, the County of Santa Clara (County) is the Lead Agency in the preparation of this IS/MND. The intended use of this document is to determine the level of environmental analysis required to adequately prepare the IS/MND to comply with CEQA and to provide the basis for input from public agencies, other organizations, and interested members of the public. The IS/MND provides information to the public and permitting agencies on the potential environmental effects of the project. This document has been prepared in accordance with CEQA, Public Resources Code section §21000 et seq., and the State CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations (CCR), Title 14, section §15000 et seq. Decision to Prepare a Mitigated Negative Declaration An Initial Study is conducted by the lead agency to determine if a project may have a significant effect on the environment (CEQA Guidelines §15063(a)). If there is substantial evidence that a project may have a significant effect on the environment, an Environmental Impact Report must be prepared in accordance with CEQA Guidelines §15064(a). However, if the lead agency determines the impacts are to a less than significant level, a Negative Declaration or MND may be prepared (CEQA Guidelines §15070). The IS completed for the Sanborn County Park Master Plan identified potentially significant impacts on biological and cultural resources and noise. The IS conforms to the content requirements under CEQA Guidelines §15063(d). A MND for this project is consistent with CEQA Guidelines §15070(b), which indicates a MND is appropriate when “the initial study identified potentially significant effects, but: (1) revisions in the project plans or proposals made by, or agreed to, by the applicant before a mitigated negative declaration and initial study are released for public review would avoid the effects or mitigate the effects to a point where clearly no significant effects would occur, and (2) there is no substantial evidence, in light of the whole record before the agency, that the project as revised may have a significant effect on the environment.” This MND provides an assessment of the potential environmental impacts of implementing the Sanborn County Park Master Plan at a programmatic level. If additional environmental review is necessary for specific projects that implement the Master Plan, this MND allows for future tiering. Proposed Findings The County of Santa Clara has determined that with the implementation of mitigation measures identified in this Mitigated Negative Declaration, the proposed Project will not have a significant effect on the environment. If this Mitigated Negative Declaration is adopted by the County of Santa Clara, the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) will be considered to have been met by the preparation of this Mitigated Negative Declaration and the Project will not require the preparation of an Environmental Impact Report. This decision is supported by the following findings: a) The Project does not have the potential to degrade the quality of the environment, substantially reduce the habitat of fish or wildlife species, cause a fish or wildlife population to drop below