Coastal Act Compliance Report Hare Creek Center and Hare Creek Subdivision Fort Bragg, Mendocino County, California Prepared For: Group II Commercial Real Estate, Inc. 818 Grayson Road Suite 100 Pleasant Hill, CA 94523 Contact: Matt Richmond [email protected] Date: March 2014 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 2.0 REGULATORY BACKGROUND AND ESHA DEFINITIONS ................................. 1 2.1 Wetlands ............................................................................................................ 4 2.2 Riparian Habitats ............................................................................................... 5 2.3 Streams, Rivers, and Anadromous Fish Habitats ............................................... 6 2.4 Special-status Species ....................................................................................... 6 2.5 Other ESHA ....................................................................................................... 7 3.0 METHODS ............................................................................................................ 7 3.1 Wetlands ............................................................................................................ 7 3.2 Special-status Species Surveys ......................................................................... 8 3.2.1 Special-status Plant Species ....................................................................... 8 3.2.2 Special-status Wildlife Species .................................................................... 9 3.3 Other ESHA ....................................................................................................... 9 4.0 STUDY AREA DESCRIPTION .............................................................................. 9 4.1 Land-use History ................................................................................................ 9 4.2 Topography and Soils ...................................................................................... 10 4.3 Climate and Hydrology ..................................................................................... 11 4.4 Vegetation ........................................................................................................ 11 5.0 RESULTS ............................................................................................................ 13 5.1 Wetlands .......................................................................................................... 13 5.2 Other Resource Areas and Natural Communities ............................................. 13 5.3 Special-status Species ..................................................................................... 13 5.3.1 Special-status Plant Species ..................................................................... 13 5.3.2 Special-status Wildlife Species .................................................................. 14 6.0 REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 17 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Study Area Location ........................................................................................ 2 Sheet G2. Site Plan ........................................................................................................ 3 Figure 3: Vegetation Communities in the Study Area ................................................... 12 Figure 4. Special-status Plant Records within Five Miles of the Study Area ................. 15 Figure 5. Special-status Wildlife Records within Five Miles of the Study Area .............. 16 LIST OF APPENDICES APPENDIX A – Wetland Data Sheets APPENDIX B – Potential for Special-status species to occur in the Study Area APPENDIX C – Observed Species within the Study Area APPENDIX D – Representative Photographs of the Study Area i 1.0 INTRODUCTION On March 22, May 11, June 12, and July 11, 2012, WRA, Inc. performed an Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Area (ESHA) survey and assessment at the proposed Hare Creek Center development (Project) (APN 018-450-40) in Fort Bragg, in Mendocino County, California (Study Area, Figure 1). The proposed project (Sheet G2) also includes a lot line adjustment of APN 018-450-41 and a future subdivision of APN 018-450-41. The approximately 18.5-acre Study Area is located on California Highway 1 south of the Noyo River Bridge and immediately north of Hare Creek, immediately west of the intersection of California Highway 1 and California Highway 20. The purpose of this study was to identify and map areas within a the Study Area that are potential environmentally sensitive habitat areas (ESHA), as defined by the California Coastal Commission (CCC) and Fort Bragg Local Coastal Program (LCP). 2.0 REGULATORY BACKGROUND AND ESHA DEFINITIONS The California Coastal Act (CCA) and Fort Bragg LCP define an ESHA as follows: Environmentally sensitive habitat area’ means any area in which plant or animal life or their habitats are either rare or especially valuable because of their special nature or role in an ecosystem and which could be easily disturbed or degraded by human activities and developments. Additionally, the Fort Bragg LCP cites: Protection of environmentally sensitive habitat areas is one of the essential aspects of the Coastal Act. Fort Bragg has several environmentally sensitive habitat areas including, but not limited to, portions of coastal bluffs, biologically rich tide pools, nesting grounds, kelp beds, wetlands, riparian habitats, and rare, threatened, or endangered plants or plant communities. The Fort Bragg LCP and California Coastal Commission (CCC) Guidelines contain definitions for specific types of ESHAs, including: wetlands, estuaries, streams and rivers, lakes, open coastal waters and coastal waters, riparian habitats, other resource areas, and special-status species and their habitats. For the purposes of this report, WRA has taken into consideration any areas that may meet the definition of ESHA as defined by the CCA, CCC guidelines, or the Fort Bragg LCP. The Fort Bragg LCP outlines the following when determining an ESHA: Policy OS-1.2: Determination of ESHA. The determination of what constitutes ESHA shall not be limited by what is mapped and not all parcels that are mapped necessarily contain ESHA. Map OS-1 serves to identify those general areas known to potentially contain ESHA and for which a biological report is required consistent with Policy OS-1.7 to substantiate the presence or absence of ESHA on any particular parcel. Any area not designated on LUP Map OS-1 that meets the ESHA definition is ESHA and shall be accorded all the protection provided for ESHA in the LCP. All habitat maps shall include a note that states that “the maps may be updated as appropriate and may not include all areas that constitute ESHA.” The following areas shall be considered ESHA: 1 Regional Location 1 101 Fort Bragg Fort Bragg Study Area Willits Caspar 20 Mendocino Potter Valley Little River Comptche Redwood Valley Calpella Albion Mendocino County 20 Upper Lake Elk Ukiah 128 Lake Philo County Lakeport 1 Boonville Manchester Hopland Point Arena 1 Cloverdale Gualala Sonoma 101 County Geyserville er iv R yo No . e v A r Ocean o view Dr. b r a H Study Area 20 1 Figure 1. Location of Study Area 0 500 1,000 2,000 Date: September 2012 Map By: Michael Rochelle Mendocino County, California Feet Base Source: Bing Maps Path: L:\Acad 2000 Files\21000\21163\gis\arcmap\Location.mxd SITE PLAN SHEET SHEET PROJECT: TITLE: A1.0 HARE CREEK CENTER SITE PLAN OF OF GROUP II COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE, INC. 1250 DEL MAR DRIVE PO Box 798 Mendocino, CA 95460 32510 Pearl Dr., Fort Bragg, CA 95437 SHEETS SHEETS FORT BRAGG, CALIFORNIA 707-937-0770 Mendocino 707-357-2288 [email protected] / www.dblennox.com [email protected] APN.# 018-450-41 Any habitat area that is rare or especially valuable because of their special nature or role in an ecosystem and is easily degraded or disturbed by human activities or developments. Any habitat area or animal species designated as rare, threatened, or endangered under State or Federal Law. Any habitat area of species designated as Fully Protected or Species of Special Concern under State law or regulations. Any habitat area of plant species for which there is compelling evidence of rarity, for example, those designated 1b (Rare or endangered in California and elsewhere) or 2 (rare, threatened or endangered in California but more common elsewhere) by the California Native Plant Society. Specific to land division projects, the Fort Bragg LCP contains the following policy: Policy OS-1-11: Land Division and ESHA. Prohibit new land divisions creating new parcels located entirely within an environmentally sensitive habitat area or buffer area unless the parcel to be created is restricted at the time of its creation solely for open space, public recreation, or conservation. The following definitions guided the assessment of potential ESHA observed in the Study Area: 2.1 Wetlands The California Coastal Act and Fort Bragg LCP define wetlands as: Wetland means lands within the Coastal Zone which may be covered periodically or permanently with shallow water and include saltwater marshes, freshwater marshes, open or closed brackish water marshes, swamps, mudflats, and fens. Public Resources Code Section 30121 CCC Administrative Regulations (Section 13577 (b)) provide a more explicit definition: Wetlands are lands where the