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HomeMy WebLinkAbout82-62 FILE #2 EIR BIDWELL HEIGHTS LAND CO. 5 OF 10.,,__4a.4 ,+� r=-='-•- '--•—',-^---,---�%+.-:d da. ,.. ..,..�' :.t. :�.t.::I...-�-w-:=-=f,. ,":x�•.-,'tK .:a. _. �. r•,� ..e. �..._..--!..::—..,.-;. •.... ,�.-�.a.—�,... -i e; i`. Seirimit.ty and Sensitivity to Seismic flazards; The site lies in an area which has experienced several earthquakes of moderate to significant magnitude and intensity, including a magnitude 4.6 earthquake north of Bidwell: Park in 1.966and several smaller ones within six miles of the site following the 1:975 Oroville-earthquake. The, site lies within the northern extension of the 'Foothills Fault System and can be expected to experience an earthquake. of magnitude 6.5 (Richter z s scale) with its epicenter at less than 20. miles. Hazards from earthquake activity, possible on fh.is site include a horizontal ground shaking or acceleration of Mt to 0.4 g; although the actual severity of shaking would depend on distance 'to the epicenter and other factors. This acceleration corresponds approximately to an intensity of VIII on the Modified Mercalli scale: Roekfall as a result of earthquake shaking could be a hazard only on the canyon slopes; other secondary seismic hazards such; as liquefaction, lurching and slumping would ,not be expected on this P site since most soils are not of the loose, granular type that is vulnerable to these effects. A possible ;exception Would be areas near the intermittent stream courses and the banks of Little Chico Creek: . D sOII* : } Y California Dept. of Forestry taps shove the si a to2 be ,coves -eat by "tYse Toomes-Peatz �{ soil association. lyithin thisassociation ,of soil types, four soil series are, expected to 6e present; the Toomey;, Super, Stover, arid'possibly the Cohleigh series:, All are of volcanic rook parent materials, of 'thP 'Tuscan Formation; the Toomes and Supan Series are the most commonly observed on the property. Volcanic rock outcrops are limited to the extreme east +cn the L►luffs over Butte Creek Canyon. Cha'racteristies of these train soil types are sumMar zed in Table' 1. The soils, have a variable' distri'butibn: throughout the site, as indicated from inspection of soil profile logs, Utility trench excavaltions, ;cutbanks and road "surfaces. Thus the depth;'permeability and clay content of the s�t�!Lq ary from location to location. *h1 C�ctaber of 1581 "Jori Andersen Soils en ri eer ' com feted relimi . j Ian , p a p na, y s els inVBStigatlaft on ti��,Site; the information in this Section is adoptee. from` hlsi, fndiilg5. Please see Appendix 01 for this:,more detailed report. �6- r TABLE T SOIL TYPES'AND CHARAUTE,RISTICS Soil SO I L TYPE Characteristics Toomex Series Supan, Series Stover Series Surface soil Gravelly loam Cobbly loam Cobbly-gravelly loam Subsoil Gravelly loam Cobbly-gravelly, Cobbly=gravely, clay clay loam Depth4_20 inches 20=40 inches 20-40 inches Permeability iIoderate Moderately lose' Moderate Erosion potential; Slight Moderate Moderate Drainage Good Good .Good General for Topines=Peiitt Association (Frons Butte County General Plan Seismic-Sas qty Elements) Liquefaction potential Low,• Landslide potential Low to moderate EKi"arisi eness pote-anal Lowes Subsidence potential Low 8`rosian..potential. High** �` ivloderate ting.supersedes since site soils contain somewhat more clay than average in region. ''Rating,, is based on steepness of slopes in general area; ratings of above series (slight to moderate) supersede ,since fihey are more ste�spcific. Source: J, Anderson, Soils Survey (see; Appendix C). ot t { EL NOISE Existing noise levels on the proposed Bidwell 146ghts Subdivision site are very low, R since the land is not being used intensively by humans, is surrounded by open land in a natural setting, and is over a mile from; highway 32 which is the only, source of traffic' noise in the vicinity.. This site is not near, any of the identified noise sources on the: County General Plan Noise Element Map Background noise levels at present are probably close, to 40 dB, the noise level measured in a wildlife area. near a county road (Butte. CountyGeneral eral Plan; noise Element, Table IV -5);. About 100 trugks per, day' (annual average) travel up and down the grade between Chico and Forest Ranch, truck noise should not Barry significantly from the road to the proposed project site. L LAID USR site The proposed Bid�yell. Heights property is mostly open :land, with the exception: of a: vineyard of approximate88 acres in the center of the property. On the east side of the " vineyard area small irrigation pond and well; electrical power lines traverse the property from northwest to southeast, ending at the well by ha vineyard. The, land is otherwise — uriusod by humans, with no structures except that a system of unpaved roads is present on the site (see Figure The Butte County General,'Plan Land Use Designation for the site' is Agricultural -Residential, weot,,for the southern 80 acres which is ,designated Open Grazing, but interpreted as Agricu tura -Reside dire to a t s ridgetola toporatiliy , Surrounding LandsS' The property is.surrounded lay open lands with. scattered residences; Parcel sizes of adjacent properties start at ;five acres$ with several parceLs of over 100 acres nearby. The: surrounding. County General Plan Land Use Designation is mostly Open -Grazing' with strips of Agricultural -R esidential. along little Chico Creek to the southwest and in Butte Creek Canyon to the east. North of the:prape'rty, is open. land w�l scattered residences and the town of Forest Ranch about six, miles qp l`lighway ?. 'To the west, open Iand with seasonal ;razing if either side' of Lzttle Chico `Creek,, with, Ilighway 32 along the west; to the west of Highway 32 11 tie norlhernmast c:4tent of i3irwell Bark, a .low intensity recreational use alongI3ig Chico `Creek`. The City;, 'of Chico, seven miles to the, wes tz is experiencing increased residential an, corn'mercial deVolopment o its east side (facing the foothills). The land south of° the property is rtingoland with scntterec, homesites; (tire to four miles 1 -1i- The capacity remaining in these schools, as of the 1981-82 school year, is us follows! Parkview, 'letrientarY has room fat another 130 pupils, Chico Junior High far, another 8001 and Chico Senior High for another 400 to 500. The schools ;are not uneamfortably close to capacity now, but could reach capacity before- the proposed ` s if other Chico area subdivisions fill up in the interim, ` residents need the school project (for example., California Park and the Village). Through an ongoing detnographie study of population growth and distribution, the District reviews school capacity yearly. Should a school become overcrowded, the District, would change attendance boundaries as a first option to redistribute the student load to the schools with greater capacity; second and third options are building temporary, buildings .and year-round schooling as schools become overcrowded, since furids are not Available for building of new schools. Police Protection Law' enforcement and police protection is provided to the project area by 'the .Eutfie County. Sheriff's Department. At present$ there is no regular patrol. assigned to the. area; the Sherifffs patrol cars on the East Heat in Chico respond to site vicinity calls from their, location at the time of the call. In Addition to the driving time from Chicwa to the site, additional delays in response to emergency calls would likely oecur, since the patrol ear may also be attending to multiple calLs.in Chico at the time, '1'he 5her,ff's service to the entire area north and east of Chico is recognized as inadequate at present; the patrol has been recalled from the Forest Ranch/Butte Meadows area' so no calls could he answered from there either.. At present, t, are five Sheriff's .Department personnl:l assigned to the entire region of the County frolb, Butte College to the Tehama County line.Two officers are assigned to the Paradise area, but they do not serve the Doe Mill Badge area because the roads throughout Butte' Cxee'� 0arAyoz1 are nom -sbT e Ti,traxs ger. Fire Protection The site and immediate vicinity is classified 'by the Caliornis "'Forestry (and adopted by the Butte County General k�lan Sa>"ety Eiemen0 a: al it Hazard ,area; the site i , 5urrourtded by areas of i�iigh to Extreme NatOti4 �.. �1 fl4 ,N The $ittte County Fire .Depactrnent) staffed by State, Division of Forestry personnel and having access to all Division of Forestry fire-fighting ore vS ;and equipmeot,$ serves the project :area, from : Chico-based fire statiarisy ear-round ,service as provided by the stations:listed' in Table 3 with their engine t'esponse tines; all-season, volunteer service is Alsoavailtfble from' the Forest 'Raneh station No. 24 rind Butte County Volunteer Fire company :No.. 24 ,response tame sc4"en rriinutes plus time for volunteers tCr travel to the, truck fraiiY their homes . The 'Forest it'nna :division of 'Forestry station ,provides �1,0� r several years, as homes and cluster areas and their access roads are built. in the quiet natural setting on the property, construction noise would noticeably raise the local noise levels., The area affected by this noise would depend on how widespread the construction a activity was at any one time, on direction of air movements and on the topography of the, construction site, vicinity, Sound carries and is more plainly heard in such a natural setting; however, in some areas, vegetation and land masses -:can absorb much of the noise _ near the construction site., During the first, most ;noise -generating phase of project construction, few' people would be exposed to the noise since residem,,.rs would not yet be occupied, It is unlikely that residences offsite (in the proposed lsorn-Drake project to the .immediate southwest Would be e� o"sed to construction noise from this project. On site p , construction could cause some minor disturbance to Wildlife adjacent to noise sources. Some bird and mammal species may avoid the vicinity, of noise generation for the dukation of const`,ruction in that Area. Although construction would raise local noise levels, the impacts are not expected to be significant d:re �to the limited intensity (loudness), duration and extent of the _noise, and to absence of residences or other , sensitive receptors. ,Jsong-term On an on-going basis; the 'various ,prajeet components (see chapter on Project w Description) would contribute low levels of noise localized at tiie� source. This would apply to the occasional; light -'duty traffic on the project's' roads, to the residences or residential Blusters themselves, to the commercial area and to other miscellaneous noise saureer, such as well pump compressors.While none of 'the noise generated by the project should be at levels or frequendie8L objectionable, to the residents of this or adjacent projects, some wildlife (birds and larger mam hals)may avoid the places where their habitats border on areas' of human activity' such as the residential cluster areas with higher densities,, or the commercial area. '1?he Vraject coo pon.enl v�hi lx null rrodoce occasione? y rabjeet anab7e nolle txaurT? be Uhg firestation (intezld'cd as past', of L the pa;ci ) fie, sixens of the Else engineh quote loud, Wou3d. oceux sa infrequently that the disturbance JIMpacts to r�;si,d6nts dx^ nearla� xai7al21e s�ta�sld not 15e � ' Bignifioant f -28- contguo�ts do listing. munic-ipal fa��.�es.►' Encourake exp'ans,ion of private utility systems consistent with County plans and policies ;(p. 38 , Locate now fire stations with considerat' to access - bility, future development and natural fire hazards (p. 39 )0 Regulate development to facilitate survival ofdeer, herds ,and to prevent destruction o� riparian areas' (p, .41) • Consider fire hazards in land use and zoning decisionsn and guide development to areas with adequate Fire protec tion services (p. 43). B. Circulation Element '. Automobile Design a) all parts of the circulatory system should be sealed to the function they to ,are perform awn con-Lormance Frith. the. density and total population of azo area and its related land use raquiremen'ts Design b) routes and faciliti es of the circulatory system should be so located,'and designed,asto meet the demands- of bath, existing and proposed land, uses' G'. Conservation Element 1. Dr61' w ge., Waste Disposal and. (Storm water !?aci l ti es facilitiesreciseiy located in advance Conceptual_/ Design of anticipated construction, many projects can be timed into a 53 ng� e development thereby ra duc,-ng the incidence of later disruption to e i'stiai facil it'ies ai-.d consequent; rebuilding (p- 8.j D Open Space 1.1 Development .Capabi l i ties - Constraints C'oncer�tual a) studxes`shauld be conducted to determine the urban "clevelopMeu c.apAi i.ties, of the foothi Il and tGuntain area (3.5) Conceptual` b) the Oauni?y, shoul.d all,o'w b' " development ot�1y I 11 in, areas. physically suited to ;such <uSe `{ ..D) -31a- Conceptual/ c) no (hind be permitted on ogh ba�rdevelopm Design land d} the County should` regul ', e residential develop - Design/ merit in I.the foothills to facilitate the survi-va ESR and migration of deerherds (Dept. of Pzsh and Game recoumrends 20 to 40 acre or larg',pr parcels in migration corridors, 64B) E. Self eGy Element/Fire Protection ,Subelem:ent -1 . circulationConsidorations. a) in, case of a major emergency or disaster, evacua:- Design, tion routes and ma. of transportation systems must be located, designed and, maintained f or, mobility and saf. ety (A, 2, b) b) ensure that ,road access for nevi development Desi n i s adequate for Il i.re protectiah purposes (Policy r) 2-. Pisa Hazard ._Protection, the Doe Mill Ridge area rated Design gh to treme for hazard {vd tI marginal to no pro-- r tect'ion -y Count; 'Eire standards a) makeprotection from fire hazards a consideration Conceptual/ in all planning, regulatory aril catrital`improve- Design anent programs faith special concern for areas of h� gh and "ex—re el' fire hazard (Poli.cy, 'a) use Pueibreaks along the edge of developing areas tte�treme'la 'fin ►xh3grt'' Design and fire hazard areas Policy Conceptual/ c) determine the J.evel of vratox supplies necessary - . OT ne-w dsvelu-j::aeafor fare Drotection pur o'esDrszgn (Policy, 6), o) regulate use o.E oertaln buy ldzng meter els n pesign areas of higher thaxe average biro hazard CPolicy . 16 ) �'. Ho -0(67 ng: t = licab C �.�'1 eaaen nand; a�� e G. leo e ;lar ent - none -appy is , b. e H. Seismac Safety �:emon o -- none applicable ....� -31b 1 I f G. VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE IMPACT Impacts on vegetation and wildlife are directly related since the vegetation provides food and. shelter for all Yildlife. The primary impact to vegetation would' be direct i removal, The amounts and types of vegetation removed would be directly related to the scale and distribution of development and also to the foresight and care taken in the construction process* Impacts; to the abundant wildlife in and around Doe. i41ill 'Ridge could occur from bath ` direct and indirect effects of both construction and long,-term existence of the Bidwell Heights pro}ecf. In the short term, the sporadid, disturbance of ,noise and ,human activity I due to construction of roa& and hotnesites would cause `destruction, ;of habitat,. (permanent); and disturbance to normal Movements of larder, birds and mam'Mals (temporary). The disturba -oo- impacts vroulti sl ift around the site as construction Activities: moved. - Though ;the locations and sizes of clusters and _other deiveloped areas are .at this: i tame in the. oonceptiia stake, the TJepaact�nent o£ Irish acid Garry believes the bulk , of the acreage would lo;5t as wildlife habitat:. Areas vrhere natural ve;,e anon 4 , would be coraple'tely' removed will be di8persed throughout the site with. open space areae 'retained as is, I The lot>; surr.oundir�g the vineyard (parc:eia, 1 through 17) and those to the north (parceis 1 through ;13) are m*stly oh the let ridge uplands vihith were scraped of all vegetation appro�niately 10 years age. 'The impacts of development (cirect removal aild,l1 i respect, tie, pteialindircct disturbances) would.occur ariwiEh ,after' ' complete revegetation), rather thinpresent Mldflre h 1taC value. pf ttie laird. Because these uplands would not be, clustcreci bJ divided into irl vidtia.i, tcvo-� or three-acre' lots, i 9. Use existing roadways wherever possible, to avoid cutting new roads through the open areas} Construct and loceteycoess roads of- suf=caent ri�th to handle fWe trucks anal other em.ergency vehicles. ;Around h leave an unimproved, law -density the perimeter of develomen't clusters," 10. Ar _ p _ use buffer zone (such as a foot or horse trail). it. Coordinate planning with proposed projects on adjacent lands to incorporate the above principles, especially leaving connections of continuous Habitat among the projects. 12, Allow no free -roaming pets,'Prohibit hunting, end lost speed kraits of 30 mph on ,project ;roads. H, fit ;LTURAL AFS©URCES IMPACT -� Although this property was considered highly `likely to contain remains of prehistoric hunting' or food gathering camps, the findings of only one. insignificant mortar after a rough examination lead to the recommendation that archaeological clearance ,be ; gr, anted`;for the proposed ,project area. Refer to Append:i% ti - t 'L TRAFFIC IMPACT Tbe- impacts of;:pidwell Heights on traffic would occur in the same way as would those on noise, air 'quality and: other impacts of residential. areas: they would occur gradually over time as" the. project is built out - probably over about- 10 to 15 years - and x they Would occur in the context -of other such' developments. Traffic impacts would Make oil tN thin the project on local Doe dill Pidg area roads, o:� Right -my 32,. and t"thIA TOP Generation .. rat's rri.4xitnum anticipated buildout of 385 homest the Qroject Mould ,generate about 2''QiJ trips per day.*' *A' trip generation factor o1trips/d' per unit here, although CA1, 'Rr Nu uses 10' trips/day per unit, ,this stay 'be o high, Butte �Ca�unty, yin parttcular the_ Air .is-used 1?olluti0n `.Control District,, uses 7 since it more closely applies to a rural situation under, ear►.dition5 of high gasoline prices in which people combine trips. School buses would take. child11 to school, and Butte (aunty Transit. would also. be� available, further reducing 1ren trip gc:reraticn. r l Maxi'mum street grade on gra teled and oiled roads should not exceed 15 percent, otherwise they must be paud. 2. Bridges must be a minimum of 20 feet wide and have the capacity to carry a 20- ton fire truck. The only bridge on the site is at leL,8t 20-feet wide and can carry up tg,,50j tons.. 3'. Curve sharpness in a road must have a minimum, 400-foot center line radius Within a subdivision: p 4, i�iultiple access as req P wired because more than 2.0 lots are proposed for the subdivision; at pr.,sent there is only one access route. 5. Cul de sacs, because the project is out: of the urban area, may be of any length , but may only ,'have 20 lots developpd within them. A 50-foot. radius turning circle is needed to accommodate fire engines. When plan details are complete, this requirement must be met: 6« Road names and building, numbers must be clearly identified from the road' and names must be approved by the County Street ITa:ne Coordinator. At time of construction this requirement will be met. For fire prevention and structural saf et ,the fire de sxtmeiat includes the following p y p requirements/recommend, tions, which could, become condition: applied to home builders 4 at time of construddon - v a: one-half inch; $Park arr�..tin� mesh screen be installed on chimneys fnr fireplaces,+" and Woodburning stoves. -� Roofing ar:d siding materials should be constructed of fire resistant materials, c. California law' specifies that all w?ldland areas with development need to; k clear all fYlarnmableagetaton for 3Q� feet around all structures'; Hovever, , ii`, erosion might create problems; some natural vegetation rtaa be left in place but grass` must be mowed and all, dead' limbs from tree' 'Minks,and, dowvn material on the ground must`be eleaced. : 'we e are rec4 an-le l alorg the edge-6 o , p or e T� iop�nents; r�dtla; . rar 3 iiia aha ; ype or ve&eta��b�x �reeent end H t teepncss of slope.. Poli Trote-coon Vince there is no Assigned Shefifir. patrol in they .prll et area and no futeYre pXan for increasing laVv enforcem',ent there, tiae deuelopnaent will ,create an incr;ease d'dom�ar d for ; , Y 4 tii I x gation for would include extra burldir�g insulation, use of solar energy Mitigation measures heating, and estab'l hrnent of a small. commuter bus run between the project and the i Butte County Transit terminals in Chico. Ideally, ilyli .vidual subdivi elion project le^3gX-s .^.+�"iU'`7 4�.^,« X"1 to4 ''iJIa- a`a�,ez1 r"7�fvC'1�1c� specified fit ' 66,473.1- of t?.,,, v sy>t z lla � Act' VL EFFFC;Ts FOU11D NOT TO BE SIGNIFICANT folloWing project effects upon the physieai Arid urban envirottments leave been The evaluated as insignificant. This means that adverse impacts would not be of sur'. j intensity or magnitude that ;substantial mitigation would be required to bring them t� an acceptable level; however, in certain areas some mitigation measures have been recommended sbxnply for preventative maintenance of loW 'm pact levels, especially in r view of potential for adverse cumulative impacts. Effects Not Significant. 1. I�ioise'-fosar or noise generation. 2. Disturbance a'r destruction of Cultural e -dunces. -, 3. 'Water Quality degradation. a, pollution of surface t at by urbsn runoff. b., leo} utian of groundwater, or soil from inadequate soils for'septnge. 4. Hvdrolodr ' a itpratibns in drainage pat. erns, N bIA Incroases in runoff quantity' due to imaervious surfaces. 5., `I`r�i fiC. OIS�iTteS bl local roads', �1�� y 32 (w the e ceptl�Jn of,the Santos' '! ay fht0rS,ectfon) and �t�itliin,, Chico. 6, Soil errion/,Stre$mk;'sl�tatibA. ° t 7. Icreas in service load on schoo;s. 8. Tncreas in service` toad on po}ver and teicphone' systems ixrnpact can ability to serve). 4 vil, SIGNIFICANT ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS WHICH CANNOT 13E AVOIDED IF PROPQWAL IS IMPLEMENTED