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Off Docket - Status Report Environmental of Caltrans Hwy. 67 Improvement ProjectCaltrans for the. purpose of resolving the potential envircm em -c utVauw aoo cated with: the highway project, especially those which could cause a 4 tfi problem. ACTION* JAN 28 1986 ITEM OFF, OoL'/lFT /J Agenda. Report January 28, 1986 Page 2 Cal January 23, 1985, a joint meeting between City officials and Caltrans manage- nent was called. The 'meeting resulted in the resolution of and agreement on mitigation measures which would appropriately address the, potential. adverse impacts. Before council tonight is a letter to Caltrans outlining the agreed upon measures along witha statement that the 4(f) issue would be avoided by the incorporation of the subject measures into the environmental documents. RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the City Council accept this report and endorse the con- tents of the letter to Caltrans, and direct Staff to promptly deliver the sub- ject letter to the appropriate Caltrans. Staff. JIB: JE :JRN:js/CPT` Attachment: 1) Letter, to Caltrans JAN 2 s 1986 ITEM 0 FF- &MET i Y CITY QF POWAY CBRUCE R. KRUSE, Mayor G1aY OF SHEPARDSON,; Deputy Mayor' TARZY, Councilmember LINDA ORAVEC Councilmember BOB EMERY, Councilmember 'y i January 28, 1986 ° 1E Mt. Jack 0. Grasberger Chief Deputy District Director Department of Transportation,. District 11 Post Office Box 85406 San Diego, California 92138-5406 Subject: Eavironmental Assessment for the Proposed Route 67 Improvement Project (PM 16.4/17.7, 11209-194751, Safety Related Improvements) Dear Jack: lbank, you for your letter of January 27, 1986 which confirmed the results of a. joint meeting, on. January 23, 1986, between City of Poway officials :and Caltrans management in. regard to the subject matter. The City of Poway appreciated the opportunity to review and comment upon the Environmental Initial Study, and proposed Negative Declaration prepared by your staff for the project in question. We: understand that the timing of _ the proposed nprovement project is very important, and we acknowledge the extension;of the public review period for the City's response to the environmental documents As you know, the: majority of the subject project is located within the City of Poway and also traverses a parcel of public land which is presently controlled by the Bureau of Land Management (BIM) In. August of 1983 the City of`Poway entered into a five-year lease program with the BIM, pursuant to the provisions of the Recreation and Public Purposes Act. The lease comprises five, large parcels totaling 1,.877 acres of territory located adjacent to the City's easterly corporate boundary. The parcel which is traversed by the proposed highway project is included in the lease area, and is therefore subject to the terms and conditions of the lease agreement. In, accordance with the lease agreement, the City of Poway is committed to develop and manage an interconnecting system of hiking and equestrian trails over tha five BEM parcels. This system, which. consists of approximately twenty-two miles of existing and planned trails, will ultimately tie: into the remainder of the: City's comprehensive trail systema The, Bureau of Land Management is favorably impressed with the City's progress to date. About eight miles of the planned BLM trail system is in place at the present time. Because of this progress, the BIM has authorized the. City to initiate annexation proceedings for the 1 320 acres of public domain which lies contiguous*to Poway in the unincorporated territory of San Diego County. The subject annexation proceedings are presently under way, and when complete, the City will receive title to the lands. JAN 2S 1986 t T t M 1))r'� Jr" City Hall Located at 13325 Civic Center Drive Mailing Address: P.Q. Box 789,, Poway, California 92064 (619) 748-660.0, (619) 695' 1,400 Mr. Jack. O. Grasberger c January 28 1985 _ Page Two The City of Poway has determined that the proposed highway improvement project would have potential adverse: effects on the environment unless the impacts are ignificantly reduced through the implementation of appropriate mitigation measures. The following paragraphs discuss the potential impacts of the project. Following the description of each potential impact are the specific mitigation measures which would reduce the associated inpact.to a level of insignificance. As a result of the above-mentioned January 23, 1986 joint meeting, the City of Poway and Caltrans are in agreement that the following mitigation measures., when incorporated into the environmental documents, will support the issuance of a Negative Declaration of environmental impact for the subject project. It should be noted that the Poway City Council has; endorsed these mitigation measures. :1 Impact - Visual Quality. The proposed project would potentially impact approximately 21.5 acres of established, densely vegetated slopes. r1iis is due to the westerly acquisi- tion of right-of-sway neededfor the proposed separate southbound two-lane roadway on split alignment. As a result of the proposed split alignment, � massive fill. slopes would be created. and about 130 large: mature coast live oak trees, including other mature shrub species, would be directly impacted by construction. .9he mitigation measures suggested in. the. Initial, Study, the replanting of 600 liner size (one-gallon) oaks, would, not adequately mitigate the visual impacts associated with the massive fill slopes. This measure. would result in about 28 liner size oaks per acre: of impacted. area, which would not significantly reduce the impact. In addition, the estab- 7:shment and survival of plant and tree species in harsh environments found on newly graded slopes requires the application of adequate irrigation during the plant: establishment period. Mitigation Measures a. In order, to reduce the impacts to visual quality, Caltrans will: in- crease the: size: of oak tree replacement from 600 liner size oaks to the following: 10 percent (of the 600) will be of twenty-four inch box size; 20 percent will be of fifteen. gallon. size, 15 percent will be of five gallon size; and the remaining 55 percent will be of one gallon' size.. To reduce the overall. cost to Caltrans for the: larger size oak trees, the City of Poway, prior to construction, will provide assis- tance in harvesting, bagging,and storing as many larger trees as possible that would otherwise be lost during construction. The number and sizes of oak trees that can be saved by this assistance program will reduce the numbers and sizes Caltrans has agreed to provide. Other mitigation measures, as identified in the environmental documents, will include hydroseedi.ng and supplemental planting of native species such as << toyon, lakeside lilac: and laurel sumac. JU 2 8 1986 I T E M o=F_Jac, T a Mr. Jack o. Grasberger January- 28, 1985 Page Three b. In order to provide for the establishment and survival of all replanted vegetation types mentioned. above Caltrans will design: and installan adequate irrigation system which will provide permanent irrigation for a minim nn of three seasons, or until the vegetation is established and can reasonably survive under normal climatic conditions. Impact. Existing and Planned Trail System As mentioned previously, the City of Poway is committed. to develop and mage a system of trails over theBLM parcels. At the present time, the five-Tadle Mount Woodson trailexists between Lake Poway and Route 67, on the northwest side of the highway project. Approximately one milei south of the project limits, on the east side of Route. 67 next to Ellie Lane,exists a newlyconstructed equestrian staging area and a. planned trail which continues eastward towards Iron Mountain located on a separate BLM parcel. This trail is ten miles in length and the first two miles are constructed, Pursuant to the agreement with the BIM, the City must connect the Mount Woodson trail wJLt the Iron'. Mountain trails and in. order to achieve this connection, an existing trail must be extended southerly and Route 67 must be crossed.. Mitigation Measures II a. In order to extend the Mount TrToodson trail southerly from its current terminus, Caltrans will. provide within the proposed right -of -sway, and at the toe of the. slope, a continuous graded trail (tread.width) designed in accordance with thei City's adopted Trail Standards and Specifications. This trail tread will extend from the existing Mount Woodson trail terminus to the southerly project. limits. The City of Poway will conplete and maintain the trail once the highway project, is in place. In the event: Caltrans plans for future highway improvements south of the current project to the vicinity of Ellie Lane, the City would prefer to incorporate trail improvements within the right-of-way, if possible. b. Both the City and Caltrans recognize that an at -grade crossing of the highway at Ellie Lane would be extremely undesirable due to traffic and safety factors. However, both agencies agree that an undercrossing.at or near the Ellie Lane staging area would be the most advantageous and feasible method of providing a highway crossing for hikers and riders. In order to provide the necessary mitigation, Caltrans will design. and JAN 2$ 1986 ITEM - 4k .f Mr. Jack. O. Grasberger t January 28, 1985 Page Four construct a pedestrian/equestrian undercrossing at a suitable location in the vicinity of Ellie bane. This undercrossing will be designed. to accommodate both hikers and. equestrians as specified by City standards. The crossing, under the existing roadway, Would Provide for the connec- tion of the. trail system on either side: of Route 6T in a safe and logical manner. Caltrans agrees to commit funds, from a. future small - project source, at 75 percent of the: cost of the subject structure and to provide ongoing maintenance to the structure. The City of Poway agrees to provide. the balance of the cost of the subject structure, at 25 percentofthe total cost. The City further, agrees to provide Tate for the trail -tread, portion of the. undercrossing structure. In conclusion, the City of Poway believes that the above-mntioned potential impacts which would occur as a result of the project would be I reduced toy a. level ' of insignificance through the implementation of the mitigationmeas- uses discussed above. Veen these measuresare incorporated into the. pro- posed project, the ; City is of the opinion that the project would. not result in an impact on the recreational program established between the City of Poway and the Bureau of` Land Management Therefore, there would be no 4(f) involvement as define by State Law. In addition,these mitigation measures N wvuld.be consistent with and. in support of the BIM,s intent to provide con- ,.' tinning recreational opportunities on its public lands. Once the final roadway, revegetat on, trail,. and undercrossing plans are available, the. City would appreciate the opportunity to review and comrent on them. Sincerely,; James L. Bowersox City Manager ` JIBcm x cc: Mr. Peter A. KeTpenich U. Sr. Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management 1695 Spruce Street Riverside, CA 92507 F JAN 2 8 1986 1 T E M v F� - /J vc.�' `