Environmental Impact Statement - Sonoma Land Trust

California Department of Fish and Game
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Section 3.8. Recreation
Department of the Interior and other federal agencies oversee the implementation
of the Act within their jurisdictions.
The ADA does not provide definitive measures of accessibility; accessibility
guidelines are developed pursuant to the ADA to provide measurable guidelines
for compliance. The ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) were published in
1991; however, the recreational facilities portion was held in reserve pending
development of appropriate guidelines. Recreational accessibility guidelines were
initially developed in 2002, and then merged with guidelines from the 1968
Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) in 2004 to develop ADA-ABA Accessibility
Guidelines (ADA-ABA AGs). Access guidelines for many facilities (such as
routes to and through parking areas, restrooms, parking, picnic areas, walkways,
and railings) have been addressed.
San Francisco Bay Trail Plan
The Bay Trail is a planned recreation corridor that will provide 400 miles of
biking and hiking trails when completed. It will link nine counties, 47 cities, and
130 parks and recreation areas around San Francisco and San Pablo Bays. As
mandated under Senate Bill 100, the Association of Bay Area Governments
(ABAG) developed the Bay Trail Plan as a framework to provide guidance in the
selection and implementation of the Bay Trail plan. The main goal of the Bay
Trail Plan is to provide public access to the Bay and its surrounding shorelines
(Jones & Stokes 2003). The nearest Bay Trail segment exists south of the project
site at the Sonoma Baylands Project (ABAG website 2007).
Sonoma County General Plan
Key relevant policies governing recreational uses on the project site are listed
below.
• Objective OS-7.1: Provide for adequate parklands and trails primarily in
locations that are convenient to urban areas to meet the outdoor recreation
needs of the population, while not affecting agricultural uses.
• Objective OS-7e: Encourage private organizations to assist in the
construction and maintenance of trails.
Sonoma Bay Trail Corridor Plan
This plan is described in Section 3.6, Land Use and Public Utilities. Sonoma
County Regional Parks developed the Sonoma Bay Trail Corridor Plan in 2003 to
consider alternative alignments to the Bay Trail Plan in response to changes in
land ownership and use. The Sonoma Bay Trail Corridor Plan identifies a trail
alignment which crosses the Sears Point property via the SMART alignment
right-of-way, and connects to the Bay Trail segments currently terminating at
Sonoma Baylands to the west and Tubbs Island to the east.
Sears Point Wetland and Watershed Restoration
Project Final Environmental Impact
Report/Environmental Impact Statement
3.8-2
April 2012