SFPUC 2001 Alameda Watershed Management Plan

III. ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING AND IMPACTSB. LAND USE! have a substantial impact on the existing character of the vicinity.Land use impacts are evaluated with respect to compatibility of the Management Plan with theexisting land uses and the potential effect the policies and actions would have on land usepatterns in the project vicinity.2.2 PROGRAM-LEVEL IMPACTSIncrease in Public Access and UseAccess to Public Use Areas• The primary land use changes that would result from implementation of the Alameda WatershedManagement Plan are associated with increased public access and the expansion of mining northand south of I-680. Under the proposed Plan, a Watershed Visitor Education Center, publicrecreation area, commercial site, and overnight nature study area (Actions pub4, sun14, sun19,and sun20) could be developed on the Watershed. These uses are designed as generally lowintensity recreation and are more fully described in the preliminary Sunol Landscape andRecreation Plan, which has been prepared to plan recreational activities and landscape conceptsfor the Sunol Valley in order to develop lease terms and conditions for mining under SMP-32.The Management Plan provides for the establishment of new trails around the Sunol Temple andin the Sunol Valley as connectors to the Sunol-Ohlone Regional Park areas (Policies WA15.2and WA15.4 and Actions sun14 and sun21). New trails would be restricted to areas of lowvulnerability and risk to protect water quality and ecological resources. Areas of lowvulnerability would be in the secondary Watershed (away from existing reservoirs) and in theSunol Valley near the Town of Sunol, the only adjacent developed area. These trails wouldallow for general public access to the Watershed (no permit required). Access to existinginternal roads and fire roads in the Watershed is currently restricted. Under the ManagementPlan, a docent-led program would be developed to allow individuals access to selected areas ofthe Watershed that are generally closed to the public (Policy WA10 and Action pub1). Inaddition, the Management Plan calls for provision of universal access to recreation facilities andtrails, which could increase public use of the Watershed (Actions des8 and sun17).Equestrians are currently allowed on selected EBRPD trails in the Sunol-Ohlone Regional Park.Biking is prohibited in the Ohlone Regional Wilderness and on internal roads in the AlamedaWatershed. Under the Management Plan, there would be no expansion of equestrian or bikeaccess in the Watershed.When compared to the significance criteria outlined above, increased public use of areas of lowvulnerability and risk in the Watershed would not disrupt or divide the physical arrangement ofestablished surrounding uses. Trails would connect with urban areas to the north and other trailfacilities. Areas adjacent to the northern Watershed boundary are developed with residential,commercial, and recreational uses near the Town of Sunol, and the proposed recreational useswould be compatible with these existing uses. Proposed trails would connect with existing trailsand would not alter the existing land use character in the vicinity. Therefore, implementation ofNOP 96.223E: Alameda Watershed Management Plan III.B-10 ESA / 930385January 2001