Taylor MountainINITIAL STUDY/MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATIONworship, parks, libraries, governmental administration centers, fire stations, cemeteries,airports, hospitals, sewage treatment plants, waste disposal sites, etc. Policies for publicfacilities are established in the <strong>County</strong> General Plan Public Facilities <strong>and</strong> Services Element.According to the General Plan L<strong>and</strong> Use Element, amendments to place the Public/Quasi Publicl<strong>and</strong> use designation on property must meet all of the following criteria:(1) Ownership or long term lease by a government agency, other non-profit entity orpublic utility,(2) Adequate road access,(3) L<strong>and</strong>s are not suitable for <strong>and</strong> will not adversely affect resource productionactivities, <strong>and</strong>(4) Any applicable L<strong>and</strong> Use Policies for the Planning Area.The proposed project would meet all of the above criteria. Regarding Item (4), the General Plancontains policies for the unincorporated areas around Santa Rosa. None of these policiesspecifically apply to the Taylor Mountain property <strong>and</strong> the proposed project would beconsistent with general policies regarding this area. In addition, <strong>Sonoma</strong> <strong>County</strong> General PlanObjective OSRC-17.1 provides for adequate parkl<strong>and</strong>s <strong>and</strong> trails primarily in locations that areconvenient to urban areas, while not negatively impacting agricultural uses.As part of the proposed project, the existing zoning would be changed to Public Facility (PF) forall parcels within the property. The purpose of the PF district is to provide sites which serve thecommunity or public need <strong>and</strong> to protect these sites from encroachment of incompatible uses.The proposed Master Plan uses would be consistent with this zone district, as the PF zonepermits any uses owned <strong>and</strong> operated by a City or <strong>County</strong>. The proposed uses in the MasterPlan are consistent with zone district provisions regarding building height <strong>and</strong> setbacks.The existing overlay l<strong>and</strong> use designations <strong>and</strong> zone districts, as listed in Section B.1.4, wouldremain in place. Consistency with the scenic overlay provisions is addressed in Section B.3.1(Aesthetics). A portion of the property is designated with the Valley Oak Habitat (VOH) overlayzone district, which is intended to protect Valley Oaks <strong>and</strong> Valley Oak woodl<strong>and</strong> habitat. Thisoverlay district sets mitigation requirements for oak tree removal. Removal of Valley Oaks isnot proposed as part of the Master Plan implementation. Furthermore, design guidelines <strong>and</strong>st<strong>and</strong>ards emphasize avoidance of tree removal. See Section B.3.4 (Biological Resources) foradditional discussion of oak woodl<strong>and</strong>s <strong>and</strong> summary of relevant Master Plan st<strong>and</strong>ards.The Master Plan is also consistent with the City of Santa Rosa General Plan, which identifiesTaylor Mountain as part of the complex of recreation <strong>and</strong> open space l<strong>and</strong>s surrounding theCity of Santa Rosa. In addition, Santa Rosa General Plan 2020 Policy UD-E-2 provides for anopen space network that is linked by pedestrian <strong>and</strong> bicycle paths, <strong>and</strong> that preserves <strong>and</strong>enhances Santa Rosa’s visual <strong>and</strong> natural resources.The proposed accesses <strong>and</strong> staging areas identified in the Master Plan have incorporated theCity of Santa Rosa’s future plan to develop the Farmers Lane Extension. The existing interimstaging area, which is within the alignment of the approved Farmers Lane Extension project,would be removed <strong>and</strong> alternative access to the park would be developed off of the FarmersFinal B-88 September 2012
Taylor MountainINITIAL STUDY/MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATIONLane Extension (see Section B.3.14, Transportation). Therefore, the proposed Master Plan isconsistent with the City of Santa Rosa’s plans.c. Would the project conflict with any applicable habitat conservation plan or naturalcommunity conservation plan?NO IMPACT. See Section B.3.4, Biology, Item (f). A very small portion of the property is locatedwithin the Santa Rosa Plain Conservation Strategy for California tiger salam<strong>and</strong>er (CTS), whichhas not been adopted or implemented by <strong>Sonoma</strong> <strong>County</strong>. The portion of the Taylor Mountainproperty included in the Conservation Strategy study area notes that “the Presence of CTS isnot likely <strong>and</strong> there are no listed plants in this area” (CDFG, 2007). The map that accompaniesthe USFWS Programmatic Biological Opinion designates this same area as “No Effect” (USFWS,2007b). Furthermore, the proposed uses would not conflict with the Santa Rosa PlainConservation Strategy <strong>and</strong> numerous st<strong>and</strong>ards have been incorporated into the Master Plan toprevent direct <strong>and</strong> indirect impacts on special status species.September 2012 B-89 Final
Change language