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1. PROJECT DESCRIPTION 1.1 PROJECT HISTORY In 1978, a General Plan Amenndment was proposed which would have allowed the conversion of 410 acres of prime agricultural land into rural residential uses for the area between Valpico Road, Chrisman Road, Linne Road, MacArthur Drive, and Fairoaks Road. This area includes and surrounds the Traina Brothers property which is the current proposed General Plan Amendment in the area. Both the San Joaquin County Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors denied the original proposed General Plan Amendment primarily because of General Plan policies intended to limit the expansion of rural residential uses at the expense of agricultural production. An EIR was prepared for this General Plan Amendment in 1978. However, since most of the information in that EIR is now out of date, a new EIR, rather than a supplemental or subsequent EIR, needed to be prepared. 1.2 PROJECT AREA LOCATION AND CHARACTERISTICS The proposed project consists of a General Plan Amendment which would permit the development of 26.06 acres of prime agricultural land into 14 rural residential lots. Because of the potential cumulative and growth inducing impacts associated with the project, the impacts associated with a similar General Plan Amendment for the surrounding 384 acres will be analyzed in this EIR as well. This brings the total acreage of the study area to 410 acres. The study area is located in an area called the Valpico Rural Residential Area, south of Tracy in southwestern San Joaquin County. The area is in the unincorporated county, south and east of the current city limits of the City of Tracy, and is within the Tracy Sphere of Influence. Specifically, the study area is between Valpico Road, Chrisman Road, Linne Road, MacArthur Drive, and Fairoaks Road, which is the same area that was analyzed in the previous EIR. The regional setting is shown in Figure 1-1, and the local setting is presented in Figure 1-2. The study area is relatively flat (less than two percent slope) ranging from approximately 100 feet above sea level in the northeast corner to approx- imately 135 feet above sea level in the southwest corner. There are no unusual topographic features within the study area although there are two manmade features which cross through the study area. First, the Banta-Carbona Irrigation Canal bisects the study area and borders the northeast property line of the project site. Second, Western Pacific Railroad tracks pass through the southeast portion of the study area and border the southeast property line of the project site. The project site is currently an apricot orchard. The remainder of the study area consists mainly of single family residences, and apricot, walnut, and cherry orchards. Uses in the vicinity of the study area include single family residences in the Valpico Rural Residential area to the north and west, the Tracy Defense Depot to the northeast and a gravel quarry to the southwest. Agricultural uses make up the remainder of the surrounding area. 1-1