|
5.2 BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES
<br /> 5.2.3 Cumulative Effects
<br /> A cumulative impact refers to a proposed project's incremental effect together with other
<br /> closely related past,present,and reasonably foreseeable future projects whose impacts may
<br /> compound or increase the incremental effect of the proposed project (Public Resources Code
<br /> §21083; California Code of Regulations, title 14, § 15064(h), 15065(c), 15130, and 15355).
<br /> In July 2008,21 projects were in various stages of progress with the City of Lodi. Most of
<br /> these projects are zoned residential,with a few office,mixed use,institutional,commercial,
<br /> and industrial projects proposed. All of these projects are more than 4 miles from the
<br /> proposed project,except for the improvements at the White Slough WPCF (Draft EIR issued
<br /> March 28,2008),which is adjacent to the project site (Bereket,2008; City of Lodi,2008).
<br /> In July 2008, 72 projects were being processed with the San Joaquin County Building
<br /> Department. These projects were located in Acampo, Escalon,Farmington,French Camp,
<br /> Linden,Lodi,Lockeford,Manteca, Ripon,Stockton, and Tracy. The types of projects
<br /> included residential projects such as new residences,additions and remodels to existing
<br /> residences,mobile home renovations,and pool construction;commercial projects such as
<br /> administration buildings,barns, and a riding arena;light industrial projects such as storage
<br /> buildings, spray booths, and warehouses; office projects such as building conversions and
<br /> tenant improvements;and institutional projects such as classroom relocation and facilities to
<br /> house animals (Raborn,2008).
<br /> As described above,the LEC will not cause any adverse impacts to biological resources,fill
<br /> any wetlands, or affect biological resources habitat. The potential impact to nesting birds
<br /> will be fully mitigated by pre-construction surveys. Existing projects have been considered
<br /> as part of the project's ambient noise monitoring. New projects in this area are unlikely to be
<br /> important sources of noise that could disturb wildlife. Any potentially significant adverse
<br /> impacts to biological resources are considered and mitigated,if necessary. For these reasons,
<br /> the LEC will not cause any adverse cumulative impacts to biological resources.
<br /> 5.2.4 Mitigation and Monitoring
<br /> The construction and operation of the LEC is not expected to result in significant biological
<br /> impacts. However,the following avoidance and mitigation measures will be incorporated to
<br /> minimize impacts to special-status species.
<br /> 5.2.4.1 Preconstruction Surveys
<br /> A preconstruction survey should be conducted prior to demolition and construction
<br /> activities. The survey should be conducted no more than two weeks prior to construction
<br /> activities and should be conducted by qualified biologists familiar with the identification of
<br /> nesting bird species and special-status reptiles. The presence of any nesting birds in the
<br /> vicinity of the site should be considered and addressed prior to the start of construction. The
<br /> CDFG typically imposes a 300-foot radius for protection of nesting raptors. However,this
<br /> can be addressed on a case-by-case basis as some raptors have been observed to nest much
<br /> closer to human activities without exhibiting any stress, and raptors in this location may be
<br /> habituated to human activity. In the event a raptor nest is observed within 300 feet of the
<br /> 1 For the purposes of this discussion,San Joaquin County sorted its projects by project cost,and provided a list of the projects
<br /> costing$25,000 or more.
<br /> SAC/371322/082330001(LEC_5.2_BIOLOGICAL_RESOURCES.DOC) 5.2-27
<br />
|