3 - The Bowery_PUBLIC COMMENT_RAMSEY

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5.0 Environmental Analysis 5.1 Land Use Avion Project SEIR Page 5.1-3 5.1.3.3 Land Development Code a. Environmentally Sensitive Land Regulations On January 1, 2000, Environmentally Sensitive Lands (ESL) Regulations were adopted by the San Diego City Council as a part of the LDC. The purpose of the ESL Regulations is to protect and preserve environmentally sensitive lands and the viability of the species supported by those lands. The regulations are intended to assure that development occurs in a manner that protects the overall quality of the resources and the natural and topographic character of the area. It is further intended that the development regulations for ESL, which include guidelines for biology, flood hazard areas, steep hillsides, and coastal bluffs and beaches, serve as standards for the determination of impacts and mitigation. Within the project site, ESL development regulations apply to sensitive biological resources, such as coastal sage scrub, southern mixed chaparral, and wetlands, which are discussed in detail in Section 5.2 below. According to the ESL regulations, development that proposes encroachment into steep hillsides is subject to Municipal Code §143.0142 Development Regulations for Steep Hillsides, and the Steep Hillside Guidelines in the Land Development Manual. Outside of the MHPA, the allowable development area includes all portions of the premises without steep hillsides. The regulations state that steep hillsides shall be preserved in their natural state, except that development is permitted in steep hillsides if necessary to achieve a maximum development area of 25 percent of the premises. Development encroachment into steep hillsides and sensitive biological resources within the MHPA is restricted. Development within the MHPA beyond the allowed 25 percent would require a MHPA boundary line adjustment. A Site Development Permit (SDP) is required for projects proposing to impact any ESL. b. Historical Resources Regulations The purpose of the City’s Historical Resources Regulations, found in Section 143.0251 of the LDC, is to protect, preserve, and, where damaged, restore the historical resources of San Diego, which include historical buildings, historical structures or objects, important archaeological sites, historical districts, historical landscapes, and traditional cultural properties. These regulations are intended to assure that development occurs in a manner that protects the overall quality of historical resources. The Historic Resources Regulations require that development affecting designated historical resources or historical districts shall provide full mitigation for the impact to the resource, in accordance with the Historical Resources Guidelines of the Land Development Manual, as a condition of approval. If development cannot, to the maximum extent feasible, comply with the development regulations for historical resources, then a project would require a permit. 5.1.3.4 Multiple Species Conservation Program Subarea Plan The MSCP is a comprehensive, long-term habitat conservation planning program that covers approximately 900 square miles in southwestern San Diego County under the federal and state Endangered Species Acts and state Natural Community Conservation Planning (NCCP) Act of 1991. Local jurisdictions, including the City, implement their portions of the regional umbrella MSCP through subarea plans, which describe specific implementing mechanisms. The City’s MSCP Subarea