3 - The Bowery_PUBLIC COMMENT_RAMSEY

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5.0 Environmental Analysis 5.1 Land Use Avion Project SEIR Page 5.1-12 c. MHPA Adjacency MHPA surrounds the project’s development footprint. As described in the MSCP, when land is developed adjacent to the MHPA, there is a potential for indirect impacts, or edge effects, that may degrade the habitat value or disrupt animals within the preserve area. These impacts could be short-term, resulting from construction activities, or long-term. Short-term construction impacts could result in disruption of nesting and breeding, and could thus affect the population of sensitive species. Long-term impacts would be associated with drainage, toxins, lighting, noise, invasives, brush management, access to MHPA, and grading/land development. Potential impacts to the adjacent MHPA would include an increase in urban pollutants entering sensitive water bodies, an increase in night lighting, habitat disturbance, removal of plant cover due to hiking, biking, and other human activities, increased presence of toxins, increased presence of non-native and invasive plant species, and pollutants (fugitive dust). Thus, projects adjacent to MHPA areas are subject to the MHPA Land Use Adjacency Guidelines. The project has the potential for indirect impacts to the adjacent MHPA along the western, eastern, and southern boundaries. As stated in the MSCP Section 1.4.3 (City of San Diego 1997), land uses adjacent to the MHPA are to be managed to ensure minimal impacts to the MHPA. The MSCP establishes adjacency guidelines to be addressed on a project-by-project basis to minimize direct and indirect impacts and maintain the function of the MHPA. The guidelines listed in Section 1.4.3 of the MSCP (City of San Diego 1997) are outlined below with corresponding project action. Implementation of the MHPA Land Use Adjacency Guidelines would become conditions of project approval. Note that the discussion below first reiterates the MSCP MHPA Land Use Adjacency Guideline (italicized text) and then analyzes the project’s compliance with the guideline. Drainage All new and proposed parking lots and developed areas in and adjacent to the preserve must not drain directly into the MHPA. All developed and paved areas must prevent the release of toxins, chemicals, petroleum products, exotic plant materials and other elements that might degrade or harm the natural environment or ecosystem processes within the MHPA. This can be accomplished using a variety of methods including natural detention basins, grass swales or mechanical trapping devices. These systems should be maintained approximately once a year, or as often as needed, to ensure proper functioning. Maintenance should include dredging out sediments if needed, removing exotic plant materials, and adding chemical-neutralizing compounds (e.g., clay compounds) when necessary and appropriate (City of San Diego 2013). • The project has been designed so as to not drain directly into the MHPA. All drainage will be treated on-site within the development footprint using detention/water quality basins to dissipate/detain and filter/treat runoff. The runoff from the development (storm water, irrigation, etc.), with the exception of the eastern fill slope, would be captured in storm drains that flow to the bioretention basin located in the northern portion of the site. The eastern fill slope would drain directly into the existing drainage course. Temporary irrigation of this slope would occur during the establishment of native vegetation to stabilize the slope and this supplemental irrigation would be discontinued within a couple of years. Irrigation rates during this period could be adjusted to minimize any excess runoff.