Wadhwani Property Initial Study
Los Altos Hills, CA
2003

Project is the enclosure of a 600 foot segment of Barron Creek which is maintained by the Town of Los Altos Hills as an open storm drainage ditch. Project proposes burying drainage and constructing a BioSwale to slow water velocity and provide water quality filtration. Main Issues: biological and hydrological impacts of creek enclosure, compatibility of project with community goals of creek restorations, unsightly appearance of existing drainage condition.
Lead Agency: Town of Los Altos Hills; Client: Dr. Romesh and Kathy Wadhwani

Fitzgerald Marine Reserve Master Plan EIR
Moss Beach, CA
2003

TRA prepared a Program Environmental Impact Report for the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve Master Plan. The Master Plan consists of four programs: Natural Resource Management, Visitor Management, Uses and Facilities, and Implementation. Key elements of the Master Plan include new visitor facilities at the Reserve and Pillar Point Marsh, maintenance of trails within the Reserve, monitoring of the health of the intertidal zone, and limits to the number of visitors to reduce the impacts caused by heavy use. Issues addressed in the EIR include biological resources, geology and soils, land use and planning, recreation, and traffic and transportation. Lead Agency/Client: San Mateo County Parks and Recreation Division

San Jose Bay Trail Master Plan Environmental Feasibility Study and IS/Mitigated Negative Declaration
San Jose
1999 to 2003
(TRA Environmental Sciences assisted first with the feasibility study in order to minimize environmental impact, then prepared the IS/MND.)

TRA was involved in this case from beginning to end, working closely with the Master Planning consultant and the City staff to ensure the proposed trail alignment minimized environmental impacts. The major issues included land use conflicts with existing and proposed industrial uses along the trail corridor, as well as with an existing residential neighborhood; traffic and railroad safety; water quality impacts from trail construction near sensitive biological resources; potential impacts to state and federal endangered species; and potential impacts to wetlands and riparian corridors. Lead Agency/Client: City of San Jose

Stevens Creek Trail Study Area A Master Plan Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration
Cupertino
2002

The City of Cupertino prepared a Draft Stevens Creek Trail Feasibility Report to evaluate the Stevens Creek corridor and the adjacent open space and parklands to determine the feasibility of constructing pedestrian, bicycle, and equestrian trails through these areas. Study Area A encompasses approximately 130 acres of land within and adjacent to Rancho San Antonio County Park and Open Space Preserve. The major issues addressed by the IS included biology and wetlands, including habitat for sensitive species such as California red-legged frogs, pedestrian and bicycle safety, parking and traffic, and construction-related issues on the following environmental factors: geology and soils, noise, and hydrology. Lead Agency/Client: City of Cupertino

Coyote Creek Trail Master Plan, Mitigated Negative Declaration
City of Milpitas, 2000-2001

The City of Milpitas proposed to design and construct the portion of the San Francisco Bay Trail in its jurisdiction, and TRA prepared the CEQA documentation for the project. The primary issues were pedestrian and bicyclist safety at major interchanges, cultural resources within the trail alignment, wetland and riparian habitat, protection of sensitive bird species (burrowing owl, kingfisher, songbirds, breeding raptors), conformance with plans and policies, and impacts to facilities from seasonal flooding. Mitigation measures addressed construction dust, sensitive birds, protection of wetland and riparian habitat during construction and from unauthorized trail use, use of native plant species, protection of views, and best management practices to prevent significant water quality impacts. Lead Agency/Client: City of Milpitas.

San Francisquito Creek Levee Restoration and Flood Wall Replacement EIR
San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties
2001

The IS assessed the impacts of restoring the existing levee downstream of Highway 101 to original 1958 conditions and demolishing and re-building 1,100 feet of an existing floodwall upstream of Highway 101 along the creek. The City of Palo Alto's bike path on top of the levee was to be removed and rebuilt in the process. The Initial Study focused on biology, especially since this creek supports the federally threatened Central California Coast steelhead Evolutionary Significant Unit, and because potential habitat for the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse was identified near the portion of the project closest to San Francisco Bay. In addition to biology and fisheries, the IS also focused on hydrology/ water quality, air quality, and noise. Lead Agency/Client: San Mateo County Flood Control District and the San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority (JPA).

Stream Maintenance Program EIR
Santa Clara County
2001

TRA oversaw the environmental planning services for the Santa Clara Valley Water District's (SCVWD) sediment removal, bank protection, and vegetation management programs throughout Santa Clara County. For this multi-faceted and long-term project, TRA directed a multi-disciplinary team that included leading experts in stream geomorphology and strategies in erosion control and bank protection. TRA prepared the Program EIR and worked with a multi-agency task force to prepare multiple USACE 404 permit applications for interim urgent need projects.

The Program EIR identified all of the Programmatic Mitigation Measures (PMMs) that could be applied to maintenance design (selection of the most appropriate maintenance method) and to maintenance implementation (the actual work in the field). The EIR included a mitigation and monitoring program, a portion of which was a Mitigation Bank to address offsite mitigation for cumulative loss of wetlands and other biological resource values due to the District's five-year and longer-term work plan.

Under the same master contract, TRA prepared two Categorical Exemptions under CEQA: one for projects considered de minimus (too small to exceed significance thresholds), and the other for projects in modified channels that were restored to "as-built" conditions. In 1995, the first year of the project, we prepared an IS/MND for that year's work, which was considered an interim project as the Program EIR was being prepared. TRA also worked with geomorphologists to prepare an analysis of geomorphic and structural design alternatives that might be applied at the watershed planning level for areas with a history of recurring maintenance problems. These design alternatives offered environmentally sensitive and cost-effective approaches to reducing maintenance in areas with long-standing problems. Lead Agency/Client: Santa Clara Valley Water District.

Bay Trail Master Plan Environmental Feasibility Study , Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration Mitigation and Monitoring Program
San Jose
1999

TRA was involved in this case from beginning to end, working closely with the Master Planning consultant and the City staff to ensure the proposed trail alignment minimized environmental impacts. The major issues included land use conflicts with existing and proposed industrial uses along the trail corridor, as well as with an existing residential neighborhood; traffic and railroad safety; water quality impacts from trail construction near sensitive biological resources; potential impacts to state and federal endangered species; and potential impacts to wetlands and riparian corridors. Lead Agency/Client: City of San Jose

San Tomas Aquino/Saratoga Creek Trail Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration
Santa Clara County
1999

This was an Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration for an 11 mile trail along San Tomas Aquino and Saratoga Creeks and along city streets. The major issues related to this master plan were pedestrian and bicyclist safety at major interchanges; cultural resources within the trail alignment, conformance with plans and policies, impacts to facilities from seasonal flooding, and noise impacts to trail users. Thomas Reid Associates assisted the trail planners at the design level in order to minimize impacts, and then prepared the CEQA documentation on the project.
Lead Agency/Client: Santa Clara County Dept. of Parks and Recreation

Gilroy Hot Springs Resort Project General Plan Amendment EIR
Santa Clara County
1992

This was a spa-resort hotel complex composed of 184 resort units on a 242-acre site. The major issues included the following: growth-inducing impacts of zoning ordinance text change, land use compatibility with adjacent State Park, development of Historic Preservation Plan for onsite cultural and religious structures, development of Public Access Plan with connecting access trails and day use areas between Henry Coe State Park and the project site, impacts to Coyote Creek from road widening and a proposed onsite treatment plant, water supply adequacy, traffic safety, impacts to biological resources, and fire safety. Mitigation was developed for exotic species control, oak management, fire use and suppression, and wild pig management to avoid conflict with State Park policies. Lead Agency/Client: Santa Clara County

Southern Watershed Golf Course Site Constraints Analysis
San Mateo County
1989

Thomas Reid Associates assessed the feasibility of developing a golf course on the southernmost 390 acres of the San Francisco Water Department watershed lands in central San Mateo County. The site was proposed by the public as an alternative to the County's proposal to develop a golf course at Edgewood County Park. Public concern stemmed from the presence of serpentine grassland habitat at Edgewood Park which supports a threatened species of butterfly and several rare plants.

Constraints for golf course development identified during the course of our analysis included steep slopes, presence of the rare serpentine grassland plant community, wetlands with potential for San Francisco Garter snake habitat, foothill woodland community, 4 sites containing cultural resources and groves of mature trees which could provide nesting habitat for raptors. Additional constraints identified for the siting of a clubhouse or other structures included the presence of a potentially active fault trace, areas of active landsliding, areas of potential landsliding and siting of the clubhouse septic system in a drainage outside of the watershed for the Crystal Springs reservoir.

The constraints analysis found that 175 acres of the site were outside of the area identified for environmental constraints. The proposed golf course could feasibly be developed on the flatter, eastern portion of the site which would avoid sensitive habitats and minimize geotechnical hazards while providing easy access by existing roads. Lead Agency/Client: San Mateo County