| Adopt an Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration for the County Road 98 Bike and Safety Improvement Project, Phase II, and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Plan, as the appropriate level of environmental review in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act, approve the Project, and direct County staff to file the Notice of Determination with the County Clerk-Recorder. (No general fund impact) |
Based on the environmental evaluation in the Initial Study for the County Road 98 Bike and Safety Improvement Project, Phase II (Project), with the implementation of prescribed mitigation and other measures to reduce environmental impacts, the Project was determined not to have a significant effect on the environment. Adoption of this Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration will allow the Project to move forward to the right of way acquisition phase, and through the environmental permitting process for Project construction.
BACKGROUND
The County Road (CR) 98 Phase II Project will extend the road improvements completed in 2014 (Phase I was between the Woodland southern city limit and CR 29) southward just over four miles to the Solano County line. The Project will add eight-foot paved shoulders, twelve-foot unpaved clear recovery zones, and remove obstacles such as ditches and utility poles away from the edge of the road. This corridor carries a wide range of vehicles including commuters, bicycles (including both recreational and commuting), farm to market trucks, aggregate product trucks, and a wide range of agricultural vehicles. Improvements at the intersections of CR 98 with CR 31(Covell Boulevard), CR 32 (Russell Boulevard) and Hutchison Drive will include the installation of roundabouts.
The Project has received federal transportation funding for preliminary engineering and project development, and for right of way acquisition through the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) in the amounts of $1,593,400 and $4,179,375, respectively.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
A Natural Environmental Study (NES) was prepared for the Project area which supports the Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (Attachment A). The Initial Study/ Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) was submitted to the State Clearinghouse, and subsequently circulated for public review and comment on June 4, 2021 through July 6, 2021. New project information provided during the comment period warranted recirculation. The new project information and comments received from the first public review were incorporated to the IS/MND and was recirculated for public review and comment on August 23, 2021 through September 22, 2021. All Comments received during both review periods are included in the attached memorandum, as is the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP) (Attachment B). The County will be responsible for implementing the conservation and mitigation measures outlined in the MMRP as referenced in the attached Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration.
County staff has applied with the Yolo Habitat Conservancy for coverage of this proposed Project under the Yolo Habitat Conservation Plan/Natural Community Conservation Plan (Yolo HCP/NCCP).
The County also initiated an early consultation request with interested Tribes under the provisions of Assembly Bill (AB) 52. The Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC) was contacted to request sacred lands file search and contact list. The NAHC listed five Native American Tribes who may have knowledge of sites or traditionally cultural properties that may be affected by project related activities. All tribes listed, and including those Tribes requesting notification in Yolo County, were delivered a letter via email on September 27, 2019, giving formal notice and invitation by Yolo County. The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation (Yocha Dehe) responded indicating a cultural interest and authority in the proposed Project area. No known cultural resources are near the Project site, but Yocha Dehe recommends cultural sensitivity training for all construction project personnel. No additional responses from Native American Tribes have been received.
The County is working to receive a Categorical Exclusion (CE) from Caltrans as part of their National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) determination. All studies required for NEPA have been approved by Caltrans. Staff anticipates receiving the CE by the end of this month. |