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Photo by Merle Bassett
Bicyclist on The Fiscalini Ranch/WestTrail |
MARCH 4, 2008 EIR UPDATE
The Draft Environmental Report (EIR) for the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve is listed below. The public comment period began March 3, 2008 and will end on April 17, 2008. A public hearing will be held on March 18 to accept public comments. The hearing is scheduled at Vets Hall, 1000 Main Street, Cambria and will be held as a Special Parks, Recreation and Open Space (PROS) Meeting. The West Ranch will be heard from 5-6PM and the East Ranch (Community Park) will be heard from 6-9PM. All are welcome to attend and comment on the EIR. Printed EIR copies and compact discs are available through the CCSD. Contact Connie Davidson at 927-6223 or cdavidson@cambriacsd.org for more information and copying fees.
March 18 Public Hearing Notice
Notice of Availability of Draft Master EIR
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. Summary
III. Project Description
IV. Environmental Setting
V. Environmental Impacts
V.A. Geology and Soils
V.B. Hydrology
V.C. Agricultural Resources
V.D. Biological Resources
V.E. Cultural Resources
V.F. Aesthetic Resources
V.G. Transportation and Circulation
V.H. Air Quality
V.I. Noise
V.J. Hazards and Hazardous Materials
V. K. Water Supply
V. L. Public Services and Utilities
VI. Alternatives Analysis
VII. Environmental Analysis
VIII. Mitigation Monitoring Program
IX. Reference
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Acronyms
JUNE 13, 2007 EIR UPDATE
On May 18, 2006, an EIR Notice of Preparation (NOP) was mailed to various agencies and local groups for review and comments. Please click on the NOP document below to review. The 30-day comment period ended June 21, 2006.
An EIR Scoping Meeting on The Fiscalini Ranch Preserve was held on Tuesday, June 20, 2006, at Veterans Memorial Building, 1000 Main Street, Cambria.
5.16.06 EIR Notice of Preparation
MANAGEMENT PLAN AND EASEMENT
On April 24, 2003, the CCSD Board of Directors adopted the East West Ranch (now The Fiscalini Ranch Preserve) Management Plan and Conservation Easement. Under the terms of sale, the CCSD, which acquired ownership of the Ranch in November 2000, was obligated to develop a Management Plan and Conservation Easement agreement in addition to appointing a management group and conservation easement holder. The North Coast Small Wilderness Area Preservation (NCSWAP) was selected as the easement holder for the entire Fiscalini Ranch Preserve. The CCSD will manage The Fiscalini Ranch Preserve until Friends of the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve (formerly North Coast SWAP) is prepared to assume the responsibility.
The development of the Management Plan and Easement required close to two years of dedicated work by CCSD, Friends of the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve, RRM Design Group and others to forge a comprehensive plan for managing this major conservation project.
To review the April 24, 2003 Management Plan and Easement, click on the documents below, which include numerous maps of the property. The documents are also available on the North Coast SWAP web site at www.northcoastswap.org, the CCSD lobby at 1316 Tamson Drive, Cambria, or the Cambria Library, 900 Main Street, Cambria.
BACKGROUND
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Photo by Merle Bassett
Pelicans on the West Fiscalini Ranch Preserve Bluff Trail
| In November 2000, the 430-acre Fiscalini Ranch Preserve along with several adjacent parcels, was preserved in perpetuity through a unique coalition of public and private funding. Thanks to numerous contributions--including more than $1 million raised by the community of Cambria--it will remain public open space and recreational land forever. The Fiscalini Ranch Preserve is a large open-space property that stretches approximately one mile along the ocean and includes part of Santa Rosa Creek. It contains habitat important to endangered and threatened species, including tidewater gobies, steelhead trout, red-legged frogs and Monterey pines.
It is bordered on the other three sides by Park Hill residences to the North, the West Lodge Hill neighborhood to the south, and downtown Cambria to the East. The Fiscalini Ranch Preserve/West is accessible from many locations in the community. The East side of the Ranch is separated by Highway 1, which links Cambria to other communities along the coast. The Fiscalini Ranch Preserve/East is informally accessed at Rodeo Grounds Road off of Burton Drive.
HISTORY
The Fiscalini Ranch Preserve was first inhabited by native Chumash and Salinan tribes that thrived in the area, possibly as early as 600 b.c. In the mid-1800s, the town of Cambria was settled by Europeans. At the turn of the century, this heavily forested property was cleared for cattle grazing. Only 70 acres of rare Monterey Pines survived and can still be viewed on the Ranch ridgeline. In the late 1800s, the Fiscalini family bought the ranch for cattle grazing and it became known as the Fiscalini Town Ranch. In the 1980s they sold it to a real-estate developer who planned to build a substantial residential/commercial project on the property. It was sold in 1993 through a bankruptcy auction to another developer with similar plans.
Through the efforts of Friends of the Ranchland, a community organization formed to preserve the Ranch, the American Land Conservancy came to the community's aid with the provision that a local group coordinate the transaction and fundraising. The Foundation for Small Wilderness Area Preservation helped develop North Coast Small Wilderness Area Preservation (NCSWAP), a new chapter comprised of Cambrians. This organization partnered with the American Land Conservancy, the State Coastal Conservancy, CCSD, San Luis Obispo County, businesses and residents to purchase The Fiscalini Ranch for $11.1 million in November 2000.
PUBLIC ACCESS TRAILS
The Bluff trail over The Fiscalini Ranch Preserve/ West has been officially open to pedestrians since the property was purchased in 2000. The trail underwent significant improvements in 2006, making it completely ADA accessible. In July 2002, pedestrian and bicycle trails were opened at a number of other locations on The Fiscalini Ranch Preserve/West. See locations on the map below. In 2006, the Marine Terrace Trail will also undergo improvements and will be ADA accessible as well open to bicyclists and other users.
*Click map for larger image. | | |
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