Hill Campus Wildland Vegetative Fuel Management Plan
8 Documents in Project
Summary
SCH Number
2019110389
Lead Agency
Regents of the University of California
Document Title
Hill Campus Wildland Vegetative Fuel Management Plan
Document Type
NOP - Notice of Preparation of a Draft EIR
Received
Present Land Use
The 800-acre Plan Area is located within the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) Hill Campus subarea designated in the 2020 Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) in the hills adjoining and east of the UC Berkeley Campus Park and California Memorial Stadium. Development within the Plan Area includes several campus public and research facilities such as the Lawrence Hall of Science, Botanical Garden, Space Sciences Laboratory, and the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute. However, the primary use of the Hill Campus is natural open space, including 300-acres, referred to as the Ecological Study Area, preserved by UC Berkeley for education and research.
The land within the Plan Area is zoned for high-density (R-5) residential by the City of Berkeley, residential hillside (RH) by the City of Oakland, and Forestry Recreational (F-R) and General Agriculture (A-2) by Contra Costa County; Alameda County has not assigned a zoning district to this area. The Plan Area is designated as Open Space by the City of Berkeley General Plan, Resource Conservation Area by the City of Oakland General Plan, and Parks and Recreation by the Contra Costa General Plan; Alameda County has not assigned a land use designation to this area.
Document Description
UC Berkeley proposes to implement its Wildland Vegetative Fuel Management Plan (Plan) for the UC Berkeley Hill Campus to treat vegetation that could become fire fuel within the 800-acre Plan Area. The proposed Plan includes implementation of three vegetation treatment types within the Plan Area, including evacuation support treatments, fuel break treatments, and fire hazard reduction treatments. Five types of vegetation treatment activities are proposed to implement the three vegetation treatment types: manual treatment, mechanical treatment, prescribed burning, managed herbivory (livestock grazing), and targeted ground application of herbicides. Additionally, UC Berkeley is proposing specific fuel break and fire hazard reduction treatment projects. Implementation of the various treatment types and activities will be reviewed for use throughout the Plan Area at a programmatic level in the Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The identified fuel break and fire hazard reduction treatment projects will be studied at a project level of detail in the EIR. The near-term implementation of the identified treatment projects along with the longer-term implementation of treatment types together comprise the proposed "project" as defined in State CEQA Guidelines Section 15378. The Plan includes the project as defined by CEQA for the purposes of review in this EIR as well as ongoing vegetation treatment maintenance actions described in the 2020 Hill Area Fire Fuel Management Program that have been approved under UC Berkeley's 2020 Long Range Development Plan EIR (SCH #2003082131). Maintenance activities included in the 2020 Hill Area Fire Fuel Management Program are not part of the proposed action that will studied in the Draft EIR.
UC Berkeley has prepared an Initial Study to identify the appropriate document under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which is included as Attachment B to the Notice of Preparation. The Initial Study contains a full description of the proposed project including location, objectives, and a preliminary identification of potential environmental effects associated with implementation of the proposed project. As documented in the Initial Study, UC Berkeley determined that it will prepare an EIR. The Initial Study also serves to focus the EIR on the effects determined to be potentially significant, pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 15063(c)(3).
Contact Information
Name
Raphael Breines
Agency Name
Regents of the University of California
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Location
Coordinates
Cities
Berkeley
Counties
Alameda
Cross Streets
Grizzly Peak Boulevard and Stadium Rim Way
Zip
94720
Total Acres
800
Parcel #
various
State Highways
SR-13 and SR-24
Railways
Bay Area Rapid Transit
Schools
various
Waterways
Strawberry Creek, Derby Creek, Claremont Creek, Lake Anza, Lake
Notice of Completion
State Review Period Start
State Review Period End
State Reviewing Agencies
California Department of Education, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Bay Delta Region 3 (CDFW), California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), California Department of Parks and Recreation, California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR), California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, California Department of Transportation, District 4 (DOT), California Department of Water Resources (DWR), California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES), California Highway Patrol (CHP), California Natural Resources Agency, California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), California Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Francisco Bay Region 2 (RWQCB), California State Lands Commission (SLC), Department of Toxic Substances Control, Office of Historic Preservation, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Quality, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Rights, California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC)
State Reviewing Agency Comments
California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC)
Development Types
Other (Vegetation Treatments)
Local Actions
Fuel Management Plan
Project Issues
Aesthetics, Agriculture and Forestry Resources, Air Quality, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Cumulative Effects, Drainage/Absorption, Flood Plain/Flooding, Geology/Soils, Growth Inducement, Hazards & Hazardous Materials, Hydrology/Water Quality, Land Use/Planning, Mineral Resources, Noise, Population/Housing, Public Services, Recreation, Schools/Universities, Septic System, Sewer Capacity, Solid Waste, Transportation, Vegetation, Wetland/Riparian, Wildfire
Attachments
Environmental Document
NOC
State Comments
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