451 San Juan Hollister Road

451 San Juan Hollister Road

Per the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) preliminary jurisdictional determination, approximately 3.25 acres of the project site contains seasonal wetland and 1,500 linear feet along the western and northern border of the site are designated as other waters of the U.S. with instream wetlands (San Juan Creek). Over a period of three years (2019-2022), unpermitted grading activities have occurred on-site, including adjacent to the eastern and southern banks of San Juan Creek. Unpermitted work included grading of imported fill material within the floodplain and stockpiling of substantial on-site grading spoils mixed with shrubs, trees, and other vegetation from the site adjacent to and over the easterly and southernly banks of San Juan Creek located along the western and northern boundaries of the property. Earlier, similar activities in 2019 were found to be in violation of Fish and Game Code Section 1602 (CDFW Violation File No. 1600-2019-0800-R4 San Juan Canyon Creek - San Benito County). Remediation of 2019 unpermitted grading had not yet been accepted by the City of San Juan Bautista when similar activities occurred again in 2022, with expansion to include removal of significant vegetation and deposition of substantial quantities of spoils along the toe and top of bank and within portions of the San Juan Creek. The grading activities that occurred in 2019 and 2022 are, therefore, considered ongoing violations of the City’s Flood Hazard Prevention Ordinance. As a result, the City of San Juan Bautista issued an immediate Stop Work Order in March 2022, followed by three successive Compliance Orders requesting 1) characterization of the fill and 2) a program be developed for remediation including removal of grading spoils, and restoration of the hydraulic capacity and biological habitat of the San Juan Creek to the satisfaction of the jurisdictional agencies. In September 2022, the City issued the first of several administrative citations and initiated public nuisance procedures. The San Juan Bautista City Council, thereafter, adopted Resolution 2022-81 and 2022-87A in October and November 2022, respectively, declaring that the placement of grading and spoils along the San Juan Creek and the changes to the topography of the floodplain are a public nuisance and ordering the City Manager to abate the nuisances and to take all appropriate steps to recover costs incurred by the City.

San Juan Bautista

San Benito

Citywide

California Air Resources Board (ARB), California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), California Department of Parks and Recreation, California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), California Department of Transportation, District 5 (DOT), California Department of Water Resources (DWR), California Highway Patrol (CHP), California Natural Resources Agency, California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Coast Region 3 (RWQCB), California State Lands Commission (SLC), Office of Historic Preservation, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Quality, California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Central Region 4 (CDFW)

California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Central Region 4 (CDFW)

Other (previous unpermitted grading, proposed remediation/restoration)

Use Permit, Site and Design Review Permit

Aesthetics, Agriculture and Forestry Resources, Air Quality, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Cumulative Effects, Drainage/Absorption, Energy, Flood Plain/Flooding, Geology/Soils, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Hazards & Hazardous Materials, Hydrology/Water Quality, Land Use/Planning, Mineral Resources, Noise, Population/Housing, Public Services, Recreation, Schools/Universities, Sewer Capacity, Solid Waste, Transportation, Tribal Cultural Resources, Utilities/Service Systems, Vegetation, Wetland/Riparian, Wildfire