Implementation of Defensible Space for Homes & Access Routes
Summary
SCH Number
2023080095
Public Agency
Mendocino County
Document Title
Implementation of Defensible Space for Homes & Access Routes
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
8/4/2023
Document Description
The project will maintain defensible space around homes and along access routes through the strategic treatment of hazardous vegetation. The project is intended to reduce the likelihood that life or property will be lost in the case of wildfire, both because homes and roadsides will be less likely to ignite and because firefighters will have more opportunity to safely deploy and stage their resources. Treatments will vary based on conditions present and location-specific objectives but will generally include removing excess vegetation, including brush and small-diameter trees, to increase horizontal spacing and eliminate vertical continuity of fuels. Roadside fuel reduction will generally occur up to 50 feet from either side of the road. All work will be completed using manual treatment methods (no off-road heavy equipment or ground disturbance proposed). Hand crews will employ chainsaws, pole saws, weed whackers, and hand tools to remove small trees, brush, and surface/ground fuels. Live trees (10 inches in diameter or less) will be removed when appropriate. Larger trees will be pruned to provide for a minimum vertical clearance of up to 10 feet above ground level. Slash and debris created by this project will be chipped and scattered on site. Chippers will not leave the roadway. Work will not be done within 30' away from any potentially fish-bearing stream or 15' of any other potential waterways. No more than 600 acres will be treated countywide annually under this project.
Contact Information
Name
Ignacio Gonzalez
Agency Name
Mendocino County PBS
Job Title
Assistant Director
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Location
Cities
unincorporated area
Counties
Mendocino
Regions
Northern California, Unincorporated
Other Location Info
The project is located in various communities throughout Mendocino County
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Section 15301(a) and 15304(i)
Reasons for Exemption
The project fits under portions of two Categorical Exemptions to CEQA: Class 1 - Existing Facilities. This includes treatment areas where vegetation removal will be conducted to maintain fuel breaks, fire roads, and road corridors.
Class 4 - Minor Alterations to Land. This includes treatment areas where vegetation treatment does not involve the removal of mature, healthy, or scenic trees. These treatments have negligible or no permanent effects on the landscape and will not result in the taking of rare, endangered, or threatened species of plants or animals. No exceptions apply that would preclude the use of a notice of exemption for this project. The County has concluded that no significant environmental impact would occur to aesthetics, agriculture and forestland or timberland, air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, energy, geology and soils, greenhouse gas emissions, hazards and hazardous materials, hydrology and water quality, land use planning, mineral resources, noise, population and housing, public services, recreation, transportation or traffic, tribal cultural resources, utilities, and service system.
County Clerk
Mendocino
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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