Sharp/Heide Ranch Road Evacuation Support Project
Summary
SCH Number
2023080561
Public Agency
Sonoma Resource Conservation District
Document Title
Sharp/Heide Ranch Road Evacuation Support Project
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
8/23/2023
Document Description
Napa Communities Firewise Foundation (NCFF) will implement treatments to reduce wildfire risk by reducing hazardous woody fuels, enhancing access (ingress) for fire suppression personnel, and improving egress of the evacuation route for the communities adjacent to Sharp/Heide Ranch Road. The project area encompasses a total of approximately 37.4 acres in eastern Sonoma County along a 3.4-mile length of paved and unpaved road. Sharpe/Heide Road has been traditionally maintained by local landowners and provided a critical evacuation route for residents in the 2020 Glass Fire. The road is currently impassable by low-clearance or two-wheel-drive vehicles, particularly at five heavily-eroded watercourse crossings in the unpaved road segment. The project would repair the existing road to facilitate egress during emergencies, improve road drainage to minimize concentration of storm flows and additional erosion from road surfaces, and to reduce wildfire risk along the road by reducing hazardous fuel loading to facilitate its use as an evacuation route.
Contact Information
Name
Jason Wells
Agency Name
Sonoma RCD
Job Title
Forester
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Email
Location
Coordinates
Cities
Calistoga
Counties
Napa, Sonoma
Regions
Northern California
Cross Streets
Sharp Road/ Heide Ranch Road
Total Acres
37.4
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Class 1, Section 15301, Existing Facilities; Class 4, Section 15304, Minor Alterations to Land
Reasons for Exemption
The project is categorically exempt from the provisions of CEQA pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 15301 Existing Facilities and Section 15304 Minor Alterations to Land. Class 1 is applicable to projects that consist of the operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of existing or former use. NCFF will maintain the function of the existing road to facilitate evacuation and access during a fire. There will be no expansion of the existing or former use of these facilities. Class 4 is applicable to projects that consist of minor public or private alterations in the condition of land, water, and/or vegetation which do not involve removal of mature, scenic trees except for forestry and agricultural purposes. Treatments to vegetation proposed by the project involve manual and mechanical vegetation removal along an existing paved road and chipping of biomass and have been reviewed by a Registered Professional Forester to ensure avoidance of significant impact to the environment. Biological and cultural resource assessments have been conducted for the project and further demonstrate that no significant effects would occur with implementation of the project. Project specific analysis is on file at the RCD.
County Clerk
Sonoma
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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