Middleton Tract Roadside Fuel Reduction
Summary
SCH Number
2025010255
Public Agency
San Mateo County Resource Conservation District
(SMCRCD)
Document Title
Middleton Tract Roadside Fuel Reduction
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
1/9/2025
Document Description
This project will reduce hazardous wildfire fuels along approximately 2.5 miles of road within the Middleton Tract community, a remote community located in unincorporated San Mateo County. Dense vegetation encroaching on roads in the community pose hazards for wildfire ignition as well as evacuation in the event of a fire. Manual and mechanical methods will be utilized to remove vegetation smaller than 8 inches in diameter within 25 feet of the road centerline, as well as dead, dying, and/or hazard trees that pose hazards to homes, roads, or other critical infrastructure. The objectives will be to disrupt the horizontal continuity of surface fuels, disrupt vertical continuity resulting from ladder fuels and increase shrub and understory crown spacing to improve evacuation safety, firefighting access, and potentially slow the spread of fire. The project will utilize hand crews and equipment to reduce dense, hazardous understory vegetation in forested areas along approximately 2.5 miles of roads within the Middleton Tract residential community, located near Portola Redwoods State Park in unincorporated San Mateo County. The roads are owned and managed by the Middleton Tract Roads association and pass through various private properties. Fuel treatments will be up to 25 feet from road centerlines on each side, on parcels where written owner permission has been obtained. Width of treatment may vary depending on slope, access, or landowner restrictions. Some areas may not be treated due to steep slopes, cut banks, or other barriers. The objectives will be to disrupt the horizontal continuity of surface fuels, disrupt vertical continuity resulting from ladder fuels and increase shrub and understory crown spacing. The fuel reduction will utilize a "thin from below" approach by removing the majority of trees and shrubs under 8 inches DBH, while leaving small clusters of these smaller-diameter plants for habitat and landscape diversity. The lower limbs of trees larger than 8 inches DBH will be pruned to a height of 8-10 feet or to 15 feet for branches over the roadbed itself. Some hazardous, dead, and/or dying trees up to 16 inches DBH may be removed. Cut material that is not masticated will generally be chipped and spread uniformly on-site or lopped-and-scattered to knee-height or less, with large-diameter material left in ground-contact or in piles as firewood near safe tum-offs. On certain parcels, chips may be piled for future use by the property owner. The project will not involve timber harvesting or the piling and burning of slash. The project area will be surveyed prior to treatment and sensitive biological resources, water infrastructure, and other avoidance areas will be flagged. Contractors will be given training to recognize sensitive species for avoidance and a monitor will be on-site when appropriate.
Contact Information
Name
Timothy Federal
Agency Name
San Mateo Resource Conservation District
Job Title
Senior Program Manager
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Email
Location
Cities
unincorporated area
Counties
San Mateo
Regions
Unincorporated
Zip
94020
Total Acres
12
Other Location Info
Middleton Tract residential community
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Class 4 (15304)
Reasons for Exemption
Class 4 consists of minor public or private alterations in the condition of land, water, and/or vegetation which do not involve removal of healthy, mature, scenic trees except for forestry or agricultural purposes.
The work proposed is a minor alteration to vegetation which does not involve removal of healthy, mature, scenic trees and is consistent with Categorical Exemption Class 4 - Minor Alterations to Land. No activity is proposed that is listed as a limitation under CCR 15300.2 (a-f). Field review by RCD staff confirmed that no exceptions apply which would preclude the use of a Notice of Exemption for this project. The project has been planned and designed to ensure that no significant environmental impact would occur to aesthetics, agriculture and forestland/timberland, air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, 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/traffic, or to utilities and service systems.
County Clerk
San Mateo
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
Disclaimer: The Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (LCI) accepts no responsibility for the content or accessibility of these documents. To obtain an attachment in a different format, please contact the lead agency at the contact information listed above. For more information, please visit LCI’s Accessibility Site.