Santa Cruz County Supervisors are scheduled to consider the 2,308-page final environmental impact report for the Coastal Rail Trail Segments 10 and 11 at a public hearing on Tuesday, March 26, at 9 a.m. or thereafter, at 701 Ocean St. Room 525, Santa Cruz.
This project excludes a .5-mile section on Capitola streets from Opal Street/Cliff Drive Plaza to Monterey Avenue/Park Avenue.
The final EIR evaluates the “Ultimate Trail Configuration” (Trail Next to Rail), as well as an “Optional Interim Trail” (Trail on the Rail Line) in which the railroad tracks would be removed and the trail would be located on the rail bed.
There are 3 volumes: Volume 1: all comments received during the Draft EIR public review period and Responses to Comments, Volume 2: the Draft EIR with minor revisions made to provide additional information in response to comments received or for general clarification, and Volume 3: the Draft EIR appendices with supporting technical documentation.
The county of Santa Cruz as the lead agency, prepared a draft, circulated it for 60 days until Dec. 15, and got 321 comments, most of them from individuals, all of which appear in the final report.
The County is required to prepare responses to all comments.
In many instances, the response is: “The comment does not relate to the adequacy of the Draft EIR or CEQA process. However, the comments are noted and forwarded to decision makers for consideration. No revisions to the Draft EIR are necessary.”
The report notes: “Many comments are similar or address the same issue.”
These include:
- Tree removal and mitigation,
- Measure D clarification,
- Right-of-way encroachments,
- Capitola trestle and Measure L clarification,
- Rail operation and railbanking,
- Capitola Village safety and accessibility concerns,
- Privacy, noise, and security concerns,
- Width of Alternative 1 (Trail Only) and Alternatives Analysis, and
- Requirement to include all 3 parts of Optional Interim Trail.
For comments on these nine issues, county staff developed “master responses.”
In the final report, the phrase “master response” appears 362 times.
For example, the report found the Ultimate Trail next to the rail line would require removing 803 of 1,883 trees bigger than 4 inches in diameter, and the Optional Interim Trail next to the rail line would require removing 957 trees.
Replacement trees are required but “the majority of the rail corridor is too narrow to restore mature trees without encroaching on the trail or rail line,” the report said.
Limited plantings could occur where there is adequate space next to the trail such as where the trail crosses Rodeo Gulch, extends along Jade Street Park and along New Brighton State Beach.
The tree inventory appears in Volume 3, Appendix A.6.
The California Public Utilities Commission, California Department of Fish & Wildlife, Monterey Bay Air Resources District and the city of Capitola provide comments.
So did Millennium Housing, Marianne’s Ice Cream of Seacliff, Seacliff Improvement Association, Roaring Camp Railroads, Railroad Education and Preservation Society, Train Riders Association of California, Santa Cruz Climate Action Network, and Friends of the Rail Trail.
This Notice has been issued to notify interested parties that the Final EIR has been prepared and is available for review. The County Board of Supervisors (Board) will consider the Final EIR prior to making decisions on the Project at a public hearing scheduled during the Board of Supervisors meeting on March 26, 2024. The Board will also consider the recommended Findings of Fact and Statement of Overriding Considerations and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program.
Information on the timing and public participation of the hearing will be at the Board of Supervisors website: santacruzcountyca.iqm2.com/citizens/.
There will be livestreaming.
Remote participation is available via Zoom or via Phone.
Copies of the final EIR are available for review Monday through Friday, between 8 am and 5 pm except holidays, at the County of Santa Cruz, Planning Department, General Information Desk, 701 Ocean St., 4th Floor, Santa Cruz, and the Santa Cruz County Parks Department, 979 17th Ave., 2nd Floor, Santa Cruz, and online, at: www.santacruzcountyca.gov/RailTrail.