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Home My Public Portal AboutPublic Comment #033 (Rondenet-Vieth)Mary Rondenet -Vieth 12259 Highland Avenue Truckee, CA 96161 530 - 386 -7081 November 18, 2014 Ms. Denyelle Nishimori Town of Truckee Community Development Department 10183 Truckee Airport Road Truckee, CA 96161 Email: dnishimori(a),townoftruckee.com Revised Draft EIR question re findings: Biological Resources/Wetland Habitat/Wildlife Corridor Dear Ms. Nishimori, The following are my questions, refutations, and concerns about the information from the RDEIR documents re the Canyon Springs residential project. The Canyon Springs Report Summary says on 2.2 "The public open space would be permanently reserved as part of the home owner association - maintained common area and would serve as a wildlife habitat and movement corridor." The above applies to the designated 283.76 acres of the residential community project with 185 lots for houses on the acreage. This equals approximately 100 open acres (meaning no homes) that will be able to be accessed by residents and their dogs via paths with, logically, the potential for off -path explorations by both. My areas of concern or disagreement with the findings in the RDEIR are as follows: 1. Bio 5 - ° °The Canyon Springs Homeowner's Association shall distribute educational brochures to residents and visitors discussing the protocol for interacting with wildlife and avoiding sensitive habitat with emphasis on the southeast corner of the project site between the months of May to October. Educational materials shall specifically include information regarding the confinement of domestic dogs as a conservation threat to deer and other resident wildlife species. Distribution of educational materials would occur each May." Section 2.11 Clearly no entities or systems will exist to monitor residents and their dogs' contact and interactions with wildife. These include the LT deer herd (studied, tagged, and protected), and as well may include the California Spotted Owl (California Department of Fish & Wildlife Species of Special Concern) and other animals. Please indicate how 1 handing out brochures and educational material will protect such scientifically significant and unique wildlife. Also, dogs coming in visual or olfactory contact alone could cause significant distress to wildlife at far distances instead of merely direct contact. 2. Bio 5 c -The Project Applicant shall post signage approved by the Town and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife along the boundaries of the development area indicating such prohibitions and educating the community about the confinement of dogs as a conservation threat to deer and other resident wildlife. In addition to the deer herd and possibly also the California Spotted Owl, another unique species is "the SNRF (Sierra Nevada Red Fox) - probably the rarest and most endangered red fox subspecies in North America. Human activities of any significant degree in areas of habitat will certainly put pressure on this highly endangered species. Given the low numbers of the Sierra Nevada red fox this is increasingly a concern for the Sierra Nevada subspecies. The range of the Sierra Nevada red fox is limited to the conifer forests of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade ranges between 4,000 feet and 12,000 feet. Preferred habitat for the Sierra Nevada red fox appears to be red fir and lodgepole pine forests in the subalpine zone and alpine fields of the Sierra Nevada. Open areas are used for hunting, forested habitats for cover and reproduction. Edges are utilized extensively for tracking & stalking prey ". http:// www. sierraforestlegacy. org/ FC_ SierraNevadaWiIdIifeRisk /SierraNevadaRedFox "It is a distinct local variety or race of the Red Fox ( Vulpes Vulpes), as is the Lahonten- Truckee mule (deer). Recent photographs and DNA evidence prove that the SNRF remain in the Toiyabe and west of Toiyabe". Sierra Red Fox Interagency Working Group, Sierra Forest Legacy (a project of Tides Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization). No controls will exist to monitor the use by residents and the management of their dogs on the open space areas. HOA's have no enforcement capabilities except fines. Please address how the HOA can uphold or implement valid protectors of wildlife, such as SNRF or other isolative and highly sensitive species (raptors such as owls & the LT deer herd). T 3. Bio 5 d - The Canyon Springs Homeowner's Association shall maintain all Town and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife- approved roadway, trail and site boundary signage and fencing related to wildlife protection through bi- annual inspections to insure signage and fencing is intact and unobstructed. Commuting twice daily, 5 days a week for 7 years from Truckee to Reno using Glenshire Drive, I regularly encounter dead deer on the road, despite fences and the obvious danger of the road for the deer. Clearly, the deer are struck by the current pool of vehicles owned by the 2000 + residents of the Glenshire /Dorchester area. Please answer how - with the addition of 185 residents and potentially at least 2 vehicles per household or 370 + vehicles - signage and fencing will prevent significant decrease of the deer herd. 4. Bio 5f - The Canyon Springs Homeowners Association shall require confinement fencing for those residents with domestic pets such as dogs, of suitable materials to confine the pet. The fencing shall not to exceed 6 feet in height within the development area of individual lots. 2 Dogs can be observed by most residents of Truckee to be loose and roaming freely. How will the HOA monitor and manage this established cultural lifestyle pattern of the Truckee residents' dog population. As noted previously HOA's have no enforcement capabilities except fines. Why would the CS community be any different regarding free roaming or loose dogs than the other parts of Truckee. (We have two dogs.) 5. Bio -5h: The Canyon Springs Homeowner's Association shall require management practices of landscapes treated with pesticides that minimize low -level exposures and sub - lethal effects to wildlife. Herbicides, pesticides, and fungicide application records and other landscape and turfgrass management records shall be made available to the Homeowner's Association at any time upon request. The concern is that nothing valid will exist to monitor residents' use of "low level exposure and sub - lethal" herbicides, pesticides, and fungicide applications ". Please indicate how this can be enforced or monitored. 6. Bio -5i: The Canyon Springs Homeowner's Association shall post off -site roadway signage for deer crossing warnings to raise awareness of wildlife movement during migration season. The time of sign posing, type of sign and posting location shall be approved by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Homemade signs are already put up every year by residents such as "Fawn crossing — Please slow down" during Spring and Summer. Dead fawns (and deer) are yet still frequently encountered. I observe that the residents of the east side of Glenshire regularly post hand -made signs about the number of fawns that are killed by vehicles, such as "Please slow down —4 fawns died so far this year ". As noted above, I drive twice daily, five days a week on the Glenshire Drive to Hirshdale 180 connector /stretch of road. 1 feel compelled to argue that signs will not work to prevent deer strikes on the CS roads or the roads used by the residents of CS. Please explain how the CSHA signs will prevent residents from increased harm or killing off of the individuals of the LT deer herd. Thank you very much for your consideration of my concerns and disagreements with these findings from the Canyon Springs project RDEIR document. maronden @gmail.com 3 To: Town of Truckee - Community Development Department Ms. Denyelle Nishimori Fax no: 530 - 582 -7889 Pages: 4 From: Mary Rondenet -Vieth Fax no: 775 - 688 -0486 (work fax) Date: November 18, 2014 Re: Comments re Canyon Springs RDEIR