TO MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE ON GROUNDS AND BUILDINGS:

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1 Office of the President June 22, TO MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE ON : For Meeting of ITEM FOR ACTION Click here for EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CERTIFICATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT AND APPROVAL OF DESIGN, RANCH VIEW TERRACE FACULTY AND STAFF HOUSING, SANTA CRUZ CAMPUS The President recommends that upon review and consideration of the environmental consequences of the proposed project as indicated in the attached Environmental Impact Report, the Committee on Grounds and Buildings: (1) Certify the attached Environmental Impact Report. (2) Adopt the attached Findings and Mitigation Monitoring Program. (3) Approve the design of the Ranch View Terrace Faculty and Staff Housing project, Santa Cruz campus. (4) Authorize the President or his designee to approve the Ranch View Terrace Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) and to sign the Implementing Agreement (IA). (5) Authorize the President or his designee to amend the 1988 UCSC Long Range Development Plan in conjunction with approval of the HCP/IA, involving no more acres than currently contemplated (25.5 acres total: 13 acres in Inclusion Area A and 12.5 acres in Inclusion Area D), as described in this item and shown on Attachment 1: Campus Habitat Reserve (Inclusion Area A Preserve) and Attachment 2: Campus Habitat Reserve (Inclusion Area D Preserve). BACKGROUND The Ranch View Terrace Faculty and Staff Housing project is a third-party development to plan, finance, construct, and sell 80 single family dwelling units on Santa Cruz campus land through a license agreement and lot leases. The third-party would also develop a community center with four attached apartments and all other common area improvements that would be later transferred to and managed by the University under terms of the development agreement. The project is intended to address an important LRDP element to provide affordable on-campus faculty and staff housing at below market sales prices. Following the project construction, UCSC Colleges and University Housing Services would be responsible for all maintenance of the community center and leasing of apartments. Specific

2 COMMITTEE ON terms of the Agreement with the Third-Party Developer and the lot leases will be submitted to The Regents for approval at the July 2004 meeting. A Ranch View Terrace Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) is being developed by the campus to support an application to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for an Incidental Take Permit under the Federal Endangered Species Act. USFWS action on the HCP application will be finalized at a later time. The HCP/IA will be forwarded to the President for approval. Project Site The proposed project is consistent with the land use assumptions and planning principles set forth in the Santa Cruz Campus LRDP for Inclusion Areas. This housing development would be near other existing faculty and staff homes and apartments at the base of the campus. The main building site for the Ranch View Terrace project occupies approximately acres within the northern half of Inclusion Area D, on the southern edge of the Santa Cruz campus, immediately west of the main campus entrance at Coolidge Drive and High Street. The project site extends beyond the main building site to encompass two proposed access road alignments (1.56 acres), one to the east and one to the north. The project site also includes two proposed utility alignment sites (0.50 acre), one to the south along the eastern edge of Inclusion Area D and one to the southwest through the Arboretum eucalyptus grove. The project also will realign an existing bicycle path that runs to the east of the main building site (0.18 acre). The total area of these components of the project is 15.2 acres. Two additional sites for the relocation of existing UCSC Farm plots previously cultivated on the Inclusion Area D site under an interim agreement with the campus (which is a project related to the proposed housing project) are located to the east and northeast of the main building site. These Sites occupy 2.53 acres and 2.85 acres, respectively. (See Location Plan) The main building site is set on sloping grasslands bordered by the Arboretum to the south and west of the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (the Farm) to the north. An open space to the northeast is designated Protected Landscape in the LRDP. Campus and Community support facilities and an overlay district identified in the LRDP as a "historic area" are located to the east of the site. The project is set back from the historic area to the east and buffered by low level vegetation. Taller homes are also set back from the southern and eastern edges of the development to lessen the project profile. The southern portion of Inclusion Area D is proposed in the HCP as a reserve. The project includes measures to protect and maintain the two seasonal seeps located in the central and lower portions of Inclusion Area D. Project Design The Ranch View Terrace Faculty and Staff Housing project is designed to construct 80 two and three story, below-market value single-family dwelling units for sale to faculty and staff. The proposed unit mix includes 42 three-bedroom and 38 four-bedroom homes ranging in size from 1,760 to 2,050 square feet. Each home would have a two-vehicle carport (detached at some units) and a fenced private yard. The residential units and carports would be organized into 12 clusters of 5-8 residences, each located along a paved loop access road. Each housing cluster would surround a parking court, which would provide access to carports, short-term service parking, and access to private entrances and utility areas. Visitor parking would primarily be

3 COMMITTEE ON along the loop access road, and visitor access to homes would be provided through landscaped pedestrian corridors between residential clusters. The project would also include a 1,500 square foot community center for the use of the residents with four attached 575 square foot one-bedroom apartments for lease and other site amenities. The community center would include a social/meeting room, kitchen, restrooms, storage, and a terrace. A tot lot and outdoor play area would be developed adjacent to the community center and would serve as an exterior extension of the center for social activities. An informal grassland is planned to run through the center of the main building site providing additional play and passive recreation areas. A portion of the building site adjacent to the Farm would be developed into a community garden, outdoor meeting space, and play area. A paved access road would connect the housing development to Coolidge Drive near the main campus entrance. The intersection of new access road with the main bicycle path just east of Coolidge Drive would include a three-way stop, relocated bicycle path extension to Coolidge Drive, and other measures to increase safety and lessen conflicts among bicyclists, pedestrians, and motorists. The access road and sidewalk up to the site would be as narrow as practical and without night lighting to lessen visual impact on the historic district. Bike paths, pedestrian ways, and proximity to campus/municipal bus stops provide convenient access to the central campus core and adjoining neighborhoods. The existing dirt road from the northeast corner of the site to Hagar Drive would be improved with a gravel surface to provide a reliable means of access for emergency and service vehicles. Construction is proposed to be "Type V" and Type V -1 Hour" wood construction. Massing, style, roof forms, fenestration patterns, and siding materials are designed to achieve a rural vernacular architectural style that would complement buildings in the adjacent historic area. Exterior siding and trim would be painted cement board and roofing would be composition shingles. The material palette includes colors intended to mimic elements of the natural surroundings, such as eucalyptus and cypress trees, coastal grass, sage, oak, and rock influences. Exposed foundation walls would be textured concrete, patio retaining walls would be split faced masonry units, and low site retaining walls would be either stacked local rock or split faced masonry units. The community building is designed to complement the residential unit architectural character. Sustainability and energy efficiency are inherent in the home designs: increased thermal insulation, higher quality windows and glazing, higher efficiency furnaces, water heaters and appliances, natural ventilation, and efficient lighting have been incorporated to achieve long-term energy efficiencies. In addition, the developer is evaluating other options that may be offered to potential homebuyers for further energy conservation and savings. The campus Design Advisory Board, in accordance with University policy, has reviewed the design of the Ranch View Terrace project. Informal value engineering has been an on-going process during project design, and an independent seismic review will be conducted during the plan check phase. The project will conform to all applicable building codes. Off-site improvements will require the Third-Party Developer to obtain permits from the City and County of Santa Cruz Public Works Departments. Fire safety compliance falls under the jurisdiction of the campus-designated State Fire Marshal and campus Fire Department.

4 COMMITTEE ON The Third-Party Developer would manage the project through construction, marketing, and completion of sales. The campus would have a University representative hired through Physical Planning and Construction with oversight by Colleges and University Housing Services to assure construction is completed in accordance with the approved plans. An outside plan checking and inspection consultant would review all work associated with the above ground development. Campus staff would review all common area construction documents and campus inspectors would review all below grade construction. Environmental Impact Summary Pursuant to state law and University procedures for the implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act, an Environmental Impact Report (SCH# ) was prepared for the proposed Ranch View Terrace Faculty and Staff Housing project. A copy of the public comments received is included in the EIR. A Notice of Preparation was filed on April 17, 2003, and a scoping meeting was held on May 14, A Draft Environmental Impact Report was prepared, dated January 21, 2004, and the document was circulated to responsible agencies and to the State Clearinghouse for a 45-day review period (January 26, 2004 to March 10, 2004). At the public hearing that was held on February 26, 2004, 19 individuals testified. Five letters were received from public agencies and 21 letters were received from individuals during the comment period. The issues and concerns raised most frequently in the comments and testimony received by the campus included comments on the analysis of or mitigation for cumulative traffic impacts; visual impacts of the proposed project on the Arboretum; land use conflicts with the Arboretum and the UCSC Farm; impacts on agricultural resources associated with relocation of the farm plots; impacts on wildlife habitat; and increased stormwater runoff that would result from the project. A Final EIR dated June 18, 2004, has been prepared for Regental consideration and includes a copy of all comments received on the Draft EIR, responses to all comments, and a mitigation monitoring program. The project EIR is tiered to the LRDP EIR; impact topics that were adequately addressed in that report are not analyzed again in this EIR. The project EIR provided additional analyses in all impact categories and determined impacts to be less than significant in the following categories: Aesthetics, Agricultural Resources, Air Quality, Geology and Soils, Hazards and Hazardous Materials, Land Use and Planning, Mineral Resources, Noise, Population and Housing, Public Services, Recreation, and Utilities, Service Systems, and Energy. The EIR identified potentially significant project impacts that could be reduced to less-than-significant levels through the implementation of mitigation measures in the following categories: Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, and Hydrology and Water Quality. The EIR does not identify any significant unavoidable project-level impacts associated with the development of the Ranch View Terrace project. The project would contribute to but not exceed significant unavoidable cumulative visual, water supply, traffic, and energy impacts previously identified in the LRDP EIR, as updated by subsequent EIRs, but the contribution would not be considered substantial. Four alternatives to the project were analyzed in this EIR. These are a no project, a reduced project, and two site alternative locations (on Inclusion Area C and on the Swenson Site ). The

5 COMMITTEE ON Final EIR is accompanied by the Mitigation Monitoring Program to ensure that all mitigation measures are implemented in accordance with CEQA. Findings The attached Findings discuss the project s impacts, mitigation measures, and conclusions regarding certification of the EIR for this project in conformance with CEQA. The draft Habitat Conservation Plan and the Ranch View Terrance Faculty and Staff Housing Project EIR are on the attached CD. Habitat Conservation Plan Summary As discussed with the Committee on Grounds and Buildings at the June 2003 meeting, the Ranch View Terrace Habitat Conservation Plan is proposing to set aside 25.5 acres of campus land to compensate for the potential effects on two federally listed species and associated habitat at and around the proposed project site. The HCP describes monitoring and reporting requirements associated with the implementation of the program. Due to the time of this effort, it is proposed to authorize the President to approve the HCP and related LRDP amendments consistent with following terms and process. Listed Species and Project Site: Since the UCSC LRDP was approved by The Regents in 1989, two species found on the Santa Cruz campus have been listed in the Federal Register of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants by the USFWS. The California red-legged frog (Rana aurora draytonii) was listed as threatened in 1996 and the Ohlone tiger beetle (Cicindela ohlone) was listed as endangered in Under the provisions of the Federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA), the University as landowner and developer is required to protect the listed species and their habitats when an incidental take is likely to occur. 1 Both of these species occur near the proposed Ranch View Terrace Housing project. Studies have indicated that there is limited but sufficient probability of an incidental take such that preparation of a Habitat Conservation Plan and Implementing Agreement (IA) and the issuance of an Incidental Take Permit would likely be required. The project has a low potential to result in direct take of the California red-legged frog. The site is, however, located within 1,500 feet of a pond at the UCSC Arboretum where the California 1 The Endangered Species Act: The federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) prohibits the take of any fish or wildlife species listed under the ESA as endangered or threatened. Take as defined by the ESA means to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct. In addition, modification of species habitat can be included as take in the federal listing of a species, which is the case with the California red-legged frog. Incidental take is defined by the ESA as take that is incidental to, and not the purpose of, the carrying out of an otherwise lawful activity. The ESA also provides a clear regulatory mechanism to permit the incidental take of federally listed fish and wildlife species when the species is present or may be present in or near an area proposed for development. This provision requires an applicant for an incidental take permit to submit a conservation plan, commonly referred to as a Habitat Conservation Plan, that specifies, among other things, the impacts that are likely to result from the taking of the species and the measures the applicant will undertake to minimize and mitigate such impacts. The ESA also provides statutory criteria that must be satisfied before an Incidental Take Permit can be issued.

6 COMMITTEE ON red-legged frog has breeding habitat. By virtue of its location and character, the site contains upland habitat that could be utilized by the frog, and thereby the project could result in incidental take. Although the Ohlone tiger beetle has not been observed on the project site, it has been found in nearby campus grasslands. Because the proposed project site has soil and other characteristics that provide potential habitat for the Ohlone tiger beetle, it is also included in the HCP. Status of HCP Process: Campus staff and USFWS field staff have reviewed biological studies and discussed approaches to the HCP and IA as the basis for issuing an Incidental Take Permit. The campus has submitted drafts of the HCP and IA (on attached CD with EIR) and proposed the terms of the permit to the USFWS; they are now being reviewed internally by the USFWS. If the terms are agreeable to both parties, the HCP will be subject to public review during the summer of The final HCP will be presented to the President for approval in summer/fall of The Incidental Take Permit application also includes a draft National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance document and an Implementing Agreement between the property owner and the USFWS. This process ensures that the effects of the authorized incidental take will be adequately minimized and mitigated to the maximum extent practicable. PROPOSED TERMS OF THE IMPLEMENTING AGREEMENT Summary: The HCP and the accompanying Implementing Agreement between The Regents and the USFWS outline the conservation measures intended to mitigate impacts from the proposed projects on the California red-legged frog and Ohlone tiger beetle. The Implementing Agreement would serve as a contract between The Regents and the USFWS, specifying the rights and obligations of each party. Land Dedication: Typically, HCPs involve the protection of comparable habitat where there is the potential for loss of habitat through development. In this case, the primary conservation measure intended to mitigate project impacts on California red-legged frog will be the permanent preservation of 13.0 acres of grassland and forest habitat within the 47-acre Inclusion Area A and the 78-acre Campus Resource Land areas at the southwest corner of the Santa Cruz campus ( Inclusion Area A Campus Habitat Reserve ). Also, an undeveloped 12.5-acre portion of Inclusion Area D will be set aside as the Inclusion Area D - Campus Habitat Reserve as mitigation to benefit the Ohlone tiger beetle. In total, 25.5 acres of campus land would be preserved under the HCP. Inclusion Area A - Campus Habitat Reserve and LRDP Amendment: The Inclusion Area A Reserve was chosen because of its high value for both species and the presence of the largest population of Ohlone tiger beetle known in southern part of the campus. The 13 acres proposed as the Inclusion Area A Reserve would include approximately 11 acres that are designated by the LRDP as an Inclusion Area and approximately 2 acres that are designated as Campus Resource Land. A proposed LRDP amendment that changes the designation of 13 acres of Inclusion Area A and Campus Resource Land to Campus Habitat Reserve would ensure the permanent protection of the high quality grassland and forest habitats that occurs there. Inclusion Area D Campus Habitat Reserve and LRDP Amendment: Within the undeveloped

7 COMMITTEE ON acre portion of Inclusion Area D that would not be developed as Ranch View Terrace, UCSC would manage 5.7 acres of upland grassland habitat as an Ohlone tiger beetle (OTB) Management Area. The Inclusion Area D Reserve is now the only remaining undeveloped area of Watsonville loam soil (a soil type associated with OTB) between Inclusion Area A populations of the beetle and populations of OTB in the Pogonip area immediately to the east of the campus; the reserve is approximately equidistant between the two. Enhancement of the area may provide habitat and allow for natural colonization by the beetle. Because movement patterns and the dispersal distances of the species are not yet known, this concept remains theoretical, but preservation of this site would maintain the potential for OTB use in case this theory proves to be valid. Monitoring the success of this effort will also be part of the HCP and will assist in determining the permanency of the reserve. A proposed LRDP amendment that changes the designation of 12.5 acres of Inclusion Area D to Campus Habitat Reserve for the time period of the permit will also be included with the project. Permit Period: The Incidental Take permit for the project is requested to be for a period of 60 years, from permit issuance in summer/fall 2004 through spring/summer The permit term will cover the construction period and approximately 59 years of occupancy; the likelihood of take of either species during this period is expected to be extremely low. Construction of the proposed Ranch View Terrace Housing project is expected to begin in fall 2004 and last for 16 months. The permit would also cover construction of farm research plots that must be relocated to make room for the housing, but it would not cover operation (i.e., farming) of this site because no take of either species is expected from farming operations. Project Statistics The project statistics normally attached to UC project design items are omitted due to the thirdparty development agreement upon which this project is based.