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Conduct a noticed public hearing to consider adopting a resolution approving General Plan Amendment No. G-23-04 to update land use and development policies in the General Plan for habitat restoration or enhancement projects near Travis Air Force Base and other airports within Solano County to address bird flight hazards; the proposed amendments are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to Section 15061 (b)(3) and Section 15308 of the CEQA Guidelines
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Published Notice Required? Yes _X__ No _ _
Public Hearing Required? Yes _X__ No _ _
DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION:
The Department of Resource Management recommends that the Board of Supervisors:
1. Conduct a noticed public hearing; and
2. Adopt a resolution (Attachment A) approving General Plan Amendment No. G-23-04 to update land use and development policies in the General Plan for habitat restoration or enhancement projects near Travis Air Force Base and other airports within Solano County to address bird flight hazards.
SUMMARY:
The General Plan includes various diagrams, policies, and implementation programs to maintain, protect, and preserve Solano County’s diverse biological and natural resources and to also protect the viability of its airports, including Travis Air Force Base (Travis AFB). The protection of Travis AFB is also identified by the Board of Supervisors as an economic development priority item (Priority No. E5). Wildlife habitat conservation areas and mitigation banks constructed to support various projects or agency goals can present potential hazards to aviation if they encourage wildlife, specifically birds, to enter an airport’s approach or departure airspace or aircraft operations area. Recognizing this, the various adopted airport land use compatibility plans, the Travis AFB Sustainability Plan, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) advisory circular No. 150/5200-33C provide criteria or guidance for certain land uses that have the potential to create wildlife attractant hazards on or near airports. While the General Plan’s habitat restoration and enhancement policies are not inconsistent with the criteria contained in these other plans and FAA advisory, it does not explicitly call for the bird strike potential of new habitat development or other bird-attractant projects to be evaluated as part of the County’s discretionary land use permitting process for such projects, nor does it call for any wildlife hazard studies within certain distances to an airport.
Therefore, staff is recommending amendments to the General Plan be adopted to mitigate bird attractant hazards. If approved, these amendments, described in more detail below, would recognize that bird-attractant land uses can have adverse impacts on Travis AFB aircraft operations, would protect the airbase by restricting new avian habitats from being developed within the Travis Reserve Area (TRA) of the General Plan, and require that the mission and operations of Travis AFB be considered during the discretionary review process for habitat projects. Further, consistent with FAA guidance and airport land use compatibility plans, the amendment would require bird-strike hazard analysis be conducted for wildlife habitat projects within five miles of Travis AFB or the Rio Vista Airport to mitigate bird hazards. On October 19, 2023, the Planning Commission recommended by a 3-0 majority vote of the entire commission that the Board of Supervisors approve the proposed General Plan amendment.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The costs associated with preparing the amendments and agenda item are nominal and included in the Department’s FY2023/24 Working Budget.
DISCUSSION:
On August 8, 2007, the FAA adopted Advisory Circular No. 150/52000-33B, which was subsequently superseded by AC No: 150/5200-33C on February 21, 2020. The advisory provides guidance regarding wetland mitigation/conservation easements, especially those located within five miles of an airport’s operational area. This includes the recommendation that a Qualified Airport Wildlife Biologist, in coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the respective state wildlife management agency evaluate the wildlife hazards and prepare a wildlife management plan to minimize any wildlife attractant hazards.
In 2015, the Airport Land Use Commission (ALUC) adopted an updated Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan for Travis Air Force Base (2015 Travis Plan). The 2015 Travis Plan notes that certain types of land uses tend to attract birds that can be a hazard to aircraft operations, including public parks, golf courses, water treatment plants, landfills, agriculture, rivers and creeks, estuarine/wildlife habitats, and open space. To be consistent with the Travis Plan, discretionary projects located within five miles of Travis AFB must consider the potential to attract birds to the area and the increased potential for aircraft bird strikes as part of the environmental review process.
More recently, Travis AFB, Solano County, and the cities of Fairfield, Suisun City, Vacaville, and Vallejo engaged in a collaborative planning effort to reduce or prevent encroachment issues associated with current and future missions at Travis AFB as well as growth in the local communities. The product of this collaborative planning effort was the Travis AFB Sustainability Study, released in 2018. Like the ALUC’s 2015 Plan, the 2018 Sustainability Study notes that the location of Travis AFB adjacent to marshes, parks, golf courses, landfills, and agricultural operations creates potential bird-strike hazards. The 2018 Sustainability Study notes that the primary area of concern for bird-strike incidents to occur is within a five-mile radius around Travis AFB and recommends that local agencies, including the County, amend their general plans to encourage that land uses in the Travis flight operations area be designed to not attract birds. A substantial portion of the area within a five-mile radius of Travis AFB is also within the Suisun Marsh.
Currently, the General Plan includes policies calling for habitat areas within the Suisun Marsh to be preserved and enhanced wherever possible, and for habitat areas that have become degraded to be restored or enhanced where feasible. These policies are also included in the County’s Local Protection Program, which has been certified by the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission. The General Plan also contains other policies for enhancement of habitat for wildlife. The goal of the proposed amendments is to retain provisions regarding habitat development, restoration, and enhancement while ensuring that such habitat does not impact the feasibility or operation of airports within the County.
To accomplish this, staff recommends that the Board of Supervisors update and amend the General Plan to:
• Allow only new non-avian habitat uses in the TRA of the General Plan. The TRA overlays property immediately adjacent to Travis AFB and its runways.
• Explicitly require any new proposals for habitat restoration or enhancement, or other discretionary bird-attractant land uses within a five-mile radius of an airport provide an analysis of potential bird-strike hazard as part of either the permit application or the environmental review, and implement feasible mitigation measures to minimize any aviation hazards created.
• Explicitly recognize that projects and other bird-attractant land uses can have adverse impacts on the Travis AFB aircraft operations.
• Retain existing General Plan policies that generally encourage habitat restoration and enhancement projects, both within the Suisun Marsh and elsewhere, as well as other land use projects and practices that may attract birds, but explicitly state as a County land use development policy that the protection of the operations and mission of Travis AFB is of equal importance and must be considered during the discretionary review process for such projects.
The specific recommended text amendments are attached as an exhibit to the draft resolution (Attachment A).
The Solano County Airport Land Use Commission adopted Resolution No. 23-16 on October 12, 2023 that found the proposed amendments to be consistent with the 2015 Travis Plan. At the October 19, 2023 Planning Commission public hearing for this item, one public comment was received supporting the protection of Travis AFB, but requesting the removal of the proposed added wording for “non-avian” habitat uses so as not to exclude all birds from habitats within the TRA. Staff clarified that the intent is to mitigate bird attractants as much as possible and to not establish new avian habitats within the TRA. The Planning Commission considered all comments and staff presentations and voted 3-0 to approve Resolution No. 4727 to recommend approval of proposed General Plan amendments to the Board of Supervisors (Attachment B).
General Plan Consistency
The proposed General Plan amendment application is consistent with the Solano County General Plan in that the various land uses authorized by the amendments are compatible with the objectives, policies, general land uses, and programs specified in the plan.
Environmental Analysis
The project qualifies for a Categorical Exemption pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3), common sense exemption and Section 15308 Class 8, Actions by Regulatory Agencies for the Protection of the Environment, of the California Environmental Quality Act.
The proposed General Plan update consists of adoption of policy recommendations made in the 2015 Travis Airport Land Use Plan and the conclusions expressed in the 2018 Travis Sustainability Study to mitigate bird flight hazards to Travis AFB and other county airports. Travis AFB is part of the existing environment, and this proposed amendment is intended to protect the base. Further, the amendments do not preclude conservation areas, just that they be constructed in a manner protective of the base, consistent with other existing plans and federal advisories for the safety of aircraft operations, therefore this exemption is appropriate.
Public Notice
Consistent with §28.112 and §28.04 of the Solano County Code, a public hearing notice was published in the Daily Republic at least 15 days prior to the public hearing (Attachment C).
ALTERNATIVES:
The Board of Supervisors may choose not to approve the proposed amendments to the General Plan. This is not recommended since TAFB is an important component of both national defense and the local economy, and protection of its mission is a priority for Solano County.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
As a General Plan amendment, the proposed revisions were provided to the Yoche Dehe Wintun Tribe for tribal consultation as required by SB 18. County staff consulted with tribal staff, and it was determined that the proposed amendments would not impact tribal resources since there is no construction anticipated related to the amendments.
County Counsel has reviewed this item and concurs with the recommendations.
CAO RECOMMENDATION:
APPROVE DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION