From Permitting to Post-Construction - Consistent Biological Assistance Helps a Project Run Smoothly

Rancho Laguna Project

Zentner Planning and Ecology was hired to complete the permitting and the Habitat Mitigation and Monitoring Plans for the Rancho Laguna project, a 27-unit single-family residential subdivision, located on approximately 179 acres in Moraga, California. The residential subdivision is clustered on 27 acres, leaving the majority of the site, approximately 152 acres, as open space. The Zentner Team was initially brought on to assist with the project’s permitting and to develop the necessary mitigation and monitoring plans. We remained with the project through the complex permitting, several seasons of construction, and are now assisting with post-construction monitoring and maintenance.

Permitting

Permitting for the project was relatively complex with a Section 7 consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for Alameda whipsnake (Masticophis lateralis) and California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii), and permits required by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) and California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). The project included impacts to both seasonal wetlands and Rheem Creek.

Mitigation Planning

The mitigation plan Zentner Planning and Ecology created rerouted Rheem Creek with wetland planting in the creek and floodplain, and relatively dense riparian vegetation along the banks. The Town of Moraga also requested a specific plan along a section of the creek to combat potential erosion and scarification, which we also developed.

Preconstruction Surveys

The project’s permits from the USACE, the USFWS, and the CDFW required a range of surveys for special status species including Alameda whipsnake, California red-legged frog, burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia), bat species, nesting birds and raptors, San Francisco dusky-footed woodrat (Neotoma fuscipes annectens), and special status plants. Prior to construction each season, Zentner staff completed preconstruction surveys for the project. 

Once project construction began the Zentner staff completed daily clearance surveys prior to the start of construction. These surveys were completed to ensure no wildlife was within the work perimeter, to examine the perimeter exclusion fence, to inspect any excavated ditches or pits where species could become trapped, and to check any pipes or other stored materials on the project site. Our staff was also on hand to complete vegetation clearance surveys prior to vegetation stripping. We were also on site to ensure the proper placement and installation of exclusion fencing around the site and around sensitive habitats. In addition, we made sure that trees, creeks, wetlands, and other habitat features were properly excluded from the project area via orange construction fencing. If work was permitted in these or other sensitive features, Zentner Planning Ecology staff was on hand to ensure that the proper procedures are followed before, during, and after the work.

Worker Awareness Training

Zentner Planning and Ecology also created worker awareness training documents for the project. These documents included important information about special status species that may occur on the project site including photos for identification.  All work personnel were trained prior to work began each year, even if they previously had the worker training in previous years. We worked with the project foreman and the various subcontractors to ensure that worker training was completed as new workers come onto the site. A log of all personnel that had completed the training was kept with the training documents in the construction trailer.

Mitigation Monitoring and project management

Zentner Planning and Ecology ensured that the project permits were kept in an accessible location on the project site.  We also ensured that personnel knew where the permits were keep and provided everyone with copies of the worker training information to keep with their equipment. We recognize how vital it is to have a positive line of communication with the project foreman and other staff so that we can be alerted of potential concerns as they arise and before they become problematic.

For this project, our staff completed daily monitoring logs and submitted weekly logs summarizing the work activities to the project team.