Ascent led the preparation of the City's sixth cycle Housing Element. El Cerrito is located in Contra Costa County, south of the city of Richmond and north of Albany and Berkeley. Similar to other East Bay cities, the flatlands along the Bay contain much of the commercial and higher-density housing, while the neighborhoods in the hills comprise mostly single-family homes on steep lots on narrow winding roads.
The Plumas Community Protection Project is proposed to provide long-term protection from wildfire to communities in unburned or partially burned areas. The project is in the Plumas National Forest (PNF) and encompasses approximately 168,000 acres of National Forest System lands. The planning area overlaps with unburned forested areas near communities within the Plumas National Forest administrative boundary.
Regional San is rehabilitating the Arden Pump Station Wet Well. The project includes replacement of equipment associated with the existing flushing station on Chicken Ranch Slough, construction of a temporary concrete pad to support a temporary bypass pump for wastewater, and other temporary impacts in an adjacent stormwater basin. The slough and the stormwater basin have a direct hydrologic connection with the Lower American River. Ascent conducted an aquatic resources delineation and prepared the delineation report for submittal to USACE.
It was anticipated that the 2018 UC Davis Long Range Development Plan could result in potential impacts to special-status wildlife, including nesting birds and roosting bats. The LRDP included two mitigation measures (3.5-4a and 3.5-6) applying to birds that may nest in trees or on buildings and one mitigation measure (3.5-8b) applying to roosting bats. Swainson’s hawk and tricolored blackbird are species of special concern that are discussed in the mitigation measures. Ascent biologists prepared the Nesting Bird and Roosting Bat Guidance Document to outline procedures for dealing with nesting birds and bat roosts prior to and during building demolition activities under the LRDP.
NV Energy’s electrical service area includes the community of Mt. Charleston in Kyle Canyon, approximately 35 miles west-northwest of Las Vegas on National Forest System land managed by the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, Spring Mountains National Recreation Area. Some special use permits on lands managed by the US Forest Service had expired and needed to be renewed as part of the consolidated master special use permit. Ascent’s biological resources team conducted field surveys for golden eagle, northern goshawk, flammulated owl, and other raptors; bat roosting habitat and acoustical surveys; sensitive butterfly larval host and nectar plant surveys and mapping; snag mapping; TES plant surveys; and invasive and nonnative plant species surveys.
Trails are fundamental to fulfilling the California Department of Parks and Recreation’s mission to create opportunities for high-quality outdoor recreation. The Road and Trail Management Plan (RTMP) for the Prairie City State Vehicular Recreation Area provides specific and detailed management direction for the road and trail systems in these park units, guiding their future operation, maintenance, and development.
Tuolumne County is conducting landscape restoration activities through Supplemental Project Agreements developed under a Master Stewardship Agreement with the Stanislaus National Forest. Ascent conducted botanical surveys in advance of forest restoration and fuel reduction activities to be implemented for the Social and Ecological Resilience Across the Landscape (SERAL) and Cedar Ridge Fuels projects.
In response to the region’s housing crisis, SCAG developed a comprehensive package of guidance materials to help local governments accelerate the CEQA and administrative processes to expedite needed additional residential supply. The materials include user-friendly resources and toolkits to help local planning agency staff with day-to-day housing application processing and simplifying internal entitlement processes, such as expanding the use of ministerial approvals, to avoid delays and added expenses that can exacerbate the housing crisis.
Ascent prepared an EIR for the Floating Dry Dock Replacement and Waterfront Improvement Project, an expansive port facility adjacent to San Diego Bay. The project is designed to address existing deficiencies related to the age and condition of structures, shoreline sloughing, and outdated operational conditions at the existing dry dock at the Port of San Diego.
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo required a programmatic EIR for its 2035 Master Plan. Cal Poly retained Ascent’s assistance in 2022 following issuance of a Draft EIR for the Master Plan in 2017. Because of concerns raised by the City of San Luis Obispo about utility capacity and revisions to the Master Plan, Cal Poly sought to revise and reissue the Draft EIR. The Master Plan EIR was completed within 8 months and included extensive coordination with City staff.
Planning and environmental review were coordinated for the stream restoration and public recreation project at Meeks Bay on the west shore of Lake Tahoe. Restoration of Meeks Creek will provide substantial water quality and habitat benefits. However, it will require the removal of the Meeks Marina and result in boating access loss. Alternative features include marina removal and Meeks Creek restoration, SR 89 bridge replacement, bicycle and pedestrian paths, improved vehicle circulation, parking, boat ramp, small marina and pier, and reconfigured campgrounds.
In response to the growing wildfire crisis, the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection initiated the new statewide California Vegetation Treatment Program (CalVTP) to achieve fire fuel treatment of 250,000 acres per year in the State Responsibility Area. An innovative Program EIR and project streamlining strategy were prepared to substantially streamline implementation of later activities consistent with CalVTP strategies for fire fuel reduction, fuel break development, and ecological restoration.
