Agoura Hills City Council
May 27, 2026

Environmental Impact Analysis
Biological Resources

Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.3-5
California (CNPS 2025)2; and species designated as locally important or otherwise protected through ordinance, local policy, or plans.

Queries of the USFWS Information for Planning and Consultation (USFWS 2025a), the CDFW CNDDB (CDFW 2025a), and CNPS Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants of California (CNPS 2025) were conducted to obtain comprehensive information regarding special-status species considered to have potential to occur within Project area. The evaluation for the potential occurrence of special-status species is based upon known ranges, distribution, habitat preferences for the species, species occurrence records from within the regional vicinity (within five miles) of the Project area, and previous reports for the Project area.

Special-Status Plants and Wildlife
The Project area and regional vicinity are home to several species protected by federal and state agencies, and important plant and animal species can be found in a variety of habitats. 19 specialstatus plant species and 36 wildlife species are known or have potential to occur within the Project area and its vicinity. The status and habitat requirements of those species are presented in Table 4.3-1 and Table 4.3-2, respectively.

Nesting Birds
Migratory birds protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) and the CFGC have potential to nest within and adjacent to a wide range of habitats adjacent to the Project area, including riparian habitat associated with creeks, ornamental vegetation, and adjacent structures (e.g., under bridges and on buildings). Riparian woodlands provide roosting and nesting sites for many birds, particularly raptors.

Table 4.3-1 Special-Status Plant Species Potentially Occurring in the Project Area Scientific Name Common Name Status Life Form, Habitat Requirements, Bloom Period Astragalus
brauntonii
Braunton's milkvetchFE/None
1B.1
G2/S2
Perennial herb. Chaparral, coastal scrub, valley and foothill grassland. Recent burns or disturbed areas; usually on sandstone with carbonate layers. Soil specialist; requires shallow soils to defeat pocket gophers and open areas, preferably on hilltops, saddles or bowls between hills. Elevations: 15-2,100 feet.

Blooms Jan-Aug.

Baccharis
malibuensis
Malibu baccharis None/None
1B.1
G1/S1
Perennial deciduous shrub. Chaparral, cismontane woodland, coastal scrub, riparian woodland. In Conejo volcanic substrates, often on exposed roadcuts. Sometimes occupies oak woodland habitat. Elevations: 490-1,000 feet. Blooms Aug.

Calochortus
clavatus var.
gracilis
slender
mariposa-lily
None/None
1B.2
G4T2T3/S2
S3
Perennial bulbiferous herb. Chaparral, coastal scrub, valley and foothill grassland. Shaded foothill canyons; often on grassy slopes within other habitat. Elevations: 1050-3,280 feet. Blooms Mar-Jun(Nov).

Calochortus
plummerae
Plummer's
mariposa-lily
None/None

4.2 G4/S4
Perennial bulbiferous herb. Chaparral, cismontane woodland, coastal scrub, lower montane coniferous forest, valley and foothill grassland. Granitic, rocky. Elevations: 330-5,580 feet.

Blooms May-Jul.
2 CRPR List 3 species are “review list,” and CRPR 4 species are considered “watch list” species. CRPR 3 and 4 species do not typically warrant analysis under CEQA except where they are part of a unique community, from the type locality, or designated as rare or significant by local governments, or where cumulative impacts could result in population–level effects.

City of Agoura Hills
Agoura Hills Bicycle Master Plan

4.3-6
Scientific Name Common Name Status Life Form, Habitat Requirements, Bloom Period Chorizanthe
parryi var.
fernandina
San Fernando
Valley
spineflower
None/SE
1B.1
G3T1/S1
Annual herb. Coastal scrub, valley and foothill grassland. Sandy soils. Elevations: 490-4,005 feet. Blooms Apr-Jul.

Deinandra
minthornii
Santa Susana
tarplant
None/SR
1B.2
G2/S2
Perennial deciduous shrub. Chaparral, coastal scrub. On sandstone outcrops and crevices, in shrubland. Elevations: 920- 2,495 feet. Blooms Jul-Nov.

Dudleya cymosa
ssp. agourensis
Agoura Hills
dudleya
FT/None
1B.2
G5T1/S1
Perennial herb. Chaparral, cismontane woodland. Rocky,
volcanic breccia. Elevations: 655-1,640 feet. Blooms May-Jun.

Dudleya cymosa
ssp. marcescens
marcescent
dudleya
FT/SR
1B.2
G5T2/S2
Perennial herb. Chaparral. On sheer rock surfaces and rocky volcanic cliffs. Elevations: 490-1,705 feet. Blooms Apr-Jul.

Dudleya cymosa
ssp. ovatifolia
Santa Monica
dudleya
FT/None
1B.1
G5T1/S1
Perennial herb. Chaparral, coastal scrub. In canyons on volcanic or sedimentary substrates; primarily on north-facing slopes.

Elevations: 490-5,495 feet. Blooms Mar-Jun.

Dudleya
multicaulis
many-stemmed
dudleya
None/None
1B.2
G2/S2
Perennial herb. Chaparral, coastal scrub, valley and foothill grassland. In heavy, often clayey soils or grassy slopes. 49-2,592 feet. Blooms Apr-Jul.

Dudleya parva Conejo dudleya FT/None
1B.2
G1/S1
Perennial herb. Coastal scrub, valley and foothill grassland. In clay or volcanic soils on rocky slopes and grassy hillsides. 197- 1,476 feet. Blooms May-Jun.

Eriogonum
crocatum
Conejo
buckwheat
None/SR
1B.2
G1/S1
Perennial herb. Chaparral, coastal scrub, valley and foothill grassland. Conejo volcanic outcrops; rocky sites. Elevations: 165- 1,905 feet. Blooms Apr-Jul.

Horkelia
cuneata var.
puberula
mesa horkelia None/None
1B.1
G4T1/S1
Perennial herb. Chaparral, cismontane woodland, coastal scrub.

Sandy or gravelly sites. Elevations: 230-2,660 feet. Blooms FebJul(Sep).

Monardella
hypoleuca ssp.
hypoleuca
white-veined
monardella
None/None
1B.3
G4T3/S3
Perennial herb. Chaparral, cismontane woodland. Dry slopes.

Elevations: 165-5,005 feet. Blooms (Apr)May-Aug(Sep-Dec).

Navarretia
ojaiensis
Ojai navarretia None/None
1B.1
G2/S2
Annual herb. Chaparral, coastal scrub, valley and foothill grassland. Openings in shrublands or grasslands. Elevations: 900- 2,035 feet. Blooms May-Jul.

Nolina
cismontana
chaparral nolina None/None
1B.2
G3/S3
Perennial evergreen shrub. Chaparral, coastal scrub. Primarily on sandstone and shale substrates; also known from gabbro.

Elevations: 460-4,185 feet. Blooms (Mar)May-Jul.

Orcuttia
californica
California Orcutt
grass
FE/SE
1B.1
G1/S1
Annual herb. Vernal pools. Elevations: 50-2,165 feet. Blooms Apr-Aug.

Pentachaeta
lyonii
Lyon's
pentachaeta
FE/SE
1B.1
G1/S1
Annual herb. Chaparral, coastal scrub, valley and foothill grassland. Edges of clearings in chaparral, usually at the ecotone between grassland and chaparral or edges of firebreaks.

Elevations: 100-2,265 feet. Blooms (Feb)Mar-Aug.

Environmental Impact Analysis
Biological Resources

Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.3-7
Scientific Name Common Name Status Life Form, Habitat Requirements, Bloom Period Thysanocarpus
conchuliferus
Santa Cruz Island
fringepod
FE/None
1B.2
G2?/S2
Annual herb. Chaparral, cismontane woodland. Stony ridges and mossy pockets on the sides of rocks. Elevations: 150-2,150 feet.

Blooms Mar-Apr(May).

Status (Federal/State)
FE = Federal Endangered
FT = Federal Threatened
SE = State Endangered
SR = State Rare
Other Statuses
G1 or S1 Critically Imperiled Globally or Subnationally (state) G2 or S2 Imperiled Globally or Subnationally (state)
G3 or S3 Vulnerable to extirpation or extinction Globally or Subnationally (state) G4/5 or S4/5 Apparently secure, common and abundant
T1, T2, or T3 Critically Imperiled, Imperiled, or vulnerable subspecies Range e.g., S2S3 indicates the rank is somewhere between S2 and S3 ? to rank e.g., S2?; this represents more certainty than S2S3, but less certainty than S2 CRPR (CNPS California Rare Plant Rank)
1B = Rare, Threatened, or Endangered in California and elsewhere 4 = Plants of Limited Distribution (a Watch List)
CRPR Threat Code Extension
.1 = Seriously endangered in California (>80% of occurrences threatened/high degree and immediacy of threat) .2 = Moderately threatened in California (20-80% of occurrences threatened/moderate degree and immediacy of threat) .3 = Not very endangered in California (<20% of occurrences threatened) Sources: CNDDB (CDFW 2025a); USFWS IPaC (2025a); CDFW Special Vascular Plants, Bryophytes, and Lichens List (CDFW 2025b); and CNPS Rare Plant Inventory (2025)
Table 4.3-2 Special-Status Wildlife Species Potentially Occurring in the Project Area Scientific Name Common Name Status Habitat Requirements Invertebrates
Bombus crotchii Crotch's bumble
bee
None/SCE
G2/S2
Coastal California east to the Sierra-Cascade crest and south into Mexico. Habitats include open grassland, shrublands, chaparral, desert margins, including Joshua tree and creosote scrub, and semi-urban settings. Food plant genera include Antirrhinum, Amsinckia, Phacelia, Clarkia, Carduus,
Dendromecon, Eschscholzia, Eriogonum, and Vicia.

Bombus
pensylvanicus
American
bumble bee
None/None
G3G4/S2
Long-tongued; forages on a wide variety of flowers including vetches (Vicia), clovers (Trifolium), thistles (Cirsium), sunflowers (Helianthus), etc. Nests above ground under long grass or underground. Queens overwinter in rotten wood or underground.

Branchinecta
lynchi
vernal pool fairy
shrimp
FT/None
G3/S3
Endemic to the grasslands of the Central Valley, Central Coast mountains, and South Coast mountains, in astatic rain-filled pools. Inhabit small, clear-water sandstone-depression pools and grassed swale, earth slump, or basalt-flow depression pools.

Danaus
plexippus
monarch
butterfly
FPT/None
G4T1T2Q/S2
Winter roost sites extend along the coast from northern Mendocino to Baja California, Mexico. Roosts located in windprotected tree groves (eucalyptus, Monterey pine, cypress), with nectar and water sources nearby. Migrating and
breeding adults can occur in a wide range of natural and urban habitats if suitable nectar plants are available for feeding. Requires milkweed for breeding.

City of Agoura Hills
Agoura Hills Bicycle Master Plan

4.3-8
Scientific Name Common Name Status Habitat Requirements Euphydryas
editha quino
quino
checkerspot
butterfly
FE/None
G4G5T1T2/S1S2
Sunny openings within chaparral and coastal sage shrublands in parts of Riverside and San Diego counties. Hills and mesas near the coast. Need high densities of food plants Plantago erecta, P. insularis, and Orthocarpus purpurescens.

Socalchemmis
gertschi
Gertsch's
socalchemmis
spider
None/None
G1/S1
Closed canopy riparian woodland and coastal sage scrub. May occur within urban settings. Known from only two localities in Los Angeles County: Brentwood (type locality) and Topanga Canyon.

Streptocephalus
woottoni
Riverside fairy
shrimp
FE/None
G1G2/S2
Endemic to Western Riverside, Orange, and San Diego
counties in areas of tectonic swales/earth slump basins in grassland and coastal sage scrub. Inhabit seasonally astatic pools filled by winter/spring rains. Hatch in warm water later in the season.

Trimerotropis
occidentiloides
Santa Monica
grasshopper
None/None
G2/S2
Found on bare hillsides and along dirt trails in chaparral.

Known only from the Santa Monica Mountains.

Amphibians
Anaxyrus
californicus
arroyo toad FE/None
SSC
G2G3/S2
Semi-arid regions near washes or intermittent streams,
including valley-foothill and desert riparian, desert wash, etc.

Rivers with sandy banks, willows, cottonwoods, and
sycamores; loose, gravelly areas of streams in drier parts of range.

Rana draytonii California redlegged frogFT/None
SSC
G2G3/S2S3
Lowlands and foothills in or near permanent sources of deep water with dense, shrubby or emergent riparian vegetation.

Requires 11-20 weeks of permanent water for larval
development. Must have access to estivation habitat.

Spea hammondii western
spadefoot
FPT/None
SSC
G2G3/S3S4
Occurs primarily in grassland habitats but can be found in valley-foothill hardwood woodlands. Vernal pools are
essential for breeding and egg-laying.

Taricha torosa coast range
newt
None/None
SSC
G4/S4
Coastal drainages from Mendocino County to San Diego
County. Lives in terrestrial habitats and will migrate over 1 kilometers to breed in ponds, reservoirs and slow moving streams.

Reptiles
Actinemys
pallida
southwestern
pond turtle
FPT/None
SSC
G2G3/SNR
Permanent or nearly permanent fresh water habitats below 6,000 feet in elevation. Requires basking sites such as partially submerged logs, vegetation mats, or open mud
banks. In lower elevations and latitudes, this species may be active at aquatic sites year-round. Uses protected upland terrestrial sites near aquatic sites with appropriate slope aspect and soils for an oviposition site.

Anniella pulchra
pulchra
silvery legless
lizard
None/None
SSC
G3G4T3T4Q/S3
Wide variety of upland habitats characterized by sparse vegetation supported by moist, sandy, or loose loamy soils.

Soil moisture is essential.

Anniella
stebbinsi
Southern
California
legless lizard
None/None
SSC
G3/S3
Generally south of the Transverse Range, extending to
northwestern Baja California. Occurs in sandy or loose loamy soils under sparse vegetation. Disjunct populations in the Tehachapi and Piute Mountains in Kern County. Variety of habitats; generally in moist, loose soil. They prefer soils with a high moisture content.

Environmental Impact Analysis
Biological Resources

Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.3-9
Scientific Name Common Name Status Habitat Requirements Aspidoscelis
tigris stejnegeri
coastal whiptail None/None
SSC
G5T5/S3
Found in deserts and semi-arid areas with sparse vegetation and open areas. Also found in woodland and riparian areas.

Ground may be firm soil, sandy, or rocky.

Diadophis
punctatus
modestus
San Bernardino
ringneck snake
None/None
G5T2T3/S2?
Most common in open, relatively rocky areas. Often in
somewhat moist microhabitats near intermittent streams.

Avoids moving through open or barren areas by restricting movements to areas of surface litter or herbaceous veg.

Phrynosoma
blainvillii
coast horned
lizard
None/None
SSC
G4/S4
Frequents a wide variety of habitats, most common in
lowlands along sandy washes with scattered low bushes.

Open areas for sunning, bushes for cover, patches of loose soil for burial, and abundant supply of ants and other insects.

Thamnophis
hammondii
two-striped
gartersnake
None/None
SSC
G4/S3S4
Coastal California from vicinity of Salinas to northwest Baja California. From sea to about 7,000 feet elevation. Highly aquatic, found in or near permanent fresh water. Often along streams with rocky beds and riparian growth.

Thamnophis
sirtalis pop. 1
south coast
gartersnake
None/None
SSC
G5T1T2/S1S2
Southern California coastal plain from Ventura County to San Diego County, and from sea level to about 850 meters. Marsh and upland habitats near permanent water with good strips of riparian vegetation.

Birds
Agelaius tricolor tricolored
blackbird
None/ST
SSC
G1G2/S2
Highly colonial species, most numerous in Central Valley and vicinity. Largely endemic to California. Requires open water, protected nesting substrate, and foraging area with insect prey within a few kilometers of the colony.

Aquila
chrysaetos
golden eagle None/FP
G5/S3
Rolling foothills, mountain areas, sage-juniper flats, and desert. Cliff-walled canyons provide nesting habitat in most parts of range; also, large trees in open areas.

Athene
cunicularia
burrowing owl None/SCE
SSC
G4/S2
Open, dry annual or perennial grasslands, deserts, and
scrublands characterized by low-growing vegetation.

Subterranean nester, dependent upon burrowing mammals,
most notably, the California ground squirrel.

Elanus leucurus white-tailed kite None/FP
G5/S3S4
Rolling foothills and valley margins with scattered oaks and river bottomlands or marshes next to deciduous woodland.

Open grasslands, meadows, or marshes for foraging close to isolated, dense-topped trees for nesting and perching.

Falco peregrinus
anatum
American
peregrine falcon
FD/SD
G4T4/S3S4
Near wetlands, lakes, rivers, or other water; on cliffs, banks, dunes, mounds; also, human-made structures. Nest consists of a scrape or a depression or ledge in an open site.

Polioptila
californica
californica
coastal
California
gnatcatcher
FT/None
SSC
G4G5T3Q/S2
Obligate, permanent resident of coastal sage scrub below 2,500 feet in Southern California. Low, coastal sage scrub in arid washes, on mesas and slopes. Not all areas classified as coastal sage scrub are occupied.

Riparia riparia bank swallow None/ST
G5/S3
Colonial nester; nests primarily in riparian and other lowland habitats west of the desert. Requires vertical banks/cliffs with fine-textured/sandy soils near streams, rivers, lakes, ocean to dig nesting hole.

Vireo bellii
pusillus
least Bell’s vireo FE/SE
G5T2/S3
Summer resident of Southern California in low riparian in vicinity of water or in dry river bottoms; below 2000 feet.

Nests placed along margins of bushes or on twigs projecting into pathways, usually willow, Baccharis, mesquite.

City of Agoura Hills
Agoura Hills Bicycle Master Plan

4.3-10
Scientific Name Common Name Status Habitat Requirements Mammals
Antrozous
pallidus
pallid bat None/None
SSC
G4/S3
Deserts, grasslands, shrublands, woodlands and forests. Most common in open, dry habitats with rocky areas for roosting.

Roosts must protect bats from high temperatures. Very
sensitive to disturbance of roosting sites.

Euderma
maculatum
spotted bat None/None
SSC
G4/S3
Occupies a wide variety of habitats from arid deserts and grasslands through mixed conifer forests. Feeds over water and along washes. Feeds almost entirely on moths. Needs rock crevices in cliffs or caves for roosting.

Eumops perotis
californicus
western mastiff
bat
None/None
SSC
G4G5T4/S3S4
Many open, semi-arid to arid habitats, including conifer and deciduous woodlands, coastal scrub, grasslands, chaparral, etc. Roosts in crevices in cliff faces, high buildings, trees and tunnels.

Lasiurus
cinereus
hoary bat None/None
G3G4/S4
Prefers open habitats or habitat mosaics, with access to trees for cover and open areas or habitat edges for feeding. Roosts in dense foliage of medium to large trees. Feeds primarily on moths. Requires water.

Lasiurus frantzii western red bat None/None
SSC
G4/S3
Roosts primarily in trees, 2-40 feet above ground, from sea level up through mixed conifer forests. Prefers habitat edges and mosaics with trees that are protected from above and open below with open areas for foraging.

Macrotus
californicus
California leafnosed batNone/None
SSC
G3G4/S3
Desert riparian, desert wash, desert scrub, desert succulent scrub, alkali scrub and palm oasis habitats. Needs rocky, rugged terrain with mines or caves for roosting.

Myotis
ciliolabrum
western smallfooted myotisNone/None
G5/S3
Wide range of habitats mostly arid wooded and brushy
uplands near water. Seeks cover in caves, buildings, mines, and crevices. Prefers open stands in forests and woodlands.

Requires drinking water. Feeds on a wide variety of small flying insects.

Taxidea taxus American
badger
None/None
SSC
G5/S3
Most abundant in drier open stages of most shrub, forest, and herbaceous habitats, with friable soils. Needs sufficient food, friable soils and open, uncultivated ground. Preys on burrowing rodents. Digs burrows.

Status (Federal/State)
FE = Federal Endangered
FT = Federal Threatened
FPT = Federal Proposed Threatened
FD = Federal Delisted
SE = State Endangered
ST = State Threatened
SCE = State Candidate Endangered
FP = State Fully Protected
SD = State Delisted
SSC = CDFW Species of Special Concern
Other Statuses
G1 or S1 Critically Imperiled Globally or Subnationally (state) G2 or S2 Imperiled Globally or Subnationally (state)
G3 or S3 Vulnerable to extirpation or extinction Globally or Subnationally (state) G4/5 or S4/5 Apparently secure, common and abundant
T1, T2, or T3 Critically Imperiled, Imperiled, or vulnerable subspecies Q Questionable taxonomy
Range e.g., S2S3 indicates the rank is somewhere between S2 and S3 ? to rank e.g., S2?; this represents more certainty than S2S3, but less certainty than S2 Sources: CNDDB (CDFW 2025a); CDFW Special Animals List (CDFW 2025c); USFWS IPaC (2025a) Environmental Impact Analysis
Biological Resources
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.3-11
e. Sensitive Natural Communities
Sensitive natural communities are those listed by CDFW due to the rarity of the community in the state or throughout its entire range. Communities are considered sensitive if they have limited distributions, have high wildlife value, include sensitive species, or are particularly susceptible to disturbance. Sensitive plant communities in the CDFW List of Vegetation Alliances and Associations3 (Natural Communities List) are assigned a conservation status rank (also known as "Rare Rank") based on their sensitivity (CDFW 2025d). Plant communities state status ranks of S1 (critically imperiled), S2 (imperiled), and S3 (vulnerable) are considered sensitive by CDFW. Plant communities are classified based on plant species composition and abundance, as well as the underlying abiotic conditions of the stand, such as slope, aspect, or soil type. Five sensitive natural communities are recorded in the regional vicinity of the Project area (CNDDB 2025a): California Walnut Woodland, Southern Coast Live Oak Riparian Forest, Southern Sycamore Alder Riparian Woodland, Valley Needlegrass Grassland, and Valley Oak Woodland. Southern Coast Live Oak Riparian Forest and Valley Oak Woodland are recorded in Project area and are described below.

Southern Coast Live Oak Riparian Woodland
Southern coast live oak riparian woodland (Quercus agrifolia Woodland Alliance) is a riparian woodland dominated by coast live oak. Riparian woodland is used as a general term for woody plant communities found along streams and drainage channels. Physical characteristics of these riparian corridors include moist to saturated soils and water table levels near or at the surface during part of the year. Typical species include woody plants such as alder (Alnus sp.), willows (Salix sp.), cottonwoods (Populus sp.), and California sycamore. Herbaceous plants may include cattails (Typha sp.) and currants (Ribes sp.). Southern coast live oak riparian woodland occurs in the northeastern portion of the Project area along Palo Comado Creek.

Valley Oak Woodland
Valley oak is typically dominant in this community, or co-dominant in the tree canopy with boxelder maple (Acer negundo), white alder (Alnus rhombifolia), northern California black walnut (Juglans hindsii), California sycamore, Fremont’s cottonwood (Populus fremontii), coast live oak, Goodding’s black willow (Salix gooddingii), and arroyo willow (Salix lasiolepis). This community is typically found in valley bottoms, lower slopes, and valleys where soils are alluvial or residual. Valley oak woodland occurs in the northeastern portion of the Project area west of Palo Comado Creek and in southeastern portion of the Project area in Liberty Canyon. f. Designated Critical Habitat
When a species is proposed for listing as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act, the USFWS must consider whether there are areas of habitat believed to be essential to the species' conservation. Those areas may be proposed for designation as critical habitat.

The USFWS Critical Habitat Portal (USFWS 2025b) provides online service for information regarding threatened and endangered species final critical habitat designation across the US. According to the CNDDB and the Critical Habitat Portal, no designated or proposed critical habitat is mapped within 3 CDFW classifies vegetation at the two finest levels of alliance and association. The alliance is defined by plant species composition, habitat conditions, physiognomy, and diagnostic species; at least one of the diagnostic species is typically found in the uppermost or dominant stratum. The association is the most detailed classification level and reflects more specific characteristics of vegetation such as finer-level differences in species composition, topography, soils, substrate, climate, hydrology, and disturbance regime. Unlike alliances, associations often recognize two or more diagnostic species found in different vegetation layers (Sawyer et al. 2009).

City of Agoura Hills
Agoura Hills Bicycle Master Plan

4.3-12
or immediately adjacent to the Project area. Designated critical habitat for four species occurs within five miles of the Project area:
 Lyon’s pentachaeta (Pentachaeta lyonii), located 0.75 mile to the southwest,  Braunton’s milk-vetch (Astragalus brauntonii), located 0.85 mile to the north,  California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii), located 0.95 mile to the northeast, and  Southern California steelhead Distinct Population Segment; Oncorhynchus mykiss) 4.5 miles to the southeast.
g. Significant Ecological Areas
Los Angeles County has designated several Significant Ecological Areas (SEA) throughout the unincorporated portions of the county. SEAs are officially designated areas within the county with irreplaceable biological resources. The SEA Program objective is to conserve genetic and physical diversity within the county by designating biological resource areas that are capable of sustaining themselves into the future.

The City of Agoura Hills has policies and regulations that guide development within the Countydesignated SEAs. Specifically, the City of Agoura Hills Zoning Ordinance includes provisions to safeguard the SEA from incompatible development, preserve natural landscapes, and uphold the city’s environmental quality and aesthetic character, all while restricting development. The ordinance mandates that any new development within the SEA must secure a conditional use permit or architectural review approval before beginning.

Portions of the Santa Monica Mountains SEA are located in the northeastern and southern sections of the Project area (formerly identified as the Santa Monica Mountains SEA #26 and Palo Comado Canyon SEA #12) (Los Angeles County 2025). Small sections of the proposed Project overlap or are adjacent to the SEA.
h. Wildlife Corridors
Wildlife corridors typically connect one large habitat area with another, and while there is no predefined size limit or corridor width for such areas, they most often are on the scale of mountain ranges, valleys, or clearly defined ecological situations (i.e., vernal pools). Habitat linkages differ somewhat from wildlife corridors in that they may be identified by the presence of certain resources rather than by areas of linear movement. They may serve as corridors for species, which move from site to site as individuals, but for low-mobility organisms (such as plants, flightless arthropods, amphibians, reptiles, and chaparral birds) they may maintain genetic diversity between larger habitat areas by permitting long-term genetic exchange over a broad area. For these species, population-wide directional movement may be incremental and via a network of overlapping home ranges on a year-to-year basis. For species such as lizards, salamanders, and birds, habitat linkages physically connect separate units of similar habitat value by providing buffer zones or areas of marginal contact.

Linkage zones may extend for many miles between primary habitat areas, and their adequacy for supporting genetic flow often depends upon the combined presence of specific resources, sufficient width (to buffer against adjacent disturbances), and sufficient shelter or cover. Certain specific resources (such as rock outcroppings, vernal pools, or oak trees) may be needed at particular intervals to ensure that slower-moving species are able to traverse the linkage zone. For highly mobile or flying organisms, habitat linkages may consist of a series of discontinuous patches of Environmental Impact Analysis
Biological Resources
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.3-13
suitable resources, spaced sufficiently close together to permit movement along a route in a short period of time. The “landscape linkage” concept includes habitat linkages intended to serve this purpose.

Natural movement corridors and habitat linkages have been the focus of numerous studies intended to better understand relationships between animal populations, open space reserves, and natural movement patterns. The California Essential Habitat Connectivity Project (Spencer et al. 2010) was commissioned by the California Department of Transportation and CDFW to study the functional network of connected wildlands in California as these corridors are essential to the continued support of California’s diverse natural communities in the face of human development and climate change. The report examines large, relatively natural habitat blocks that support native biodiversity (Natural Landscape Blocks) and areas essential for ecological connectivity between them (Essential Connectivity Areas).

Several small natural landscape blocks occur within the Project area along portions of creeks and where green spaces have been established. Portions of the eastern Project area overlap with a California Essential Connectivity Area that is generally associated with the area between Palo Comado and Cheseboro canyons (CDFW 2025f). Roads are a major barrier to wildlife movement, particularly small animals, with the effect of a road dependent on its design, width, traffic volume, and speed. Roads frequently force animals into specified small-scale “chokepoints” where passage may occur, such as via culvert systems under major freeways. The urban development of the Project area restricts wildlife movement, as does the U.S. Highway 101 (Ventura Freeway) itself. The primary “chokepoints” or movement pathways within the Project area include Medea Creek and Chesebro Creek, which run underneath the Ventura Freeway.

4.3.2 Regulatory Setting
a. Federal Regulations
Federal Endangered Species Act
The USFWS and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) share responsibility for implementing the FESA. Generally, the USFWS implements the FESA for terrestrial and freshwater species, while the NMFS implements the FESA for marine and anadromous species. Projects that would result in “take” of any threatened or endangered animal species, or a threatened or endangered plant species if occurring on federal land, are required to obtain permits from the USFWS or NMFS through either Section 7 (interagency consultation with a federal nexus) or Section 10 (Habitat Conservation Plan) of the FESA, depending on the involvement by the federal government in funding, authorizing, or carrying out the project. The permitting process is used to determine if a project would jeopardize the continued existence of a listed species and what measures would be required to avoid jeopardizing the species. “Take” under federal definition means to harass, harm (which includes habitat modification), pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct. Proposed or candidate species do not have the full protection of the FESA; however, the USFWS and NMFS advise project applicants that they could be elevated to listed status at any time.

Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act
The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act prohibits anyone, without a permit issued by the USFWS, from "taking" bald or golden eagles, including their parts (such as feathers), nests, or eggs. The Act City of Agoura Hills
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provides criminal penalties for persons who "take, possess, sell, purchase, barter, offer to sell, purchase or barter, transport, export or import, at any time or any manner, any bald eagle ... [or any golden eagle], alive or dead, or any part, nest, or egg thereof." The Act defines "take" as "pursue, shoot, shoot at, poison, wound, kill, capture, trap, collect, molest or disturb." "Disturb" means “to agitate or bother a bald or golden eagle to a degree that causes, or is likely to cause, based on the best scientific information available, 1) injury to an eagle, 2) a decrease in its productivity, by substantially interfering with normal breeding, feeding, or sheltering behavior, or 3) nest abandonment, by substantially interfering with normal breeding, feeding, or sheltering behavior."
In addition to immediate impacts, this definition also covers impacts that result from humaninduced alterations initiated around a previously used nest site during a time when eagles are not present, if, upon the eagle's return, such alterations agitate or bother an eagle to a degree that interferes with or interrupts normal breeding, feeding, or sheltering habits, and causes injury, death or nest abandonment.

Migratory Bird Treaty Act
The MBTA of 1918 implements four international conservation treaties that the US entered into with Canada in 1916, Mexico in 1936, Japan in 1972, and Russia in 1976. It is intended to ensure the sustainability of populations of all protected migratory bird species. The law has been amended with the signing of each treaty, as well as when any of the treaties were amended, such as with Mexico in 1976 and Canada in 1995. The MBTA prohibits the take (including killing, capturing, selling, trading, and transport) of protected migratory bird species without prior authorization by the USFWS.

The list of migratory bird species protected by the law, in regulations at 50 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 10.13, is primarily based on bird families and species included in the four international treaties. A migratory bird species is included on the list if it meets one or more of the following criteria:

It occurs in the United States or US territories as the result of natural biological or ecological processes and is currently, or was previously listed as, a species or part of a family protected by one of the four international treaties or their amendments.

Revised taxonomy results in it being newly split from a species that was previously on the list, and the new species occurs in the United States or US territories as the result of natural biological or ecological processes.

New evidence exists for its natural occurrence in the United States or US territories resulting from natural distributional changes and the species occurs in a protected family.

In 2004, the Migratory Bird Treaty Reform Act limited the scope of the MBTA by stating the MBTA applies only to migratory bird species that are native to the US or US territories, and that a native migratory bird species is one that is present as a result of natural biological or ecological processes.

The MBTA requires the USFWS to publish a list of all nonnative, human-introduced bird species to which the MBTA does not apply, and an updated list was published in 2020. The 2020 update identifies species belonging to biological families referred to in treaties the MBTA implements but are not protected because their presence in the US or US territories is solely the result of intentional or unintentional human-assisted introductions.

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Clean Water Act Section 404
Congress enacted the Clean Water Act (CWA) “to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's waters.” Section 404 of the CWA authorizes the Secretary of the Army, acting through the USACE, to issue permits regulating the discharge of dredged or fill materials into the "navigable waters at specified disposal sites." Section 502 of the CWA further defines "navigable waters" as “waters of the United States, including the territorial seas.” “Waters of the United States” are broadly defined at 33 CFR Part 328.3 to include navigable, tidal, and interstate waters and certain impoundments, tributaries, and wetlands.

The agencies’ most recent regulatory definition of the term was promulgated in January 2023, following failed attempts in prior years that had been frustrated by legal challenges. However, in May 2023 the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, which invalidated portions of the updated regulations. To address this ruling, in September 2023 the agencies issued a “conforming rule” (88 Federal Register [FR] 61964-61969) modifying their definition of “waters of the United States” to comport with the Court’s ruling. This definition is described in detail below.

Waters of the U.S.

Current USACE and U.S. EPA regulations, reflecting of the January 2023 definition as modified by the September 2023 Conforming Rule, define “waters of the United States” as follows (33 CFR 328.3; see also 88 FR 61964-61969):
(1) Waters which are:
(i) Currently used, or were used in the past, or may be susceptible to use in interstate or foreign commerce, including all waters which are subject to the ebb and flow of the tide;
(ii) The territorial seas; or
(iii) Interstate waters;
(2) Impoundments of waters otherwise defined as waters of the United States under this definition, other than impoundments of waters identified under paragraph (a)(5) of this section;
(3) Tributaries of waters identified in paragraph (a)(1) or (2) of this section that are relatively permanent, standing or continuously flowing bodies of water; (4) Wetlands adjacent to the following waters:
(i) Waters identified in paragraph (a)(1) of this section; or (ii) Relatively permanent, standing or continuously flowing bodies of water identified in paragraph (a)(2) or (a)(3) of this section and with a continuous surface connection to those waters;
(5) Intrastate lakes and ponds, not identified in paragraphs (a)(1) through (4) of this section that are relatively permanent, standing or continuously flowing bodies of water with a continuous surface connection to the waters identified in paragraph (a)(1) or (a)(3) of this section.

The definition specifies that the following features are not “waters of the United States” even where they otherwise meet the terms of provisions (2) through (5) above:

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(1) Waste treatment systems, including treatment ponds or lagoons, designed to meet the requirements of the Clean Water Act;
(2) Prior converted cropland designated by the Secretary of Agriculture. The exclusion would cease upon a change of use, which means that the area is no longer available for the production of agricultural commodities. Notwithstanding the determination of an area's status as prior converted cropland by any other Federal agency, for the purposes of the Clean Water Act, the final authority regarding Clean Water Act jurisdiction remains with EPA;
(3) Ditches (including roadside ditches) excavated wholly in and draining only dry land and that do not carry a relatively permanent flow of water;
(4) Artificially irrigated areas that would revert to dry land if the irrigation ceased; (5) Artificial lakes or ponds created by excavating or diking dry land to collect and retain water and which are used exclusively for such purposes as stock watering, irrigation, settling basins, or rice growing;
(6) Artificial reflecting or swimming pools or other small ornamental bodies of water created by excavating or diking dry land to retain water for primarily aesthetic reasons; (7) Waterfilled depressions created in dry land incidental to construction activity and pits excavated in dry land for the purpose of obtaining fill, sand, or gravel unless and until the construction or excavation operation is abandoned and the resulting body of water meets the definition of waters of the United States; and
(8) Swales and erosional features (e.g., gullies, small washes) characterized by low volume, infrequent, or short duration flow.

The lateral limits of USACE jurisdiction in non-tidal waters is defined by the "ordinary high-water mark" (OHWM) unless adjacent wetlands are present. The OHWM is a line on the shore or edge of a channel established by the fluctuations of water and indicated by physical characteristics such as a clear, natural line impressed upon the bank, shelving, changes in the character of soil, destruction of vegetation, or the presence of debris (33 CFR 328.3(c)(1)). As such, waters are recognized in the field by the presence of a defined watercourse with appropriate physical and topographic features.

If wetlands occur within, or adjacent to, waters of the United States, the lateral limits of USACE jurisdiction extend beyond the OHWM to the outer edge of the wetlands (33 CFR 328.4 (c)). The upstream limit of jurisdiction in the absence of adjacent wetlands is the point beyond which the OHWM is no longer perceptible (33 CFR 328.4; see also 51 FR 41217).

Wetlands
The USACE defines wetlands as “those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions” (33 CFR 328.3(c)(1)). The USACE’s delineation procedures identify wetlands in the field based on indicators of three wetland parameters: hydrophytic vegetation, hydric soils, and wetland hydrology. The following is a discussion of each of these parameters.

HYDROPHYTIC VEGETATION
Hydrophytic vegetation dominates areas where frequency and duration of inundation or soil saturation exerts a controlling influence on the plant species present. Plant species are assigned wetland indicator status according to the probability of their occurring in wetlands. More than fifty Environmental Impact Analysis
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percent of the dominant plant species must have a wetland indicator status to meet the hydrophytic vegetation criterion. The USACE published the National Wetland Plant List (USACE 2018), which separates vascular plants into the following four basic categories based on plant species frequency of occurrence in wetlands:
 Obligate Wetland (OBL: Almost always occur in wetlands.  Facultative Wetland (FACW): Usually occur in wetlands, but occasionally found in nonwetlands.  Facultative (FAC): Occur in wetlands or non-wetlands.  Facultative Upland (FACU): Usually occur in non-wetlands, but may occur in wetlands.  Obligate Upland (UPL): Almost never occur in wetlands.

The USACE considers OBL, FACW and FAC species to be indicators of wetlands. An area is considered to have hydrophytic vegetation when greater than 50 percent of the dominant species in each vegetative stratum (tree, shrub, and herb) fall within these categories. Any species not appearing on the United States Fish and Wildlife Service’s list is assumed to be an upland species, almost never occurring in wetlands. In addition, an area needs to contain at least 5% vegetative cover to be considered as a vegetated wetland.

HYDRIC SOILS
Hydric soils are saturated or inundated for a sufficient duration during the growing season to develop anaerobic or reducing conditions that favor the growth and regeneration of hydrophytic vegetation. Field indicators of wetland soils include observations of ponding, inundation, saturation, dark (low chroma) soil colors, bright mottles (concentrations of oxidized minerals such as iron), gleying (indicates reducing conditions by a blue-grey color), or accumulation of organic material.

Additional supporting information includes documentation of soil as hydric or reference to wet conditions in the local soils survey, both of which must be verified in the field.

WETLAND HYDROLOGY
Wetland hydrology is inundation or soil saturation with a frequency and duration long enough to cause the development of hydric soils and plant communities dominated by hydrophytic vegetation.

If direct observation of wetland hydrology is not possible (as in seasonal wetlands), or records of wetland hydrology are not available (such as stream gauges), assessment of wetland hydrology is frequently supported by field indicators, such as water marks, drift lines, sediment deposits, or drainage patterns in wetlands.

Sackett v. U.S. EPA Supreme Court Decision
On May 25, 2023, the Supreme Court issued its decision on the petition from the Sacketts, a family in Idaho that was subject to a compliance order from the U.S. EPA for backfilling their lot near Priest Lake, which the U.S. EPA claimed contained federally regulated wetlands. The wetlands in question were adjacent to a ditch that fed a creek that ultimately drained into Priest Lake, a navigable water body. The U.S. EPA asserted that the Sacketts had violated the law by filling the wetlands on their property without a permit. The Court’s decision addressed controversy over whether, and under what conditions, the CWA reaches navigable waters’ tributaries or adjacent wetlands. The Supreme Court’s decision in Sackett provides definitive guidance to the agencies in determining the limits of City of Agoura Hills
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their Clean Water Act authority. Major tenets of the decision have been incorporated into the agencies’ current regulations through the September 2023 Conforming Rule.

The Court decided:
 “Adjacent wetlands” are WOTUS only if there is a continuous surface connection between the wetland and a navigable or relatively permanent water body, such that it is difficult to determine the boundary between the wetland and the water body. The opinion notes that “temporary interruptions to surface connection may sometimes occur because of phenomena like low tides or dry spells.” The agencies addressed this element by defining the term “adjacent” to mean “having a continuous surface connection” in the Conforming Rule.  The Significant Nexus Standard, introduced by the Court in prior decisions, is not mentioned in the Clean Water Act and should not be used. The Court determined that the standard applies ecological factors whose use in determining jurisdiction is not supported by the statute. The Conforming Rule removed significant nexus considerations from the definition.  Although jurisdiction over tributaries was not addressed by the Court, the decision stated that “…the [Clean Water Act’s] use of “waters” encompasses only those relatively permanent, standing or continuously flowing bodies of water forming geographical features that are described in ordinary parlance as streams, oceans, rivers, and lakes.” The Conforming Rule makes clear that only relatively permanent tributaries qualify as “waters of the United States.” Rivers and Harbors Act Section 10
Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 requires authorization from the USACE for the construction of any structure in or over any navigable water of the United States. Structures or work outside the limits defined for navigable waters of the United States require a Section 10 permit if the structure or work affects the course, location, or condition of the water body. The law applies to any dredging or disposal of dredged materials, excavation, filling, re-channelization, or any other modification of a navigable water of the United States, and applies to all structures and work. It further includes, without limitation, any wharf, dolphin, weir, boom breakwater, jetty, groin, bank protection (e.g. riprap, revetment, bulkhead), mooring structures such as pilings, aerial or subaqueous power transmission lines, intake or outfall pipes, permanently moored floating vessel, tunnel, artificial canal, boat ramp, aids to navigation, and any other permanent, or semi-permanent obstacle or obstruction. It is important to note that Section 10 applies only to navigable waters, and thus does not apply to work in non-navigable wetlands or tributaries. In some cases, Section 10 authorization is issued by the USACE concurrently with CWA Section 404 authorization, such as when certain Nationwide Permits are used.
a. State Regulations
California Endangered Species Act
The CESA (CFGC Section 2050 et. seq.) prohibits take of state listed threatened or endangered. Take under CESA is defined as “Hunt, pursue, catch, capture, or kill, or attempt to hunt, pursue, catch, capture, or kill” (CFGC sec. 86). This definition does not prohibit indirect harm by way of habitat modification, except where such harm is the proximate cause of death of a listed species. Where incidental take would occur during construction or other lawful activities, CESA allows the CDFW to issue an Incidental Take Permit upon finding, among other requirements, that impacts to the species have been minimized and fully mitigated. Unlike the FESA, CESA’s protections extend to Environmental Impact Analysis
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candidate species during the period (typically one year) while the California Fish and Game Commission decides whether the species warrants CESA listing.

Special-status wildlife species are those species included on the CDFW “Special Animals” list (CDFW 2020). “Special Animal” is a general term that refers to all of the taxa the CNDDB is interested in tracking, regardless of their legal or protection status. The CDFW considers the taxa on this list to be those of greatest conservation need. The species on this list generally fall into one or more of the following categories:
 Officially listed or proposed for listing under the CESA and/or FESA;  State or federal candidate for possible listing;
 Taxa that meet the criteria for listing, even if not currently included on any list, as described in California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 1538;  Taxa considered by the CDFW to be a Species of Special Concern;  Taxa that are biologically rare, very restricted in distribution, declining throughout their range, or have a critical vulnerable stage in their life cycle that warrants monitoring; or,  Populations in California that may be on the periphery of a taxon’s range but are threatened with extirpation in California.

Native Plant Protection Act
The CDFW also has authority to administer the Native Plant Protection Act (NPPA) (CFGC Section 1900 et seq.). The NPPA requires the CDFW to establish criteria for determining if a species, subspecies, or variety of native plant is endangered or rare, and prohibits the take of listed plant species. Effective in 2015, CDFW promulgated regulations (14 California Code of Regulations [CCR] 786.9) under the authority of the NPPA, establishing that the CESA’s permitting procedures would be applied to plants listed under the NPPA as "Rare." With this change, there is little practical difference for the regulated public between plants listed under CESA and those listed under the NPPA.

Fully Protected Species Laws
The CDFW enforces Sections 3511, 4700, 5050, and 5515 of the CFGC, which prohibit take of species designated as Fully Protected. The CDFW is not allowed to issue an Incidental Take Permit for Fully Protected species; therefore, impacts to these species must be avoided. The exception is situations where a Natural Community Conservation Plan is in place that authorizes take of the fully protected species.

Avian Protection Laws
The CFGC sections 3503, 3503.5, and 3513 describe unlawful take, possession, or destruction of native birds, nests, and eggs. Section 3503.5 of the CFGC protects all birds-of-prey and their eggs and nests against take, possession, or destruction of nests or eggs. Section 3513 makes it a statelevel offense to take any bird in violation of the MBTA.

Protection of Lakes and Streambeds
The CFGC Section 1602 states that it is unlawful for any person to "substantially divert or obstruct the natural flow of, or substantially change or use any material from the bed, channel, or bank of, any river, stream, or lake" without first notifying the CDFW of that activity. Thereafter, if CDFW City of Agoura Hills
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determines and informs the entity that the activity will not substantially adversely affect any existing fish or wildlife resources, the entity may commence the activity. If, however, CDFW determines that the activity may substantially adversely affect an existing fish or wildlife resource, the entity may be required to obtain from CDFW a Streambed Alteration Agreement (SAA), which will include reasonable measures necessary to protect the affected resource(s), before the entity may conduct the activity described in the notification. Upon receiving a complete Notification of Lake/Streambed Alteration, CDFW has 60 days to present the entity with a draft SAA. Upon review of the draft SAA by the applicant, any problematic terms are negotiated with CDFW, and a final SAA is executed.

The CDFW has not defined the term “stream” for the purposes of implementing its regulatory program under Section 1602, and the agency has not promulgated regulations directing how jurisdictional streambeds may be identified, or how their limits should be delineated. However, four relevant sources of information offer insight as to the appropriate limits of CDFW jurisdiction as discussed below.
 The plain language of Section 1602 of CFGC establishes the following general concepts:
 References “river,” “stream,” and “lake”
 References “natural flow”
 References “bed,” “bank,” and “channel”
 Applicable court decisions, in particular Rutherford v. State of California (188 Cal App. 3d 1276 (1987), which interpreted Section 1602’s use of “stream” to be as defined in common law. The Court indicated that a “stream” is commonly understood to:
 Have a source and a terminus
 Have banks and a channel
 Convey flow at least periodically, but need not flow continuously and may at times appear outwardly dry
 Represent the depression between the banks worn by the regular and usual flow of the water
 Include the area between the opposing banks measured from the foot of the banks from the top of the water at its ordinary stage, including intervening sand bars  Include the land that is covered by the water in its ordinary low stage  Include lands below the OHWM
 CDFW regulations defining “stream” for other purposes, including sport fishing (14 CCR 1.72) and streambed alterations associated with cannabis production (14 CCR 722(c)(21)), which indicate that a stream:
 Flows at least periodically or intermittently
 Flows through a bed or channel having banks
 Supports fish or aquatic life
 Can be dry for a period of time
 Includes watercourses where surface or subsurface flow supports or has supported riparian vegetation
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 Guidance documents, including A Field Guide to Lake and Streambed Alteration Agreements (California Department of Fish and Game 1994) and Methods to Describe and Delineate Episodic Stream Processes on Arid Landscapes for Permitting Utility‐Scale Solar Power Plants (Brady and Vyverberg 2013), which suggest the following:
 A stream may flow perennially or episodically
 A stream is defined by the course in which water currently flows, or has flowed during the historic hydrologic course regime (approximately the last 200 years)  Width of a stream course can reasonably be identified by physical or biological indicators  A stream may have one or more channels (single thread vs. compound form)  Features such as braided channels, low-flow channels, active channels, banks associated with secondary channels, floodplains, islands, and stream-associated vegetation, are interconnected parts of the watercourse
 Canals, aqueducts, irrigation ditches, and other means of water conveyance can be considered streams if they support aquatic life, riparian vegetation, or stream-dependent terrestrial wildlife
 Biologic components of a stream may include aquatic and riparian vegetation, all aquatic animals including fish, amphibians, reptiles, invertebrates, and terrestrial species which derive benefits from the stream system
 The lateral extent of a stream can be measured in different ways depending on the particular situation and the type of fish or wildlife resource at risk The tenets listed above, among others, are applied to establish the boundaries of streambeds in various environments. Importance of each factor may be weighted based on site-specific considerations and the applicability of the indicators to the streambed at hand.

Clean Water Act Section 401
Section 401 of the CWA requires an applicant requesting a federal license or permit for an activity that may result in any discharge into navigable waters (such as a Section 404 Permit) to provide state certification that the proposed activity will not violate state and federal water quality standards. In California, CWA Section 401 Water Quality Certification (Section 401 Certification) is issued by the RWQCBs and by the SWRCB for multi-region projects. The process begins when an applicant requests a pre-application meeting with the RWQCB, waits no less than 30 days, and then submits an application to the RWQCB and informs the USACE (or the applicable agency from which a license or permit was requested) that an application has been submitted. The USACE will then determine a “reasonable period of time” for the RWQCB to act on the application; this is typically 60 days for routine projects and longer for complex projects but may not exceed one year. Under current regulations, once initiated, the reasonable period of time cannot be stopped or paused.

When the period has elapsed, if the RWQCB has not either issued or denied the application for Section 401 Certification, the USACE may determine that Certification has been waived and issue the requested permit. If a Section 401 Certification is issued it may include binding conditions, imposed either through the Certification itself or through the requested federal license or permit.

Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act
The Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act (Porter-Cologne Act) is the principal law governing water quality regulation in California. It establishes a comprehensive program to protect water City of Agoura Hills
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quality and the beneficial uses of water. The Porter-Cologne Act applies to surface waters, wetlands, and ground water and to both point and nonpoint sources of pollution. Pursuant to the PorterCologne Act (California Water Code section 13000 et seq.), the policy of the State is as follows:
 The quality of all the waters of the State shall be protected  All activities and factors affecting the quality of water shall be regulated to attain the highest water quality within reason
 The State must be prepared to exercise its full power and jurisdiction to protect the quality of water in the State from degradation
The Porter-Cologne Act established nine RWQCBs (based on watershed boundaries) and the SWRCB, which are charged with implementing its provisions and which have primary responsibility for protecting water quality in California. The SWRCB provides program guidance and oversight, allocates funds, and reviews RWQCB decisions. In addition, the SWRCB allocates rights to the use of surface water. The RWQCBs have primary responsibility for individual permitting, inspection, and enforcement actions within each of nine hydrologic regions. The SWRCB and RWQCBs have numerous nonpoint source related responsibilities, including monitoring and assessment, planning, financial assistance, and management.

Section 13260 of the Porter-Cologne Act requires any person discharging or proposing to discharge waste that could affect the quality of waters of the State to file a Report of Waste Discharge with the appropriate RWQCB. The RWQCB may then authorize the discharge, subject to conditions, by issuing Waste Discharge Requirements (WDRs). While this requirement was historically applied primarily to outfalls and similar point source discharges, the SWRCB’s State Wetland Definition and Procedures for Discharges of Dredged or Fill Material to Waters of the State, effective May 2020, make it clear that the agency will apply the Porter-Cologne Act’s requirements to discharges of dredge and fill material as well. The Procedures state that they are to be used in issuing CWA Section 401 Certifications and WDRs, and largely mirror the existing review requirements for CWA Section 404 Permits and Section 401 Certifications, incorporating most elements of the U.S. EPA’s Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines. Following issuance of the Procedures, the SWRCB produced a consolidated application form for dredge/fill discharges that can be used to obtain a CWA Section 401 Water Quality Certification, WDRs, or both.

Non-Wetland Waters of the State
The SWRCB and RWQCBs have not established regulations for field determinations of waters of the state except for wetlands currently. In many cases the RWQCBs interpret the limits of waters of the State to be bounded by the OHWM unless isolated conditions or ephemeral waters are present.

However, in the absence of statewide guidance each RWQCB may interpret jurisdictional boundaries within their region and the SWRCB has encouraged applicants to confirm jurisdictional limits with their RWQCB before submitting applications. As determined by the RWQCB, waters of the State may include riparian areas or other locations outside the OHWM, leading to a larger jurisdictional area over a given water body compared to the USACE.

Wetland Waters of the State
Procedures for defining wetland waters of the State pursuant to the SWRCB’s State Wetland Definition and Procedures for Discharges of Dredged or Fill Material to Waters of the State went into effect May 28, 2020. The SWRCB defines an area as wetland if, under normal circumstances:

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1) the area has continuous or recurrent saturation of the upper substrate caused by groundwater, or shallow surface water, or both;
2) the duration of such saturation is sufficient to cause anaerobic conditions in the upper substrate; and
3) the area’s vegetation is dominated by hydrophytes or the area lacks vegetation.

The SWRCB’s Implementation Guidance for the Wetland Definition and Procedures for Discharges of Dredge and Fill Material to Waters of the State (2020), states that waters of the U.S. and waters of the State should be delineated using the standard USACE delineation procedures, taking into consideration that the methods shall be modified only to allow for the fact that a lack of vegetation does not preclude an area from meeting the definition of a wetland. b. Regional and Local Regulations
County of Los Angeles Significant Ecological Area Ordinance The County SEA Ordinance (No. 2019-0072; County Code Title 22.102) implements the goals and policies of the County General Plan by establishing permitting requirements, design standards, and review processes for development within SEAs. The goal of the SEA Ordinance is to guide development to the least impactful areas on a property to avoid adverse impacts to biological resources. The level of SEA assessment is dependent on the area of disturbance, sensitivity of biological resources impacted, and consistency with development standards. Portions of the Santa Monica Mountains SEA are located within the Project area.

County of Los Angeles Locally Important Species
The County Locally Important Species guidance identifies plant and animal species that are not state or federally listed as threatened or endangered but are still considered significant due to their ecological, cultural, or local conservation value. The Locally Important Species list includes species that are rare, have limited distributions, are essential to local ecosystems, or face threats from habitat loss and urban development. Examples of authoritatively compiled databases include lists on the Audubon Society’s “Los Angeles County Sensitive Bird List,” and those in the inventory of the California Native Plant Society. This guidance helps inform environmental planning, impact assessments, and conservation efforts within the county to ensure these species receive consideration in land use decisions.

Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy Act
The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy Act (Public Resources Code Sections 33000–33215) was enacted in 1979 by Assembly Bill 1312. The act established the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. The conservancy’s mission is to strategically buy back, preserve, protect, restore, and enhance treasured pieces of Southern California to form an interlinking system of urban, rural and river parks, open space, trails, and wildlife habitats that are easily accessible to the general public.

The conservancy aims to preserve, protect, and enhance the open spaces in the mountains within Los Angeles and Ventura counties with a guiding principle of maintaining a network of cross-freeway habitat linkages and wildlife corridors that keep the mountain ranges biologically inter-connected and provide enough habitat to support larger mammals.

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City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035
The City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 was adopted on March 24, 2010 (updated on August 10, 2022) by the City Council (City of Agoura Hills 2022). The City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 is a strategic document designed to guide the physical development of the city until the year 2035.

Among other things, the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 sets out the pattern of land uses, including residential, commercial, and industrial. It also establishes the system of streets, bikeways, and trails. The City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 addresses a wide variety of subject areas, including housing, traffic, natural resources, land uses, economic development, noise, and public safety.

The City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 contains the following goals and policies related to biological resources, which would apply to the proposed Project:

Goal LU-3. Open space lands that are preserved to maintain the visual quality of the City and provide recreational opportunities, protect the public from safety hazards, and conserve natural resources.

Policy LU-3.1. Provide for the preservation of significant scenic areas and corridors, significant plant and animal habitat and riparian areas, and physiographic features within the City.

Policy LU-3.2. Preserve ridgelines, natural slopes, and bluffs as open space, minimize hillside erosion, and complement natural landforms through sensitive grading techniques in hillside areas.

Policy LU-3.3. Provide a network of open spaces and greenbelts with pedestrian access where appropriate.

Policy LU-3.4. Continue to sustain oak trees, which are an integral part of the City‘s character, and consider the protection of other valuable tree species.

Policy LU-3.5. Maintain the form and health of resources and habitat in the City‘s natural drainages. Explore restoration of those that have been degraded or channelized, such as Medea Creek and Chesebro Creek, as feasible to maintain storm water conveyance and property protection requirements.

Goal NR-4. Protection and enhancement of open space resources, other natural areas, and significant wildlife and vegetation in the City as an integral component of a sustainable environment.

Policy NR-4.1. Preserve Agoura Hills’ two significant ecological areas (SEAs) from incompatible development through City policies and coordination with Los Angeles County and other relevant agencies to protect habitats of sensitive plants and animals.

Policy NR-4.2. Continue to enforce the ordinances for new and existing development in the City’s hillside areas, such that development maintains an appropriate distance from ridgelines, creek and natural drainage beds and banks, oak trees, and other environmental resources, to prevent erosion, preserve viewsheds, and protect the natural contours and resources of the land.

Policy NR-4.3. Ensure that the development and environmental review process is sensitive to the preservation and protection of sensitive wildlife and plant species, wildlife corridors, significant ecological areas (SEAs), and other sensitive habitat communities.

Environmental Impact Analysis
Biological Resources
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.3-25
Policy NR-4.4. Place a high priority on acquiring and preserving open space lands for purposes of recreation, habitat preservation and enhancement, resource conservation, flood hazard management, public safety purposes, and overall community benefits.

Policy NR-4.6.Ensure that new development does not create barriers or impede the connection of the City’s open space systems.

Policy NR-4.10. Continue to sustain the City’s oak trees, which are an integral part of the character of the City, and continue to plant and maintain these trees in a manner that will allow them to mature and thrive.

Policy NR-4.11. Support the restoration of creeks and other natural resources. Activities include creek cleanup, erosion and urban runoff control, and weeding of non-native plants.

Policy NR-4.12. Protect and maintain wildlife corridors, particularly the Liberty Canyon wildlife corridor, and adjacent areas as appropriate, to help the continued survival of wildlife.

Goal N-1. Minimized land use conflicts between various noise sources and other human activities.

Goal N-3. Minimized non-transportation related noise impacts on sensitive noise receptors.

City of Agoura Hills Municipal Code
Article IX, Chapter 6, Part 2, Division 6 of the Agoura Hills Municipal Code (AHMC) establishes the City's noise regulations, declaring that unnecessary, excessive, and annoying sounds are detrimental to public health, welfare, and safety, and thus constitute a public nuisance. The purpose of these provisions is to prohibit noise that exceeds acceptable levels and to hold violators accountable through enforceable penalties. The regulations apply to all sources of sound within city boundaries and reflect the City’s policy to maintain a peaceful community environment. Furthermore, Section 9663.5 of Division 6 sets forth regulations for connectivity and pedestrian accommodation, requiring that all pedestrian pathways be lit by low, ground-mounted, shielded and downward facing lighting fixtures at set intervals.

Division 7 outlines the city’s oak tree preservation regulations, recognizing the historical, environmental, and aesthetic significance of oak trees in the City of Agoura Hills and the broader Conejo Valley. These provisions identified in Section 9657 of the AHMC aim to preserve all healthy oak trees unless compelling reasons justify their removal, pruning, or encroachment into their protected zones. The regulations require a valid oak tree permit issued by the Department of Planning and Community Development or the Planning Commission for any such activity, except in cases explicitly exempted—such as emergencies, routine maintenance, nursery operations, or removal by fire personnel during active firefighting. Overall, the oak tree policy requires preservation of trees unless their removal is necessary due to health, safety, or site development constraints. Conditions may be placed on permits, such as tree replacement requirements, on-site or off-site relocation, maintenance programs, and mitigation fees or donations. Removal is generally limited to no more than 10 percent of total tree canopy or root structure, though up to 20 percent may be allowed with an expert recommendation and assurance that the tree’s viability will not be compromised. In all cases, a minimum of four native oaks must be provided for each tree removed or relocated. Section 9657 also requires an oak tree report prepared by a City-approved consultant and mandates compliance with the City’s adopted Oak Tree Preservation Guidelines. Permit decisions are subject to notice and appeal procedures, with appeals allowed within 20 days of a decision. Enforcement mechanisms include permit suspensions and required mitigation for unauthorized removals. Violators are responsible for restitution, which may include replacing City of Agoura Hills
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damaged or removed trees with others of equivalent size and value, as determined by the City using a standardized tree evaluation formula.

4.3.3 Impact Analysis
a. Methodology and Significance Thresholds
As discussed in Section 4.0, Environmental Impact Analysis, all Project components are analyzed at the programmatic level. Project components include the Bicycle Master Plan (BMP), the VMT Mitigation Exchange and Banking Program (Program), and the General Plan Amendments (Amendments). Projects included within the BMP are grouped into Class I facilities, Class II facilities, Class III facilities, Class IV facilities, and enhanced bicycle treatments, as identified in Section 2.5, Project Characteristics, and in Table 1 of Chapter 2, Project Description. The impact analysis contained herein provides a programmatic analysis of anticipated impacts for each of the five facility classes, as the individual project impacts associated with each class of facility are expected to be similar. However, because the city seeks to prioritize implementation of the Medea Creek Path (Path) and the Agoura High School Connection (Connection), the Path and the Connection have their own subheadings within the Class I Facility impact analysis subsection to provide a more specific assessment of the environmental impacts of those two specific Projects included within the BMP.

Impacts associated with the Amendments are analyzed within their own subsection.

As discussed in Chapter 2, Project Description, the only Projects that are currently planned, unfunded, and could potentially be funded by the Program are those currently included within the BMP. Therefore, the impact analysis contained herein does not include a subsection for impacts associated with the Program, as the individual Project list for the BMP and the Program are identical and impacts associated with the BMP would encompass impacts associated with the Program.

Within the following environmental analysis, impacts associated with each Project component are explicitly identified under the respective heading.

According to Appendix G of the CEQA Guidelines, impacts related to biological resources would be significant if the proposed Project would:

Have a substantial adverse effect, either directly or through habitat modifications, on any species identified as a candidate, sensitive, or special status species in local or regional plans, policies, or regulations, or by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service;
Have a substantial adverse effect on any riparian habitat or other sensitive natural community identified in local or regional plans, policies, regulations or by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service;
Have a substantial adverse effect on federally protected wetlands as defined by Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (including, but not limited to, marsh, vernal pool, coastal, etc.) through direct removal, filling, hydrological interruption, or other means; Interfere substantially with the movement of any native resident or migratory fish or wildlife species or with established native resident or migratory wildlife corridors, or impede the use of native wildlife nursery sites;
Conflict with any local policies or ordinances protecting biological resources, such as a tree preservation policy or ordinance; or,
Environmental Impact Analysis
Biological Resources
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.3-27
Conflict with the provisions of an adopted Habitat Conservation Plan, Natural Community Conservation Plan, or other approved local, regional, or state habitat conservation plan. b. Project Impacts and Mitigation Measures
Threshold 1: Would the project have a substantial adverse effect, either directly or through habitat modifications, on any species identified as a candidate, sensitive, or special status species in local or regional plans, policies, or regulations, or by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service? Impact BIO-1 THE PROJECT AREA IS LARGELY URBANIZED, AND INDIVIDUAL PROJECT COMPONENTS WOULD BE LOCATED ON PREVIOUSLY DEVELOPED AND/OR DISTURBED LANDS. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MEDEA CREEK PATH COULD ADVERSELY IMPACT SPECIAL-STATUS SPECIES OR THEIR HABITAT. FURTHERMORE, LOCAL

SPECIAL-STATUS SPECIES AND NESTING BIRDS ARE EXPECTED TO OCCUR WITHIN THE OVERALL PROJECT AREA AND COULD BE AFFECTED BY CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES. WITH IMPLEMENTATION OF MM BIO-1A THROUGH MM BIO-1C, THIS IMPACT WOULD BE LESS THAN SIGNIFICANT.

This evaluation considers the potential for species occurrence within the Project area and vicinity.

Most special-status plant species known to occur in the region are precluded from occurring within the Project area due to lack of suitable habitat (i.e., developed roadways). While it is likely that several of these special-status plant species are found in the city’s open space areas and undeveloped hillsides at the wildland-urban interface, such as Agoura Hills dudleya (Dudleya cymosa ssp. agourensis), Lyon's pentachaeta, Crotch’s bumble bee (Bombus crotchii), monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), and southwestern pond turtle (Actinemys pallida), most of the species evaluated in Table 4.3-1 and Table 4.3-2 would have low potential to occur within or immediately adjacent to individual project areas and are not expected to be present due to the lack of suitable habitat or other factors (e.g., urban development, nighttime noise and light, domestic animals).

Due to the programmatic nature of the Project, a precise, project-level analysis of the specific impacts of individual projects identified within the BMP on special-status species is not possible at this time. However, some special-status species are expected to be encountered at the locations where projects administered under the BMP would occur. It is anticipated that certain resources would not be avoided and that potentially significant impacts would occur.

Direct impacts to special-status species include injury or mortality occurring during implementation of projects under the BMP. Direct impacts also include habitat modification and loss such that it results in the mortality or otherwise alters the foraging and breeding behavior substantially enough to cause injury. Indirect impacts could occur due to the spread of invasive non-native species that out-compete native species and/or alter habitat towards a state that is unsuitable for special-status species. For example, the spread of certain weed species can reduce the biodiversity of native habitats, potentially eliminating special-status plant species and reduce the availability of suitable forage and breeding sites for special-status wildlife species. Indirect impacts could also result due to increased access by humans and domestic animals, particularly in areas where new facilities may be planned. Increased human and domestic animal (especially dogs) presence foster the spread of nonnative invasive plant species and disrupt the normal behaviors of animal species.

Class I Facilities
Construction of Class I facilities would include clearing and grubbing, pavement demolition, grading, utility relocation, retaining wall or fencing installation, asphalt paving or repaving, street City of Agoura Hills
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improvements and/or construction of undercrossings and/or overcrossings, striping, and revegetation. These activities would require the development of temporary storage, staging, and active work areas that may result in direct impacts to biological resources. Furthermore, implementation of the Class I facilities would occur away from existing roadways rights-of-way (ROWs), which would result in the conversion of existing unpaved areas into developed pathways.

Special-status species have the potential to occur within and adjacent to various habitats near individual projects, including riparian habitats along creeks, ornamental vegetation, and man-made structures such as bridges and buildings. Disturbance to natural and undisturbed habitat associated with the implementation of the Class I facilities has the potential to directly impact special-status species and nesting birds, which would be a potentially significant impact, and mitigation would be required. Specifically, significant impacts to special-status wildlife species or their habitat associated with development of the Path may be a result of:
 Direct mortality resulting from the movement of equipment and vehicles, removal of trees with active bird nests, loss of suitable habitat resulting from the trimming or removal of host plants, and fill of jurisdictional riparian habitat or wetland features.  Loss of breeding, foraging, and refuge habitat resulting from the filling of wetland or riparian vegetation.
 Abandoned eggs or young and subsequent nest failure for nesting birds, including raptors, and other migratory birds resulting from construction-related vibrations and noises.

Ground and vegetation disturbing activities, if conducted during the nesting bird season (generally February 1 to August 31), would also have the potential to result in removal or disturbance to trees and shrubs that could contain active bird nests. Construction activities that result in the loss of bird nests, eggs, and young, would be in violation of one or more of CFGC sections 3503 (any bird nest), 3503.5 (birds-of-prey), or 3511 (Fully Protected birds). In addition, the purposeful removal or destruction of one or more active nests of any other birds listed by the MBTA, whether nest damage was due to vegetation removal or to other construction activities, would be considered a violation of the MBTA and CFGC Section 3511. The loss of protected bird nests, eggs, or young due to implementation of the Class I facilities would result in a potentially significant impact to nesting birds, and mitigation would be required.

Operation of the Class I facilities would consist of bicycle and pedestrian travel along shared use paths. Temporary impacts to special-status species and nesting birds could occur due to noise and motion associated with the use of bicycles along the Class I facilities, which could startle animals and lead to nest or young abandonment. Bicycles passing close to vegetation also risk inadvertently disturbing special-status and nesting birds, particularly if off-trail riding were to occur, although unexpected. Human activity can also attract predators resulting in increased predation risks, and increased human presence may cause stress with some species reducing feeding or breeding efforts in high-traffic areas. Animals may flush in response to human activity, exposing themselves and their young to environmental stressors. These operational impacts are short-term, would only occur during active use of the Class I facilities, and would be minimized through educational signage encouraging facility users to stay on designated paths and reduce speed near sensitive areas.

Therefore, operational impacts to special-status and nesting birds would be less than significant during operation of the Class I facilities.

Environmental Impact Analysis
Biological Resources
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.3-29

MEDEA CREEK PATH
The proposed Path would result in construction of a Class I facility along Medea Creek from Agoura Road to the northern limit of the city. Construction of the Path would extend into undisturbed areas associated with Medea Creek, resulting in the potential to temporarily or permanently disturb or remove natural habitat. Specifically, implementation of the Path has the potential to directly impact riparian and aquatic habitat and could directly impact special-status species, such as southwestern pond turtle, in these areas. Disturbance to natural and undisturbed habitat associated with the implementation of the Path also has the potential to directly impact nesting birds. This impact would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

Operation of the Path would consist of bicycle and pedestrian travel along a shared use path.

Temporary impacts to special-status species and nesting birds could occur due to noise and motion associated with the use of bicycles along the Path, which could startle animals and lead to nest or young abandonment. Bicycles passing close to vegetation also risk inadvertently disturbing specialstatus and nesting birds, particularly if off-trail riding were to occur, although unexpected. Human activity can also attract predators resulting in increased predation risks, and increased human presence may cause stress with some species reducing feeding or breeding efforts in high-traffic areas. Animals may flush in response to human activity, exposing themselves and their young to environmental stressors. These operational impacts are short-term, would only occur during active use of the Path, and would be minimized through educational signage encouraging facility users to stay on designated paths and reduce speed near sensitive areas. Therefore, operational impacts to special-status and nesting birds would be less than significant during operation of the Path.

AGOURA HIGH SCHOOL CONNECTION
The proposed Connection would result in construction of a Class I facility connecting Thousand Oaks Boulevard to Fountain Place along the northern border of Agoura High School. Construction of the Connection would have the potential to temporarily disturb or remove overwintering and nesting habitat along the edges of the proposed facility for listed species such as Crotch’s bumble bee, which is known to occupy similarly situated non-native grassland habitat similar to that within the identified project boundary for the Connection. This impact would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

Operation of the Connection would consist of bicycle and pedestrian travel along a shared use path.

Temporary impacts to special-status species and nesting birds could occur due to noise and motion associated with the use of bicycles along the Connection, which could startle animals and lead to nest or young abandonment. Bicycles passing close to vegetation also risk inadvertently disturbing special-status and nesting birds, particularly if off-trail riding were to occur, although unexpected.

Human activity can also attract predators resulting in increased predation risks, and increased human presence may cause stress with some species reducing feeding or breeding efforts in hightraffic areas. Animals may flush in response to human activity, exposing themselves and their young to environmental stressors. These operational impacts are short-term, would only occur during active use of the Connection, and would be minimized through educational signage encouraging facility users to stay on designated paths and reduce speed near sensitive areas. Therefore, operational impacts to special-status and nesting birds would be less than significant during operation of the Connection.

City of Agoura Hills
Agoura Hills Bicycle Master Plan

4.3-30
Class II Facilities
The establishment of Class II facilities would generally require roadway restriping and reconfiguration of lane widths to accommodate new dedicated bike lanes. Restriping can be completed within a single work period and does not require the establishment of storage, staging, or work areas. Construction activities would occur within previously disturbed areas or areas lacking suitable habitat for sensitive species; thus, implementation of these facilities would be unlikely to modify or otherwise impact sensitive species habitat. This impact would be less than significant.

Pavement widening would be necessary on Driver Avenue and on Cornell Road to allow for the addition of bicycle lanes. Construction activities for pavement widening would require grading and/or excavation in natural and undisturbed habitat, which could result in direct impacts to special-status species, including nesting birds. This impact would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

Operation of the Class II facilities would consist of bicycle travel along delineated bike lanes adjacent to existing travel lanes. Given the existing vehicular activity occurring on these roadways, operation of the Class II facilities would not result in impacts to special-status and nesting birds. Operational impacts would be less than significant.

Class III Facilities
Establishment of Class III facilities would be limited to the restriping of existing roads to identify bike routes. Restriping can be completed within a single work period and does not require the establishment of storage, staging, or work areas. Restriping would occur entirely within the existing roadway, which has been previously disturbed and lacks suitable habitat for sensitive species; thus, implementation of these facilities would be unlikely to modify or otherwise impact sensitive species habitat. This impact would be less than significant.

Operation of the Class III facilities would consist of bicycle travel along shared use travel lanes. Given the existing vehicular activity occurring on these travel lanes, operation of the Class III facilities would not result in impacts to special-status and nesting birds. Operational impacts would be less than significant.

Class IV Facilities
Construction of Class IV facilities would require pavement demolition, minor grading, bollard or fencing installation, asphalt paving or repaving, and striping. These activities would require the development of temporary storage, staging, and active work areas that may result in direct impacts to biological resources. Furthermore, implementation of the Class IV facilities would occur adjacent to but separate from existing roadways ROWs, which would result in the conversion of existing unpaved areas into developed pathways. These activities may directly impact special-status species, including nesting birds. This impact would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

Operation of the Class IV facilities would consist of physically separated bikeways adjacent to travel lanes. Given the existing vehicular activity occurring on the adjacent roadways, operation of the Class IV facilities would not result in impacts to special-status and nesting birds. Operational impacts would be less than significant.

Environmental Impact Analysis
Biological Resources
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.3-31
Enhanced Bicycle Treatments
Enhanced bicycle treatments could include street striping and restriping, signage and wayfinding, bicycle signals and detection at traffic signals, bicycle parking, and bicycle repair facilities.

Construction and implementation of these facilities would be completed within a single work period and would not require the establishment of storage, staging, or work areas. These facilities would be implemented at various locations throughout the city within or adjacent to existing, new, or improved bikeways. Implementation would not result in development within previously undeveloped areas. Thus, implementation of these facilities would be unlikely to modify or otherwise impact sensitive species habitat. This impact would be less than significant.

Operation of the enhanced bicycle treatments would include continued use of existing bicycle facilities, storing of bicycles at new parking facilities, and use of bicycle repair facilities. Given that these facilities would be located within or adjacent to existing, new, or improved bikeways, operation of the enhance bicycle treatments would not result in impacts to special-status species or nesting birds. Operational impacts would be less than significant.

General Plan Amendments
As part of the proposed Project, the City must amend Chapter 3, Infrastructure and Community Services, of the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 to ensure consistency with the proposed BMP. These General Plan Amendments shift the focus from prioritizing automobile mobility to reducing VMT alternative transportation modes like walking and biking, guided by the BMP. The proposed General Plan Amendments would not result in construction or operation activities beyond existing conditions. Therefore, the Amendments would not modify or otherwise impact sensitive species or their habitats. No impact would occur.

Mitigation Measures
Class I facilities, Medea Creek Path, Agoura High School Connection, Class II facilities requiring pavement widening, and Class IV facilities would require the following mitigation measures.

BIO-1a Pre-Construction Biological Resources Assessment and Reporting Prior to approval of final design for individual projects identified within the BMP that involve ground disturbance and/or vegetation trimming or removal, the City shall retain a qualified biologist to conduct a focused assessment of the environmental limits of the individual project boundary to identify sensitive biological resources that may be impacted by implementation of the project, including special-status plants, animals, and their habitats, as well as sensitive natural communities, regulated waters, and protected trees.

If the biologist identifies protected biological resources that may be affected by implementation of the project, the City shall first prepare alternative designs that seek to avoid and/or minimize impacts to the biological resources. If the project cannot be redesigned without complete avoidance, the City shall retain the qualified biologist to identify the specific impacts to the biological resource (i.e., special-status species, sensitive natural communities, regulated waters, and/or protected trees), identify any state or federal listed species that would necessitate coordination with the appropriate regulatory agency (i.e., USFWS, CDFW, USACE) to obtain regulatory permits, develop project-specific avoidance and mitigation procedures prior to initiating construction activities, and implement project-specific avoidance and mitigation measures prior to and during any construction activities.

City of Agoura Hills
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Mitigation actions that may be required if impacts to sensitive biological resources be identified during implementation of individual projects include:
 Pre-construction surveys to identify the presence of special-status species, nesting birds, and roosting bats, within and adjacent to work areas;
 Worker Environmental Awareness Program training for all construction personnel;  Complete avoidance of special-status species where and if possible. Avoidance measures may include:
 Delimiting and flagging of special-status species avoidance buffer areas (Environmentally Sensitive Areas),
 Monitoring of construction activity near Environmentally Sensitive Areas, and  Installation of special-status species exclusion fencing;  Relocation of special-status species out of work areas (with applicable permits and authorizations as necessary);
 Restoration of temporarily disturbed special-status species’ habitat; and,  Compensatory mitigation for impacts to special-status species habitat at a minimum ratio appropriate for extent and quality of permanently disturbed habitat. Mitigation ratios may vary from 1:1 to 5:1.

BIO-1b Pre-Construction Nesting Bird Surveys, Avoidance, and Reporting Future construction activities initiated during the raptor and passerine bird nesting season (January 1 – August 31) involving removal of vegetation or other nesting bird habitat, including abandoned structures and other manmade features, shall be preceded by a pre-construction nesting bird survey conducted no more than one week prior to initiation of ground disturbance and vegetation removal activities. The nesting bird preconstruction survey shall be conducted on foot and shall include up to a 200-foot buffer around the construction site depending on the specific area being surveyed, where publicly accessible. The survey shall be conducted by a qualified biologist familiar with the identification of avian species known to occur in southern California. If nests are found, an avoidance buffer shall be determined by a qualified biologist dependent upon the species, the proposed work activity, and existing disturbances associated with land uses outside of the site, which shall be demarcated by the biologist with bright orange construction fencing, flagging, construction lathe, or other means to demarcate the boundary. All construction personnel shall be notified as to the existence of the buffer zone and to check with the qualified Biologist before entering the buffer zone during the nesting season. Encroachment into the buffer shall occur only at the discretion of the qualified biologist on the basis that the encroachment will not be detrimental to an active nest. No ground or vegetation disturbing activities shall occur within the buffer until the biologist has confirmed that breeding/ nesting is completed, and the young have fledged the nest.

An email summarizing the preconstruction survey(s) shall be prepared by a qualified biologist and shall be submitted to the city prior to the commencement of construction activities.

Individual project plans shall include a statement acknowledging compliance with the MBTA and CFGC that includes avoidance of active bird nests and identification of BMPs to avoid impacts to active nests, including checking for nests prior to construction activities during the nesting bird season and what to do if an active nest is found so that the nest is not inadvertently impacted during grading or construction activities.

Environmental Impact Analysis
Biological Resources
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.3-33
BIO-1c Construction Best Management Practices
The following construction BMPs shall be incorporated into all grading and construction plans for individual projects:
 A 20 mile-per-hour speed limit shall be designated in all construction areas where applicable.  All vehicles and equipment shall be parked on pavement, existing roads, and previously disturbed areas, and clearing of vegetation for vehicle access shall be avoided to the greatest extent feasible.
 The number of access routes, number, and size of staging areas, and the total area of the activity shall be limited to the minimum necessary to achieve the goal of the Project.  Equipment washout and fueling areas shall be located within the limits of grading at a minimum of 100 feet from waters, wetlands, or other sensitive resources as identified by a qualified biologist to the greatest extent feasible. Washout areas shall be designed to fully contain polluted water and materials for subsequent removal from the site.  Daily construction work schedules shall be limited to daylight hours where adjacent to natural areas capable of supporting wildlife, and shall be consistent with local noise ordinances.  Mufflers shall be used on all construction equipment where work will be conducted within or adjacent to natural areas capable of supporting wildlife, and vehicles shall be in good operating condition.
 Drip pans shall be placed under all stationary vehicles and mechanical equipment within 100 feet of a drainage, creek, or stream.
 All trash shall be placed in sealed containers and shall be removed from project sites a minimum of once per week.
 No pets are permitted on Project sites during construction.

Significance After Mitigation
Implementation of Mitigation Measure (MM) BIO-1a would require a pre-construction biological resources survey to identify protected biological resources within the limits of individual project boundaries, preparation of a report on the potential impacts due to construction activities, and asneeded mitigation. Implementation of Mitigation Measure BIO-1b would require pre-construction nesting bird surveys and avoidance. Mitigation Measure BIO-1c would require implementation of construction BMPs into all grading and construction plans to minimize impacts to sensitive biological resources. With implementation of Mitigation Measures BIO-1a, BIO-1b, and BIO-1c, impacts related to special-status species would be less than significant.

Threshold 2: Would the project have a substantial adverse effect on any riparian habitat or other sensitive natural community identified in local or regional plans, policies, or regulations, or by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service?
Impact BIO-2 FUTURE CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES COULD ADVERSELY IMPACT RIPARIAN HABITAT OR OTHER SENSITIVE NATURAL COMMUNITIES. WITH IMPLEMENTATION OF MM BIO-1A THROUGH MM BIO-2C, THIS IMPACT WOULD BE LESS THAN SIGNIFICANT.

Two sensitive natural communities are recorded by the CNDDB within the Project area: Valley Oak Woodland and Southern Coast Live Oak Riparian Woodland. Valley Oak Woodlands are found in City of Agoura Hills
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valley bottoms, lower slopes, and valleys where soils are alluvial or residual. A prime example of this vegetation community is within the Cheseboro/Palo Comado Canyon portion of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) east of Chesebro Road. This community is listed as vulnerable to extirpation or extinction globally or subnationally (G3/S3). Southern Coast Live Oak Riparian woodlands are found along streams and drainage channels, such as Medea Creek and Chesebro Creek. Typical species include woody plants such as alder, willows, cottonwoods, and California sycamore. Herbaceous plants may include cattails and currants. This community, however, is listed as apparently secure, common and abundant (G4/S4).

Two features mapped by NWI, Palo Comado Canyon Creek and Chesebro Canyon Creek, are classified as Riverine and overlap with Class III Facilities. Palo Comado Canyon Creek intersects both Balkins Drive and Fairview Place, with each street featuring an Arizona crossing. An Arizona crossing is a type of roadway crossing where a street or road goes directly through a creek or river without a bridge or culvert. Instead of being elevated, the road surface is designed to allow water to flow over it during wet conditions. These crossings are usually paved or reinforced to prevent erosion, but they can become impassable during heavy rains or flooding.

Due to the programmatic nature of the BMP, a precise, project-level analysis of the specific impacts of individual projects identified within the BMP on sensitive habitats is not possible at this time.

However, several of the projects that may be implemented under the BMP have the potential to impact sensitive habitats, although the extent and severity of the impacts is not known at this time.

Class I Facilities
Construction of Class I facilities identified within the BMP, including the creation of storage, staging, and active work areas, would be located outside of existing roadways within the individual project boundaries. At the time of construction, should the construction contractor require additional staging areas, they would be responsible for identifying and securing long-term staging areas on previously disturbed storage yards, the locations of which are currently unknown. Implementation of Class I facilities would occur away from existing roadways ROWs, which would result in the conversion of existing unpaved areas into developed pathways. Construction activities that occur near riparian habitat or other sensitive natural communities could result in direct impacts to biological resources. This impact would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

Operation of the Class I facilities would consist of bicycle and pedestrian travel along shared use paths, which would not result in direct or indirect impacts to riparian habitat or other sensitive natural communities. No operational impact would occur.

MEDEA CREEK PATH
Implementation of the Path would result in construction of a Class I facility along Medea Creek in previously undisturbed areas. The portion of Medea Creek within the Project area has the potential to support two natural communities of special concern: Valley Oak Woodland Forest and Southern Coast Live Oak Riparian Woodland. Construction activities associated with implementation of the Path within or adjacent these sensitive natural communities could result in direct impacts due to the removal of vegetation or compaction of soils, and/or indirect impacts due to dust, vegetation thinning, habitat degradation due to introduction of invasive plant species incidentally from construction equipment, or erosion of disturbed areas. Furthermore, construction activities could occur within riparian habitat associated with Medea Creek. Riparian areas provide wildlife habitat and movement corridors, enabling both terrestrial and aquatic organisms to move along river systems between areas of suitable habitat. Construction activities associated with implementation Environmental Impact Analysis
Biological Resources
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.3-35
of the Path could result in direct impacts due to disturbance of riparian flora and fauna and/or indirect impacts due to increased erosion and sedimentation, which would adversely affect downstream water quality.

Sensitive natural communities are regulated by the CDFW and riparian habitat is considered jurisdictional by CDFW. Because construction of the Path could directly impact CDFW-jurisdictional areas, a formal Jurisdictional Delineation would be required to determine the extent of impacts to jurisdictional features. Compliance with to the permit requirements of the CDFW, including permits under CFGC Sections 1600-1616, would reduce impacts riparian habitat or other sensitive natural communities. Nonetheless, direct and/or indirect impacts to riparian habitat or other sensitive natural communities associated with implementation of the BMP would still be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

Operation of the Path would consist of bicycle and pedestrian travel along a shared use path, which would not result in direct or indirect impacts to riparian habitat or other sensitive natural communities. No operational impact would occur.

AGOURA HIGH SCHOOL CONNECTION
The proposed Connection would result in construction of a Class I facility connecting Thousand Oaks Boulevard to Fountain Place along the northern border of Agoura High School. Implementation of the Connection would occur within non-native grasslands. There are no known riparian habitats or other sensitive natural communities located within or immediately adjacent to this project area. No impact would occur.

Class II Facilities
The establishment of Class II facilities would generally require roadway restriping and reconfiguration of lane widths to accommodate new dedicated bike lanes. Restriping can be completed within a single work period and does not require the establishment of storage, staging, or work areas. Construction activities would occur within previously disturbed areas lacking riparian habitats or other sensitive natural communities. Thus, implementation of these facilities would not modify or otherwise impact riparian habitat or other sensitive natural communities, and no impact would occur.

Pavement widening would be necessary on Driver Avenue and on Cornell Road to allow for the addition of bicycle lanes. Based on the known locations of these proposed Class II facilities, construction activities for pavement widening would require grading and/or excavation in areas with habitat that could support riparian habitat or other sensitive natural communities. For these projects, a formal Jurisdictional Delineation would be required to determine the extent of impacts to jurisdictional features. Compliance with permit requirements would reduce impacts to riparian habitats and other sensitive natural communities. Nonetheless, direct and/or indirect impacts to riparian habitat or other sensitive natural communities associated with implementation of Class II facilities requiring pavement widening would still be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

Operation of the Class II facilities would consist of bicycle travel along delineated bike lanes, which would not result in direct or indirect impacts to riparian habitat or other sensitive natural communities. No operational impact would occur.

City of Agoura Hills
Agoura Hills Bicycle Master Plan

4.3-36
Class III Facilities
Establishment of Class III facilities would be limited to the restriping of existing roads to identify bike routes. Restriping can be completed within a single work period and does not require the establishment of storage, staging, or work areas. Construction activities would occur within previously disturbed areas lacking suitable habitat for sensitive natural communities. Riparian features that overlap the locations of Class III facilities include Palo Comado Canyon Creek and Chesebro Canyon Creek. Because construction activities would occur within previously disturbed areas, implementation of Class III facilities would not impact the creeks or associated riparian vegetation. Overall, implementation of the Class III facilities would not modify or otherwise impact riparian habitat or other sensitive natural communities, and no impact would occur.

Operation of the Class III facilities would consist of bicycle travel along shared use travel lanes, which would not result in direct or indirect impacts to riparian habitat or other sensitive natural communities. No impact would occur.

Class IV Facilities
Construction of Class IV facilities would require pavement demolition, minor grading, bollard or fencing installation, asphalt paving or repaving, and striping. Implementation of the Class IV facilities would occur adjacent to but separate from existing roadways ROWs, which would result in the conversion of existing unpaved areas into developed pathways. Given the proposed locations of the proposed Class IV facilities, implementation is not anticipated to impact riparian habitat or other sensitive natural communities. This impact would be less than significant.

Operation of the Class IV facilities would consist of bicycle travel along physically separated bikeways adjacent to travel lanes, which would not result in direct or indirect impacts riparian habitat or other sensitive natural communities. No operational impact would occur.

Enhanced Bicycle Treatments
Enhanced bicycle treatments could include street striping and restriping, signage and wayfinding, bicycle signals and detection at traffic signals, bicycle parking, and bicycle repair facilities.

Construction and implementation of these facilities would be completed within a single work period and would not require the establishment of storage, staging, or work areas. These facilities would be implemented at various locations throughout the city within or adjacent to existing, new, or improved bikeways. Implementation would not result in development within previously undeveloped areas. Thus, implementation of these facilities would be unlikely to modify or otherwise impact riparian habitat or other sensitive natural communities. This impact would be less than significant.

Operation of the enhanced bicycle treatments would include continued use of existing bicycle facilities, storing of bicycles at new parking facilities, and use of bicycle repair facilities. These activities would not result in direct or indirect impacts to riparian habitat or other sensitive natural communities. No operational impact would occur.

General Plan Amendments
As part of the proposed Project, the City must amend Chapter 3, Infrastructure and Community Services, of the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 to ensure consistency with the proposed BMP. The Amendments would not have a physical impact on the Project area. Thus, the Environmental Impact Analysis
Biological Resources
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.3-37
Amendments would not modify or otherwise impact riparian habitat or other sensitive natural communities. No impact would occur.

Mitigation Measures
Mitigation Measure BIO-1a and Mitigation Measure BIO-1c would be required; refer to Impact BIO-1 for full text of these measures. The following mitigation would also be required for Class I facilities, Medea Creek Path, and Class II facilities requiring pavement widening.

BIO-2a Riparian Habitat and Sensitive Natural Communities Protection If sensitive natural communities, wetlands, or riparian habitats are identified within individual project limits, the City shall design or modify the project to avoid direct and indirect impacts on these habitats, if feasible. At a minimum, the City shall implement the following measures to minimize the loss of riparian vegetation, where feasible.  Protect sensitive habitat areas from harmful exposure to light. If an individual project identified within the BMP is located within or adjacent to sensitive habitat areas or habitat for sensitive species, and lighting is proposed, then the facility will be designed to protect such areas from harmful exposure to light by shielding light sources, redirecting light sources, or using low intensity lighting.
 Delineate sensitive habitat areas. Sensitive habitat areas to be avoided, including appropriate buffers (determined by a qualified biologist), will be flagged by a qualified biologist prior to the onset of construction activities. Where indicated by the biologist, these areas will be fenced or otherwise protected from direct and indirect impacts. All such areas to be avoided with be clearly marked on construction plans and designated as “no construction” zones.  Slope stabilization. Where construction will occur on bare soil or on slopes, the contractor shall stabilize exposed soil/slopes immediately upon completion of construction activities. On highly erodible soils/slopes, the contractor shall use a non-vegetative material that binds the soil initially and breaks down within a few years. If more intensive erosion control treatments are needed, geotextile mats, excelsior blankets, or other soil stabilization products shall be used.  Install signage and fencing, vegetation, or other natural barriers to prevent impacts on adjacent areas during operation. Fencing, vegetation, or other natural barriers will be constructed to prevent impacts on sensitive habitat areas adjacent to the Facilities during operation. Signs will be erected in appropriate locations to inform users of the need to stay within designated bike paths, lanes, routes, or boulevards.

BIO-2b Jurisdictional Delineation Survey and Report
Before approving any individual project involving ground disturbance, the City shall retain a qualified biologist to conduct a site-specific assessment of the individual project area to identify sensitive natural communities, wetlands, or riparian habitats. The field delineation shall include a survey effort within the individual project area. During the field survey, sample points shall be established to document wetland and non-wetland aquatic resources, using the appropriate agencyapproved methodology and data forms. The sample points shall focus on identifying indicators of an OHWM, wetland hydrology, hydric soils, and hydrophytic vegetation. Using this information, a “wetland edge” shall be discerned between the wetland and non-wetland points, and the boundary of the aquatic resources shall be mapped with a sub-meter global position system unit.

City of Agoura Hills
Agoura Hills Bicycle Master Plan

4.3-38
The survey shall be conducted in accordance with USACE Wetlands Delineation Manual (1987) and Arid West Regional Supplement to the manual, as well as the latest guidance from the CDFW and Los Angeles RWQCB. This methodology is the acceptable methodology for delineating the boundaries of federal and state jurisdictions.

A delineation report shall be prepared in accordance with the USACE Los Angeles District’s 2017 Minimum Standards for Acceptance of Aquatic Resources Delineation Reports and shall be used to support necessary permit applications. The report shall include a discussion of methodologies and results that detail the background information; field observations and data collected; and a summary of findings. The report shall contain narrative descriptions of all aquatic features identified, including jurisdictional resources and their boundaries within the Project component’s work area. The report shall quantify lengths and acreages of each aquatic feature, provide highquality figures, site photographs, and completed data forms, and geographic information system (GIS) data.

The report shall be used to support permitting requirements and shall be submitted to the City for review and approval prior to the issuance of grading permits.

BIO-2c Compensatory Mitigation
If sensitive natural communities, state or federally protected wetlands, and/or riparian habitats are disturbed due to implementation of an individual project identified within the BMP, the City shall compensate for the disturbance to ensure no net loss of habitat functions and values.

Compensation ratios shall be based on site-specific information and determined through coordination with state, federal, and/or local agencies as part of the permitting process for the individual project prior to the issuance of a grading permit and/or initiation of construction activities. Unless determined otherwise by the regulatory/permitting agency, the compensation shall be at a minimum ratio of two acres restored, created, and/or preserved for every one acre disturbed (2:1). Compensation may comprise on-site restoration/creation off-site restoration, preservation, or purchase of mitigation credits (or a combination of these elements). If compensatory mitigation involves restoration, the City shall develop and implement a Restoration and Monitoring Plan that describes how the habitat shall be created and monitored over a minimum period of time.

In broad terms, the Restoration and Monitoring Plan shall at a minimum include:
 Description of the Project/impact and mitigation sites  Information related to riparian habitat impacts
 Specific objectives
 Success criteria
 Plant palettes for each vegetation community
 Implementation plan
 Maintenance activities
 Monitoring plan
 Contingency measures
The plant palette shall include a diversity of appropriate native species that occur in the communities in the surrounding area. The performance standards for the Restoration and Monitoring Plan shall be, at a minimum, the following:

Environmental Impact Analysis
Biological Resources
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.3-39
 Within five years after introducing the native plants to the mitigation site, the acreage of restored native grassland habitat shall be no less than two times the acreage lost to Project construction.
 Within five years after introducing the native plants to the mitigation site, the absolute cover of the target species and other native species shall be no less than 50 percent within the restoration area.
 Restoration will be considered successful after the success criteria have been met for a period of at least 2 years without any maintenance or remediation activities other than invasive species control.

The restoration project shall be initiated prior to development of the individual project and shall be implemented at most over a five-year period, unless success criteria is met sooner. The restoration project shall incorporate an iterative process of annual monitoring and evaluation of progress, and allow for adjustments to the restoration plan, as necessary, to achieve desired outcomes and meet success criteria. Annual reports discussing the implementation, monitoring, and management of the restoration Project shall be submitted to the City. Five years after start of the restoration project, a final report shall be submitted to the City, which shall at a minimum discuss the implementation, monitoring, and management of the restoration project over the five-year period and indicate whether the restoration project has been successful based on established success criteria. The annual reports and the final report shall include as-built plans submitted as an appendix to the report.

If the loss of the sensitive habitat types is to be mitigated by a contribution of an in-lieu fee, the City shall provide evidence of payment of the in-lieu fee prior to issuance of the grading permit. The fee shall be based on the cost per acre to restore or create in-kind habitat and the acreage of sensitive communities impacted. In-lieu fees shall be used for the restoration of in-kind habitat.

Significance After Mitigation
Implementation of Mitigation Measure BIO-1a would require a pre-construction biological resources survey to identify protected biological resources within the limits of individual project boundaries, preparation of a report on the potential impacts due to construction activities, and as-needed mitigation. Mitigation Measure BIO-1c would require implementation of construction BMPs into all grading and construction plans to minimize impacts to sensitive biological resources, including sensitive natural communities, wetland, and/or riparian habitats. Implementation of Mitigation Measure BIO-2a would protect and minimize the loss of riparian vegetation and natural communities. Implementation of Mitigation Measure BIO-2b would require identification, and if present, the delineation of riparian and other sensitive natural communities. Implementation of Mitigation Measure BIO-2c would require compensatory mitigation for the disturbance to riparian habitat, sensitive natural communities, and protected wetlands. With implementation of Mitigation Measures BIO-1a, BIO-1c, BIO-2a, BIO-2b, and BIO-2c, impacts related to riparian habitat or other sensitive natural communities would be less than significant.

City of Agoura Hills
Agoura Hills Bicycle Master Plan

4.3-40
Threshold 3: Would the project have a substantial adverse effect on state or federally protected wetlands (including but not limited to, marsh, vernal pool, coastal, etc.) through direct removal, filling, hydrological interruption, or other means? Impact BIO-3 FUTURE CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES COULD ADVERSELY IMPACT STATE OR FEDERALLY PROTECTED WETLANDS DEFINED BY SECTION 404 OF THE CLEAN WATER ACT. WITH IMPLEMENTATION OF MM BIO-2A THROUGH MM BIO-2C, THIS IMPACT WOULD BE LESS THAN SIGNIFICANT.

Medea Creek is mapped by NWI as a Relatively Permanent Water which has a direct hydrologic surface connection to the Pacific Ocean and is therefore considered a traditional navigable water.

Medea Creek is classified as mostly Freshwater Emergent Wetland in the Project area, with portions classified as Freshwater Forested/Shrub Wetland. The creek overlaps portions of the proposed Path.

Due to the programmatic nature of the BMP, a precise, project-level analysis of the specific impacts of individual projects identified within the BMP on wetlands is not possible at this time. However, several of the projects that may be implemented under the BMP have the potential to impact wetland habitats, although the extent and severity of the impacts is not known at this time.

Class I Facilities
Construction of Class I facilities identified within the BMP, including the creation of storage, staging, and active work areas, would be located outside of existing roadways within the individual project boundaries. At the time of construction, should the construction contractor require additional staging areas, they would be responsible for identifying and securing long-term staging areas on previously disturbed storage yards, the locations of which are currently unknown. Implementation of Class I facilities would occur away from existing roadways ROWs, which would result in the conversion of existing unpaved areas into developed pathways. Construction activities that occur near federally protected wetlands or waters could result in direct impacts to biological resources.

This impact would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

Operation of the Class I facilities would consist of bicycle and pedestrian travel along shared use paths, which would not result in direct or indirect impacts to wetlands. No operational impact would occur.

MEDEA CREEK PATH
Implementation of the Path would result in construction of a Class I facility along Medea Creek in previously undisturbed areas. Construction activities associated with implementation of the Path within or adjacent to this wetland could result in direct impacts to biological resources.

Wetlands are subject to regulatory oversight and are considered jurisdictional by both RWQCB and the USACE. Because construction of the Path could directly affect areas under RWQCB and USACE jurisdiction, a formal Jurisdictional Delineation would be necessary to determine the extent of potential impacts to these features. Compliance with applicable permitting requirements, including those under Sections 401 and 404 of the CWA and the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, would help minimize impacts to wetlands. However, direct and indirect impacts to wetlands resulting from implementation of the BMP could still be potentially significant, and mitigation measures would be required.

Operation of the Path would consist of bicycle and pedestrian travel along a shared use path, which would not result in direct or indirect impacts to wetlands. No operational impact would occur.

Environmental Impact Analysis
Biological Resources
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.3-41

AGOURA HIGH SCHOOL CONNECTION
The proposed Connection would result in construction of a Class I facility connecting Thousand Oaks Boulevard to Fountain Place along the northern border of Agoura High School. Implementation of the Connection would occur within non-native grasslands. There are no known wetlands located within or immediately adjacent to this project area. No impact would occur.

Class II Facilities
The establishment of Class II facilities would generally require roadway restriping and reconfiguration of lane widths to accommodate new dedicated bike lanes. Restriping can be completed within a single work period and does not require the establishment of storage, staging, or work areas. Construction activities would occur within previously disturbed areas lacking wetlands. Thus, implementation of these facilities would not modify or otherwise impact wetlands, and no impact would occur.

Pavement widening would be necessary on Driver Avenue and on Cornell Road to allow for the addition of bicycle lanes. Construction activities for pavement widening would require grading and/or excavation in areas with habitat that could support wetlands. For these projects, a formal Jurisdictional Delineation would be required to determine the extent of impacts to jurisdictional features. Compliance with permit requirements would reduce impacts to wetlands. Nonetheless, direct and/or indirect impacts to wetlands associated with implementation of Class II facilities requiring pavement widening would still be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

Operation of the Class II facilities would consist of bicycle travel along delineated bike lanes, which would not result in direct or indirect impacts to wetlands. No operational impact would occur.

Class III Facilities
Establishment of Class III facilities would be limited to the restriping of existing roads to identify bike routes. Restriping can be completed within a single work period and does not require the establishment of storage, staging, or work areas. Construction activities would occur within previously disturbed areas lacking suitable habitat for sensitive natural communities. Because construction activities would occur within previously disturbed areas, implementation of the Class III facilities would not modify or otherwise impact wetlands, and no impact would occur.

Operation of the Class III facilities would consist of bicycle travel along shared use travel lanes, which would not result in direct or indirect impacts to wetlands. No impact would occur.

Class IV Facilities
Construction of Class IV facilities would require pavement demolition, minor grading, bollard or fencing installation, asphalt paving or repaving, and striping. Implementation of the Class IV facilities would occur adjacent to but separate from existing roadways ROWs, which would result in the conversion of existing unpaved areas into developed pathways. Given the proposed locations of the proposed Class IV facilities, implementation is not anticipated to impact wetlands. This impact would be less than significant.

Operation of the Class IV facilities would consist of bicycle travel along physically separated bikeways adjacent to travel lanes, which would not result in direct or indirect impacts to wetlands.

No operational impact would occur.

City of Agoura Hills
Agoura Hills Bicycle Master Plan

4.3-42
Enhanced Bicycle Treatments
Enhanced bicycle treatments could include street striping and restriping, signage and wayfinding, bicycle signals and detection at traffic signals, bicycle parking, and bicycle repair facilities.

Construction and implementation of these facilities would be completed within a single work period and would not require the establishment of storage, staging, or work areas. These facilities would be implemented at various locations throughout the city within or adjacent to existing, new, or improved bikeways. Implementation would not result in development within previously undeveloped areas. Thus, implementation of these facilities would be unlikely to modify or otherwise impact wetlands. This impact would be less than significant.

Operation of the enhanced bicycle treatments would include continued use of existing bicycle facilities, storing of bicycles at new parking facilities, and use of bicycle repair facilities. These activities would not result in direct or indirect impacts to wetlands. No operational impact would occur.

General Plan Amendments
As part of the proposed Project, the City must amend Chapter 3, Infrastructure and Community Services, of the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 to ensure consistency with the proposed BMP. The Amendments would not have a physical impact on the Project area. Thus, the Amendments would not modify or otherwise impact wetlands. No impact would occur.

Mitigation Measures
Mitigation Measures BIO-1a, BIO-1c, BIO-2a, BIO-2b, and BIO-2c would be required for Medea Creek Path and Class I facilities; refer to Impact BIO-1 and Impact BIO-2 for full text of these measures.

Significance After Mitigation
Implementation of Mitigation Measure BIO-1a would require a pre-construction biological resources survey to identify protected biological resources within the limits of individual project boundaries, preparation of a report on the potential impacts due to construction activities, and as-needed mitigation. Mitigation Measure BIO-1c would require implementation of construction BMPs into all grading and construction plans to minimize impacts to sensitive biological resources, including sensitive natural communities, wetland, and/or riparian habitats. Implementation of Mitigation Measure BIO-2a would protect and minimize the loss of riparian vegetation and natural communities. Implementation of Mitigation Measure BIO-2b would require identification, and if present, the delineation of riparian and other sensitive natural communities. Implementation of Mitigation Measure BIO-2c would require compensatory mitigation for the disturbance to riparian habitat, sensitive natural communities, and protected wetlands. With implementation of Mitigation Measures BIO-1a, BIO-1c, BIO-2a, BIO-2b, and BIO-2c, impacts related to wetlands would be less than significant.

Environmental Impact Analysis
Biological Resources
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.3-43
Threshold 4: Would the project interfere substantially with the movement of any native resident or migratory fish or wildlife species or with established native resident or migratory wildlife corridors, or impede the use of native wildlife nursery sites? Impact BIO-4 CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES COULD RESULT IN TEMPORARY IMPACTS TO WILDLIFE MOVEMENT OR NURSERY SITES; IMPACTS WOULD BE LESS THAN SIGNIFICANT.

Due to the programmatic nature of the BMP, a precise, project-level analysis of the specific impacts of individual projects identified within the BMP on wildlife movement and nursery sites is not possible at this time. However, several of the projects that may be implemented under the BMP may increase human activity in areas where sensitive biological resources could occur, which could disturb wildlife movement and nursery sites.

Direct impacts to wildlife movement include increased noise and increased human presence during construction, as well as increased trash which may attract predators to individual project sites and discourage wildlife use of surrounding natural habitat. Indirect impacts include invasion of natural habitats by non-native species and a long-term increase in the presence of humans and domestic animals. Furthermore, some individual projects identified within the BMP would include new segments of fencing or walls that that could hinder wildlife movement.

The City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 provides land use and zoning designations for wildlife corridors and open space within the city (City of Agoura Hills 2022). The only wildlife corridor mapped by the city is a portion of the SMMNRA outside of the eastern city boundary, which crosses the Ventura Freeway and reconnects with another portion of the SMMNRA in the southeastern corner of the city. None of the individual projects identified within the BMP overlap with this area.

Class I Facilities
Construction of Class I, including the creation of storage, staging, and active work areas, would be located outside of existing roadways within individual project boundaries. Because implementation of Class I facilities would occur away from existing roadways ROWs, construction would result in the conversion of existing unpaved areas into developed pathways. However, other than the Path and the Connection, which are discussed below, Class I facilities would be located adjacent to existing paved and previously constructed or disturbed ROWs. Therefore, the storage, staging, and active work areas for Class I facilities are expected to lack suitable coverage for wildlife foraging, cover, nesting, and breeding. Impacts to wildlife movement and nursery sites associated with the construction of Class I facilities would be less than significant.

Operation of the Class I facilities would consist of bicycle and pedestrian travel along shared use paths, which would not prevent wildlife movement. Furthermore, active use of these facilities would be short-term and temporary; thus, there would be no indirect impacts associated with noise, lighting, and harassment. Operational impacts would be less than significant.

MEDEA CREEK PATH
Medea Creek can serve as a wildlife corridor for aquatic and terrestrial species traversing through the city. Impacts to movement of these species during construction would be temporary and limited to the installation of temporary fencing, construction noise, and the presence of construction personnel during working hours. Native habitats located adjacent to the Path could also be temporarily degraded if subject to light trespass or glare from artificial night lighting, which could affect the normal behavior of wildlife and cause some species to avoid the area.

City of Agoura Hills
Agoura Hills Bicycle Master Plan

4.3-44
Construction of the Path would require the creation of storage, staging, and active work areas, which would be temporarily fenced for security. Temporary nighttime lighting may be used for additional security within the temporary fenced areas. Nighttime security lighting would be shielded and directed downward and inward toward the work, storage, or staging areas to prevent light spill onto adjacent properties or habitats. Given the temporary and intermittent nature of construction, the temporary and intermittent use of fencing, and the use of directional shielding on nighttime lighting, these impacts to wildlife movement and nursery sites would be less than significant.

Increased noise levels during construction of the Path could impact wildlife species within the individual project site and surrounding areas. This impact would be minimal for construction occurring near urban and previously developed locations where ambient noise presently exists, and where wildlife would be expected to be urban tolerant. However, noise impacts could adversely affect wildlife if located adjacent to undeveloped open space. Compliance with Section 9656 of the AHMC would limit construction-related noise to no greater than a 55 A-weighted decibel (dBA) Community Noise Equivalent Level (CNEL) within known wildlife nesting or migration areas.

Therefore, noise impacts to wildlife movement and nursery sites would be less than significant.

Operation of the Path would consist of bicycle and pedestrian travel along a shared use path, which would not prevent wildlife from moving through the area. Operational lighting requirements are not currently identified for the Path. Nonetheless, Section 9663.5 of the AHMC requires groundmounted, shielded, and downward facing lighting fixtures at regular intervals along pedestrian paths. Therefore, implementation of the Path would include the installation of ground-mounted lighting fixtures. With compliance with the AHMC requirements, this new source of lighting would not result in impacts wildlife movement and nursery sites. Furthermore, active use of the Path would be short-term and temporary; thus, there would be no indirect impacts associated with noise, lighting, and harassment. Operational impacts would be less than significant.

AGOURA HIGH SCHOOL CONNECTION
The Connection occurs within an area that connects to the larger open space of the SMMNRA and other greenways that eventually connect to Medea Creek. Impacts to wildlife movement during construction would be temporary and limited to the installation of temporary fencing, construction noise, and the presence of construction personnel during working hours. Native habitats located adjacent to the Connection could also be temporarily degraded if subject to light trespass or glare from artificial night lighting, which could affect the normal behavior of wildlife and cause some species to avoid the area.

Construction of the Connection would require the creation of storage, staging, and active work areas, which would be temporarily fenced for security. Temporary nighttime lighting may be used for additional security within the temporary fenced areas. Nighttime security lighting would be shielded and directed downward and inward toward the work, storage, or staging areas to prevent light spill onto adjacent properties or habitats. Given the temporary and intermittent nature of construction, the temporary and intermittent use of fencing, and the use of directional shielding on nighttime lighting, these impacts to wildlife movement and nursery sites would be less than significant.

Increased noise levels during construction of the Connection would occur near urban and previously developed locations where ambient noise presently exists, and where wildlife would be expected to be urban tolerant. Therefore, noise impacts to wildlife movement and nursery sites would be less than significant.

Environmental Impact Analysis
Biological Resources
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.3-45
Operation of the Connection would consist of bicycle and pedestrian travel along a shared use path, which would not prevent wildlife from moving through the area. Operational lighting requirements are not currently identified for the Connection. Nonetheless, Section 9663.5 of the AHMC requires ground-mounted, shielded, and downward facing lighting fixtures at regular intervals along pedestrian paths. Existing sources of light near the Connection include building lighting and windows from Agoura High School, overhead lighting for the athletic fields at Agoura High School, and building lighting and windows from nearby residential development. Therefore, this new source of lighting associated with the Connection would not result in impacts wildlife movement and nursery sites. Furthermore, active use of the Connection would be short-term and temporary; thus, there would be no indirect impacts associated with noise, lighting, and harassment. Operational impacts would be less than significant.

Class II Facilities
The establishment of Class II facilities would generally require roadway restriping and reconfiguration of lane widths to accommodate new dedicated bike lanes. Restriping can be completed within a single work period and does not require the establishment of fenced storage, staging, or work areas. Construction activities would occur within previously disturbed areas lacking suitable habitat for wildlife seeking refuge or coverage. Thus, implementation of these facilities would not impact wildlife movement or nursery sites, and no impact would occur Pavement widening would be necessary on Driver Avenue and on Cornell Road to allow for the addition of bicycle lanes. Construction activities for pavement widening would require grading and/or excavation in previously undisturbed areas. These activities may result in temporary direct and indirect impacts to wildlife that utilize those areas for refuge, movement, and cover. Impacts would be temporary and limited to the installation of temporary fencing, construction noise, and the presence of construction personnel during working hours. Noise impacts would be minimal for construction occurring near urban and previously developed locations where ambient noise presently exists, and where wildlife would be expected to be urban tolerant. Noise impacts could adversely affect wildlife if located adjacent to undeveloped open space. Compliance with Section 9656 of the AHMC would limit construction-related noise to no greater than a 55 dBA CNEL within known wildlife nesting or migration areas. Therefore, impacts to wildlife movement and nursery sites during construction would be less than significant.

Operation of the Class II facilities would consist of bicycle travel along delineated bike lanes, which would not prevent wildlife movement. Furthermore, active use of these facilities would be shortterm and temporary; thus, there would be no indirect impacts associated with noise, lighting, and harassment. Operational impacts would be less than significant.

Class III Facilities
Establishment of Class III facilities would be limited to the restriping of existing roads to identify bike routes. Restriping can be completed within a single work period and does not require the establishment of storage, staging, or work areas. Restriping would occur entirely within the existing roadway, which has been previously disturbed. Thus, there would be no impact to wildlife movement and nursery sites during construction.

Operation of the Class III facilities would consist of bicycle travel along shared use travel lanes. Given the existing vehicular activity occurring on these travel lanes, operation of the Class III facilities would result in no impact to wildlife movement and nursery sites.

City of Agoura Hills
Agoura Hills Bicycle Master Plan

4.3-46
Class IV Facilities
Construction of Class IV, including the creation of storage, staging, and active work areas, would be located outside of existing roadways within individual project boundaries. Implementation of the Class IV facilities would occur adjacent to but separate from existing roadways ROWs, which would result in the conversion of existing unpaved areas into developed pathways. Class IV facilities would be located adjacent to existing paved and previously constructed or disturbed ROWs. Therefore, the storage, staging, and active work areas for Class IV facilities are expected to lack suitable coverage for wildlife foraging, cover, nesting, and breeding.

Operation of the Class IV facilities would consist of bicycle travel along physically separated bikeways adjacent to travel lanes. Physical buffers would consist of vertical barriers such as mountable curbs or flexible barriers, which would maintain separation between vehicles and bicyclists without impacting wildlife movement and nursery sites. Operational impacts would be less than significant.

Enhanced Bicycle Treatments
Enhanced bicycle treatments could include street striping and restriping, signage and wayfinding, bicycle signals and detection at traffic signals, bicycle parking, and bicycle repair facilities.

Construction and implementation of these facilities would be completed within a single work period and would not require the establishment of storage, staging, or work areas. These facilities would be implemented at various locations throughout the city within or adjacent to existing, new, or improved bikeways. Implementation would not result in development within previously undeveloped areas. Furthermore, these facilities would be implemented where ambient noise presently exists, and wildlife is expected to be urban tolerant. Therefore, the construction of these facilities does not have the potential to impact wildlife movement or nursery sites.

Operation of the enhanced bicycle treatments would include continued use of existing bicycle facilities, storing of bicycles at new parking facilities, and use of bicycle repair facilities. These activities would not result in direct or indirect impacts to wildlife movement or nursery sites. No impact would occur.

General Plan Amendments
As part of the proposed Project, the City must amend Chapter 3, Infrastructure and Community Services, of the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 to ensure consistency with the proposed BMP. The Amendments would not have a physical impact on the Project area. Thus, the Amendments would not result in direct or indirect impacts to wildlife movement or nursery sites.

No impact would occur.

Mitigation Measures
No mitigation measures are required.

Significance After Mitigation
Impacts would be less than significant without mitigation.

Environmental Impact Analysis
Biological Resources
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.3-47
Threshold 5: Would the project conflict with any local policies or ordinances protecting biological resources, such as a tree preservation policy or ordinance? Impact BIO-5 FUTURE CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES COULD CONFLICT WITH LOCAL POLICIES PROTECTING BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES. WITH IMPLEMENTATION OF MM BIO-1A, MM BIO-1C, MM BIO-2A THROUGH MM BIO-2C, AND MM BIO-5A, THIS IMPACT WOULD BE LESS THAN SIGNIFICANT Due to the programmatic nature of the BMP, a precise, project-level analysis of the specific impacts of individual projects identified within the BMP on biological resources protected by local policies or ordinances is not feasible at this time. However, several of the projects that may be implemented under the BMP would occur in areas where protected trees and other biological resources which are protected by city and/or county ordinances and/or policies could be encountered. Therefore, the Project may conflict with local ordinances and/or policies protecting biological resources, including oak trees. To address this, oak trees within individual project areas would need to be surveyed in the field and documented in an Arborist Report prepared in accordance with the City’s requirements. This is particularly important because some trees that are currently below ordinance size thresholds may reach protected status by the time of project construction. Therefore, field verification and updated assessments would be necessary during the project-level planning phase to ensure compliance with the City’s tree protection ordinances and to avoid or minimize impacts to protected trees.

Class I Facilities
Construction of Class I, including the creation of storage, staging, and active work areas, would be located outside of existing roadways within individual project boundaries. Because implementation of Class I facilities would occur away from existing roadways ROWs, construction would result in the conversion of existing unpaved areas into developed pathways that have the potential to support oak trees. Direct or indirect impacts to oak trees would conflict with local policies and ordinances that protect biological resources, including Policy LU-3.4, Policy NR-4.2, and Policy NR 4-10 of the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035, all of which focus on sustaining the city’s protected oak trees, as well as Section 9657 of the AHMC, which aims to preserve all healthy oak trees. Conflicting with the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 and the AHMC would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

Operation of the Class I facilities would consist of bicycle and pedestrian travel along shared use paths, which would not have the potential to impact oak trees or other protected biological resources. No operational impact would occur.

MEDEA CREEK PATH
Implementation of the Path would occur within riparian habitat and would have the greatest potential to impact protected oak trees. Direct or indirect impacts to oak trees would conflict with local policies and ordinances that protect biological resources, including Policy LU-3.4, Policy NR-4.2, and Policy NR 4-10 of the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035, all of which focus on sustaining the city’s protected oak trees, as well as Section 9657 of the AHMC, which aims to preserve all healthy oak trees. Conflicting with the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 and the AHMC would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

Operation of the Path would consist of bicycle and pedestrian travel along a shared use path, which would not have the potential to impact oak trees or other protected biological resources. No operational impact would occur.

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AGOURA HIGH SCHOOL CONNECTION
The proposed Connection would result in construction of a Class I facility connecting Thousand Oaks Boulevard to Fountain Place along the northern border of Agoura High School. Implementation of the Connection would occur within non-native grasslands that are not suitable for oak trees or other protected biological resources. Therefore, no impact would occur during construction or operation.

Class II Facilities
The establishment of Class II facilities would generally require roadway restriping and reconfiguration of lane widths to accommodate new dedicated bike lanes. These activities would occur within previously disturbed areas that are not suitable for oak trees or other protected biological resources. Therefore, no impact would occur during restriping activities.

Pavement widening would be necessary on Driver Avenue and on Cornell Road to allow for the addition of bicycle lanes. Construction activities for pavement widening would require grading and/or excavation in previously undisturbed areas that have the potential to support oak trees.

Direct or indirect impacts to oak trees would conflict with local policies and ordinances that protect biological resources, including Policy LU-3.4, Policy NR-4.2, and Policy NR 4-10 of the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035, all of which focus on sustaining the city’s protected oak trees, as well as Section 9657 of the AHMC, which aims to preserve all healthy oak trees. Conflicting with the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 and the AHMC would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

Operation of the Class II facilities would consist of bicycle travel along delineated bike lanes, which would not have the potential to impact oak trees or other protected biological resources. No operational impact would occur.

Class III Facilities
Establishment of Class III facilities would be limited to the restriping of existing roads to identify bike routes. These activities would occur within previously disturbed areas that are not suitable for oak trees or other protected biological resources. Therefore, no impact would occur during restriping activities.

Class IV Facilities
Construction of Class IV, including the creation of storage, staging, and active work areas, would be located outside of existing roadways within individual project boundaries. Implementation of the Class IV facilities would occur adjacent to but separate from existing roadways ROWs, which would result in the conversion of existing unpaved areas into developed pathway where there is the potential for oak trees to occur. Direct or indirect impacts to oak trees would conflict with local policies and ordinances that protect biological resources, including Policy LU-3.4, Policy NR-4.2, and Policy NR 4-10 of the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035, all of which focus on sustaining the city’s protected oak trees, as well as Section 9657 of the AHMC, which aims to preserve all healthy oak trees. Conflicting with the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 and the AHMC would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

Operation of the Class IV facilities would consist of bicycle travel along physically separated bikeways adjacent to travel lanes, which would not have the potential to impact oak trees or other protected biological resources. No operational impact would occur.

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Enhanced Bicycle Treatments
Enhanced bicycle treatments could include street striping and restriping, signage and wayfinding, bicycle signals and detection at traffic signals, bicycle parking, and bicycle repair facilities. These facilities would be implemented at various locations throughout the city within or adjacent to existing, new, or improved bikeways. Implementation would not result in development within previously undeveloped areas suitable for oak trees or other protected biological resources.

Operation of the enhanced bicycle treatments would include continued use of existing bicycle facilities, storing of bicycles at new parking facilities, and use of bicycle repair facilities. These activities would not result in direct or indirect impacts to oak trees or other protected biological resources. No impact would occur.

General Plan Amendments
As part of the proposed Project, the City must amend Chapter 3, Infrastructure and Community Services, of the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 to ensure consistency with the proposed BMP. The Amendments would not have a physical impact on the Project area. Thus, the Amendments would not result in direct or indirect impacts to oak trees or other protected biological resources. No impact would occur.

Mitigation Measures
Class I facilities, Medea Creek Path, and Class IV facilities would require the following mitigation measures. Mitigation Measure BIO-1a, Mitigation Measure BIO-1c, Mitigation Measure BIO-2a, Mitigation Measure BIO-2b, and Mitigation Measure BIO-2c would be required; refer to Impact BIO1 and Impact BIO-2 for full text of these measures. The following mitigation would also be required.

BIO-5a Tree Protection
The City shall procure all necessary tree removal permits prior to impacting a protected oak tree. A tree protection and replacement plan shall be developed by a certified arborist for any protected oak tree(s) or other naturally occurring native tree that has a trunk diameter (at 4.5 feet above grade; diameter at breast height [DBH]) that will be affected by implementation of an individual project identified within the BMP. The tree protection and replacement plan shall include, but would not be limited to, an inventory of protected oak trees and naturally occurring native trees with a DBH of four inches or more within the individual construction site, setbacks from trees and protective fencing, restrictions regarding grading and paving near trees, direction regarding pruning and digging within the root zone of trees, and requirements for replacement and maintenance of trees. If protected oak trees or other naturally occurring native trees with a DBH of four inches or more will be removed, replacement tree plantings of like species in accordance with the city standards, but at a minimum ratio of 4:1 (trees planted to trees impacted) for protected oak trees in accordance with the City of Agoura Hills Oak Tree Preservation Guidelines and Oak Tree Ordinance (Municipal Code Article IX, Chapter 6, Part 2., Division 7) and a minimum ratio of 1:1 replacement for other naturally occurring native trees with a DBH of four inches or more, and shall be installed on-site or at an approved off-site location and a restoration and monitoring program shall be developed and implemented for a minimum of seven years.

If the protective zone (as defined per the Agoura Hills Oak Tree Preservation Guidelines) of a protected oak tree is disturbed by more than 30 percent, the tree shall be retained and mitigated at a ratio of 4:1 as described above, because long-term impacts that may lead to decline or mortality may not be visible for several years. Any protected oak tree that will be encroached within its City of Agoura Hills
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protective zone during construction shall have a certified arborist present to oversee the work activities. Any trimming of roots and branches shall be performed or directly supervised by a certified arborist and shall be done in accordance with the American National Standards Institute A300 Tree Care standards.

Significance After Mitigation
Implementation of Mitigation Measure BIO-1a would require a pre-construction biological resources survey to identify protected biological resources within the limits of the Project area, preparation of a report on the potential impacts due to Project activities and mitigate as needed. Mitigation Measure BIO-1c would require implementation of construction BMPs into all grading and construction plans to minimize impacts to sensitive biological resources. Implementation of Mitigation Measure BIO-2a would protect and minimize the loss of riparian vegetation and natural communities. Implementation of Mitigation Measure BIO-2b would require identification, and if present, the delineation of riparian and other sensitive natural communities. Implementation of Mitigation Measure BIO-2c would require compensatory mitigation for the disturbance to riparian habitat, sensitive natural communities, and protected wetlands. Implementation of Mitigation Measure BIO-5a would require tree protection and removal permits prior to disturbance. With implementation of Mitigation Measure BIO-1a, MM BIO-1c, MM Bio-2a through MM Bio-2c, and MM-Bio 5a, impacts related to local policies or ordinances would be less than significant.

Threshold 6: Would the project conflict with the provisions of an adopted Habitat Conservation Plan, Natural Community Conservation Plan, or other approved local, regional, or state habitat conservation plan?
Impact BIO-6 THE PROPOSED PROJECT WOULD NOT CONFLICT WITH AN ADOPTED HABITAT CONSERVATION PLAN. NO IMPACT WOULD OCCUR.

There are no existing landscape‐level Habitat Conservation Plans, Natural Community Conservation Plans, or other approved local, regional, or state habitat conservation plans within the boundaries of the City of Agoura Hills. Thus, the proposed Project would not conflict with any such plans. No impact would occur.

Mitigation Measures
No mitigation measures would be required.

Significance After Mitigation
No impact would occur.

4.3.4 Cumulative Impacts
The geographic scope for cumulative impacts related to biological resources is the Project area, which encompasses all of the City of Agoura Hills. Past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future projects, including the projects listed in Table 3-1, would have the potential to result in cumulative impacts to biological resources within the city, including special-status plant and wildlife species, sensitive natural communities, wetlands, riparian habitats, wildlife movement corridors, nursery sites, oak trees, or other protected biological resources. The magnitude of impacts would depend upon the location, type, and size of development and the specific resources associated with individual project sites. Biological resource evaluations would be completed on a case-by-case basis Environmental Impact Analysis
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for all future development. Compliance with applicable regulations and implementation of appropriate mitigation measures, including those contained within this PEIR, would address impacts to biological resources associated with future development. Therefore, cumulative development would have a less-than-significant cumulative impact on biological resources. Furthermore, as there are no existing landscape‐level Habitat Conservation Plans, Natural Community Conservation Plans, or other approved local, regional, or state habitat conservation plans within the boundaries of the City of Agoura Hills, the project cannot contribute to a cumulative impact related to a conflict with such plans.

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Environmental Impact Analysis
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4.4 Cultural Resources
The analysis in this section considers potential impacts to historical and archaeological resources and human remains. Specifically, this section discusses the environmental and regulatory setting; the criteria used to determine the significance of environmental impacts related to historical and archaeological resources and human remains; and potential impacts related to historical and archaeological resources and human remains that would result from implementation of the proposed Project. Potential impacts to tribal resources are addressed in Section 4.12, Tribal Cultural Resources; potential impacts to paleontological resources are addressed in Section 4.5, Geology and Soils.

4.4.1 Setting
a. Prehistoric Setting
The Project area, which compasses all of the City of Agoura Hills, is located in what is generally described as the Northern Bight archaeological region, one of eight geographical divisions of California designated by Jones and Klar (2007). This region encompasses the northern half of the California Bight, is bounded by the Southern California coastline, and encompasses the previously designated Southern Coast archaeological region described by Moratto (1984). The Northern Bight archaeological region primarily includes the counties of Santa Barbara, Ventura, and portions of Los Angeles, extending from the coastline at Vandenberg Air Force Base inland to the Cuyama River Valley and south to the Santa Monica Mountains and the Los Angeles Basin. Following Glassow et al. (2007), the pre-contact cultural chronology for the Northern Bight is generally divided into six periods: Paleo-Indian (ca. 10,000–7000 before common era [BCE]), Millingstone (7000–5000 BCE), Early (5000 BCE–2000 BCE), Middle (2000 BCE–1 common era [CE]), Middle-Late Transition (1–1000 CE), and Late (1000 CE–Historic Contact). These periods are discussed in further detail below.

Paleo-Indian Period (ca. 10,000–7,000 BCE)
The Paleo-Indian Period describes the earliest evidence of human occupation of the Northern Bight and includes the cultural trends and subsistence strategies of contemporary populations from approximately 10,000–7,000 BCE (Glassow et al. 2007). Archaeologists largely define the PaleoIndian Period in North America by projectile points associated with extinct large mammal remains, such as mammoth, bison, and dire wolves in the Southwest and Plains regions (Erlandson et al. 2007; Huckell 1996). These projectile points have been classified as the Clovis style, which exhibit a lanceolate shape with a flute initiated from the base that extends as far as the midline (Justice 2002).

The earliest accepted dates for human occupation in California were recovered from archaeological sites on two of the Northern Channel Islands, located off the southern coast of Santa Barbara County. Over 90 paleo-coastal sites dating between approximately 11,000 to 6,200 years BCE have been documented in the Northern Channel Islands (McLaren et al. 2019). Archaeological deposits from the Daisy Cave site on San Miguel Island establishes the presence of people in this area approximately 8000 BCE (Erlandson 1991; Erlandson et al. 2007), and the Arlington Springs Woman (CA-SRI-173) has a calibrated date approximately 9000 BCE derived from the human remains and rodent bones recovered from within the same deposits on Santa Rosa Island (Erlandson et al. 2007; Glassow et al. 2007; Johnson et al. 2002). Shell middens identified on the mainland of California have yielded dates from 8000 to 7000 BCE (Erlandson et al. 2007).

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Recent data from Paleo-Indian shell middens, bone middens, lithic scatters, and quarry workshops on the Channel Islands indicate that the area supported substantial human populations during later paleo-coastal times (McLaren et al. 2019). Data from the last 20 years also suggests that the economy was a diverse mixture of hunting, fishing, and gathering, with a major emphasis on aquatic resources in many coastal areas (e.g., Jones and Ferneau 2002; Erlandson et al. 2007). Shellfish are particularly prevalent, suggesting a heavy reliance on this resource, with varying intensities of reliance on fish, marine mammals, seabirds, and waterfowl (McLaren et al. 2019).

Assemblages on the Channel Islands include chipped-stone bifaces, cores and flake tools, groundstone artifacts, bone gorges, Olivella shell beads, woven sea grass cordage, and red ochre. While no fluted points have been found on the Channel Islands, a few have been found along California’s mainland coast (McLaren et al. 2019). One fluted projectile point fragment was recovered from site CA-SBA-1951 on the Santa Barbara Channel coastal plain (Erlandson 1994: 44; Erlandson et al. 1987). Archaeological deposits at the Daisy Cave site further yielded an assemblage of “the oldest known fishhooks in the Americas” (Erlandson et al. 2007: 57).

Millingstone Horizon (7,000–5,000 BCE)
Originally identified in 1929, the Millingstone Horizon, as described by Wallace (1955, 1978) and Warren (1968), is characterized by an ecological adaptation to collecting plant resources, such as seeds and nuts. This identification was suggested by the appearance and abundance of well-made milling implements (e.g., metates, milling slabs, and hand stones like manos and mullers) in the archaeological record, particularly in areas along the coast of California. Archaeologists generally accept that human occupation of California during the Paleo-Indian period originated from small, dispersed occupations. With milling implements occurring in high frequencies for the first time, archaeologists infer the Millingstone Horizon experienced a significant population increase in the Central Coast region (Glassow et al. 2007). Excavations at the Tank Site (CA-LAN-1) in Topanga Canyon from 1947 to 1948 (Treganza and Bierman 1958), for example, confirmed the presence of over 2,000 milling implements that correspond with the Millingstone Horizon.

Flaked stone assemblages, which include crude core and cobble-core tools, flake tools, large sidenotched projectile points, and pitted stones (Glassow et al. 2007; Jones et al. 2007), and shell middens in coastal sites suggest that contemporary people in the Northern Bight practiced a mixed food procurement strategy. Faunal remains identified at Millingstone Horizon sites point to a broadspectrum of hunting and gathering of shellfish, fish, birds, and mammals, though large faunal assemblages are uncommon. This mixed food procurement strategy demonstrates adaptation to regional and local environments.

Along the Northern Bight, Millingstone Horizon sites are most common on terraces and knolls, typically set back from the current coastline (Erlandson 1994: 46). 40 sites dating to this period have been identified in various settings, including rocky coasts, estuaries, and nearshore interior valleys (Glassow et al. 2007). The larger sites usually contain extensive midden deposits, possible subterranean house pits, and cemeteries. Most of these sites probably reflect intermittent use over many years of local cultural habitation and resource exploitation.

Early Period (5,000 BCE–2,000 BCE)
The Early Period of the Northern Bight is marked by a lower frequency of radiocarbon dated archaeological sites as well as changes in artifact forms. Differences in artifact forms, and particularly in ground stone implements, likely represent changes in subsistence (Glassow et al. 2007). The material culture recovered from Early Period sites within the Northern Bight provides Environmental Impact Analysis
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evidence for continued exploitation of inland plant and coastal marine resources, as well as the incorporation of “newly important food resources” found in specific habitats (Glassow et al. 2007:
197). In addition to the use of metates and manos, indigenous populations began to use mortars and pestles, such as those recovered from the Sweetwater Mesa (CA-LAN-267) and Aerophysics (CASBA-53) sites (Glassow et al. 2007).

Artifact assemblages recovered from Early Period sites also include bipointed bone gorge hooks used for fishing, Olivella beads, bone tools, and pendants made from talc schist. The frequency of projectile points in Early Period assemblages also increased, while the style began to change from lanceolate forms to side-notched forms (Glassow et al. 2007). The projectile point trend has become apparent at numerous sites along the Northern Bight coastal regions, as well as a few inland sites (e.g. CA-SBA-210 and CA-SBA-530). In many cases, manifestations of this trend are associated with the establishment of new and larger settlements, such as at the Aerophysics site (Glassow et al. 2007, Jones et al. 2007).

Middle Period (2000 BCE–1 CE)
The remains of fish, land mammals, and sea mammals are increasingly abundant and diverse in archaeological deposits along the coastal Northern Bight during the Middle Period, suggesting a pronounced trend toward greater adaptation to regional or local resources, as well as the development of socioeconomic and political complexity in indigenous populations (Glassow et al. 2007). Shell fishhooks were introduced, as opposed to the bone fishhooks found in earlier assemblages, and projectile points changed from side-notched dart points to contracting stem styles.

Flaked stone tools used for hunting and processing—such as large side-notched, stemmed, lanceolate or leaf-shaped projectile points, large knives, edge modified flakes, and drill-like implements—occurred in archaeological deposits in higher frequencies and are more morphologically diversified during the Middle Period. Bone tools, including awls, are more numerous than in the preceding period, and the use of asphaltum adhesive became common.

Circular fish hooks that date from between 1000 and 500 BCE, compound bone fish hooks that date between CE 300 and 900, notched stone sinkers, and the tule reed or balsa raft, indicative of major developments in maritime technology, became common during this period (Arnold 1995; Glassow et al. 2007; Jones and Klar 2005: 466; King 1990: 87–88).

Populations continued to follow a seasonal settlement pattern until the end of the Middle Period; large, permanently occupied settlements with formal architecture, particularly in coastal areas, appear to have been the norm by the end of the Middle Period (Glassow et al. 2007). Indigenous populations began to bury the deceased in formal cemeteries with artifacts that may represent changes in ideology and the development of ritual practices (Glassow et al. 2007).

Middle-Late Transition Period (1 CE–1,000 CE)
The Middle-Late Transition period is marked in the archaeological record by major changes in settlement patterns, diet, and interregional exchange. Contemporary populations of the Northern Bight continued to occupy more permanent settlements with the continued use of formal cemeteries and burial of goods. The manufacture of the plank canoe, or tomol, allowed contemporary populations to catch larger fish that occupied deeper sea waters (Glassow et al. 2007). Following the introduction of the plank canoe, harpoons make a more pronounced appearance as their use increases. The plank canoe also appears to have influenced commerce between the mainland Northern Bight coastal regions and the Channel Islands (Glassow et al. 2007:

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204). Evidence at Middle-Late Transition Period sites in the Northern Bight indicate that populations replaced atlatl (dart) technologies with the bow and arrow, which required smaller projectile points.

Late Period (1,000 CE–Historic Contact)
Archaeologists distinguish Late Period sites in the Northern Bight with small, finely worked projectile points and temporally diagnostic shell beads. Although shell beads were typical of coastal sites, trade brought many of these maritime artifacts to inland locations, especially during the latter part of the Late Period. Projectile points diagnostic of both the Middle and Late periods found within the Northern Bight region and down the central and southern coasts of California include large, contracting-stemmed types typical of the Middle Period, as well as small, leaf-shaped Late Period projectile points (Jones and Ferneau 2002: 217). The small, finely worked projectile points typically associated with bow and arrow technology are believed to have been introduced to the area by the Takic migration from the deserts into Southern California.

Other common artifacts identified at Late Period sites in the Northern Bight include bifacial bead drills, bedrock mortars, hopper mortars, lipped and cupped Olivella shell beads, and steatite disk beads. The presence of beads and bead drills suggest that low-level bead production was widespread throughout the region (Glassow et al. 2007). Unlike the large Middle Period shell middens, Late Period sites are more frequently single-component deposits with evidence for only one period of occupation or use. There are also more inland sites, with fewer and less visible sites along the Pacific shore during the Late Period.
b. Historic-Period Setting
Post-Contact history for the state of California is generally divided into three periods: the Spanish Period (1769–1822), Mexican Period (1822–1848), and American Period (1848–present). Although Spanish, Russian, and British explorers visited the area for brief periods between 1529 and 1769, the Spanish Period in California began with the establishment of a settlement at San Diego in 1769 and the subsequent founding of Mission San Diego de Alcalá, the first of 21 missions constructed between 1769 and 1823. Independence from Spain in 1821 marked the beginning of the Mexican Period, and the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 ended the Mexican-American War, which signaled the beginning of the American Period when California became a territory of the United States.

Spanish Period (1769 – 1822)
Spanish explorers made sailing expeditions along the coast of California between the mid-1500s and mid-1700s. In 1542, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo led the first European expedition to observe what was known by the Spanish as Alta (upper) California. For more than 200 years, Cabrillo and other Spanish, Portuguese, British, and Russian explorers sailed the Alta California coast and made limited inland expeditions, but they did not establish permanent settlements (Bean 1968; Rolle 2003). The Spanish crown laid claim to Alta California based on the surveys conducted by Cabrillo and Vizcaíno (Bancroft 1885; Gumprecht 1999).

By the 18th century, Spain developed a three-pronged approach to secure its hold on the territory and counter against other foreign explorers. The Spanish established military forts known as presidios, as well as missions and pueblos (towns) throughout Alta California. The 1769 overland expedition by Captain Gaspár de Portolá marked the beginning of California’s historic period, occurring just after the King of Spain installed the Franciscan Order to direct religious and colonization matters in assigned territories of the Americas. Portolá established the Presidio of San Environmental Impact Analysis
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Diego as the first Spanish settlement in Alta California in 1769. Franciscan Father Junípero Serra also founded Mission San Diego de Alcalá that same year, the first of the 21 missions that would be established in Alta California by the Spanish and the Franciscan Order between 1769 and 1823 (Graffy 2010). The nearest missions to what is now Agoura Hills were San Fernando Rey de Espana and San Gabriel Arcangel, founded in 1797 and 1791, respectively.

The mission and presidio relied on Tongva and Tataviam labor; eventually, the majority of the native populations were forced to live within the mission complex. During the Spanish Period, construction of missions and associated presidios was a major emphasis with the goal of integrating the Native American population into Christianity and communal enterprise. Incentives were also provided to draw settlers to pueblos or towns. Three pueblos were established during the Spanish Period, only two of which, San José and Los Angeles, were successful and remain as California cities (Library of Congress 2024a, 2024b, Galvin Preservation Associates [GPA] 2009)).

Spain began making land grants in 1784, typically to retiring soldiers, although the grantees were only permitted to inhabit and work the land. The land titles technically remained property of the Spanish king (Livingston 1914). In 1800, Miguel Ortega was granted a Spanish grazing concession called Rancho Las Virgenes or El Rancho de Nuestra Senora La Reina de Las Virgenes. It was abandoned after his death in 1809.

Mexican Period (1822 – 1848)
Up to this period, several factors kept growth within Alta California to a minimum, including the threat of foreign invasion, political dissatisfaction, and unrest among the indigenous population.

After more than a decade of intermittent rebellion and warfare, New Spain won independence from Spain in 1821. In 1822, the Mexican legislative body in California ended isolationist policies designed to protect the Spanish monopoly on trade, and decreed California ports open to foreign merchants (Orsi and Gutierrez 1998).

Extensive land grants were established in the interior during the Mexican Period, in part to increase the population inland from the more settled coastal areas where the Spanish had first concentrated their colonization efforts. The secularization of the missions following Mexico’s independence from Spain resulted in the subdivision of former mission lands and establishment of many additional ranchos. Commonly, former soldiers and well-connected Mexican families were the recipients of these land grants, which now included the title to the land (Graffy 2010). Rancho Las Virgenes was eventually given to Nemecio Dominquez and Domingo Carrillo in a land grant in 1834. A portion of the rancho was transferred to Nemecio’s father, Jose Maria Dominguez, in 1837.

During the supremacy of the ranchos (1834–1848), landowners largely focused on the cattle industry and devoted large tracts to grazing. Cattle hides became a primary Southern California export, providing a commodity to trade for goods from the east and other areas in the United States and Mexico. The number of nonnative inhabitants increased during this period because of the influx of explorers, trappers, and ranchers associated with the land grants. The rising California population contributed to the introduction and rise of diseases foreign to the Native American population, who had no associated immunities (Graffy 2010).

American Period (1849 – Present)
The United States went to war with Mexico in 1846. The war ended in 1848 with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, ushering California into its American Period. California officially became a state with the Compromise of 1850, which also created Utah and New Mexico (with present-day Arizona) City of Agoura Hills
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as United States territories (Waugh 2003). Horticulture and livestock, based primarily on cattle as the currency and staple of the rancho system, continued to dominate the Southern California economy through 1850s. The discovery of gold in the northern part of the state led to the Gold Rush beginning in 1848, and with the influx of people seeking gold, cattle were no longer desired mainly for their hides but also as a source of meat and other goods. During the 1850s cattle boom, rancho vaqueros, or cowboys, drove large herds from southern to northern California to feed that region’s burgeoning mining and commercial boom.

A severe drought in the 1860s decimated cattle herds and drastically affected rancheros’ source of income. In addition, property boundaries that were loosely established during the Mexican era led to disputes with new incoming settlers, problems with squatters, and lawsuits. Rancheros often were encumbered by debt and the cost of legal fees to defend their property. As a result, much of the rancho lands were sold or otherwise acquired by Americans. Most of these ranchos were subdivided into agricultural parcels or towns (Dumke 1944). c. Local History
In 1845, Maria Antonia Machado de Reyes purchased land from her uncle, Jose Maria Dominguez.

Maria, along with her son José Paulino, constructed an adobe home on the land in 1850. This home, known as Reyes Adobe, was determined eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and is automatically eligible for listing in the California Register of Historical Resources (CRHR), and therefore qualifies as a historical resource under CEQA. This home was formally listed on the CRHR (California Historical Resources Status Code 2S2) in 1994, still remains and is one of the oldest houses in Agoura Hills; it was retained by the Reyes family until 1916 (City of Agoura Hills 2022; California Office of Historic Preservation 2025).

The area that would become Agoura Hills remained largely agricultural and sparsely populated through the entry into the American period in 1848 and the end of the nineteenth century. By 1900, the area was a popular stagecoach stop along El Camino Real due in part to a natural spring at the foothills of Ladyface Mountain. Modern development began in earnest in 1924 when Ira and Leon Colodny purchased 500 acres in the area and sold subdivided lots, calling the development “Independent Acres.” In 1927, Paramount Pictures purchased a large portion of the former Rancho Las Virgenes south of the city to be used as a ranch for films (County of Los Angeles 2023). This area, then referred to as “Picture City”, was one of the early developments in Agoura Hills and was situated in its southeast corner along the Cheeseboro Canyon mountains (USGS 1932). The Picture City Chamber of Commerce petitioned for a permanent local name and post office, and in 1928 the name of “Agoura” was chosen, after Pierre Agoure, a Basque rancher who moved to the area in the 1870s for sheepherding (County of Los Angeles 2023).

In the 1930s and 1940s, growth in the area remained limited largely due to a lack of proper water supply (City of Agoura Hills 2022). With the establishment of the La Virgenes Municipal Water District in the 1950s, a reliable water source made Agoura Hills more attractive to both families and businesses. Thus, development and the local population substantially increased. With its proximity to Los Angeles, families were drawn to the relatively quiet and suburban character of Agoura Hills despite its commuting distance to the larger metropolitan region. During this period, the local Highway 101 through Agoura Hills was expanded into the Ventura Freeway, further contributing to the expansion and population growth of the city and surrounding area. Agoura Hills continued to expand with large suburban developments as well as school and shopping areas from east to west, primarily on the east side of Kanan Road at first, eventually continuing west past Kanan Road beginning in the 1970s (NETRONline 2023). The first substantial housing tracts were also developed Environmental Impact Analysis
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during this period in the Hillrise, Liberty Canyon, and Lake Lindero communities (City of Agoura 2022).

On December 8, 1982, Agoura Hills became the 83rd city in Los Angeles County though local vote; in 1985 and 1987 the City adopted its first General Plan and Municipal Code, respectively (City of Agoura Hills 2022). Today, Agoura Hills is a prosperous community, popular for its schools and family-oriented environment (Pascal 2013).
d. Identification of Cultural Resources
Built Environment Resources
A review of the NRHP, CRHR, and California State Office of Historic Preservation Built Environment Directory (BERD), completed in March 2025, identified one designated resource in Agoura Hills. The Reyes Adobe Historical Site, located just north of the Ventura Freeway on Reyes Adobe Road, is listed in the CRHR and was previously determined eligible for listing in the NRHP by the California State Historic Preservation Officer; as such, it meets the definition of a historical resource pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 15064.5(a). The property includes the 1850 adobe and a later barn which possesses significant associations with both the rancho period of California and adobe architecture.

The Project area is a developed urban area comprised of commercial and residential development punctuated by open space. Much of the development within the Project area has occurred during the past 40 to 50 years; therefore, there are buildings and structures throughout the city that meet the 45-year age threshold for consideration as historical resources pursuant to CEQA. Agoura Hills has not been previously subject to a formal, citywide historical resources survey. The review of available information did not identify additional properties which are designated or have previously been found eligible for listing in the NRHP or CRHR.

The City does not currently have a historic preservation ordinance or adopted criteria by which to designate historical resources locally. The City does recognize the unique character of the commercial portion of the area known as “Old Agoura” and adopted the Old Agoura Design Overlay District. The overlay district as currently adopted in the municipal code does not meet the definition of a “historic district” pursuant to federal and state guidelines and regulations.

Archaeological Resources
A California Historical Resources Information System (CHRIS) records search was completed for the Project area by staff at the South Central Coastal information Center (SCCIC), housed at California State University, Fullerton in February 2025. The records search included a review of all previously recorded cultural resources and previous studies within the Project area and a 0.5-mile radius. The records search results indicated 159 cultural resource studies have been conducted within 0.5 miles of the Project area. Of the 159 studies, 115 overlap proposed bicycle facilities identified in the BMP.

The records search results also indicated 62 cultural resources have been previously recorded within the 0.5-mile radius of the Project area including 44 prehistoric archaeological sites, one multicomponent archaeological site, two historic-period archaeological sites, three historic-period built environment resources, and 12 prehistoric isolates. Of the 62 previously recorded cultural resources, 11 overlap or are located immediately adjacent to (within 150 feet of) proposed bicycle facilities identified in the Project, all of which are prehistoric archaeological sites (Table 1). Of the 11 prehistoric archaeological resources located within or immediately adjacent to the proposed bicycle City of Agoura Hills
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facilities identified in the Project, two (P-19-000725 and -000726) are lithic scatters, three (P-19- 000032, -000671, and -004819) are artifact scatters containing both lithic and groundstone artifacts, four (P-19-000041, -000238, -001352, and -004711) are habitation sites containing midden soils, and two (P-19-000243 and -000314) are habitation sites containing midden soils and human remains. Of these 11 resources, two (P-19-000032 and -000243) overlap Class I Bikeways, two (P-19-000671 and -001352) overlap Class II Bikeways, four (P-19-000238, -000314, -004711, and -004819) overlap Class III Bikeways, two (P-19-000725 and -000726) overlap Class IV Bikeways, and one (P-19-000041) overlaps Class I, II, and III Bikeways. These 11 resources are summarized in Table 4.4-1.

Table 4.4-1 Summary of Previously Recorded Cultural Resources Within or Immediately Adjacent to the Proposed Bikeways
Primary
No. (P-19-)
Permanent
Trinomial
(CA-LAN-) Descriptions
Dates
Recorded CRHR Eligibility Bikeway
000032 32 Prehistoric archaeological site:
artifact scatter
1967 Not evaluated Class I Bikeway
000041 41 Prehistoric archaeological site:
habitation site with midden
soils
1951; 1961;
1965; 2000;
2010; 2011
Recommended
eligible
Class I, II, and III
Bikeways
000238 238 Prehistoric archaeological site:
habitation site with midden
soils
1963 Not evaluated Class III Bikeway
000243 243 Prehistoric archaeological site:
habitation site with midden
soils and human remains
1963 Not evaluated Class I Bikeway
000314 314 Prehistoric archaeological site:
habitation site with midden
soils and possible human
remains
1963; 2011 Not evaluated Class III Bikeway
000671 671 Prehistoric archaeological site:
artifact scatter
1976 Not evaluated Class II Bikeway
000725 725 Prehistoric archaeological site:
lithic scatter
1977 Not evaluated Class IV Bikeway
000726 726 Prehistoric archaeological site:
lithic scatter
1977 Not evaluated Class IV Bikeway
001352 1352 Prehistoric archaeological site:
habitation site with midden
soils
1987; 2011 Recommended
eligible
Class II Bikeway
004711 4711 Prehistoric archaeological site:
habitation site with midden
soils
2015 Recommended
eligible
Class III Bikeway
004819 4819 Prehistoric archaeological site:
artifact scatter
2017 Recommended
not eligible
Class III Bikeway
Source: SCCIC 2025
Environmental Impact Analysis
Cultural Resources
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.4-9

4.4.2 Regulatory Setting
a. Federal Regulations
National Historic Preservation Act
The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA) deals with historic preservation at the federal level. One of the most important provisions of the NHPA is the establishment of the NRHP, the official federal designation of historical resources. Although the Project does not have a federal nexus, properties which are listed in or have been formally determined eligible for listing in the NRHP are automatically listed in the CRHR. The following is therefore presented to provide applicable regulatory context.

The NRHP was authorized by Section 101 of the NHPA and is the nation’s official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation. The NRHP, administered by the National Park Service, recognizes the quality of significance in American, state, and local history, architecture, archaeology, engineering, and culture is present in districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects. To be eligible for the NRHP, a property must be significant under the criteria enumerated in 36 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 60.4. Specifically, a property is eligible for listing in the NRHP if it meets one or more of the following criteria:

Criterion A: Is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history
Criterion B: Is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past Criterion C: Embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of installation, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction
Criterion D: Has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history In addition to meeting at least one of the above designation criteria, resources must also retain integrity. The NPS recognizes seven aspects or qualities that, considered together, define historic integrity. To retain integrity, a property must possess several of these seven qualities—if not all— defined in the following manner:

Location: The place where the historic property was constructed or the place where the historic event occurred
Design: The combination of elements that create the form, plan, space, structure, and style of a property
Setting: The physical environment of a historic property Materials: The physical elements that were combined or deposited during a particular period of time and in a particular pattern or configuration to form a historic property Workmanship: The physical evidence of the crafts of a particular culture or people during any given period in history or prehistory
Feeling: A property’s expression of the aesthetic or historic sense of a particular period of time
Association: The direct link between an important historic event or person and a historic property
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Listing in the NRHP does not entail specific protection or assistance for a property, but it does guarantee recognition in planning for federal or federally-assisted projects (46 United States Code [U.S.C.] § 470f [Section 106 of the NHPA]), eligibility for federal tax benefits and qualification for federal historic preservation assistance. The NRHP is influential beyond its statutory role because it achieves uniform standards of documentation and evaluation.

Certain properties are generally considered ineligible for listing in the NRHP, including cemeteries, birthplaces, graves of historical figures, properties owned by religious institutions, relocated structures, or commemorative properties. Additionally, a property must be at least 50 years of age to be eligible for listing in the NRHP. The National Park Service states that 50 years is the general estimate of the time needed to develop the necessary historical perspective to evaluate significance (National Park Service 1997: 41). Properties which are less than 50 years must be determined to have “exceptional importance” to be considered eligible for NRHP listing. b. State Regulations
California Register of Historical Resources
The CRHR was established in 1992 and codified by PRC Sections 5024.1 and Title 14 Section 4852.

The CRHR is an authoritative listing and guide to be used by State and local agencies, private groups, and citizens in identifying the existing historical resources of the state and to indicate which resources deserve to be protected, to the extent prudent and feasible, from substantial adverse change (PRC Section 5024.1(a)). The criteria for eligibility for the CRHR are consistent with the NRHP criteria but have been modified for state use in order to include a range of historical resources that better reflect the history of California (PRC Section 5024.1(b)). Unlike the NRHP, the CRHR does not have a defined age threshold for eligibility; rather, a resource may be eligible for the CRHR if it can be demonstrated sufficient time has passed to understand its historical or architectural significance (California Office of Historic Preservation 2011). Furthermore, resources may still be eligible for listing in the CRHR even if they do not retain sufficient integrity for NRHP eligibility (California Office of Historic Preservation 2011). Generally, the California Office of Historic Preservation recommends that resources over 45 years of age be recorded and evaluated for historical resources eligibility (California Office of Historic Preservation 1995: 2).

A property is eligible for listing in the CRHR if it meets one or more of the following criteria:

Criterion 1: Is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of California’s history and cultural heritage
Criterion 2: Is associated with the lives of persons important to our past Criterion 3: Embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, region, or method of construction, or represents the work of an important creative individual, or possesses high artistic values
Criterion 4: Has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history The CRHR includes properties that are listed or have been formally determined to be eligible for listing in the NRHP, State Historical Landmarks and eligible Points of Historical Interest. Other resources require nomination for inclusion in the Register. These may include resources contributing to the significance of a local historic district, individual historical resources, historical resources identified in historic resource surveys conducted in accordance with State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) procedures, historic resources or districts designated under a local ordinance Environmental Impact Analysis
Cultural Resources
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.4-11
consistent with State Historic Resources Commission procedures, and local landmarks or historic properties designated under local ordinance.

Two other programs are administered by the state: California Historical Landmarks and California “Points of Historical Interest.” California Historical Landmarks are buildings, sites, features, or events that are of statewide significance and have anthropological, cultural, military, political, architectural, economic, scientific or technical, religious, experimental, or other historical value. California Points of Historical Interest are buildings, sites, features, or events that are of local (city or county) significance and have anthropological, cultural, military, political, architectural, economic, scientific or technical, religious, experimental, or other historical value.

Codes Governing Human Remains
The disposition of human remains is governed by Health and Safety Code Section 7050.5 and PRC Sections 5097.5, 5097.94 and 5097.98. If human remains are discovered, the County Coroner must be notified within 48 hours and there should be no further disturbance to the site where the remains were found. If the remains are determined by the coroner to be Native American, the coroner is responsible for contacting the Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC) within 24 hours. The NAHC, pursuant to PRC Section 5097.98, will immediately notify those persons it believes to be most likely descended from the deceased Native Americans so they can inspect the burial site and make recommendations for treatment or disposal. Section 5097.5 of the Code states the following:

A person shall not knowingly and willfully excavate upon, or remove, destroy, injure or deface any historic or prehistoric ruins, burial grounds, archaeological or vertebrate paleontological site, including fossilized footprints, inscriptions made by human agency, or any other archaeological, paleontological or historical feature, situated on public lands, except with the express permission of the public agency having jurisdiction over the lands...(c) A violation of this section is a misdemeanor…
As used in this section, “public lands” means lands owned by, or under the jurisdiction of, the State or any city, county, district, authority or public corporation, or any agency thereof. Consequently, the City of Agoura Hills is required to comply with Public Resource Code Section 5097.5 for its activities on publicly-owned land.

Section 5097.993 sets requirements for the unlawful and malicious excavation, removes, destruction, injury, or defacing of a Native American historic, cultural, or sacred site, that is listed or may be eligible for listing in the CRHR.
c. Local Regulations
City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035
The City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 was adopted on March 24, 2010 (updated on August 10, 2022) by the City Council (City of Agoura Hills 2022). The City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 is a strategic document designed to guide the physical development of the city until the year 2035.

Among other things, the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 sets out the pattern of land uses, including residential, commercial, and industrial. It also establishes the system of streets, bikeways, and trails. The City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 addresses a wide variety of subject areas, including housing, traffic, natural resources, land uses, economic development, noise, and public safety.

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The City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 contains the following goals and policies related to related to archaeological and historic resources, which would apply to the proposed Project.

Goal HR-1. The protection and maintenance of historic resources to foster stewardship and civic pride, which contributes to the unique identity and character of Agoura Hills.

Policy HR-1.1. Enhance community appreciation of the importance of the City’s historic sites and buildings, and protect and preserve significant historical resources, to the extent feasible Policy HR-3.1. Require that the potential for the presence of significant archaeological and paleontological resources be considered prior to the development of a property.

Goal HR-3. The protection of significant archaeological and paleontological resources in Agoura Hills.

Policy HR-3.2 Require that significant archaeological and paleontological resources be preserved in-situ, as feasible. When avoidance of impacts is not possible, require data recovery mitigation for all significant resources. Require that excavation of deposits of Native American origin be coordinated with and monitored by recognized Chumash representatives.

Policy HR-3.3. Require that if human remains or funerary objects are discovered and unearthed during any soil disturbing activity, the discoveries shall be treated in compliance with applicable state and federal laws, including notifying the County Coroner and the California Native American Heritage Commission, as appropriate, and following relevant procedures.

City of Agoura Hills Municipal Code
The City does not currently have a historic preservation ordinance or adopted criteria by which to designate historical resources locally; the City does recognize the unique character of the commercial portion of the area known as “Old Agoura” through the adoption of the Old Agoura Design Overlay District in Article IX, Chapter 5, Part 6 of the Agoura Hills Municipal Code (AHMC).

The intent of this overlay designation is to “preserve the unique character of Old Agoura through the establishment of special public improvement standards and design guidelines.” It establishes permitted, conditional, and prohibited uses, in addition to providing design standards relating to building coverage, height, and signs among other considerations. Section 9552.2 of the AHMC specifically identifies four properties within the district which would require conditional use permits prior to any modification, alteration or change, specifically “Amazing Kate's,” “Old Post Office,” “Stage Door Theatre,” and “Agoura Sign.”

4.4.3 Impact Analysis
a. Methodology and Significance Thresholds
As discussed in Section 4.0, Environmental Impact Analysis, all Project components are analyzed at the programmatic level. Project components include the Bicycle Master Plan (BMP), the VMT Mitigation Exchange and Banking Program (Program), and the General Plan Amendments (Amendments). Projects included within the BMP are grouped into Class I facilities, Class II facilities, Class III facilities, Class IV facilities, and enhanced bicycle treatments, as identified in Section 2.5, Project Characteristics, and in Table 1 of Chapter 2, Project Description. The impact analysis contained herein provides a programmatic analysis of anticipated impacts for each of the five facility classes, as the individual project impacts associated with each class of facility are expected to be similar. Because the City seeks to prioritize implementation of the Medea Creek Path (Path) and the Environmental Impact Analysis
Cultural Resources
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.4-13
Agoura High School Connection (Connection), the Path and the Connection have their own subheadings within the Class I Facility impact analysis subsection to provide a more specific assessment of their environmental impacts. Impacts associated with the General Plan Amendments are analyzed within their own subsection.

As discussed in Chapter 2, Project Description, the only projects that are currently planned, unfunded, and could potentially be funded by the VMT Mitigation Exchange and Banking Program are those currently included within the Bicycle Master Plan. Therefore, the impact analysis contained herein does not include a subsection for impacts associated with the Program, as the individual project list for the BMP and the Program are identical and impacts associated with the BMP would encompass impacts associated with the Program.

Within the following environmental analysis, impacts associated with each Project component are explicitly identified under the respective heading.

According to State CEQA Guidelines Appendix G, impacts related to cultural resources would be significant if the proposed Project would:

Cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of an historical resource pursuant to Section 15064.5;
Cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of an archaeological resource pursuant to Section 15064.5; or,
Disturb any human remains, including those interred outside of dedicated cemeteries.

The first threshold broadly refers to historical resources. To more clearly differentiate between archaeological and built environment resources, the analysis under Impact CUL-1 is limited to built environment resources. Archaeological resources, including those that may be considered historical resources pursuant to Section 15064.5 and those that may be considered unique archaeological resources pursuant to Section 21083.2, are considered under Impact CUL-2.

The significance of a cultural resource and subsequently the significance of any impact is determined by consideration of whether or not that resource can increase our knowledge of the past. The determining factors are site content and degree of preservation. A finding of archaeological significance follows the criteria established in the CEQA Guidelines. Specifically, State CEQA Guidelines Section 15064.5 (Determining the Significance of Impacts to Archaeological Resources) states:
(a)(3) […] Generally, a resource shall be considered by the lead agency to be “historically significant” if the resource meets the criteria for listing on the CRHR (Pub. Res. Code, § 5024.1, Title 14 CCR, Section 4852)...
(a)(4) The fact that a resource is not listed in, or determined to be eligible for listing in the CRHR, not included in a local register of historical resources (pursuant to section 5020.1(k) of the Public Resources Code), or identified in an historical resources survey (meeting the criteria in section 5024.1(g) of the Public Resources Code) does not preclude a lead agency from determining that the resource may be an historical resource as defined in Public Resources Code sections 5020.1(j) or 5024.1.
(b) A project with an effect that may cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of an historical resource is a project that may have a significant effect on the environment.

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A substantial adverse change in the significance of a historical resource means demolition, destruction, relocation, or alteration of the resource or its immediate surroundings such that the significance of the historical resource would be materially impaired. Generally, impacts to historical resources can be mitigated to below a level of significance by following the Secretary of the Interior’s Guidelines for the Treatment of Historic Properties with Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitating, Restoring, and Reconstructing Historic Buildings or the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings [Guidelines § 15064.6(b)]. In some circumstances, documentation of a historical resource by way of historic narrative photographs or architectural drawings will not mitigate the impact of demolition below the level of significance [Guidelines § 15126.4(b)(2)].

Preservation in place is the preferred manner of mitigation for archaeological resources as it retains the relationship between artifacts and context [Guidelines § 15126.4 (b)(3)(A)]. b. Project Impacts and Mitigation Measures
Threshold 1: Would the project cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a historical resource pursuant to §15064.5?
Impact CUL-1 THE PROPOSED PROJECT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO RESULT IN SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS IF

DEVELOPMENT CARRIED OUT UNDER THE PROJECT WOULD CAUSE A SUBSTANTIAL ADVERSE CHANGE IN THE SIGNIFICANCE OF A HISTORICAL RESOURCE. THIS IMPACT WOULD BE SIGNIFICANT AND UNAVOIDABLE.

CEQA requires a lead agency to analyze whether historic and archaeological resources may be adversely impacted by a proposed project. Under CEQA, a “project that may cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a historic resource is a project that may have a significant effect on the environment” (California Public Resources Code [PRC] Section 21084.1). Answering this question is a two-part process: first, the determination must be made as to whether or not the proposed Project involves cultural resources; second, if cultural resources classified as historical or archaeological resources are present, the proposed Project must be analyzed for a potential “substantial adverse change in the significance” of the resource. Any future discretionary projects within the City’s borders would be required to analyze site specific historic and archaeological resource impacts under CEQA and mitigate any impacts if feasible.

The records search and archival research, conducted in February and March 2025, respectively, identified one previously recorded built environment resource within the city. In 1994, the Reyes Adobe was determined eligible for listing in the NRHP and is automatically eligible for listing in the CRHR, and therefore qualifies as a historical resource under CEQA. There are also numerous structures (e.g., bridges, channels, streets), objects (e.g., street furniture), and buildings in the city that have not been subject to previous historical resources evaluation but which may meet the 45- year threshold triggering the need for consideration consistent with California Office of Historic Preservation (OHP) guidance. Implementation of the BMP may result in direct impacts to structures and objects, as well as indirect impacts to adjacent buildings that may qualify as historical resources but have yet to be evaluated. Direct impacts to structures and objects may result from construction activities such as pavement demolition, grading, retaining wall/fencing installation, street/undercrossing improvements, and pavement widening. Furthermore, although the BMP does not directly propose demolition or alteration to buildings, the introduction of new visual elements such as retaining walls/fences, bollards, signage, and traffic signals could result in indirect impacts to the setting of adjacent buildings.

Environmental Impact Analysis
Cultural Resources
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.4-15
Class I Facilities
Construction of the proposed Class I facilities would require clearing and grubbing, pavement demolition, grading, utility relocation, retaining wall or fencing installation, asphalt paving or repaving, street and undercrossing improvements, striping, and revegetation. These activities could directly impact structures and/or objects. These facilities may also indirectly impact adjacent buildings through the introduction of elements such as signage and new signal heads. Demolition or alteration of structures/objects and/or the introduction of new elements to the setting of adjacent buildings qualifying as historical resources could result in significant impacts. Therefore, the proposed Project has the potential to result in a substantial adverse change in the significance of a built environment resource qualifying as a historical resource under CEQA. Impacts would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

MEDEA CREEK PATH
Implementation of the Medea Creek Path would include construction of an asphalt bike path, which could directly impact structures and/or objects, as well as indirectly impact buildings. These direct and indirect impacts can result in significant impacts to historical resources. Specific construction activities associated with the Path that could result in direct and/or indirect impacts to historical resources include demolition of existing curb ramps and modifications to medians and crosswalks as well as construction of access ramps, retaining walls/fences, and undercrossings. Impacts would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

AGOURA HIGH SCHOOL CONNECTION
Construction activities for the Agoura High School Connection could also directly impact structures and objects, as well as indirectly impact buildings, which can result in significant impacts to historical resources. Specific construction activities that could result in direct and/or indirect impacts to historical resources would include modifications to medians, relocation of signal heads, reconfiguration of Thousand Oaks Boulevard, construction of concrete sidewalks, and construction of access ramps. Impacts would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

Class II Facilities
Class II facilities would primarily involve restriping and reconfiguration of lane widths to accommodate new dedicated bike lanes. Limited pavement widening would be required on Driver Avenue, between Easterly Road and Colodny Drive, and on Cornell Road, between Agoura Road and Cornell Way. Construction activities associated with pavement widening would involve clearing and grubbing, subgrade stabilization, base course installation, and asphalt paving. These activities could directly impact structures and/or objects. No above ground elements are planned as part of the Class II facilities; therefore, no indirect visual impacts to adjacent buildings are anticipated.

Nonetheless, demolition or alteration of structures/objects could result in significant impacts to historical resources. Therefore, the proposed Project has the potential to result in a substantial adverse change in the significance of a built environment resource qualifying as a historical resource under CEQA. Impacts would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

Class III Facilities
Implementation of Class III facilities involves re-marking existing roadways and, thus, does not require new construction, nor would it include above ground visual elements. Therefore, no direct City of Agoura Hills
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impacts to structures/objects or indirect impacts to adjacent buildings qualifying as historical resources are anticipated. No impact would occur.

Class IV Facilities
Class IV facilities would involve pavement demolition, grading, bollard or fencing installation, and asphalt paving or repaving. These activities could directly impact structures and/or objects and indirectly impact adjacent buildings through the introduction of elements such as signage and new signal heads. Demolition or alteration of structures/objects and/or the introduction of new elements to the setting of adjacent buildings qualifying as historical resources could result in significant impacts. Therefore, the proposed Project has the potential to result in a substantial adverse change in the significance of a built environment resource qualifying as a historical resource under CEQA. Impacts would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

Enhanced Bicycle Treatments
Several enhanced bicycle treatments are also identified in the BMP. The construction of enhanced bicycle treatments could directly impact structures and/or objects and indirectly impact adjacent buildings through the introduction of elements such as signage, new signal heads, bicycle parking, and repair facilities. Demolition or alteration of structures/objects and/or the introduction of new elements to the setting of adjacent buildings qualifying as historical resources could result in significant impacts. Therefore, the proposed Project has the potential to result in a substantial adverse change in the significance of a built environment resource qualifying as a historical resource under CEQA. Impacts would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

General Plan Amendments
As part of the proposed Project, the City must amend Chapter 3, Infrastructure and Community Services, of the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 to ensure consistency with the proposed BMP. These General Plan Amendments shift the focus from prioritizing automobile mobility to reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) through alternative transportation modes like walking and biking, guided by the BMP. The proposed General Plan Amendments would not facilitate development that would result in a direct or indirect impact to historical resources. No impact would occur.

Mitigation Measures
CUL-1 Prepare Historical Resources Evaluation Prior to Approval of Project Involving Structures 45 Years or Older and Implement Mitigation Prior to and During Construction
Prior to approval of individual Class I facilities, Class II facilities, Class IV facilities, and enhanced bicycle treatments that include construction activities which could result in direct/indirect impacts to historical resources, including those that could result in direct impacts to structures/objects and/or indirect impact to buildings 45 years or older, the City shall retain a qualified architectural historian or historian who meets the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualification Standards (SOI PQS) in architectural history and/or history as defined in CFR Title 36, Part 61 to oversee the following steps:
 Prior to proceeding with the historical resources evaluation (HRE) described below, a qualified architectural historian or historian (who meets the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Environmental Impact Analysis
Cultural Resources
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.4-17
Qualifications Standards (SOI PQS) in architectural history and/or history as defined in CFR Title 36, Part 61) shall conduct a review of the applicable registers of previously documented built environment resources qualifying as historical resources to determine the presence of such resources within or immediately adjacent to a Class I, II, or IV project footprint or enhanced bicycle facility, and to confirm its condition is consistent with that presented in associated designation documentation. This effort, which may include a field survey, shall be documented in a report (that may be combined with the report described in the third bullet below as necessary and appropriate) that shall be submitted to the City for review and approval prior to initiation of a project component.
 Based on guidance provided by the California Office of Historic Preservation (OHP), not all built environment resources merit recordation. Therefore, the professional judgement of an architectural historian (that meets the SOI PQS in architectural history or history as defined in Code of Federal Regulations, Title 36, Part 61) shall be relied upon to determine if built environment resources with potential significance requiring recordation are present within a given project component site or its immediate surroundings. If a project component site or property in its immediate surroundings includes a building, structure, or other built environment feature that is 45 years of age or older that merits recordation and has the potential to be significantly impacted by the project, the City shall prepare a HRE for the property containing said building, structure, or other built environment feature. The evaluation shall consider the eligibility of the resource for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and California Register of Historical Resources, in addition to any applicable local register of historical resources.
 The HRE shall be prepared by a SOI PQS architectural historian or historian. The HRE shall include an intensive-level evaluation prepared in accordance with the guidelines and best practices promulgated by the California OHP. The building, structure or other built environment feature shall be evaluated within an appropriate historic context and documented in a report that meets the California OHP guidelines. All evaluated resources shall be documented on California Department of Parks and Recreation Series 523 Forms (DPR forms) in accordance with the guidance included in the OHP’s Instruction for Recording Historical Resources. The report with attached DPR forms shall be submitted to the City for review and approval prior to proceeding with construction of the project component.
 If built environment resources qualifying as historical resources having the potential to be significantly impacted by a proposed project component are identified within a proposed project component site or its immediate surroundings, efforts shall be made to ensure that impacts are mitigated. In such instances, the above-noted HRE report shall be amended or supplemented with a report that identifies the resource’s character-defining features and recommends treatment methods for character-defining features. The report shall demonstrate how the proposed project component complies with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties (SOI Standards) and avoids impacts to historical resources pursuant to CEQA. The report shall be submitted to the City for review and approval prior to proceeding with construction the project.
 If built environment historical resources are identified and compliance with the SOI Standards is not possible, appropriate site-specific mitigation measures that reduce impacts to historical resources to the greatest extent feasible shall be established and undertaken. Mitigation measures may include, but would not be limited to, documentation of the historical resource in the form of a Historic American Building Survey (HABS) or Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) report that complies with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Architectural and City of Agoura Hills
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Engineering Documentation, or development of an interpretative display or educational opportunity that relates the history and significance of the resource to the public.

Significance After Mitigation
Implementation of Mitigation Measures CUL-1 would reduce impacts to historical resources to the extent feasible by identifying and evaluating significant historical resources and managing avoidance, or preservation, rehabilitation, restoration, or reconstruction in compliance with the Standards as applicable. Nonetheless, even with implementation of Mitigation Measures CUL-1, eligible historical resources could still be materially impaired by future development that would be carried out under the Project. It is possible that a future project could result in the demolition or substantial alteration of a historical resource. Therefore, this impact would remain significant and unavoidable.

Threshold 2: Would the project cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of an archaeological resource pursuant to §15064.5?
Impact CUL-2 THE PROPOSED PROJECT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO RESULT IN SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS IF

DEVELOPMENT CARRIED OUT UNDER THE PROJECT WOULD CAUSE A SUBSTANTIAL ADVERSE CHANGE IN THE SIGNIFICANCE OF AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESOURCE. THIS IMPACT WOULD BE SIGNIFICANT AND UNAVOIDABLE.

The CHRIS records search identified 62 cultural resources within the study area, 47 of which are archaeological sites. Of these 47 previously recorded archaeological sites, four are described as habitation sites containing midden soils, and two are described as habitation sites containing midden soils and human remains. As such, the CHRIS records search indicates the Project area is sensitive for the presence of subsurface archaeological resources that may be eligible for inclusion in the CRHR and qualify as significant.

Class I Facilities
Class I facilities involve the construction of new bike paths, which require grading and excavations.

Depending on the depth of these ground-disturbing activities, the construction of Class I facilities could encounter surficial and subsurface archaeological resources. Therefore, the proposed Project has the potential to result in a substantial adverse change in the significance of an archeological resource. Impacts would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

MEDEA CREEK PATH
Construction of the Medea Creek Path, which would include construction of an asphalt bike path that could intrude into previously undisturbed soils or sediments, could result in significant impacts to archaeological resources. Construction activities that could result in direct and/or indirect impacts archaeological resources include demolition of existing curb ramps and modifications to medians and crosswalks as well as construction of access ramps, retaining walls/fences, and undercrossings. Impacts would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

AGOURA HIGH SCHOOL CONNECTION
Construction of the Agoura High School Connection, which would include construction of an asphalt bike path that could intrude into previously undisturbed soils or sediments, could result in significant impacts to archaeological resources. Construction activities that could result in impacts to Environmental Impact Analysis
Cultural Resources
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.4-19
archaeological resources would include modifications to medians, relocation of signal heads, reconfiguration of Thousand Oaks Boulevard, construction of concrete sidewalks, and construction of access ramps. Impacts would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

Class II Facilities
Class II facilities would primarily involve restriping and reconfiguration of lane widths to accommodate new dedicated bike lanes. Limited pavement widening would be required on Driver Avenue, between Easterly Road and Colodny Drive, and on Cornell Road, between Agoura Road and Cornell Way. Construction activities associated with pavement widening would involve clearing and grubbing, subgrade stabilization, base course installation, and asphalt paving. If construction activities affect previously undisturbed soils or sediments, then construction of this type of Class II facility could significantly impact archaeological resources. Impacts would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

Class III Facilities
Implementation of Class III facilities involves re-marking existing roadways, which does not require ground disturbance. Therefore, the construction of Class III facilities does not have the potential to impact archaeological resources. No impact would occur.

Class IV Facilities
The construction of Class IV facilities would involve re-marking existing roadways and installing vertical buffers, such as bollards, posts, or raised islands. Installing these barriers would result in minimal ground disturbance into sediments that are all or nearly all disturbed and/or fill sediments, which have low to no archaeological sensitivity. Therefore, the construction of this type of Class IV facility does not have the potential to impact archaeological resources. No impact would occur.

Alternatively, some Class IV facilities may require widening of existing roadways, which would require clearing and grubbing, subgrade stabilization, base course installation, and asphalt paving. If these activities affect previously undisturbed soils or sediments, then construction of this type of Class IV facility could significantly impact archaeological resources. Impacts would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

Enhanced Bicycle Treatments
The construction of enhanced bicycle treatments could result in ground disturbing activities. Ground disturbance associated with the construction of enhanced bicycle treatments in previously undisturbed soils and sediments would result in direct impacts to archaeological resources.

Therefore, the proposed Project has the potential to result in a substantial adverse change in the significance of an archaeological resource under CEQA. Impacts would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

General Plan Amendments
The proposed General Plan Amendments would not facilitate development that would result in a direct or indirect impact to archaeological resources. No impact would occur.

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Mitigation Measures
CUL-2 Prepare Archaeological Resources Assessment Prior to Project Approval and Implement Mitigation Prior to and During Construction
Prior to approval of individual Class I facilities, Class II facilities, Class IV facilities, and enhanced bicycle treatments that involve ground disturbing activities, the City shall retain an archaeologist that meets the SOI PQS in either prehistoric or historic archaeology (qualified archaeologist as defined in CFR, Title 36, Part 61) to oversee the preparation of an archaeological resources assessment).
 Archaeological Resources Assessments shall include a CHRIS records search at the SCCIC with a minimum 0.5-mile radius and a Sacred Lands File search through the California Native American Heritage Commission. The records searches will characterize the results of previous cultural resource surveys and disclose any cultural resources that have been recorded and/or evaluated in and around Class I facilities, Class II facilities involving road widening, Class IV facilities involving road widening, or enhanced bicycle treatments located in previously undisturbed areas. A Phase I pedestrian survey shall be undertaken at Class I facilities, Class II facilities involving road widening, Class IV facilities involving road widening, or enhanced bicycle treatments located in previously undisturbed areas and shall include the participation of a retained Tribal representative approved by local Tribes listed on the NAHC contact list culturally affiliated with the project area to locate any surface evidence of cultural materials. A geoarchaeological review (examination of CHRIS and ethnographic data, historical, geological, and soil maps, aerial imagery, geotechnical reports) shall be conducted to assess the potential for the project to encounter unknown archaeological resources during construction. A qualified archaeologist shall identify known archaeological resources and classify the Class I facilities, Class II facilities involving road widening, Class IV facilities involving road widening, or enhanced bicycle treatments located in previously undisturbed areas as having high, medium, or low sensitivity for unknown archaeological resources. The assessment shall also include recommendations for additional studies and/or mitigation, as necessary, such as archaeological and Tribal monitoring during construction-related ground disturbance. Construction monitoring shall be recommended when archaeological resources are present and/or the assessment identifies a moderate or high likelihood of archaeological resources being present.  If the CHRIS search or Phase I archaeological survey identifies resources that may be impacted by Class I facilities, Class II facilities involving road widening, Class IV facilities involving road widening, or enhanced bicycle treatments located in previously undisturbed areas, the archaeological resources assessment shall also include Phase II testing and evaluation. Local Tribes listed on the NAHC contact list culturally affiliated with the area shall be notified of any prehistoric resources identified and retained, as requested, to advise on appropriate next steps.

Local Tribes culturally affiliated with the project area shall be provided the opportunity to review and approve the Phase II Testing and Evaluation Plan prior to implementation. A Tribal representative shall be present to monitor all Phase II testing and evaluation activities. If resources are determined significant (i.e., eligible for the CRHR and/or NRHP or unique to the City) shall first consider whether avoidance and preservation in place is feasible. If resource avoidance and preservation in place is not feasible, appropriate site-specific mitigation measures shall be identified in the Phase II evaluation.

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 For archaeological resources found eligible under CRHR Criterion 4/NRHP Criterion D (data potential) that cannot be avoided and will be impacted by Class I facilities, Class II facilities involving road widening, Class IV facilities involving road widening, or enhanced bicycle treatments located in previously undisturbed areas, mitigation shall include, but would not be limited to, a Phase III data recovery program. The data recovery program shall make provisions for adequately recovering the scientifically consequential information from and about the resource. The qualified archaeologist and City shall consult with appropriate Native American representatives regarding the data recovery program in determining treatment for prehistoric or Native American resources to ensure cultural values ascribed to the resource, beyond those that are scientifically important, are considered. For archaeological resources that are found eligible under CRHR Criteria 1/NRHP Criteria A (events), 2/B (persons), and/or 3/C (design/craftsmanship) that cannot be avoided and will be impacted by Class I facilities, Class II facilities involving road widening, Class IV facilities involving road widening, or enhanced bicycle treatments located in previously undisturbed areas, other appropriate mitigation shall be determined by a qualified archaeologist in consultation with the City and, if the resource is of indigenous origin, local interested Tribes. Mitigation may include, but would not be limited to, development of interpretive or educational materials or preservation of all or portions of the archaeological site.
 Final disposition of any recovered artifacts or samples, which could include but would not be limited to curation or onsite reburial, shall occur as specified by the qualified archaeologist in consultation with the City and, if the resource is of indigenous origin, local interested Tribes.

Artifacts and samples include material recovered from all phases of work, including the Phase I survey, Phase II testing, Phase III data recovery, and construction monitoring.

Significance After Mitigation
Implementation of Mitigation Measures CUL-2 would reduce impacts to archaeological resources to the extent feasible by identifying and evaluating significant archaeological resources and managing avoidance, or treatment as applicable. Nonetheless, even with implementation of Mitigation Measures CUL-2, archaeological resources eligible for listing in the NRHP and/or CRHR could still be significantly impacted by future development that would be carried out under the Project.

Therefore, this impact would remain significant and unavoidable.

Threshold 3: Would the project disturb any human remains, including those interred outside of formal cemeteries?
Impact CUL-3 FUTURE DEVELOPMENT FACILITATED BY THE PROPOSED PROJECT WOULD COMPLY WITH CALIFORNIA HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE SECTION 7050.5, WHICH WOULD ENSURE IMPACTS TO HUMAN REMAINS ARE LESS THAN SIGNIFICANT.

The CHRIS records search identified multiple archaeological resources containing human remains within the Project area. Plan elements involving ground disturbing activities that may encounter human remains include Class I facilities, the Path, the Connection, Class II facilities involving road widening, Class IV facilities, and enhanced bicycle treatments. Therefore, the proposed Project has the potential to disturb human remains, including those interred outside of formal cemeteries. As noted in the Section 4.4.2b of the Regulatory Setting, human burials have specific provisions for treatment Health and Safety Code Section 7050.5 and PRC Sections 5097.5, 5097.94 and 5097.98.

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If human remains are found during ground disturbing activities, California Health and Safety Code Section 7050.5 states that no further disturbance shall occur until the County Coroner has made a determination of origin and disposition pursuant to PRC Section 5097.98. In the event of an unanticipated discovery of human remains, the County coroner shall be notified immediately. If the human remains are determined to be prehistoric, the coroner will notify the NAHC, which will determine and notify a most likely descendant (MLD). The MLD shall complete the inspection of the site within 48 hours of being granted access to the site and may recommend scientific removal and nondestructive analysis of human remains and items associated with Native American burials. Due to required compliance with PRC Section 5097.98 and California Health and Safety Code Section 7050.5, impacts to human remains would be less than significant.

Mitigation Measures
No mitigation measures would be required.

Significance After Mitigation
Impacts would be less than significant without mitigation.

4.4.4 Cumulative Impacts
The geographic scope for cumulative impacts related to cultural resources is the Project area, which encompasses all of the City of Agoura Hills. This geographic scope is appropriate because, generally, cultural resources impacts associated with individual developments are site-specific in nature and must be addressed on a case-by-case basis.

The past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future projects, including the projects listed in Table 3-1 in Chapter 3, Environmental Setting, would have the potential to adversely impact historical resources. The magnitude of impacts for individual projects to significantly impact historical resources would depend upon the location, size of development, and proximity to historical built environment resources. Historic resource evaluations would be completed on a case-by-case basis for all future development. Compliance with applicable regulations and implementation of appropriate mitigation measures, including resource avoidance measures and noise and vibration reduction measures, would address impacts related to historical resources associated with cumulative development. Therefore, cumulative development would have a less-than-significant cumulative impact involving substantial adverse changes in the significance of historical resources.

Past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future projects would also have the potential to adversely impact buried archaeological resources through ground-disturbing construction activities. The magnitude of impacts for individual projects to archaeological resources would depend upon the location, size of development, depth of the ground disturbance, and the resources within the individual development sites. Archeological resource evaluations would be completed on a case-bycase basis for all future development. Compliance with applicable regulations and implementation of appropriate mitigation measures, including resource avoidance measures and monitoring during ground disturbance within culturally sensitive areas, would address impacts related to archaeological resources associated with cumulative development. Therefore, cumulative development would have a less-than-significant cumulative impact involving substantial adverse changes in the significance of archeological resources.

Similarly, cumulative development projects would have the potential to adversely impact buried human remains through ground-disturbing construction activities. The magnitude of impacts for Environmental Impact Analysis
Cultural Resources
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individual projects would depend upon the location, size of development, depth of the ground disturbance. State of California Health and Safety Code Section 7050.5 would apply to all future development, and compliance with such regulations would address impacts related to buried human remains associated with cumulative development. Therefore, cumulative development would have a less-than-significant cumulative impact involving the disturbance of human remains.

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Environmental Impact Analysis
Geology and Soils
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.5-1

4.5 Geology and Soils
The analysis in this section considers potential impacts to geology and soils. Specifically, this section discusses the environmental and regulatory setting; the criteria used to determine the significance of environmental impacts related to geology and soils; and potential impacts related to geology and soils that would result from implementation of the proposed Project.

4.5.1 Setting
The Project area, which encompasses all of the City of Agoura Hills, is situated in the Transverse Ranges geomorphic province, one of the eleven geomorphic provinces in California (California Geological Survey [CGS] 2002). The Transverse Ranges extend approximately 275 miles west-east from Point Arguello in Santa Barbara County, east to the San Bernardino Mountains, and south to the Anacapa-Santa Monica-Hollywood-Raymond-Cucamonga fault zone (Yerkes and Campbell 2005). The Transverse Ranges are composed of Proterozoic to Mesozoic intrusive crystalline igneous and metamorphic rocks overlain by Cenozoic marine and terrestrial sedimentary deposits and volcanic rock (Norris and Webb 1976).
a. Earthquake Faults and Surface Rupture
A fault is a fracture or area of fractures between two units of rock that allow the units to move relative to each other, which can occur slowly over time as creep or rapidly during an earthquake.

Earthquake faults are categorized as active, potentially active, and inactive. A fault is classified as active if it has moved during the Holocene epoch, which consists of approximately the last 11,700 years. A fault is classified as potentially active if it has experienced movement within the Quaternary epoch, which is during the last 1.8 million years, but not within the Holocene epoch. Faults that have not moved in the last 1.8 million years are generally considered inactive (California Department of Conservation 2018). The term seismicity describes the effects of seismic waves that are radiated from an earthquake fault in motion. While most of the energy released during an earthquake results in the permanent displacement of the ground, as much as 10 percent of the energy may dissipate immediately in the form of seismic waves. Faults are geologic hazards due to the potential for both surface fault rupture and seismic ground shaking (discussed in the following subsection), which are distinct but related properties. Surface fault rupture is the breakage of ground along the surface trace of a fault, which is caused by the intersection of the fault surface area ruptured in an earthquake with the earth's surface. Surface fault displacement occurs when material on one side of a fault moves relative to the material on the other side of the fault as a result of surface fault rupture. Surface fault rupture and displacement can be very destructive to structures and infrastructure constructed across active faults and within the rupture zone. However, the zone of damage is limited to a relatively narrow area along either side of the fault, as opposed to seismic ground shaking damage, which can be quite widespread. The amount of surface displacement during a rupture event can range from a few inches to tens of feet.

Like most of California, the Project area is subject to risks associated with earthquakes. Earthquakes are most common along geologic faults that are planes of weakness or fractures along which rocks have been displaced. There are no major faults within or immediately adjacent to the Project area.

The nearest major faults to the Project area include the Simi-Santa Rosa Fault (approximately seven miles north of the Project area), the Oak Ridge Fault (approximately 17 miles north of the Project City of Agoura Hills
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area), and the San Cayetano Fault (approximately 18 miles north of the Project area) (City of Agoura Hills 2022).

Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zones are regulatory zones established throughout California by the CGS. These zones identify areas where potential surface rupture along an active fault could prove hazardous and identify where special studies are required to characterize the fault rupture hazard potential to habitable structures. There are no Alquist-Priolo Special Studies Zones identified within the City of Agoura Hills (City of Agoura Hills 2022).
b. Seismic Ground Shaking
In addition to surface rupture, the major cause of structural damage from earthquakes is seismic ground shaking. The intensity of ground motion expected at a particular site depends on the magnitude of the earthquake, the distance to the epicenter, and the geology of the area between the epicenter and the property. The composition of underlying soils, even those relatively distant from faults, can intensify ground shaking. Greater movement can be expected at sites located on poorly consolidated material, such as alluvium, within close proximity to the ruptured fault, or in response to a seismic event of great magnitude. Strong ground shaking from an earthquake can result in damage with buildings shifted off their foundations and underground pipes being broken.

The Project area may be subject to seismic ground shaking in the event of fault rupture of the SimiSanta Rosa Fault, the Oak Ridge Fault, and the San Cayetano Fault (City of Agoura Hills 2022). c. Liquefaction
Liquefaction is a seismic phenomenon in which loose, saturated granular and non-plastic finegrained soils lose their structure/strength when subjected to high-intensity ground shaking and act like a liquid. Liquefaction occurs when three general conditions exist: 1) shallow groundwater within the top 50 feet of the ground surface; 2) low-density non-plastic soils; and 3) high-intensity ground motion. When liquefaction occurs, it can result in ground failure that can result in damage to roads, pipelines, and buildings. In areas subject to elevated liquefaction hazards with high groundwater tables, certain types of activities have the potential to exacerbate liquefaction risk, such as groundwater injection and stormwater infiltration.

Several areas within the Project area are located within liquefaction zones, primarily located along the foothills and slopes of the Santa Monica Mountains in the eastern and southeastern portions of the city (CGS 2025).
d. Landslides and Slope Instability
Landslides occur when slopes become unstable, and masses of earth material move downslope.

Landslides are usually rapid events, often triggered during periods of rainfall or by earthquakes.

Mudslides and slumps are a more shallow type of slope failure. They typically affect the upper surficial soil horizons rather than bedrock features. Usually, mudslides and slumps occur during or soon after periods of rainfall, but they can also be triggered by seismic shaking. Landslides can occur where faults have fractured rock and along the base of slopes or cliffs where supporting material has been removed by stream or wave erosion or by human activities. Heavy rainfall, human actions, or earthquakes can trigger landslides. They may take the form of slow continuous movement, such as a slump, or may move very rapidly as a semi-liquid mass, such as a debris flow or avalanche.

Slope disturbance and soil creep from a long-term geologic cycle of uplift, mass wasting, intense precipitation or wind, and gravity can result in slope failure in the form of mudslides and rock fall.

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Mass wasting refers to a variety of erosional processes from gradual downhill soil creep to mudslides, debris flows, landslides, and rock fall - processes that are commonly triggered by intense precipitation or wind, which varies according to climactic shifts. Often, various forms of mass wasting are grouped together as landslides, which are generally used to describe the downhill movement of rock and soil. Soil creep is a long-term, gradual downhill migration of soil under the influence of gravity and is generally on the order of a fraction of an inch per year. These soils can gradually creep downslope from the sides of foundations, reducing lateral support.

Several areas within the Project area are considered landslide hazard zones, primarily located along foothills and mountain slopes in the northern, eastern, and southern portions of the city (CGS 2025).

Although landslides can occur due to improper grading practices, no major structural damage has occurred in the City of Agoura Hills as a result of deep-seated bedrock instability triggered by grading practices. Superficial landslides have occurred locally on graded cut-and-fill slopes in tract developments. The majority of these shallow-slope failures occur on the moderate-to-steep soilcovered natural slopes throughout the city (City of Agoura Hills 2022). e. Subsidence
Subsidence or settlement can occur from immediate settlement, consolidation, shrinkage of expansive soil, and liquefaction. Immediate settlement occurs when a load from a structure or placement of new fill material is applied, causing distortion in the underlying materials. This settlement occurs quickly and is typically complete after placement of the final load. Consolidation settlement occurs in saturated clay from the volume change caused by squeezing out water from the pore spaces. Consolidation occurs over a period of time and is followed by secondary compression, which is a continued change in void ratio1 under the continued application of the load.

Soils tend to settle at different rates and by varying amounts depending on the load weight or changes in properties over an area, which is referred to as differential settlement. Areas underlain by soft sediments or undocumented fills are most prone to settlement.

Natural subsidence occurs from shifting tectonic plates and dissolution of limestone and can produce sinkholes. Human-induced subsidence can occur from pumping water, oil, or gas from underground reservoirs; collapse of underground mines; drainage of wetlands; and soil compaction.

Subsidence can be problematic because it threatens the stability of roads, bridges, canals, and other infrastructure. Soils particularly subject to subsidence include those with high silt or clay content.

Soils with high shrink-swell potential can be particularly susceptible to subsidence during a loss of soil moisture.

No recognized subsidence has been identified in the Project area. Due to the limited groundwater resources contained in the relatively shallow alluvial basin, and because of the low probability of significant future oil production, the likelihood of substantial subsidence occurring in the Project area is minimal (City of Agoura Hills 2022).
f. Corrosive and Expansive Soils
Corrosive soils are considered a geologic hazard because they react with concrete and ferrous metals, which can cause damage to foundations and buried pipelines. Soils with relatively high clay content are expansive due to the capacity of clay minerals to take in water and swell (expand) to greater volumes. Expansive soils are also considered a geologic hazard because an increase in soil volume can exert forces on structures and, thus, damage building foundations, walls, and floors. 1 The void ratio of a soil is the ratio of the volume of the empty spaces between solid particles to the volume of solid particles in the soil.

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Differential settlement is a phenomenon that occurs when one portion of a building’s foundation settles unevenly relative to other potions. In general, areas are susceptible to differential settlement if underlain by compressible sediments, such as poorly engineered artificial fill or loose unconsolidated alluvial sediments. When these soils dry out and shrink, structural damage can occur.

Within the Project area, ungraded native soils in the lowland portions of the City exhibit the highest potential for shrinkage and swelling (City of Agoura Hills 2022). Lowland portions of the city include East Agoura Hills, South End, Forest Cove, Reyes Adobe, , and Lake Lindero. g. Paleontological Resources
Paleontological resources, or fossils, are the remains and traces of prehistoric life (Society of Vertebrate Paleontology [SVP] 2010). Fossils are typically preserved in layered sedimentary rocks, and the distribution of fossils is a result of the sedimentary history of the geologic units within which they occur. Fossils occur in a non-continuous and often unpredictable distribution within some sedimentary units, and the potential for fossils to occur within sedimentary units depends on several factors. Although it is not possible to determine whether a fossil will occur in any specific location, it is possible to evaluate the potential for geologic units to contain scientifically significant paleontological resources and therefore evaluate the potential for impacts to those resources and provide mitigation for paleontological resources if they occur during construction.

Absent specific agency guidelines, most paleontologists in California adhere to guidelines set forth by the SVP in its “Standard Procedures for the Assessment and Mitigation of Adverse Impacts to Paleontological Resources” (SVP 2010). These guidelines establish detailed protocols for the assessment of the paleontological resource potential, or “sensitivity” of a project area and outline measures to follow in order to mitigate adverse impacts to known or unknown fossil resources during project development. Using baseline information gathered during a paleontological resource assessment, the paleontological resource potential of the geologic unit(s) or members thereof underlying a project area can be assigned to a high, undetermined, low, or no paleontological sensitivity category. This criterion is based on rock units within which vertebrate or significant invertebrate fossils have been determined by previous studies to be present or likely to be present.

While these standards were specifically written to protect vertebrate paleontological resources, all fields of paleontology have adopted these guidelines.

The geology of the region surrounding the City of Agoura Hills has been mapped by Dibblee and Ehrenspeck (1992, 1993) and Bedrossian and Roffers (2012). These authors identified many distinct geologic units underlying the Project area, including Quaternary alluvial sediments, Cenozoic sedimentary rocks, and Cenozoic volcanic rocks.

Quaternary alluvial sediments include sediments deposited by creeks, washes, and alluvial fans, and they are mapped primarily in the topographically lower parts of the BMP area (Dibblee and Ehrenspeck 1992, 1993; Bedrossian and Roffers 2012). The age of these sediments ranges from late Holocene, which are too young to preserve paleontological resources (i.e., less than 5,000 years old; SVP 2010), to Pleistocene, which are known to preserve paleontological resources in Los Angeles County (Jefferson 2010; Paleobiology Database 2025). Therefore, the paleontological sensitivity of these sediments varies with age, with younger sediments being low sensitivity and older sediments being high sensitivity. Furthermore, alluvial sediments increase in age with depth, so sediments that are low-sensitivity at the surface will become old enough to preserve paleontological resources, and therefore high sensitivity, at some depth in the subsurface.

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Cenozoic sedimentary rocks of the Project area are primarily Oligocene to Miocene in age and assigned to geologic units such as the Monterey Formation and Topanga Formation (Dibblee and Ehrenspeck 1992, 1993; Bedrossian and Roffers 2012). Cenozoic sedimentary rocks are known to preserve paleontological resources throughout southern California (Paleobiology Database 2025), but their paleontological sensitivity varies by geologic unit being low, high, or undetermined.

Cenozoic volcanic rocks within the Project area are considered part of the Miocene-aged Conejo Volcanics (Dibblee and Ehrenspeck 1992, 1993). Volcanic rocks are generally not conducive to fossil preservation due to them forming via the cooling of molten rock at or below Earth’s surface (SVP 2010). However, certain types of volcanic rocks (e.g., ashfall deposits, volcanic mudflows) can preserve paleontological resources. Therefore, volcanic rocks can have no, low, high, or undetermined paleontological sensitivity.

4.5.2 Regulatory Setting
a. Federal Regulations
National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program
The National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program was established by the United States Congress when it passed the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977, Public Law 95-124. In establishing the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, Congress recognized earthquake-related losses could be reduced through improved design and construction methods and practices, land use controls and redevelopment, prediction techniques and early warning systems, coordinated emergency preparedness plans, and public education and involvement programs. The four basic goals are as follows:
 Develop effective practices and policies for earthquake loss reduction and accelerate their implementation.
 Improve techniques for reducing earthquake vulnerabilities of facilities and systems.  Improve earthquake hazards identification and risk assessment methods, and their use.  Improve the understanding of earthquakes and their effects.

Several key federal agencies contribute to earthquake mitigation efforts. There are four primary National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program agencies:
 National Institute of Standards and Technology of the Department of Commerce  National Science Foundation
 USGS
 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Implementation of National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program priorities is accomplished primarily through original research, publications, and recommendations to assist and guide state, regional, and local agencies in the development of plans and policies to promote safety and emergency planning.

Landslide Hazard Program
The USGS created the Landslide Hazard Program in the mid-1970s; the primary objective of the program is to reduce long-term losses from landslide hazards by improving our understanding of the City of Agoura Hills
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causes of ground failure and suggesting mitigation strategies. The federal government takes the lead role in funding and conducting this research, whereas the reduction of losses due to geologic hazards is primarily a State and local responsibility.

Clean Water Act
Congress enacted the Clean Water Act (CWA), formerly the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972, with the intent of restoring and maintaining the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the waters of the United States. The CWA requires states to set standards to protect, maintain, and restore water quality through the regulation of point source and non-point source discharges to surface water. Those discharges are regulated by the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit process (CWA Section 402). NPDES permitting authority is administered by the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and its nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards (RWQCB) on behalf of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The City of Agoura Hills is within the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles RWQCB.

While the CWA is primarily associated with protecting and enhancing surface water quality, some regulatory provisions of the CWA help to control erosion and soil loss and compliance with these provisions can help mitigate potential impacts to geology and soils. In particular, the SWRCB administers the NPDES Construction General Permit for Stormwater Discharges Associated with Construction and Land Disturbance Activities (Construction General Permit) (Order 2009-0009- DWQ, as amended by Orders 2010-0014- DWQ and 2012-006-DWQ). The order applies to construction sites or other projects that include one or more acre of soil disturbance, as required by the CWA. Activities subject to the Construction General Permit include clearing, grading, and disturbances to the ground, such as grubbing or excavation. The Construction General Permit requires the development and implementation of a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) prepared by a Qualified SWPPP Developer and submitted to the SWRCB. The SWPPP contains a site map that shows the construction site perimeter, existing and proposed buildings, lots, roadways, stormwater collection and discharge points, general topography both before and after construction, and drainage patterns across the project site. The purposes of the SWPPP are: (1) to help identify the sources of sediment and other pollutants that could affect the quality of stormwater discharges and (2) to describe and ensure the implementation of best management practices (BMPs) to reduce or eliminate sediment and other pollutants in stormwater as well as non-stormwater discharges resulting from construction activity. BMPs that can be implemented include, but are not limited to, silt fences, runoff control devices, wind erosion control, prevention of fluid leaks, and use of tracking controls at the site entrance.

Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000
Congress passed the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 to amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act by invoking new and revitalized approaches to mitigation planning.

Section 322 of the act emphasizes the need for state and local government entities to closely coordinate mitigation planning activities and makes the development of a hazard mitigation plan a specific eligibility requirement for any local government applying for federal mitigation grant funds.

Communities with an adopted and federally approved hazard mitigation plan thereby become prepositioned and more apt to receive available mitigation funds before and after the next declared disaster. To implement the new Stafford Act provisions, FEMA published requirements and procedures for local hazard mitigation plans in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at Title 44, Chapter 1, Part 201.6. These regulations specify minimum standards for developing, updating, and Environmental Impact Analysis
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submitting local hazard mitigation plans for FEMA review and approval at least once every five years.
b. State Regulations
California Building Code
Part 2 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations (CCR), known as the California Building Code (CBC), establishes minimum standards intended to safeguard public health, safety, and general welfare through the regulation of design, construction, and site development activities. While the CBC primarily applies to buildings and structures, certain provisions are applicable to general construction activities, particularly when grading, drainage, retaining walls, or other structural elements are involved. The CBC includes requirements for seismic safety, excavation, foundations, retaining walls, and site demolition, all of which may be relevant to the development of bicycle paths depending on site conditions. It also regulates grading activities, including drainage and erosion control.

Chapter 16 of the CBC defines seismic sources and outlines procedures for calculating seismic forces. These requirements apply to structural components that may be associated with bicycle paths, such as bridges, undercrossings, or retaining walls. The CBC uses factors such as occupancy category, site class, soil classification, and seismic coefficients to determine a Seismic Design Category (SDC), which ranges from SDC A (very low seismic vulnerability) to SDC E/F (very high seismic vulnerability near major faults). Design specifications for applicable components are determined based on the assigned SDC.

Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Act
The Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Act, California’s Alquist-Priolo Act (PRC 2621 et seq.), is intended to reduce the risk to life and property from surface fault rupture during earthquakes. The Alquist-Priolo Act prohibits the location of most types of structures intended for human occupancy across the traces of active faults and strictly regulates construction in the corridors along active faults (Earthquake Fault Zones). It also defines criteria for identifying active faults, giving legal weight to terms such as “active,” and establishes a process for reviewing building proposals in and adjacent to Earthquake Fault Zones. Under the Alquist-Priolo Act, faults are zoned, and construction along or across them is strictly regulated if they are “sufficiently active” and “well-defined.” A fault is considered sufficiently active if one or more of its segments or strands shows evidence of surface displacement during Holocene time (defined as within the last 11,000 years). A fault is considered well-defined if its trace can be clearly identified by a trained geologist at the ground surface or in the shallow subsurface, using standard professional techniques, criteria and judgment.

Seismic Safety Act
The Seismic Safety Act established the California Seismic Safety Commission in 1975 with the intent of providing oversight, review, and recommendations to the Governor and State Legislature regarding seismic issues. The commission’s name was changed to the Alfred E. Alquist Seismic Safety Commission in 2006. Since then, the Commission has adopted several documents based on recorded earthquakes, such as the 1994 Northridge earthquake, 1933 Long Beach earthquake, the 1971 Sylmar earthquake, etc.

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Seismic Hazards Mapping Act
The Seismic Hazards Mapping Act of 1990 was passed into law following the destructive October 17, 1989, Mw 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake. The act directs CGS to delineate Seismic Hazard Zones. In accordance with the mapping criteria, the CGS seismic hazard zone maps identify areas with the potential for a ground shaking event that corresponds to a 10-percent probability of exceedance in 50 years. The purpose of the act is to reduce the negative implications of seismic hazards to public health and safety and to minimize the loss of life and property by identifying and mitigating seismic hazards. Cities, counties, and State agencies are directed to use seismic hazard zone maps developed by CGS in their land-use planning and permitting processes. The act requires site-specific the preparation of geotechnical investigations, including mitigation measures based on site-specific conditions, prior to permitting most urban development projects in seismic hazard zones.

California Public Resources Code Section 5097.5
California Public Resource Code (PRC) Section 5097.5 states “no person shall knowingly and willfully excavate upon, or remove, destroy, injure or deface” any “vertebrate paleontological site” on public lands without the “permission of the public agency having jurisdiction over such lands.” Violation of this section is a misdemeanor. As used in PRC Section 5097.5, “public lands” means lands owned by or under the jurisdiction of the State or any city, county, district, authority, or public corporation, or any agency thereof. Consequently, public agencies are required to comply with PRC Section 5097.5 for their own activities, including construction and maintenance, as well as for permit actions (e.g., encroachment permits) undertaken by others.
c. Regional and Local Regulations
City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035
The City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 was adopted on March 24, 2010 (updated on August 10, 2022) by the City Council (City of Agoura Hills 2022). The City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 is a strategic document designed to guide the physical development of the city until the year 2035.

Among other things, the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 sets out the pattern of land uses, including residential, commercial, and industrial. It also establishes the system of streets, bikeways, and trails. The City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 addresses a wide variety of subject areas, including housing, traffic, natural resources, land uses, economic development, noise, and public safety.

The City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 contains the following goals and policies related to geology and soils, which would apply to the proposed Project.

Goal S-2. Minimize adverse effects to residents, public and private property, and essential services caused by seismic and geologic hazards.

Policy S-2.2. Require geotechnical investigations to determine the potential for ground rupture, groundshaking, landslides, and liquefaction due to seismic events, as well as expansive soils and subsidence problems on sites, including steep slopes, except where the Building Official determines such hazards are not present.

City of Agoura Hills Municipal Code
Portions of the Path would be constructed on land zoned as Open Space-Restricted (OS-R) and Open Space- Deed Restricted (OS-DR). Section 9489 of the City’s Municipal Code sets forth special Environmental Impact Analysis
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standards that apply to development within any OS-R district. In accordance with Section 9489.2, the proposed project must be located and designed so as to protect the safety of current and future community residents, and the proposed project must not create significant threats to life and/or property due to the presence of geologic, seismic, slope instability, fire, flood, mud flow, or erosion hazards. Section 9490 of the City’s Municipal Code sets forth special standards that apply to development within any OS-DR district. In accordance with Section 9490.5, the proposed project must be located and designed so as to protect the safety of current and future community residents, and the proposed project must not create significant threats to life and/or property due to the presence of geologic, seismic, slope instability, fire, flood, mud flow, or erosion hazards. The City’s Hillside and Scenic Corridor Preservation Ordinance (Section 9652) establishes specific standards for development within these districts. In accordance with this ordinance, the proposed project must minimize grading, preserve natural landforms and vegetation, and be designed to minimize visual impacts, ensure stable slopes, and prevent hazards related to erosion, flooding, and landslides.

4.5.3 Impact Analysis
a. Methodology and Significance Thresholds
As discussed in Section 4.0, Environmental Impact Analysis, all Project components are analyzed at the programmatic level. Project components include the Bicycle Master Plan (BMP), the VMT Mitigation Exchange and Banking Program (Program), and the General Plan Amendments (Amendments). Projects included within the BMP are grouped into Class I facilities, Class II facilities, Class III facilities, Class IV facilities, and enhanced bicycle treatments, as identified in Section 2.5, Project Characteristics, and in Table 1 of Chapter 2, Project Description. The impact analysis contained herein provides a programmatic analysis of anticipated impacts for each of the five facility classes, as the individual project impacts associated with each class of facility are expected to be similar. However, because the City seeks to prioritize implementation of the Medea Creek Path (Path) and the Agoura High School Connection (Connection), the Path and the Connection have their own subheadings within the Class I Facility impact analysis subsection to provide a more specific assessment of their environmental impacts. Impacts associated with the General Plan Amendments are analyzed within their own subsection.

As discussed in Chapter 2, Project Description, the only projects that are currently planned, unfunded, and could potentially be funded by the VMT Mitigation Exchange and Banking Program are those currently included within the Bicycle Master Plan. Therefore, the impact analysis contained herein does not include a subsection for impacts associated with the Program, as the individual project list for the BMP and the Program are identical and impacts associated with the BMP would encompass impacts associated with the Program.

Within the following environmental analysis, impacts associated with each Project component are explicitly identified under the respective heading.

According to State CEQA Guidelines Appendix G, impacts related to geology and soils would be significant if the proposed project would:

Directly or indirectly cause potential substantial adverse effects, including the risk of loss, injury, or death involving:

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a. Rupture of a known earthquake fault, as delineated on the most recent Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Map issued by the State Geologist for the area or based on other substantial evidence of a known fault,
b. Strong seismic ground shaking,
c. Seismic-related ground failure, including liquefaction, or d. Landslides;
Result in substantial soil erosion or the loss of topsoil; Be located on a geologic unit or soil that is unstable, or that would become unstable as a result of the project, and potentially result in on- or off-site landslide, lateral spreading, subsidence, liquefaction, or collapse;
Be located on expansive soil, as defined in Table 1-B of the Uniform Building Code (1994), creating substantial direct or indirect risks to life or property; Have soils incapable of adequately supporting the use of septic tanks or alternative wastewater disposal systems where sewers are not available for the disposal of wastewater; or Directly or indirectly destroy a unique paleontological resource or site or unique geologic feature.
b. Project Impacts and Mitigation Measures
Threshold 1a: Would the project directly or indirectly cause potential substantial adverse effects, including the risk of loss, injury, or death involving rupture of a known earthquake fault, as delineated on the most recent Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Map issued by the State Geologist for the area or based on other substantial evidence of a known fault?
Impact GEO-1 THERE ARE NO FAULTS OR ALQUIST-PRIOLO SPECIAL STUDIES ZONES WITHIN OR IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO THE PROJECT AREA. THEREFORE, IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROPOSED PROJECT

WOULD NOT DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY CAUSE POTENTIAL SUBSTANTIAL ADVERSE EFFECTS, INCLUDING THE RISK OF LOSS, INJURY, OR DEATH INVOLVING RUPTURE OF A KNOWN EARTHQUAKE FAULT. THIS IMPACT WOULD BE LESS THAN SIGNIFICANT.

Fault rupture can occur along or immediately adjacent to faults during an earthquake. Fault rupture is characterized by ground cracks and displacement which could endanger life and property.

Damage is typically limited to areas close to the moving fault. As discussed in Section 4.5.1, Setting, there are no faults or Alquist-Priolo Special Studies Zones within the Project area. There are three faults in the vicinity of the city: the Simi-Santa Rosa Fault (approximately seven miles north of the Project area), the Oak Ridge Fault (approximately 17 miles north of the Project area), and the San Cayetano Fault (approximately 18 miles north of the Project area). Therefore, implementation of the proposed Project would not directly or indirectly cause potential substantial adverse effects, including the risk of loss, injury, or death involving rupture of a known earthquake fault. This impact would be less than significant.

Environmental Impact Analysis
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Threshold 1b: Would the project directly or indirectly cause potential substantial adverse effects, including the risk of loss, injury, or death involving strong seismic ground shaking? Impact GEO-2 THE PROJECT AREA IS NOT LOCATED WITHIN OR ADJACENT TO AN ACTIVE FAULT AND THE PROJECT DOES NOT INCLUDE THE CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDINGS OR HABITABLE STRUCTURES. THE PROJECT

WOULD NOT EXACERBATE THE RISK OF LOSS, INJURY, OR DEATH INVOLVING STRONG SEISMIC GROUND SHAKING. THIS IMPACT WOULD BE LESS THAN SIGNIFICANT.

Seismic ground shaking is the result of an earthquake, and the impacts can be widespread. Although a function of earthquake intensity, ground shaking effects can be magnified by the underlying soils and geology, which may amplify shaking at great distances. It is difficult to predict the magnitude of ground shaking following an earthquake, as shaking can vary widely within a relatively small area. As discussed in Section 4.5.1, Setting, the closest faults to the Project area include the Simi-Santa Rosa Fault (approximately seven miles north of the Project area), the Oak Ridge Fault (approximately 17 miles north of the Project area), and the San Cayetano Fault (approximately 18 miles north of the Project area). Although the Project area is not located within an active fault, the Project area is located in a seismically active area, as is the majority of southern California. As such, the nearby earthquake faults could produce strong seismic ground shaking within the Project area in the event of an earthquake.

Implementation of individual projects identified within the BMP would involve construction activities such as clearing and grubbing, pavement demolition, grading, subgrade stabilization, utility relocation, construction of undercrossings and/or overcrossings, installation of retaining walls, construction of bollards and fencing, asphalt paving or repaving, striping, restriping, reconfiguration and/or revegetation. Construction activities would be required to comply with CBC standards related to, but not limited to, excavation, grading and earthwork construction, and fills. Compliance with these standards would ensure that construction activities would not exacerbate seismic ground shaking.

Implementation of the BMP would result in the construction of pedestrian undercrossings beneath existing roadways but would not result in the construction of buildings or habitable structures.

Undercrossing improvements would be required to comply with CBC standards related to, but not limited to, design specifications and procedures for calculating seismic forces. Pursuant to Policy S2.2 in the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035, a geotechnical investigation would be prepared prior to construction of undercrossing improvements to determine the potential for risks related to ground rupture and ground shaking due to seismic events. Although the Project area would be subject to ground shaking, particularly in the event of an earthquake originating along the SimiSanta Rosa Fault, this hazard is common in the region and the Project would not increase exposure of people to the risk of loss, injury or death from structural failure due to seismic ground shaking.

As part of the proposed Project, the City must also amend Chapter 3, Infrastructure and Community Services, of the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 to ensure consistency with the proposed BMP. The proposed General Plan Amendments would not result in construction activities or physical development that could increase the risk of loss, injury or death from structural failure due to seismic ground shaking.

Overall, implementation of the proposed Project would not directly or indirectly cause potential substantial adverse effects, including the risk of loss, injury, or death involving strong seismic ground shaking. This impact would be less than significant.

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Mitigation Measures
No mitigation measures would be required.

Significance After Mitigation
Impacts would be less than significant without mitigation.

Threshold 1c: Would the project directly or indirectly cause potential substantial adverse effects, including the risk of loss, injury, or death involving seismic-related ground failure, including liquefaction?
Impact GEO-3 PORTIONS OF THE PROJECT WOULD BE LOCATED WITHIN LIQUEFACTION ZONES. WITH

COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE CALIFORNIA BUILDING CODE, THE PROJECT WOULD NOT EXACERBATE THE RISK OF LOSS, INJURY, OR DEATH INVOLVING LIQUEFACTION. THIS IMPACT WOULD BE LESS THAN SIGNIFICANT.

As discussed in Section 4.5.1, Setting, several areas within the City of Agoura Hills are located within liquefaction zones, primarily located along the foothills and slopes of the Santa Monica Mountains in the eastern and southeastern portions of the city (CGS 2025).

Class I Facilities
Class I facilities would be located within identified liquefaction zones. Construction activities for Class I facilities would include clearing and grubbing, pavement demolition, grading, utility relocation, retaining wall or fencing installation, asphalt paving or repaving, street and undercrossing improvements, striping, and revegetation. Given the programmatic nature of the BMP, construction details for all individual projects included within the BMP are not yet known. As discussed in Chapter 2, Project Description, specific construction details have been identified for the Medea Creek Path, a two-mile bicycle path and the longest new facility proposed in the BMP.

Construction of the Path would result in the largest area of disturbance with the most construction activities. The maximum depth of excavation required during construction of the Path would be 12 feet. All other facilities included within the BMP would be expected to result in less intensive construction. Therefore, it can be assumed that the maximum depth of excavation required during construction of the remaining Class I facilities would also be 12 feet.

Construction activities would be required to comply with CBC standards related to, but not limited to, excavation, grading and earthwork construction, and fills. Compliance with these standards would ensure that temporary construction activities, including grading and ground disturbance at depths of up to 12 feet, would not exacerbate seismic-related ground failure, including an increased risk of liquefaction. Furthermore, implementation of the Class I facilities would not result in the construction of buildings or habitable structures, and undercrossing improvements would be required to comply with CBC standards related to, but not limited to, design specifications and procedures for calculating seismic forces. Pursuant to Policy S-2.2 in the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035, a geotechnical investigation would be prepared prior to construction of undercrossing improvements to determine the potential for risks related to liquefaction due to seismic events.

Therefore, Class I facilities would not directly or indirectly cause potential substantial adverse effects, including the risk of loss, injury, or death involving seismic-related ground failure, including liquefaction. This impact would be less than significant.

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MEDEA CREEK PATH
The Path is not located within an identified liquefaction zone. Therefore, there would be no impact related to the risk of loss, injury, or death involving seismic-related ground failure, including liquefaction.

AGOURA HIGH SCHOOL CONNECTION
The Connection is not located within an identified liquefaction zone. Therefore, there would be no impact related to the risk of loss, injury, or death involving seismic-related ground failure, including liquefaction.

Class II Facilities
The proposed Class II facilities are not located within an identified liquefaction zone. Therefore, there would be no impact related to the risk of loss, injury, or death involving seismic-related ground failure, including liquefaction.

Class III Facilities
Class III facilities would be located within identified liquefaction zones. Construction activities associated with implementation of the proposed Class III facilities would be limited to the restriping of existing roads to identify bike routes, and no ground disturbance would occur. Implementation of the Class III facilities would not result in the construction of buildings or habitable structures.

Therefore, implementation of the Class III facilities would not directly or indirectly cause potential substantial adverse effects, including the risk of loss, injury, or death involving seismic-related ground failure, including liquefaction. This impact would be less than significant.

Class IV Facilities
The proposed Class IV facilities are not located within an identified liquefaction zone. Therefore, there would be no impact related to the risk of loss, injury, or death involving seismic-related ground failure, including liquefaction.

Enhanced Bicycle Treatments
Enhanced bicycle treatments could include street striping and restriping, signage and wayfinding, bicycle signals and detection at traffic signals, bicycle parking, and bicycle repair facilities. These facilities would be implemented at various locations throughout the city within or adjacent to existing, new, or improved bikeways, which could be located within identified liquefaction zones.

Construction activities associated with implementation of the enhanced bicycle treatments could include minor ground disturbing activities, which would be required to comply with CBC standards related to, but not limited to, excavation, grading and earthwork construction, and fills. Compliance with these standards would ensure that temporary construction activities during implementation of the enhanced bicycle treatments would not exacerbate seismic-related ground failure, including an increased risk of liquefaction. Furthermore, enhanced bicycle treatments would not include buildings or habitable structures, and any aboveground features would be required to comply with CBC standards related to, but not limited to, design specifications and procedures for calculating seismic forces. Therefore, implementation of these facilities would not directly or indirectly cause potential substantial adverse effects, including the risk of loss, injury, or death involving seismicrelated ground failure, including liquefaction. This impact would be less than significant.

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General Plan Amendments
As part of the proposed Project, the City must also amend Chapter 3, Infrastructure and Community Services, of the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 to ensure consistency with the proposed BMP. The proposed General Plan Amendments would not result in construction activities or physical development that could increase the risk of loss, injury, or death involving seismic-related ground failure, including liquefaction. No impact would occur.

Mitigation Measures
No mitigation measures would be required.

Significance After Mitigation
Impacts would be less than significant without mitigation.

Threshold 1d: Would the project directly or indirectly cause potential substantial adverse effects, including the risk of loss, injury, or death involving landslides? Impact GEO-4 PORTIONS OF THE PROJECT WOULD BE LOCATED WITHIN AREAS IDENTIFIED AS AT RISK OF LANDSLIDES. WITH COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE CALIFORNIA

BUILDING CODE, THE PROJECT WOULD NOT EXACERBATE THE RISK OF LOSS, INJURY, OR DEATH INVOLVING LANDSLIDES. THIS IMPACT WOULD BE LESS THAN SIGNIFICANT.

As discussed in Section 4.5.1, Setting, several areas within the City of Agoura Hills are considered landslide hazard zones, primarily located along foothills and mountain slopes to the in the northern, eastern, and southern portions of the city (CGS 2025).

Class I Facilities
Class I facilities would be located within areas identified as at risk of landslides. Construction activities for Class I facilities would include clearing and grubbing, pavement demolition, grading, utility relocation, retaining wall or fencing installation, asphalt paving or repaving, street and undercrossing improvements, striping, and revegetation. These construction activities would be required to comply with CBC standards related to, but not limited to, excavation, grading and earthwork construction, and fills. Compliance with these standards would ensure that temporary construction activities, including grading and ground disturbance at depths of up to 12 feet, would not exacerbate the risk of landslides near Class I facilities. Furthermore, implementation of the Class I facilities would not result in the construction of buildings or habitable structures, and undercrossing improvements would be required to comply with CBC standards related to, but not limited to, design specifications and procedures for calculating seismic forces. Pursuant to Policy S2.2 in the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035, a geotechnical investigation would be prepared prior to construction of undercrossing improvements to determine the potential for risks related to landslides due to seismic events. Therefore, Class I facilities would not directly or indirectly cause potential substantial adverse effects, including the risk of loss, injury, or death involving landslides.

This impact would be less than significant.

MEDEA CREEK PATH
The Path is located adjacent to areas identified as at risk of landslides. Construction activities would be required to comply with CBC standards related to, but not limited to, excavation, grading and Environmental Impact Analysis
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earthwork construction, and fills. Compliance with these standards would ensure that temporary construction activities, including grading and ground disturbance at depths of up to 12 feet, would not exacerbate the risk of landslides within or near the Path’s alignment. Furthermore, implementation of the Path would not result in the construction of buildings or habitable structures, and undercrossing improvements would be required to comply with CBC standards related to, but not limited to, design specifications and procedures for calculating seismic forces. Pursuant to Policy S-2.2 in the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035, a geotechnical investigation would be prepared prior to construction of undercrossing improvements to determine the potential for risks related to landslides due to seismic events. Therefore, the Path would not directly or indirectly cause potential substantial adverse effects, including the risk of loss, injury, or death involving landslides. This impact would be less than significant.

AGOURA HIGH SCHOOL CONNECTION
The Connection is located adjacent to areas identified as at risk of landslides. Construction activities would be required to comply with CBC standards related to, but not limited to, excavation, grading and earthwork construction, and fills. Compliance with these standards would ensure that temporary construction activities, including grading and ground disturbance at depths of up to 12 feet, would not exacerbate the risk of landslides near the Connection. Furthermore, implementation of the Connection would not result in the construction of buildings, habitable structures, or undercrossings. Nonetheless, any aboveground features would be required to comply with CBC standards related to, but not limited to, design specifications and procedures for calculating seismic forces. Therefore, the Connection would not directly or indirectly cause potential substantial adverse effects, including the risk of loss, injury, or death involving landslides. This impact would be less than significant.

Class II Facilities
The proposed Class II facilities are not located within an identified as at risk of landslides. Therefore, there would be no impact related to the risk of loss, injury, or death involving landslides.

Class III Facilities
Class III facilities would be located within areas identified as at risk of landslides. Construction activities associated with implementation of the proposed Class III facilities would be limited to the restriping of existing roads to identify bike routes, and no ground disturbance would occur.

Implementation of the Class III facilities would not result in the construction of buildings or habitable structures. Therefore, implementation of the Class III facilities would not directly or indirectly cause potential substantial adverse effects, including the risk of loss, injury, or death involving landslides. This impact would be less than significant.

Class IV Facilities
The proposed Class IV facilities are not located within an identified as at risk of landslides.

Therefore, there would be no impact related to the risk of loss, injury, or death involving landslides.

Enhanced Bicycle Treatments Facilities
Enhanced bicycle treatments could include street striping and restriping, signage and wayfinding, bicycle signals and detection at traffic signals, bicycle parking, and bicycle repair facilities. These facilities would be implemented at various locations throughout the city within or adjacent to City of Agoura Hills
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existing, new, or improved bikeways, which could be located within areas identified as at risk of landslides. Construction activities associated with implementation of the enhanced bicycle treatments could include minor ground disturbing activities, which would be required to comply with CBC standards related to, but not limited to, excavation, grading and earthwork construction, and fills. Compliance with these standards would ensure that temporary construction activities during implementation of the enhanced bicycle treatments would not exacerbate the risk of landslides. Furthermore, enhanced bicycle treatments would not include buildings or habitable structures, and any aboveground features would be required to comply with CBC standards related to, but not limited to, design specifications and procedures for calculating seismic forces. Therefore, implementation of these facilities would not directly or indirectly cause potential substantial adverse effects, including the risk of loss, injury, or death involving landslides. This impact would be less than significant.

General Plan Amendments
As part of the proposed Project, the City must also amend Chapter 3, Infrastructure and Community Services, of the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 to ensure consistency with the proposed BMP. The proposed General Plan Amendments would not result in construction activities or physical development that could increase the risk of loss, injury, or death involving landslides. No impact would occur.

Mitigation Measures
No mitigation measures would be required.

Significance After Mitigation
Impacts would be less than significant without mitigation.

Threshold 2: Would the project result in substantial soil erosion or the loss of topsoil? Impact GEO-5 THE PROJECT WOULD NOT RESULT IN SUBSTANTIAL SOIL EROSION OR THE LOSS OF TOPSOIL. THIS IMPACT WOULD BE LESS THAN SIGNIFICANT.

Implementation of Class I facilities including the Path and the Connection, Class II facilities, Class IV facilities, and enhanced bicycle treatments would involve earth-disturbing construction activities.

Loose and disturbed soils are more prone to erosion and loss of topsoil by wind and water. As identified in Section 4.7, Hydrology and Water Quality, soil erosion is effectively controlled through a combination of State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) permits and AHMC requirements.

Specifically, individual projects that disturb more than one acre of soil would be subject to the SWRCB Construction General Permit, which mandates preparation and implementation of a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP). The SWPPP identifies and prescribes sediment controls—such as silt fences, sediment basins, and stabilized construction entrances—to maintain pre-development flow paths, prevent on- or off-site siltation, and minimize the potential for erosion. Individual projects that disturb between one and five acres of soil may opt for a Small Construction Rainfall Erosivity Waiver, but regardless of waiver applicability would be required to comply with Article V, Chapter 5 of the AHMC, which would ensure Best Management Practices (BMPs) for erosion control are implemented. Individual projects disturbing less than one acre of soil, though exempt from the Construction General Permit, would be bound by the AHMC’s BMP requirements, ensuring consistent erosion and sediment controls for construction of all individual Environmental Impact Analysis
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projects identified within the BMP. Therefore, construction activities associated with implementation of Class I facilities including the Path and the Connection, Class II facilities, Class IV facilities, and enhanced bicycle treatments would not result in substantial soil erosion or the loss of topsoil. This impact would be less than significant.

Implementation of Class III facilities would be limited to the restriping of existing roads to identify bike routes, and no ground disturbance would occur. Therefore, Class III facilities would not result in substantial soil erosion or the loss of topsoil. No impact would occur.

After completion of construction activities, all ground surfaces would be either hardscape or maintained landscaping, and no large areas of exposed soils would be left to erode off individual project sites. Therefore, operation of individual projects implemented under the BMP would not result in substantial soil erosion or the loss of topsoil, and no impact would occur.

As part of the proposed Project, the City must also amend Chapter 3, Infrastructure and Community Services, of the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 to ensure consistency with the proposed BMP. The proposed General Plan Amendments would not result in construction activities or physical development that could result in substantial soil erosion or the loss of topsoil. No impact would occur.

Mitigation Measures
No mitigation measures would be required.

Significance After Mitigation
Impacts would be less than significant without mitigation.

Threshold 3: Would the project be located on a geologic unit or soil that is unstable, or that would become unstable as a result of the project, and potentially result in on- or off-site landslide, lateral spreading, subsidence, liquefaction, or collapse? Impact GEO-6 PORTIONS OF THE PROJECT WOULD BE LOCATED ON GEOLOGIC UNITS OR SOILS THAT ARE UNSTABLE. HOWEVER, THE PROJECT WOULD NOT EXACERBATE SOIL INSTABILITY, NOR WOULD THE PROJECT RESULT IN ON- OR OFF-SITE LANDSLIDE, LATERAL SPREADING, SUBSIDENCE, LIQUEFACTION, OR COLLAPSE.

IMPACTS WOULD BE LESS THAN SIGNIFICANT.

As discussed under Impact GEO-3 and Impact GEO-4, Class II and Class IV facilities would not be located in areas identified as at risk of landslide or liquefaction; Class I facilities, Class III facilities, and enhanced bicycle treatments would be located in areas identified as at risk of both landslide and liquefaction; and the Path and the Connection would be located adjacent to areas identified as at risk of landslides but not within an identified liquefaction zone. Compliance with CBC standards and adherence to City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 Policy S-2.2, implementation of individual projects identified within the BMP would not exacerbate soil instability such that the risk of landslides or liquefaction would be increased. Impacts related to landslides and liquification would be less than significant.

Lateral spreading is a type of liquefaction-induced ground failure that occurs on gentle slopes or flat areas when poorly drained soils lose pressure during ground shaking and fall apart. Although soils within the Project area could experience lateral spreading during ground shaking events, compliance with CBC standards and adherence to City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 Policy S-2.2 would reduce the potential risk such that construction activities would not increase the risk of City of Agoura Hills
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lateral spreading. Furthermore, implementation of the proposed Project would not result in the construction of buildings or habitable structures on soils subject to lateral spreading. Impacts related to lateral spreading would be less than significant.

Subsidence and collapse are the downward vertical movement or shrinking of the ground surface, which can be caused by natural activity (e.g., ground shaking or sinkholes) or human activity (e.g., drilling or groundwater dewatering). Construction activities for individual projects would require ground disturbance but would not require groundwater dewatering. Furthermore, as discussed in Section 4.5.1, Setting, no recognized subsidence has been identified in the City of Agoura Hills and the likelihood of substantial subsidence occurring in the Project area is low. Pursuant to Policy S-2.2 in the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035, a geotechnical investigation would be prepared prior to construction of aboveground features to determine the potential for risks of subsidence problems. Therefore, implementation of individual projects identified within the BMP would not have the potential to result in on- or off-site subsidence or collapse. Impacts related to subsidence and collapse would be less than significant.

As part of the proposed Project, the City must also amend Chapter 3, Infrastructure and Community Services, of the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 to ensure consistency with the proposed BMP. The proposed General Plan Amendments would not result in construction activities or physical development that could result in on- or off-site landslides, lateral spreading, subsidence, liquefaction, or collapse. No impact would occur.

Mitigation Measures
No mitigation measures would be required.

Significance After Mitigation
Impacts would be less than significant without mitigation.

Threshold 4: Would the project be located on expansive soil, as defined in Table 1-B of the Uniform Building Code (1994), creating substantial direct or indirect risks to life or property?
Impact GEO-7 THE PROJECT MAY BE LOCATED UPON EXPANSIVE SOILS. COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE CITY REQUIREMENTS WOULD MINIMIZE POTENTIAL RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH EXPANSIVE SOILS. THIS IMPACT WOULD BE LESS THAN SIGNIFICANT.

As discussed in Section 4.5.1, Setting, ungraded native soils in or near East Agoura Hills, South End, Forest Cove, Reyes Adobe, and Lake Lindero exhibit the highest potential for shrinkage and swelling (City of Agoura Hills 2022). Implementation of individual projects identified within the BMP could occur on expansive soils, and bicycle facilities could be subject to damage or instability when underlying soils shrink or swell. Pursuant to Policy S-2.2 in the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035, a geotechnical investigation would be prepared prior to individual project approvals to determine the potential for risks related to expansive soils. The adverse effects of expansive soils would be avoided through proper subsoil preparation, drainage, and foundation design during construction activities if such risks are identified.

Environmental Impact Analysis
Geology and Soils
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.5-19
As part of the proposed Project, the City must also amend Chapter 3, Infrastructure and Community Services, of the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 to ensure consistency with the proposed BMP. The proposed General Plan Amendments would not result in construction activities or physical development that could occur on expansive soils.

Overall, the proposed Project would not result in substantial direct or indirect risks to life or property due to expansive soils. This impact would be less than significant.

Mitigation Measures
No mitigation measures would be required.

Significance After Mitigation
Impacts would be less than significant without mitigation.

Threshold 5: Would the project have soils incapable of adequately supporting the use of septic tanks or alternative wastewater disposal systems where sewers are not available for the disposal of wastewater?
Impact GEO-8 THE PROJECT WOULD NOT REQUIRE THE USE OF SEPTIC TANKS OR ALTERNATIVE WASTEWATER DISPOSAL SYSTEMS. NO IMPACT WOULD OCCUR.

The proposed Project would not result in the construction of buildings or habitable structures requiring a sanitary sewer system. Therefore, the Project would not require the use of septic tanks or alternative wastewater disposal systems. No impact would occur.

Mitigation Measures
No mitigation measures would be required.

Significance After Mitigation
No impact would occur.

Threshold 6: Would the project directly or indirectly destroy a unique paleontological resource or site or unique geologic feature?
Impact GEO-9 GROUND DISTURBANCE DURING CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES COULD ENCOUNTER GEOLOGIC UNITS WITH HIGH OR UNDETERMINED PALEONTOLOGICAL SENSITIVITY. WITH IMPLEMENTATION OF MITIGATION MEASURE GEO-9, THIS IMPACT WOULD BE LESS THAN SIGNIFICANT.

Due to the programmatic nature of the Project, a precise, project-level analysis of the specific impacts of individual projects identified within the BMP on paleontological resources is not possible at this time. The potential for impacts to paleontological resources can only be determined at the individual project level because the effects depend on individual project site conditions such as the underlying geology and the history of development at that project site. Nonetheless, individual projects that would be facilitated by implementation of the BMP fall into several categories, and the nature of some facility types could preclude them from having a potential impact on paleontological resources regardless of location. Specifically, ground-disturbing activities associated with construction of individual projects identified within the BMP would have the potential to damage or City of Agoura Hills
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destroy paleontological resources that may be present on or below the ground surface in areas of high or undetermined paleontological sensitivity.

Class I Facilities
Construction of the Class I facilities would require ground disturbing activities. These activities could result in the discovery of paleontological resources if undisturbed geologic units with high or undetermined paleontological sensitivity are encountered. Consequently, damage to or destruction of paleontological resources could occur during implementation of the Class I facilities. This impact would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

MEDEA CREEK PATH
Construction of the Path would require ground disturbing activities. These activities could result in the discovery of paleontological resources if undisturbed geologic units with high or undetermined paleontological sensitivity are encountered. Consequently, damage to or destruction of paleontological resources could occur during implementation of the Path. This impact would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

AGOURA HIGH SCHOOL CONNECTION
Construction of the Connection would require ground disturbing activities. These activities could result in the discovery of paleontological resources if undisturbed geologic units with high or undetermined paleontological sensitivity are encountered. Consequently, damage to or destruction of paleontological resources could occur during implementation of the Connection. This impact would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

Class II Facilities
The establishment of Class II facilities would generally require roadway restriping and reconfiguration of lane widths to accommodate new dedicated bike lanes. Restriping activities would not require ground disturbance and therefore would not result in the discovery of paleontological resources.

Pavement widening would be necessary on Driver Avenue and Cornell Road to allow for the addition of bicycle lanes. Pavement widening would require ground disturbance, and these activities could result in the discovery of paleontological resources if undisturbed geologic units with high or undetermined paleontological sensitivity are encountered. Consequently, damage to or destruction of paleontological resources could occur during implementation of the Class II facilities. This impact would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

Class III Facilities
Establishment of Class III facilities would be limited to the restriping of existing roads to identify bike routes. Restriping activities would not require ground disturbance and therefore would not result in the discovery of paleontological resources.

Class IV Facilities
Construction of Class IV facilities would require ground disturbing activities. These activities could result in the discovery of paleontological resources if undisturbed geologic units with high or undetermined paleontological sensitivity are encountered. Consequently, damage to or destruction Environmental Impact Analysis
Geology and Soils
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of paleontological resources could occur during implementation of the Class IV facilities. This impact would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

Enhanced Bicycle Treatments
Enhanced bicycle treatments could include street striping and restriping, signage and wayfinding, bicycle signals and detection at traffic signals, bicycle parking, and bicycle repair facilities. These facilities would be implemented at various locations throughout the city within or adjacent to existing, new, or improved bikeways. Although minimal, implementation of these facilities would require ground disturbance. Ground disturbance could result in the discovery of paleontological resources if undisturbed geologic units with high or undetermined paleontological sensitivity are encountered. Consequently, damage to or destruction of paleontological resources could occur during implementation of the enhanced bicycle treatments. This impact would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

General Plan Amendments
As part of the proposed Project, the City must also amend Chapter 3, Infrastructure and Community Services, of the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 to ensure consistency with the proposed BMP. The proposed General Plan Amendments would not result in ground disturbing activities and therefore would not result in the discovery of paleontological resources. No impact would occur.

Mitigation Measures
GEO-9 Paleontological Resources Assessment
Prior to approval of final design for individual projects identified within the BMP that involve ground disturbance, the City shall require preparation of a Paleontological Resources Assessment. This assessment may be prepared as a standalone report or incorporated into a larger environmental review document. The Paleontological Resources Assessment shall be prepared by an individual meeting the standards of a Qualified Professional Paleontologist as defined by the SVP. The assessment shall summarize the results of a records search of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, summarize the results of a desktop review of available literature and geologic maps of the individual project site, characterize the paleontological sensitivity of the geologic unit(s) present within the project site using the SVP paleontological sensitivity scale, assess the potential for significant impacts to paleontological resources, and provide mitigation recommendations for avoiding or reducing impacts to paleontological resources from project construction, if necessary.

Significance After Mitigation
Implementation of Mitigation Measure GEO-9 would identify the potential to encounter paleontological resources at individual project sites and prescribe specific mitigation for construction activities based on the site’s sensitivity. With implementation of Mitigation Measure GEO-9, impacts related to paleontological resources would be less than significant.

4.5.4 Cumulative Impacts
The geographic scope of cumulative impacts for geology and soils is the Project area, which encompasses all of the City of Agoura Hills. This geographic scope is appropriate because the Project would occur in various locations throughout the city, and geologic hazards are present but varied throughout the city. For this analysis, a cumulative impact would occur if cumulative development City of Agoura Hills
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would have the potential to directly or indirectly cause potential substantial adverse effects, including the risk of loss, injury, or death involving rupture of a known earthquake fault, seismic ground shaking, liquefaction, or landslides; result in substantial soil erosion or the loss of topsoil; be located on an unstable geologic unit and potentially result in landslide, lateral spreading, subsidence, liquefaction, or collapse; be located on expansive soil; have soils incapable of supporting the use of septic tanks or alternative wastewater disposal systems; or destroy a unique paleontological resource, site, or geologic feature.

Past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future projects, including the projects listed in Table 3-1, would expose additional people and property to seismic and geologic hazards that are present in the region. The magnitude of geologic hazards for individual projects would depend upon the location, type, and size of development as well as specific hazards associated with individual sites. Any specific geologic hazards associated with each individual site would be limited to that site without affecting other areas.

Furthermore, compliance with both the CBC requirements and Policy S-2.2 in the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 would reduce the risk of seismic and geologic hazards for all future projects.

Therefore, cumulative development would have a less-than-significant cumulative impact involving the risk of loss, injury, or death due to rupture of a known earthquake fault, seismic ground shaking, liquefaction, or landslides; substantial soil erosion; unstable geologic units; expansive soils, or soils incapable of supporting the use of septic tanks.

During construction, cumulative development would result in ground disturbance; during operation, cumulative development could increase access to areas known to contain scientifically significant paleontological resources. Therefore, construction and operation of cumulative development could increase the chances of damage, destruction, or unlawful collection of those resources. This cumulative impact to paleontological resources would be potentially significant. Ground-disturbing activities associated with construction facilitated by the proposed Project have the potential to damage or destroy paleontological resources that may be present on or below the ground surface in areas of high or undetermined paleontological sensitivity. With implementation of Mitigation Measure GEO-8, Project impacts related to paleontological resources would be less than significant due to the preparation of a site-specific paleontological resources assessment. Therefore, the Project would not contribute considerably to a cumulative impact related to paleontological resources.

Environmental Impact Analysis
Hazards and Hazardous Materials
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.6-1

4.6 Hazards and Hazardous Materials
The analysis in this section considers potential impacts to hazards and hazardous materials.

Specifically, this section discusses the environmental and regulatory setting; the criteria used to determine the significance of environmental impacts related to hazards and hazardous materials; and potential impacts related to hazards and hazardous materials that would result from implementation of the proposed Project.

4.6.1 Setting
a. Overview of Hazardous Materials
The term “hazardous materials” refers to both hazardous materials and hazardous waste. The term “hazardous material” is defined in the State of California’s Health and Safety Code (HSC), Division 20, Chapter 6.95, Section 25501(n) as:

Any material that …, “because of its quantity, concentration, or physical or chemical characteristics, poses a significant present or potential hazard to human health and safety or to the environment if released into the workplace or the environment” […]. “Hazardous materials” include, but are not limited to, hazardous substances, hazardous waste and any material that a handler or the administering agency has a reasonable basis for believing that it would be injurious to the health and safety of persons or harmful to the environment if released into the workplace or the environment.

Hazardous waste is hazardous material generated, intentionally or unintentionally, as a byproduct of some process or condition. Hazardous wastes are defined in California HSC Section 25141(b) as wastes that:
…because of their quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics, [may either] cause, or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious illness [or] pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of, or otherwise managed.

A material is hazardous if it exhibits one or more of the following characteristics: toxicity, ignitability, corrosivity, and reactivity. These types of hazardous materials are further defined below:
 Toxic Substances. Toxic substances are materials that are poisonous to living organisms and can cause health effects. Carcinogens, substances that can cause cancer, are a special class of toxic substances. Examples of toxic substances include benzene (a component of gasoline and suspected carcinogen) and methylene chloride (a common laboratory solvent and a suspected carcinogen).
 Ignitable Substances. Ignitable substances are hazardous because of their ability to burn.

Gasoline, hexane, and natural gas are examples of ignitable substances.  Corrosive Materials. Corrosive materials can cause severe burns. Corrosives include strong acids and bases such as sodium hydroxide (lye) or sulfuric acid (battery acid).  Reactive Materials. Reactive materials may cause explosions or generate toxic gases. Explosives, pure sodium or potassium metals (which react violently with water), and cyanides are examples of reactive materials.

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b. Hazardous Substances
Volatile Organic Compounds
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are a group of chemicals that easily evaporate at room temperature and are found in many products, including paints, solvents, and cleaning supplies. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) states that VOCs can have both shortand long-term health effects, ranging from eye, nose, and throat irritation to more severe impacts such as liver and kidney damage (U.S. EPA 2024a). VOCs also contribute to the formation of groundlevel ozone and smog, impacting air quality.

Gasoline
Gasoline is a highly flammable liquid composed of hydrocarbons, including alkanes, benzene, toluene, and xylenes. According to the U.S. EPA, exposure to gasoline can occur through inhalation, ingestion, or skin contact, leading to health effects such as dizziness, headaches, respiratory issues, and central nervous system depression. Prolonged exposure to gasoline vapors can result in organ damage or cancer due to the presence of benzene and other toxic substances. Additionally, burning gasoline releases harmful pollutants like carbon monoxide, which can be fatal in high concentrations (U.S. EPA 2024b). The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations require proper storage of flammable liquids like gasoline in approved containers with clear labeling to prevent accidental misuse or fire hazards (29 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Section 1910.106) Deisel
Diesel fuel, a complex mixture of hydrocarbons, is commonly used in engines and heating systems.

OSHA identifies diesel as a flammable liquid that poses several health hazards, including skin irritation, respiratory issues, and potential carcinogenic effects. Inhalation of diesel fumes can cause dizziness, headaches, and long-term exposure may lead to more severe health problems such as lung damage and cancer. Diesel spills can also contaminate soil and water, posing environmental risks(OSHA 2025).

Asbestos-Containing Materials
Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous material that was widely used in asphalt and in structures built between 1945 and 1978 for its fireproofing and insulating properties. Asbestos-containing materials (ACM) were banned by the U.S. EPA between the early 1970s and 1991 under the authority of the federal Clean Air Act and the Toxic Substances Control Act due to their harmful health effects. Exposure to asbestos increases the risk of developing lung disease, such as lung cancer, mesothelioma, or asbestosis (U.S. EPA 2024c). Common ACMs include vinyl flooring and associated mastic, wallboard and associate joint compound, plaster, stucco, acoustic ceiling spray, ceiling tiles, heating system components, and roofing materials. Pre-1973 commercial and industrial structures are required to implement asbestos regulations if damage occurs, or if remodeling, renovation, or demolition activities disturb ACMs.

Lead and Lead-Based Paint
Lead is a naturally occurring element that can be toxic to humans and animals, and lead exposure can result in health effects, especially in children. Lead and lead compounds have been used in a variety of consumer products, including lead-based paint (LBP), ceramics, pipes and plumbing materials, solders, gasoline, batteries, ammunition, and cosmetics (U.S. EPA 2024d). In 1978, Environmental Impact Analysis
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consumer uses of lead-based paint were banned. Old paint and pavement may contain lead, which could be disturbed by demolition.
c. Generation and Disposal of Hazardous Materials and Waste Many chemicals used in household cleaning, construction, light and heavy industry, dry cleaning, film processing, landscaping and automotive maintenance and repair are considered to generate hazardous materials and waste. Additionally, in some cases, past industrial or commercial uses on a site may have resulted in spills or leaks of hazardous materials and petroleum that have caused contamination of the underlying soil and groundwater. Federal and state laws require that soils and groundwater having concentrations of contaminants that are higher than certain acceptable levels are handled and disposed as hazardous waste during excavation, transportation, and disposal. The California Code of Regulations (CCR), Title 22, Sections 66261.20-24 contains technical descriptions of characteristics that would cause a soil to be classified as a hazardous waste. Hazardous materials require special methods of disposal, storage and treatment, and the release of hazardous materials requires an immediate response to protect human health and safety and the environment.

Improper disposal can harm the environment and people who work in the waste management industry.
d. Use, Transport, and Abatement of Hazardous Materials If improperly handled, hazardous materials can result in public health hazards through human contact with contaminated soils or groundwater, or through airborne releases in vapors, fumes, or dust. There is also the potential for accidental or unauthorized releases of hazardous materials that would pose a public health concern. The use, transport, and disposal of hazardous materials and wastes are required to occur in accordance with federal, State, and local regulations. In accordance with such regulations, the transport of hazardous materials and waste can only occur with transporters who have received training and appropriate licensing. Additionally, hazardous waste transporters are required to complete and carry a hazardous waste manifest, which includes forms, reports, and procedures designed to seamlessly track hazardous waste.

Hazardous materials used and generated within the city and their waste would be transported via major regional routes, such as United States Highway 101 (Ventura Freeway). The City does not have direct authority over the transport of hazardous materials on this roadway. Instead, the United States Department of Transportation and California Highway Patrol regulate transportation of hazardous materials by truck.
e. Existing Hazardous Materials Contamination
Chapter 5, Community Safety, of the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 identifies various sources of hazardous materials within the city. Specifically, land uses near the Ventura Freeway corridor are at risk of exposure if an accident occurs during the transport of hazardous material; leaking underground storage tanks (LUST) containing motor vehicle fuels and other toxic substances can contaminate soil and groundwater; and, a network of natural gas pipelines presents a risk of accidental rupture during construction activities. Light industrial facilities, dry cleaners, and auto repair shops use solvents and other toxic substances, which can generate hazardous wastes.

Residences and office buildings can also store potentially hazardous materials, though typically in smaller quantities than commercial or industrial uses (City of Agoura Hills 2022).

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f. Wildland Fire
Wildlands are tracts of land in a natural state. Wildland fires are uncontrolled fires in wildland areas with extensive combustible fuel, including vegetation. The Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) is the area where human development meets wildland vegetation, and it is typically characterized by a mix of residential, commercial, and natural land uses. The WUI is particularly vulnerable to wildfire because it combines the presence of human-built structures with the presence of combustible vegetation and other wildfire fuels. The city contains both WUI and Wildfire Influence zones, which are zones with wildfire susceptible vegetation up to 1.5 miles from WUI zones (The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection [CAL FIRE] 2025).

In California, state and local agencies share responsibility for wildfire prevention and suppression, and federal agencies take part as well. Federal agencies are responsible for oversight of federal lands in Federal Responsibility Areas (FRA). The State of California has determined that some nonfederal lands in unincorporated areas with watershed value are of statewide interest and have classified those lands as State Responsibility Areas (SRA), which are managed by CAL FIRE. All incorporated areas and unincorporated lands not in FRAs or SRAs are classified as Local Responsibility Areas (LRA). The City of Agoura Hills is a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ) in a LRA and is bordered on the north and south by VHFHSZs in a SRA (CAL FIRE 2024).

4.6.2 Regulatory Setting
a. Federal Regulations
Occupational Safety and Health Act
Created by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (CFR Title 29), the OSHA is the federal agency responsible for ensuring worker safety. OSHA regulations provide standards for safe workplaces and work practices, including those relating to hazardous materials handling.

Occupational Safety and Health Act Standard 1917.156 designates fueling locations, regulates liquid fuel, and specifies standards for fueling operation and storage. Occupational Safety and Health Act Standard 1910.39 mandates that each job site have a fire prevention plan.

Hazardous Materials Transportation Act
The United States Department of Transportation, in conjunction with U.S. EPA, is responsible for enforcement and implementation of federal laws and regulations pertaining to transportation of hazardous materials. The Hazardous Materials Transportation Act of 1974 (49 United States Code 5101) directs the United States Department of Transportation to establish criteria and regulations regarding the safe storage and transportation of hazardous materials. 49 CFR Parts 171 to 180 define the types of material classified as hazardous, regulate the transportation of hazardous materials, and specify the marking of vehicles transporting hazardous materials.

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act and Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) was enacted in 1980 and amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act in 1986. This law provides broad federal authority to respond directly to releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances that may endanger public health or the environment. Among other things, CERCLA established requirements concerning closed and abandoned hazardous waste sites, Environmental Impact Analysis
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provided for liability of persons responsible for releases of hazardous waste at these sites, and established a trust fund to provide for cleanup when no responsible party could be identified.

CERCLA also enabled revision of the National Contingency Plan, which provides the guidelines and procedures needed to respond to releases and threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants.

In 1986, the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) amended CERCLA, reflecting the U.S. EPA’s experience in administering the Superfund program over six years. SARA provided new enforcement authorities and tools, increased the amount of funds available for hazardous waste site cleanups, and increased the awareness of human health problems affiliated with hazardous waste sites. SARA also revised the U.S. EPA’s Hazard Ranking System to accurately assess the risk posed to human health and the environment by uncontrolled hazardous waste sites.

Toxic Substances Control Act
The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) was passed by the United States Congress in 1976 and is administered by U.S. EPA to regulate the introduction of new or already existing chemicals. Under the TSCA, U.S. EPA evaluates potential risks from new and existing chemicals and acts to address any unreasonable risks chemicals may have on human health and the environment. The TSCA provides U.S. EPA with authority to require reporting, record-keeping and testing requirements, and restrictions relating to chemical substances and/or mixtures.

Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act
The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act was created under SARA Title III to help communities protect public health and safety from chemical hazards. The national legislation requires each state to appoint a State Emergency Response Commission, which then divides each state into Emergency Planning Districts and nominates a Local Emergency Planning Committee for each district. The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act provides compliance and reporting standards as well as waste, chemical, and cleanup enforcement, allowing each district to plan and prepare thoroughly should a hazardous waste accident or release arise. b. State Regulations
Hazardous Waste Control Law
DTSC, a department of CalEPA, is the primary agency in California that regulates hazardous waste, cleans up existing contamination, and looks for ways to reduce the hazardous waste produced in California. DTSC regulates hazardous waste in California primarily under the authority of the Resource Conservation and Authority Act and the California Health and Safety Code. DTSC also administers the California Hazardous Waste Control Law (California Health and Safety Code Section 25100, et seq.) to regulate hazardous wastes. The Hazardous Waste Control Law lists chemicals and common materials that may be hazardous; establishes criteria for identifying, packaging, and labeling hazardous wastes; prescribes management controls; establishes permit requirements for treatment, storage, disposal, and transportation; and identifies some wastes that cannot be disposed of in landfills.

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Environmental Health Standards for the Management of Hazardous Waste Law Title 22 CCR Division 4.5, Chapter 11, Sections 66261.20 through 66261.24 contain technical descriptions of characteristics that would classify waste material, including soil, as hazardous waste.

Specifically, waste is considered hazardous if it is toxic, ignitable, corrosive, or reactive pursuant to the criteria established in Title 22 CCR Division 4.5, Chapter 11, Article 3. When excavated, soils with concentrations of contaminants higher than certain acceptable levels must be handled and disposed of as hazardous waste. When demolished, structural features containing LBP can also be considered hazardous waste, depending on concentrations, and must be handled and disposed of as hazardous waste.

AB 747
AB 747 requires cities and counties in California to address the capacity of evacuation routes in the safety element of their general plans. It mandates that local governments plan for the capacity of these routes under various emergency scenarios to ensure effective evacuations.

California Government Code Section 65962.5
California Government Code Section 65962.5 requires DTSC, the California Department of Health Services, SWRCB, and the California Department of Resources, Recycling, and Recovery (CalRecycle) to compile and annually update lists of hazardous materials sites and land designated as hazardous waste sites throughout the state. The Secretary for Environmental Protection consolidates the information submitted by these agencies and distributes it to each city and county where sites on the lists are located. Before a lead agency accepts an application for any development project as complete, the applicant must consult these lists to determine if the site at issue is included. If any soil is excavated from a site containing hazardous materials, it is considered a hazardous waste if it exceeds specific criteria in CCR Title 22. Remediation of hazardous wastes found at a site may be required if excavation of these materials is performed, or if certain other soil-disturbing activities would occur. Even if soil or groundwater at a contaminated site does not have the characteristics required to be defined as hazardous waste, remediation of the site may be required by regulatory agencies subject to jurisdictional authority. Cleanup requirements are determined on a case-by-case basis by the agency taking jurisdiction.

California Code of Regulations
Soil excavated from a site would be considered a hazardous waste it contained hazardous materials exceeding specific criteria identified by the DTSC in Title 22, Division 4.5 Section 66261.10 of the CCR. Remediation of hazardous waste found at a site may be required if excavation of these materials is performed, or if other soil disturbing activities would occur. Even if soil or groundwater at a contaminated site does not have the characteristics required to be defined as hazardous waste, remediation of the site may be required by regulatory agencies subject to jurisdictional authority.

Cleanup requirements are determined on a case-by-case basis by the agency taking jurisdiction.

Additionally, because of its toxic properties, lead is regulated by the CCR as a hazardous material as well as a toxic air contaminant. State-certified contractors must perform inspection, testing, and abatement of lead-containing building materials in compliance with applicable health and safety and hazardous materials regulations. These regulations cover the demolition, removal, cleanup, transportation, storage, and disposal of lead-containing material. The regulations outline the permissible exposure limit, protective measures, monitoring, and compliance to ensure the safety of construction workers exposed to lead-based materials. The California Division of Occupational Environmental Impact Analysis
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Safety and Health’s (Cal/OSHA) Lead in Construction Standard requires project proponents to develop and implement a lead compliance plan when LBP would be disturbed during construction.

The plan must describe activities that could emit lead, methods for complying with the standard, safe work practices, and a plan to protect workers from exposure to lead during construction activities.

California Public Resources Code
The California Public Resources Code (PRC) requires projects that would be located within 0.25 mile of a school and might reasonably be expected to emit or handle hazardous materials to consult with the school district regarding potential hazards. California PRC also directs CAL FIRE to map fire hazards within State Responsibility Areas (SRAs) based on fuel loading, slope, fire weather, and other relevant factors present, including areas where winds have been identified by the department as a major cause of wildfire spread. These zones, referred to as Fire Hazard Severity Zones and classify a wildland zone as Moderate, High, or Very High fire hazard based on the average hazard across the area included in the zone.

California Fire Code
The California Fire Code is contained within Chapter 9 of CCR Title 24 and is based on the International Fire Code. Updated every three years, the California Fire Code includes provisions and standards for emergency planning and preparedness, fire service features, fire protection systems, hazardous materials, fire flow requirements, and fire hydrant locations and distribution.

California Vehicle Code
Section 31303 of the California Vehicle Code requires that hazardous materials be transported via routes with the least overall travel time and prohibits the transportation of hazardous materials through residential neighborhoods.

California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices
Chapter 6C of the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (CA MUTCD) outlines the essential components and principles for establishing safe and effective Temporary Traffic Control zones during road work or incidents. The goal is to ensure the safety of road users and workers while maintaining efficient traffic flow. Key guidance elements include proper signage, buffer zones, barriers and channelizing devices, reduced speed limits, and lane closure (California Department of Transportation [Caltrans] 2014).
c. Regional
Las Virgenes-Malibu Council of Governments Multi-Jurisdictional Hazards Mitigation Plan 2024
The Las Virgenes-Malibu Council of Governments (LVMCOG) Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan (2024) is a regional plan spanning five jurisdictions in Los Angeles County: Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Malibu, and Westlake Village. The LVMCOG Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan addresses several critical areas to enhance community safety within the City of Agoura Hills. The Hazard Mitigation Plan states that there are sites in the region known to harbor hazardous materials, but there has been no historical record of a major hazardous material spill or incident in the cities within the region. Therefore, the Hazard Mitigation Plan evaluates hazards as a City of Agoura Hills
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risk of natural disasters and climate change including flooding, earthquake, and fire. For emergency access and evacuation, the Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan focuses on maintaining critical evacuation routes, improving infrastructure resilience, and coordinating local agencies for effective traffic management and communication during emergencies. These strategies collectively aim to protect residents and the environment from various hazards (LVMCOG 2024).

Los Angeles County Emergency Evacuation Zones
The Los Angeles County Emergency Evacuation Zones are designed to provide clear and organized evacuation procedures during emergencies. These zones are determined based on tactical and geographic considerations, major roads, and ingress/egress routes. The zones are part of a coordinated effort by the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management, Los Angeles County Fire Department, and Lost Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to ensure efficient and safe evacuations. The system includes real-time updates on evacuation status through online platforms, which help residents stay informed about their specific zone's evacuation orders and warning (City of Agoura Hills 2025).
d. Local
City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035
The City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 was adopted on March 24, 2010 (updated on August 10, 2022) by the City Council (City of Agoura Hills 2022). The City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 is a strategic document designed to guide the physical development of the city until the year 2035.

Among other things, the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 sets out the pattern of land uses, including residential, commercial, and industrial. It also establishes the system of streets, bikeways, and trails. The City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 addresses a wide variety of subject areas, including housing, traffic, natural resources, land uses, economic development, noise, and public safety.

The City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 contains the following goals and policies related to hazards and hazardous materials, which would apply to the proposed Project Goal S-3. Minimize risks to persons and property in Agoura Hills from urban and wildland fires.

Policy S-3.10. Plan for emergency evacuation, including identifying standards for evacuation, and maintaining adequate departure paths especially in areas that do not have at least two emergency evacuation routes (i.e., points of ingress and egress).

Policy S-3.15. Implement measures of the Las Virgenes-Malibu Council of Governments MultiJurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan relevant to the City, and work to ensure the Hazard Mitigation Plan is periodically updated.

Goal S-5. Residents, visitors, property, and the natural environment in Agoura Hills are protected to the maximum extent feasible by the use, storage, or transport of hazardous materials.

Policy S-5.5. Require proponents of projects in known areas of contamination from oil operations or other uses to perform comprehensive soil and groundwater contamination assessments, and undertake remedial procedures, as appropriate, prior to grading and development.

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Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.6-9
Goal S-6. Effective emergency response to natural or human-induced disasters that minimize the loss of life and damage to property, and also reduce disruptions in the delivery of vital public and private services during and following a disaster.

Policy S-6.1. Maintain and implement the Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS) Plan to address disasters, such as earthquakes, flooding, hazardous material spills, epidemics, fires, extreme weather, accidents, and terrorism.

Agoura Hills Evacuation Plan 2020
The 2018 Woolsey Fire required a full evacuation of the City of Agoura Hills, demonstrating the need for a comprehensive and coordinated evacuation plan. In response, the City adopted the Agoura Hills Evacuation Plan in 2020. The evacuation plan was developed through a collaborative multiagency development process including representatives from the City, the Los Angeles County Fire Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Services. The evacuation plan divides the city into nine evacuation zones and establishes seven evacuation routes including (City of Agoura Hills 2020):
 Kanan Road (southbound to Ventura Freeway)
 Kanan Road (northbound for Section 3)
 Reyes Adobe Road (southbound to Ventura Freeway),
 Reyes Adobe Road (northbound to Ventura Freeway),
 Agoura Road,
 Chesebro Road, and
 Liberty Canyon Road.

The evacuation plan also identifies feeder routes including Colodny Dive, Driver Avenue, and Fairview Place.

City of Agoura Hills Municipal Code
The Agoura Hills Municipal Code (AHMC) includes provisions for development standards in regard to emergency vehicle access, hazards, and fire code. Specifically, Article III, Chapter 1, Section 3100 of the AHMC formally adopts the 2023 Los Angeles County Fire Code, which includes portions of the 2022 California Fire Code and the 2021 Edition of the International Fire Code. Together, these codes set standards for permitted road designs and road widths that shall be maintained at all times.

4.6.3 Impact Analysis
a. Methodology and Significance Thresholds
As discussed in Section 4.0, Environmental Impact Analysis, all Project components are analyzed at the programmatic level. Project components include the Bicycle Master Plan (BMP), the Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Mitigation Exchange and Banking Program (Program), and the General Plan Amendments (Amendments). Projects included within the BMP are grouped into Class I facilities, Class II facilities, Class III facilities, Class IV facilities, enhanced bicycle treatments, as identified in Section 2.5, Project Characteristics, and in Table 1 of Chapter 2, Project Description. The impact analysis contained herein provides a programmatic analysis of anticipated impacts for each of the five facility classes, as the individual project impacts associated with each class of facility are City of Agoura Hills
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expected to be similar. Because the City seeks to prioritize implementation of the Medea Creek Path (Path) and the Agoura High School Connection (Connection), the Path and the Connection have their own subheadings within the Class I Facility impact analysis subsection to provide a more specific assessment of their environmental impacts. Impacts associated with the General Plan Amendments are analyzed within their own subsection.

As discussed in Chapter 2, Project Description, the only projects that are currently planned, unfunded, and could potentially be funded by the VMT Mitigation Exchange and Banking Program are those currently included within the Bicycle Master Plan. Therefore, the impact analysis contained herein does not include a subsection for impacts associated with the Program, as the individual project list for the BMP and the Program are identical and impacts associated with the BMP would encompass impacts associated with the Program.

Within the following environmental analysis, impacts associated with each Project component are explicitly identified under the respective heading.

According to Appendix G of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, impacts related to hazards and hazardous materials would be significant if the proposed project would:

1. Create a significant hazard to the public or the environment through the routine transport, use, or disposal of hazardous materials;

2. Create a significant hazard to the public or the environment through reasonably foreseeable upset and accident conditions involving the release of hazardous materials into the environment;

3. Emit hazardous emissions or handle hazardous or acutely hazardous materials, substances, or waste within one-quarter mile of an existing or proposed school;

4. Be located on a site which is included on a list of hazardous materials sites compiled pursuant to Government Code Section 65962.5 and, as a result, would it create a significant hazard to the public or the environment;

5. For a project located within an airport land use plan or, where such a plan has not been adopted, within two miles of a public airport or public use airport, would the project result in a safety hazard or excessive noise for people residing or working in the project area?

6. Impair implementation of or physically interfere with an adopted emergency response plan or emergency evacuation plan; or,

7. Expose people or structures, either directly or indirectly, to a significant risk of loss, injury or death involving wildland fires.

Environmental Impact Analysis
Hazards and Hazardous Materials
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.6-11
b. Project Impacts and Mitigation Measures
Threshold 1: Would the project create a significant hazard to the public or the environment through the routine transport, use, or disposal of hazardous materials? Threshold 2: Would the project create a significant hazard to the public or the environment through reasonably foreseeable upset and accident conditions involving the release of hazardous materials into the environment?
Impact HAZ-1 BY FOLLOWING APPLICABLE LEGISLATION AND THROUGH IMPLEMENTATION OF A SOIL

MANAGEMENT PLAN WHEN REQUIRED, THE PROPOSED PROJECT WOULD NOT CREATE A SIGNIFICANT HAZARD

TO THE PUBLIC OR THE ENVIRONMENT THROUGH EITHER THE ROUTINE TRANSPORT, USE, OR DISPOSAL OF

HAZARDOUS MATERIALS, OR THROUGH REASONABLY FORESEEABLE UPSET AND ACCIDENT CONDITIONS INVOLVING THE RELEASE OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS. WITH IMPLEMENTATION OF MITIGATION MEASURE HAZ1, THIS IMPACT WOULD BE LESS THAN SIGNIFICANT.

Class I Facilities
Construction of Class I facilities would include clearing and grubbing, pavement demolition, grading, utility relocation, retaining wall or fencing installation, asphalt paving or repaving, street improvements and/or construction of undercrossings and/or overcrossings, striping, and revegetation. These activities would temporarily increase the regional transport, use, disposal, and possibility of release of hazardous materials.

Construction-related hazardous materials would include diesel fuel, lubricants, paints and solvents, and cement products containing strong basic or acidic chemicals. Pavement demolition and ground disturbing activities would also require the excavation and transport of paving materials (e.g., asphalt, concrete, roadbed fill materials) and soils, which could possibly be contaminated by vehiclerelated pollution (e.g., oil, gasoline, diesel, and other automotive chemicals). Additionally, roadways constructed before the 1970s were known to use asbestos-containing materials in asphalt and LBP for roadway markings. Therefore, the existing pavement may contain asbestos and/or LBP due to its age. Yellow paint striping may also contain metals, such as lead and chromium, that require special handling and disposal.

The increased transport, use, and disposal of hazardous materials has the potential to result in adverse effects in the event construction workers, the public, or the surrounding environment become exposed to them, resulting in associated health risks. Potential reasonably foreseeable upset and accident conditions that could occur from the transport, use, and disposal of hazardous materials include direct contact of these materials on skin, incidental ingestion of hazardous materials, or inhalation of airborne dust released from dried hazardous materials. The transport, use, and disposal of hazardous materials could also result in accidental spills, leaks, toxic releases, fire, or explosion. Ground-disturbing activities could generate fugitive dust, which can also have adverse effects on construction workers, the public, and the surrounding environment if concentrated.

Demolition of asphalt pavement during construction would not create airborne hazards, as construction would occur in an open-air environment and potentially hazardous dust associated with asphalt demolition would dissipate quickly. Furthermore, any transport, use, disposal, or handling of potentially hazardous materials during construction of the Class I facilities would be required to comply with applicable federal, state, and local regulations established by U.S. EPA, the City of Agoura Hills
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State of California, and the City of Agoura Hills. These regulations, as identified in Section 4.6.2, Regulatory Setting, include OSHA, the Hazardous Material Transportation Act, Hazardous Waste Control Law, Environmental Health Standards for the Management of Hazardous Waste Law, and the CCR, all of which establish procedures for the proper transport, use, storage, and disposal of excess hazardous materials and hazardous construction waste. Therefore, the Project would not create a significant hazard to the public or the environment through the routine transport, use, or disposal of hazardous materials.

The only known hazardous materials sites within 1,000 feet of proposed Class I facilities are located adjacent to the Path, which is discussed below. There are no other known hazardous materials sites located adjacent to other Class I facilities proposed within the BMP. Therefore, construction of Class I facilities would not create a significant hazard to the public or the environment through reasonably foreseeable upset and accident conditions involving the release of hazardous materials into the environment.

Operation of the Class I facilities would consist of bicycle and pedestrian travel along shared use paths. The addition of bicycle infrastructure within the city would not increase the use, transportation, storage, or generation of significant quantities of hazardous materials during operation activities. Rather, use of the Class I bicycle facilities identified in the BMP may result in a decreased likelihood of the release of hazardous materials like diesel fuel and gasoline because these facilities would provide an alternative to vehicular travel. Therefore, operation of the Class I facilities would not create a significant hazard to the public or the environment. Overall, with compliance with existing regulations, this impact would be less than significant

MEDEA CREEK PATH
Hazardous materials associated with the construction of the Path would include diesel fuel, lubricants, paints and solvents, and cement products containing strong basic or acidic chemicals.

Compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations, including those identified under Section 4.6.2, Regulatory Setting, would minimize potential impacts to the public and environment associated with the routine transport, use, or disposal or accidental release of hazardous materials during construction.

There are three closed LUST sites (V-Fire Station #36, Shell #204-0048-0107, and Agoura Building Materials) and one closed Cleanup Program site (Galaxy Cleaners) located within 1,000 feet of the Path alignment (SWRCB 2025). While ground disturbance associated with construction of the Path would not occur directly on these sites, there is a possibility that contamination from these former sites has migrated through soil and could be present in soils where ground disturbance would occur.

Therefore, ground disturbance associated with construction of the Path would have the potential to create a significant hazard to the public or the environment through reasonably foreseeable upset and accident conditions involving the release of hazardous materials into the environment. This impact would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

Operation of the Path would consist of bicycle and pedestrian travel along a shared use path. Use of this bicycle infrastructure would not increase the use, transportation, storage, or generation of significant quantities of hazardous materials during operation activities. As such, the Medea Creek Path would not create a significant hazard to the public or the environment during operation.

Impacts associated with operation would be less than significant.

Environmental Impact Analysis
Hazards and Hazardous Materials
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.6-13

AGOURA HIGH SCHOOL CONNECTION
Hazardous materials associated with the construction of the Connection would include diesel fuel, lubricants, paints and solvents, and cement products containing strong basic or acidic chemicals.

Compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations, including those identified under Section 4.6.2, Regulatory Setting, would minimize potential impacts to the public and environment associated with the routine transport, use, or disposal or accidental release of hazardous materials during construction. There are no known hazardous materials sites located within 1,000 feet of the proposed Connection. Therefore, construction of the Connection would not create a significant hazard to the public or the environment through reasonably foreseeable upset and accident conditions involving the release of hazardous materials into the environment.

Operation of the Connection would consist of bicycle and pedestrian travel along a shared use path.

Use of bicycle infrastructure would not increase the use, transportation, storage, or generation of significant quantities of hazardous materials during operation activities. As such, the Connection would not create a significant hazard to the public or the environment during operation. This impact would be less than significant.

Class II Facilities
Implementation of the Class II facilities would generally not require ground disturbance; rather, construction activities would include roadway restriping and reconfiguration of lane widths to accommodate new dedicated bike lanes. Construction-related hazardous materials associated with roadway restriping would include diesel fuel, lubricants, and paints and solvents. Pavement widening would be required on Driver Avenue, between Easterly Road and Colodny Drive, and on Cornell Road, between Agoura Road and Cornell Way to allow for the addition of bicycle lanes.

Pavement widening would require clearing and grubbing, subgrade stabilization, base course installation, and asphalt paving. Construction-related hazardous materials would include diesel fuel, lubricants, paints and solvents, and cement products containing strong basic or acidic chemicals.

Construction activities associated with implementation of the Class II facilities would temporarily increase the regional transport, use, and disposal of hazardous materials. Compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations, including those identified under Section

4.6.2, Regulatory Setting, would minimize potential impacts to the public and environment associated with the routine transport, use, or disposal or accidental release of hazardous materials during construction. Furthermore, there are no hazardous materials sites located within 1,000 feet of any proposed Class II facilities. Therefore, construction of the Class II facilities would not create a significant hazard to the public or the environment through reasonably foreseeable upset and accident conditions involving the release of hazardous materials into the environment.

Operation of the Class II facilities would consist of bicycle travel along delineated bike lanes. Use of bicycle infrastructure would not increase the use, transportation, storage, or generation of significant quantities of hazardous materials during operation activities. This impact would be less than significant.

Class III Facilities
Construction of Class III facilities would require roadway restriping to identify bike routes.

Hazardous materials associated with roadway restriping would include diesel fuel, lubricants, and paints and solvents. Compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations, including those identified under Section 4.6.2, Regulatory Setting, would minimize potential impacts City of Agoura Hills
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to the public and environment associated with the routine transport, use, or disposal or accidental release of hazardous materials during construction.

There are 19 known hazardous materials sites located within 1,000 feet of proposed Class III facilities identified within the BMP. Due to the lack of ground disturbance required for implementation, proposed Class III facilities would not create a significant hazard to the public or the environment through reasonably foreseeable upset and accident conditions involving the release of hazardous materials into the environment.

Operation of the Class III facilities would consist of bicycle travel along shared use travel lanes. Use of bicycle infrastructure would not increase the use, transportation, storage, or generation of significant quantities of hazardous materials during operation activities. This impact would be less than significant.

Class IV Facilities
Construction of Class IV facilities would include pavement demolition, minor grading, bollard or fencing installation, asphalt paving or repaving, and striping. These activities would temporarily increase the regional transport, use, disposal, and possibility for the release of hazardous materials into the environment. Hazardous materials associated with the construction of Class IV facilities would include diesel fuel, lubricants, paints and solvents, and cement products containing strong basic or acidic chemicals. Compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations, including those identified under Section 4.6.2, Regulatory Setting, would minimize potential impacts to the public and environment associated with the routine transport, use, or disposal or accidental release of hazardous materials during construction.

There are two closed LUST sites (V-Fire Station #36 and Lake Lindero Country Club) and one closed Cleanup Program site (Joe Martin Commercial Property) located within 1,000 feet of proposed Class IV facilities (SWRCB 2025). The Lake Lindero Country Club sites and Joe Martin Commercial Property site are located directly adjacent to the proposed Class IV facility on Thousand Oaks Boulevard. The V-Fire Station #36 site is located approximately 850 feet south of the proposed Class IV facility on along Thousand Oaks Boulevard. Contamination from these sites could be present in soils where ground disturbance would occur. Therefore, ground disturbance associated with construction of the Class IV facilities would have the potential to create a significant hazard to the public or the environment through reasonably foreseeable upset and accident conditions involving the release of hazardous materials into the environment. This impact would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

Operation of the Class IV facilities would consist of bicycle travel along physically separated bikeways adjacent to travel lanes. Use of bicycle infrastructure would not increase the use, transportation, storage, or generation of significant quantities of hazardous materials during operation activities. As such, Class IV facilities would not create a significant hazard to the public or the environment during operation. Impacts associated with operation of the Class IV facilities would be less than significant.

Enhanced Bicycle Treatments
Enhanced bicycle treatments would be implemented at various locations throughout the city. These facilities could include street striping and restriping, signage and wayfinding, bicycle signals and detection at traffic signals, bicycle parking, and bicycle repair facilities. Compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations, including those identified under Section 4.6.2, Environmental Impact Analysis
Hazards and Hazardous Materials
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.6-15
Regulatory Setting, would minimize potential impacts to the public and environment associated with the routine transport, use, or disposal or accidental release of hazardous materials during construction. Although minor, construction activities associated with these facilities may still require limited ground disturbance. If ground disturbance were to occur near a known hazardous release site, contamination from the site(s) could be present in soils where ground disturbance would occur.

Therefore, ground disturbance associated with construction of the enhanced bicycle treatments would have the potential to create a significant hazard to the public or the environment through reasonably foreseeable upset and accident conditions involving the release of hazardous materials into the environment. This impact would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

Operation of the enhanced bicycle treatments would include continued use of existing bicycle facilities, storing of bicycles at new parking facilities, and use of bicycle repair facilities. Use of these facilities would not increase the use, transportation, storage, or generation of significant quantities of hazardous materials during operation activities. As such, the enhanced bicycle treatments would not create a significant hazard to the public or the environment during operation. Impacts associated with operation of the enhanced bicycle treatments would be less than significant.

General Plan Amendments
As part of the proposed Project, the City must amend Chapter 3, Infrastructure and Community Services, of the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 to ensure consistency with the proposed BMP. These General Plan Amendments shift the focus from prioritizing automobile mobility to reducing VMT through alternative transportation modes like walking and biking, guided by the BMP.

The proposed General Plan Amendments would not result in construction or operation activities beyond existing conditions. Therefore, the Amendments would not result in impacts to the public and environment associated with the routine transport, use, or disposal or accidental release of hazardous materials. No impact would occur.

Mitigation Measures
HAZ-1 Soil Management Plan
Prior to commencement of ground-disturbing activities for proposed facilities within 1,000 feet of a known hazardous release site, the City shall retain a qualified consultant (i.e., professional geologist or professional engineer) to prepare a Soil Management Plan (SMP) for the project. The SMP shall address:

1. On-site handling and management of unanticipated contaminated soils or other contaminated wastes (e.g., stained soil, soil with solvent or chemical odors) if encountered during ground disturbance, and

2. Specific actions to reduce hazards to construction workers and off-site receptors during construction (e.g., personal protective equipment, dust control, and/or air monitoring).

The SMP must establish remedial measures and soil management practices to ensure construction worker safety and prevent the off-site migration of contaminants from the project site to the satisfaction of the Director of Public Works. These measures and practices may include, but are not limited to:
 Proper transportation and disposal procedures for contaminated materials in accordance with applicable regulations, including CCR Title 22.

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 A requirement to halt work in the immediate area and contact a qualified consultant (i.e., professional geologist or professional engineer) immediately to evaluate the project site conditions if odorous or visually stained soils, other indications of piping or equipment (including hydrocarbon piping or equipment), or debris are encountered during grounddisturbing activities.  A health and safety plan for contractors working at the project site that addresses the safety and health hazards of each phase of project construction activities with the requirements and procedures for employee protection and outlines proper soil handling procedures and health and safety requirements to minimize worker and public exposure to hazardous materials during construction.
 Reporting on monitoring activities.

The Director of Public Works shall review and approve the SMP prior to construction (grading/excavation) activities at and prior to issuing grading permits for proposed facilities within 1,000 feet of a known hazardous release site. The City shall implement the SMP during grading and construction activities.

Significance After Mitigation
Implementation of Mitigation Measure HAZ-1 would ensure that potential hazardous materials encountered during future construction (including Pathway construction) activities would be properly transported and disposed of, reducing impacts to a less-than-significant level.

Threshold 3: Would the project emit hazardous emissions or handle hazardous or acutely hazardous materials, substances, or waste within one-quarter mile of an existing or proposed school?
Impact HAZ-2 COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE REGULATIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A SOIL

MANAGEMENT PLAN WHEN REQUIRED WOULD MINIMIZE THE POTENTIAL FOR CONSTRUCTION TO CREATE A

SIGNIFICANT HAZARD INVOLVING HAZARDOUS EMISSIONS OR THE HANDLING OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS WITHIN ONE-QUARTER MILE OF A SCHOOL. WITH IMPLEMENTATION OF MITIGATION MEASURE HAZ-1, THIS IMPACT WOULD BE LESS THAN SIGNIFICANT.

Class I Facilities
Yerba Buena Elementary School is located approximately 0.2 mile (1,056 feet) from the proposed Class I facility on Reyes Adobe Road. Construction of Class I facilities could emit hazardous emissions or require the handling of hazardous materials, substances, or waste. Any transport, use, disposal, or handling of potentially hazardous materials during construction of the Class I facilities would be required to comply with applicable federal, state, and local regulations established by U.S. EPA, the State of California, and the City. These regulations, as identified in Section 4.6.2, Regulatory Setting, include OSHA, the Hazardous Material Transportation Act, Hazardous Waste Control Law, Environmental Health Standards for the Management of Hazardous Waste Law, and CCR, all of which establish procedures for the proper transport, use, storage, and disposal of excess hazardous materials and hazardous construction waste. Furthermore, the only hazardous materials sites within 1,000 feet of proposed Class I facilities are located adjacent to the Path, which is discussed below.

Use of bicycle infrastructure would not increase the use, transportation, storage, or generation of significant quantities of hazardous materials during operation activities such that hazardous materials, substances, or wastes would be emitted. With compliance with existing regulations, Environmental Impact Analysis
Hazards and Hazardous Materials
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.6-17
construction and operation of the Class I facilities would not pose a significant hazard to existing or proposed schools within one-quarter mile of individual project sites. This impact would be less than significant.

MEDEA CREEK PATH
Willow Elementary School is located approximately 400 feet east of the proposed Path alignment.

Construction of the Path could emit hazardous emissions or require the handling of hazardous materials, substances, or waste. Compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations, including those identified under Section 4.6.2, Regulatory Setting, would minimize the potential for potentially hazardous materials to be emitted during construction activities. While there are known hazardous materials sites located within 1,000 of the Path, the closest known release site is located approximately 0.42 mile from Willow Elementary School. Therefore, ground disturbance within one-quarter mile of Willow Elementary School would not be likely to encounter contamination from this former site. Use of bicycle infrastructure would not increase the use, transportation, storage, or generation of significant quantities of hazardous materials during operation activities such that hazardous materials, substances, or wastes would be emitted. With compliance with existing regulations, construction and operation of the Path would not pose a significant hazard to existing or proposed schools within one-quarter mile of individual project sites.

This impact would be less than significant.

AGOURA HIGH SCHOOL CONNECTION
Agoura High School is located directly adjacent to the proposed Connection. Construction of the Connection could emit hazardous emissions or require the handling of hazardous materials, substances, or waste. Compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations, including those identified under Section 4.6.2, Regulatory Setting, would minimize the potential for potentially hazardous materials to be emitted during construction activities. Furthermore, there are no hazardous materials sites within 1,000 feet of the Connection. Use of bicycle infrastructure would not increase the use, transportation, storage, or generation of significant quantities of hazardous materials during operation activities such that hazardous materials, substances, or wastes would be emitted. With compliance with existing regulations, construction and operation of the Connection would not pose a significant hazard to existing or proposed schools within onequarter mile of individual project sites. This impact would be less than significant.

Class II Facilities
Agoura High School is located directly between two proposed Class II facilities on Driver Avenue and Thousand Oaks Boulevard. Conejo Hebrew High School is located approximately 700 feet west of a proposed Class II facility on Reyes Adobe Road. Construction of Class II facilities could emit hazardous emissions or require the handling of hazardous materials, substances, or waste.

Compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations, including those identified under Section 4.6.2, Regulatory Setting, would minimize the potential for potentially hazardous materials to be emitted during construction activities. Furthermore, fuels, lubricants, paints, and solvents used during roadway restriping would be contained within vessels specifically engineered for safe storage to prevent the accidental release of hazardous materials. These materials would not be transported, stored, or used in quantities that would pose a significant hazard to students attending schools located within one-quarter mile of construction activities.

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There are no known hazardous materials sites within 1,000 feet of Driver Avenue or Cornell Road where ground disturbance would occur. Use of bicycle infrastructure would not increase the use, transportation, storage, or generation of significant quantities of hazardous materials during operation activities such that hazardous materials, substances, or wastes would be emitted. With compliance with existing regulations, construction and operation of the Class II facilities would not pose a significant hazard to existing or proposed schools within one-quarter mile of individual project sites. This impact would be less than significant.

Class III Facilities
There are five schools located within one-quarter mile of proposed Class III facilities:
 Lindero Canyon Middle School,
 Conejo Hebrew High School,
 Agoura High School,
 Willow Elementary, and
 Sumac Elementary School.

Implementation of the Class III facilities would be limited to roadway restriping to identify bike routes. Fuels, lubricants, paints, and solvents used during roadway restriping would be contained within vessels specifically engineered for safe storage to prevent the accidental release of hazardous materials. These materials would not be transported, stored, or used in quantities that would pose a significant hazard to students attending schools located within one-quarter mile of construction activities. Furthermore, due to the lack of ground disturbance, implementation of proposed Class III facilities located within one-quarter mile of an existing or proposed school would not encounter contaminated soils from hazardous materials release sites.

Use of bicycle infrastructure would not increase the use, transportation, storage, or generation of significant quantities of hazardous materials during operation activities such that hazardous materials, substances, or wastes would be emitted. With compliance with existing regulations, construction and operation of the Class III facilities would not pose a significant hazard to existing or proposed schools within one-quarter mile of individual project sites. This impact would be less than significant.

Class IV Facilities
Lindero Canyon Middle School is located 890 feet north of the proposed Class IV facility on Thousand Oaks Boulevard. Willow Elementary School is located 450 feet west of the proposed Class IV facility on Kanan Road, and Sumac Elementary School is located 325 feet east of the proposed Class IV facility on Kanan Road. Construction of Class IV facilities could emit hazardous emissions or require the handling of hazardous materials, substances, or waste. Compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations, including those identified under Section 4.6.2, Regulatory Setting, would minimize the potential for potentially hazardous materials to be emitted during construction activities
There are two closed LUST sites and one closed Cleanup Program site located within 1,000 feet of proposed Class IV facilities. The closed Cleanup Program Site (Joe Martin Commercial Property) is located approximately 0.21 mile south of Lindero Canyon Middle School. Contamination from this site could be present in soils where ground disturbance would occur. Therefore, ground disturbance associated with construction of the Class IV facility on Thousand Oaks Boulevard would have the Environmental Impact Analysis
Hazards and Hazardous Materials
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.6-19
potential to emit hazardous emissions within one-quarter mile of the Lindero Canyon Middle School. This impact would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

Operation of the Class IV facilities would consist of bicycle travel along physically separated bikeways adjacent to travel lanes. Use of bicycle infrastructure would not increase the use, transportation, storage, or generation of significant quantities of hazardous materials during operation activities such that hazardous materials, substances, or wastes would be emitted. As such, Class IV facilities would not create a significant hazard to the public or the environment during operation. However, construction would result in a potentially significant impact, and mitigation would be required.

Enhanced Bicycle Treatments
Enhanced bicycle treatments would be implemented at various locations throughout the city and could be constructed within one-quarter mile of a school. These facilities would be located within or adjacent to existing, new, or improved bikeways. Construction activities could emit hazardous emissions or require the handling of hazardous materials, substances, or waste. Furthermore, although minor, construction activities associated with these facilities may require limited ground disturbance. If ground disturbance were to occur near a known hazardous release site, contamination from the site(s) could be present in soils where ground disturbance would occur.

Nonetheless, compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations, including those identified under Section 4.6.2, Regulatory Setting, would minimize the potential for potentially hazardous materials to be emitted during construction activities. Use of the enhanced bicycle treatments would not increase the use, transportation, storage, or generation of significant quantities of hazardous materials during operation activities such that hazardous materials, substances, or wastes would be emitted. With adherence to existing regulations, construction and operation of the enhanced bicycle treatments would not pose a significant hazard to existing or proposed schools within one-quarter mile of individual project sites. This impact would be less than significant.

General Plan Amendments
As part of the proposed Project, the City must amend Chapter 3, Infrastructure and Community Services, of the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 to ensure consistency with the proposed BMP. These General Plan Amendments shift the focus from prioritizing automobile mobility to reducing VMT through alternative transportation modes like walking and biking, guided by the BMP.

The proposed General Plan Amendments would not result in construction or operation activities beyond existing conditions. Therefore, the Amendments would not result in impacts to the public and environment associated with the routine transport, use, or disposal or accidental release of hazardous materials within one-quarter mile of a school. No impact would occur.

Mitigation Measures
Mitigation Measure HAZ-1 would be required; refer to Impact HAZ-1 for full text of this measure.

Significance After Mitigation
Implementation of Mitigation Measure HAZ-1 would require preparation of an SMP to ensure that potential hazardous materials associated with former hazardous materials sites would not emit hazardous emissions or handle hazardous or acutely hazardous materials, substances, or waste City of Agoura Hills
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within one-quarter mile of an existing or proposed school. Impacts would be less than significant with mitigation incorporated.

Threshold 4: Would the project be located on a site which is included on a list of hazardous materials sites compiled pursuant to Government Code Section 65962.5 and, as a result, would it create a significant hazard to the public or the environment? Impact HAZ-3 INDIVIDUAL FACILITIES IDENTIFIED IN THE BICYCLE MASTER PLAN WOULD NOT BE

LOCATED ON AN ACTIVE SITE INCLUDED ON A LIST OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SITES COMPILED PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65962.5. THROUGH COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE REGULATIONS, THIS IMPACT WOULD BE LESS THAN SIGNIFICANT.

California Government Code Section 65962.5 requires the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) to maintain an updated Hazardous Waste and Substances Sites List, also known as the Cortese List. The list includes specific types of hazardous materials sites, such as hazardous waste facilities subject to corrective action, hazardous substance release sites selected for and subject to a response action, all underground storage tank sites for which an unauthorized release report is filed, all solid waste disposal facilities from which there is a migration of hazardous waste, and sites subject to cease and desist and cleanup and removal (abatement) orders that concern the discharge of wastes that are hazardous materials. The following databases were searched in February 2025 for records related to any known hazardous materials contamination near proposed facilities included in the BMP:
 State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) GeoTracker database, which includes data from the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) (SWRCB 2025).  SWRCB’s list of solid waste disposal sites with waste constituents above hazardous waste levels outside the waste management unit (CalEPA 2025).
 CalEPA Active Cease and Desist Orders (CDOs) and Cleanup Abatement Orders (CAOs) (CalEPA 2025).
 List of hazardous waste facilities subject to corrective action pursuant to Section 25187.5 of the Health and Safety Code (CalEPA 2025).

According to databases of hazardous materials sites identified above, there are four registered SWRCB LUST cleanup sites and two registered Cleanup Program site located within 1,000 feet of proposed facilities included in the Plan that would require ground disturbance during construction; all six identified hazardous materials sites have a status of “Completed—Case Closed,” indicating no further evaluation and remediation are required (SWRCB 2025).

Class I Facilities
The only known hazardous materials sites located on or near a Class I facility are located adjacent to the Path, which is discussed below. There are no other known hazardous materials sites located near proposed Class I facilities. Therefore, implementation of the Class I facilities would not be located on a site which is included on a list of hazardous materials sites compiled pursuant to Government Code Section 65962.5. No impact would occur.

Environmental Impact Analysis
Hazards and Hazardous Materials
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.6-21

MEDEA CREEK PATH
The Path would be located near several hazardous materials sites compiled pursuant to Government Code Section 65962.5, including three closed LUST sites (V-Fire Station #36, Shell #204- 0048-0107, and Agoura Building Materials) and one closed Cleanup Program site (Galaxy Cleaners) (SWRCB 2025). V-Fire Station #36 is located 480 feet west of the Path; Shell #204-0048-0107 is located 950 feet west of the Path; Agoura Building Materials is located 780 feet west of the Path; and Galaxy Cleaners is located 880 feet west of the Path. While ground disturbance would not occur directly on these sites, there is a possibility that contamination from these former sites has migrated through soil and could be present in soils where ground disturbance is anticipated to occur.

Therefore, ground disturbance associated with construction of the Path would have the potential to create a significant hazard to the public or environment. However, compliance with regulations discussed in Section 4.6.2, Regulatory Setting, would minimize the potential for ground disturbance creating a significant hazard to the public or environment. This impact would be less than significant.

AGOURA HIGH SCHOOL CONNECTION
The Connection is not located on a site which is included on a list of hazardous materials sites compiled pursuant to Government Code Section 65962.5. No impact would occur.

Class II Facilities
Proposed Class II facilities would be located on or near several known hazardous materials sites compiled pursuant to Government Code Section 65962.5, including five closed LUST sites (Tosco – 76 Station #7426, Hydro West, Exxon #7-3364, Shell #204-0054-0124, and Circle K #2211248) (SWRCB 2025). Construction activities for the proposed Class II facilities near the known hazardous materials sites would be limited to roadway restriping and would not require ground disturbance.

Pavement widening would be required on Driver Avenue and on Cornell Road. There are no known hazardous materials sites located on or near these two road segments. Therefore, construction of the Class II facilities would not expose the public or environment to previously contaminated soils associated with sites included on a list of hazardous materials sites compiled pursuant to Government Code Section 65962.5. This impact would be less than significant.

Class III Facilities
Proposed Class III facilities would be located on or near 15 known hazardous materials sites compiled pursuant to Government Code Section 65962.5, including 16 closed LUST sites (SWRCB 2025). Construction of Class III facilities would be limited to roadway restriping and would not require ground disturbance. Therefore, construction of Class III facilities would not expose the public or environment to previously contaminated soils associated with sites included on a list of hazardous materials sites compiled pursuant to Government Code Section 65962.5. This impact would be less than significant.

Class IV Facilities
Proposed Class IV facilities would be located on or near several hazardous materials sites compiled pursuant to Government Code Section 65962.5, including two closed LUST sites (Lake Lindero Country Club and V-Fire Station #36) and one closed Cleanup Program site (Joe Martin Commercial Property) (SWRCB 2025). The Lake Lindero Country Club and Joe Martin Commercial Property sites are located directly adjacent to the proposed Class IV facility on Thousand Oaks Boulevard. The V- City of Agoura Hills
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Fire Station #36 site is located approximately 850 feet south of the proposed Class IV facility on along Thousand Oaks Boulevard, and there is a possibility that contamination from this former site has migrated through soil and could be present where ground disturbance is anticipated to occur.

However, compliance with regulations discussed in Section 4.6.2, Regulatory Setting, would minimize the potential for ground disturbance creating a significant hazard to the public or environment. This impact would be less than significant..

Enhanced Bicycle Treatments
Enhanced bicycle treatments would be implemented at various locations throughout the city.

Construction of these facilities could occur on or near sites included on a list of hazardous materials sites compiled pursuant to Government Code Section 65962.5. Although limited, ground disturbance associated with construction of the enhanced bicycle treatments could have the potential to create a significant hazard to the public or environment. This impact would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

General Plan Amendments
As part of the proposed Project, the City must amend Chapter 3, Infrastructure and Community Services, of the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 to ensure consistency with the proposed BMP. These General Plan Amendments shift the focus from prioritizing automobile mobility to reducing VMT through alternative transportation modes like walking and biking, guided by the BMP.

The proposed General Plan Amendments would not result in construction or operation activities beyond existing conditions. Therefore, the Amendments would not result in impacts to the public and environment associated with being located on a site which is included on a list of hazardous materials sites compiled pursuant to Government Code Section 65962.5. No impact would occur.

Mitigation Measures
No mitigation measures are required.

Significance After Mitigation
Impacts would be less than significant without mitigation.

Threshold 5: For a project located within an airport land use plan or, where such a plan has not been adopted, within two miles of a public airport or public use airport, would the project result in a safety hazard or excessive noise for people residing or working in the project area?
Impact HAZ-4 THE CITY IS NOT LOCATED WITHIN AN AIRPORT LAND USE PLAN OR WITHIN TWO MILES OF A PUBLIC AIRPORT OR PUBLIC USE AIRPORT. NO IMPACT WOULD OCCUR.

The Van Nuys Airport is located approximately 14.2 miles east of the Project. According to the Los Angeles County Airport Land Use Commission’s Airport Influence Area Figure, the City of Agoura Hills is not located within the noise contours of the Van Nuys Airport or any other nearby airport (Los Angeles County Airport Land Use Commission 2003). Therefore, the proposed Project would not result in a safety hazard or excessive noise for people residing or working in the City related to airport operation. No impact would occur.

Environmental Impact Analysis
Hazards and Hazardous Materials
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.6-23
Mitigation Measures
No mitigation measures are required.

Significance After Mitigation
No impact would occur.

Threshold 6: Would the project impair implementation of or physically interfere with an adopted emergency response plan or emergency evacuation plan?
Impact HAZ-5 WITH COMPLIANCE WITH THE CALIFORNIA MANUAL OF UNIFORM TRAFFIC CONTROL

DEVICES DURING CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES, IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROPOSED PROJECT WOULD NOT

IMPAIR IMPLEMENTATION OF OR PHYSICALLY INTERFERE WITH AN ADOPTED EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN OR EMERGENCY EVACUATION PLAN. THIS IMPACT WOULD BE LESS THAN SIGNIFICANT.

The City adopted the Agoura Hills Evacuation Plan in 2020. The evacuation plan divides the City into nine different evacuation zones and establishes seven primary evacuation routes including (City of Agoura Hills 2020):
 Kanan Road (southbound to Ventura Freeway),
 Kanan Road (northbound for Section 3)
 Reyes Adobe Road (southbound to Ventura Freeway),
 Reyes Adobe Road (northbound to Ventura Freeway),
 Agoura Road,
 Chesebro Road, and
 Liberty Canyon Road.

The evacuation plan identifies feeder routes including Colodny Drive, Driver Avenue, and Fairview Place. The Agoura Hills Evacuation Plan also includes an Emergency Traffic Control Plan for the Old Agoura Area, which is located in evacuation zones AGO-C304 and AGO-C306 East in the eastern portion of the City. The Old Agoura Area evacuation zones have a singular point of ingress and egress (City of Agoura Hills 2020). The evacuation zones and evacuation routes for the Agoura Hills Evacuation Plan and the Emergency Traffic Control Plan for the Old Agoura Area are shown in Figure 4.6-1 and Figure 4.6-2 respectively.

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Figure 4.6-1 Evacuation Zones and Major Evacuation Routes Source: City of Agoura Hills 2020
Environmental Impact Analysis
Hazards and Hazardous Materials
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Figure 4.6-2 Emergency Traffic Control Plan for the Old Agoura Area Source: City of Agoura Hills 2020
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Class I Facilities
Of the proposed Class I facilities identified within the BMP, two facilities would be constructed adjacent to primary evacuation routes on Reyes Adobe Road and Agoura Road. Construction of the proposed Class I facilities would require clearing and grubbing, pavement demolition, grading, utility relocation, retaining wall or fencing installation, asphalt paving or repaving, street and undercrossing improvements, striping, and revegetation. Storage, staging, and active work areas would be established during the construction period for Class I facilities. Storage and staging areas would be contained within the identified project boundary and outside of the roadway right of way (ROW). At the time of construction, should the construction contractor require additional staging areas, they would be responsible for identifying and securing long-term staging areas on previously disturbed storage yards, the locations of which are currently unknown. Although not currently anticipated, if future construction activities require work within the roadway, a construction traffic control plan would be prepared and implemented in accordance with the CA MUTCD. The construction traffic control plan would include the use of flaggers during any temporary lane closures, consistent with Chapter 6 (Flagger Control) of the CA MUTCD, and no detours would be required (Caltrans 2014). Therefore, construction of the Class I facilities would not impair implementation of or physically interfere with an adopted emergency response plan or emergency evacuation plan. This impact would be less than significant.

Operation of the Class I facilities would consist of bicycle and pedestrian travel along shared use paths located away from existing roadways. As discussed in Section 4.13.6, Population and Housing, the proposed Project would not induce substantial unplanned population growth such that evacuation routes would be overburdened. Therefore, operation of the Class I facilities would not impair implementation of or physically interfere with an adopted emergency response plan or emergency evacuation plan during operation. This impact would be less than significant.

MEDEA CREEK PATH
The proposed Path would result in construction of a Class I bikeway along Medea Creek from Agoura Road to the northern limit of the city. Construction activities would require established storage, staging, and active work areas. Storage and staging areas would be contained within the identified project boundary and outside of existing roadway ROWs. At the time of construction, should the construction contractor require additional staging areas, they would be responsible for identifying and securing long-term staging areas on previously disturbed storage yards, the locations of which are currently unknown.

Pedestrian and bicycle access ramps would be constructed on Agoura Road and Kanan Road to provide access to the path; both roadways are identified as primary evacuation routes in the Agoura Hills Evacuation Plan. Given the existing shoulder widths at these locations, temporary lane closures are not anticipated. Although not currently anticipated, if future construction activities require work within the roadway, a construction traffic control plan would be prepared and implemented in accordance with the CA MUTCD. The construction traffic control plan would include the use of flaggers during any temporary lane closures, consistent with Chapter 6 (Flagger Control) of the CA MUTCD, and no detours would be required (Caltrans 2014). Therefore, construction of the Path would not impair implementation of or physically interfere with an adopted emergency response plan or emergency evacuation plan. This impact would be less than significant.

Operation of the Path would consist of bicycle and pedestrian travel along a shared use path away from existing roadways. As discussed in Section 4.13.6, Population and Housing, the proposed Project would not induce substantial unplanned population growth such that evacuation routes Environmental Impact Analysis
Hazards and Hazardous Materials
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.6-27
would be overburdened. Therefore, operation of the Path would not impair implementation of or physically interfere with an adopted emergency response plan or emergency evacuation plan during operation. This impact would be less than significant.

AGOURA HIGH SCHOOL CONNECTION
The proposed Connection would result in construction of a Class I bikeway connecting Thousand Oaks Boulevard to Fountain Place along the northern border of Agoura High School. Construction activities would require established storage, staging, and active work areas. Storage and staging areas would be contained within the identified project boundary and outside of existing roadway ROWs. At the time of construction, should the construction contractor require additional staging areas, they would be responsible for identifying and securing long-term staging areas on previously disturbed storage yards, the locations of which are currently unknown.

Implementation of the Connection would involve roadway and intersection improvements on Thousand Oaks Boulevard near Argos Street, both of which are identified as evacuation routes in Old Agoura Area Emergency Traffic Control Plan. Specifically, improvements would include relocation of the existing signal head and modifications to the existing median on Thousand Oaks Boulevard. Relocation of the existing signal head would occur within the sidewalk adjacent to the westbound travel lane on Thousand Oaks Boulevard, which would not require lane closure or any work within the lane itself. Modifications to the existing median would occur on the side of the eastbound travel lane of Thousand Oaks Boulevard, which would not impede the westbound travel identified in the Old Agoura Area Emergency Traffic Control Plan. Therefore, construction of the Connection would not impair implementation of or physically interfere with an adopted emergency response plan or emergency evacuation plan. This impact would be less than significant.

Operation of the Connection would consist of bicycle and pedestrian travel along a shared use path.

As discussed in Section 4.13.6, Population and Housing, the proposed Project would not induce substantial unplanned population growth such that evacuation routes would be overburdened.

Therefore, operation of the Connection would not impair implementation of or physically interfere with an adopted emergency response plan or emergency evacuation plan during operation. This impact would be less than significant.

Class II Facilities
Of the proposed Class II facilities identified within the BMP, three facilities would be constructed along identified evacuation routes. Specifically, bicycle lanes would be established on Reyes Adobe Road and Driver Avenue; Reyes Adobe Road is identified as a primary evacuation route in the Agoura Hills Evacuation Plan and Driver Avenue is identified as a feeder route in the Agoura Hills Evacuation Plan. Bicycle lanes would also be established on Thousand Oaks Boulevard; Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Driver Avenue are both partially identified as evacuation routes in Old Agoura Area Emergency Traffic Control Plan.

Implementation of the Class II facilities on Reyes Adobe Road and Thousand Oaks Boulevard would require roadway restriping and reconfiguration of lane widths to accommodate new dedicated bike lanes. Restriping can generally be completed within a single work period and does not require the establishment of storage, staging, or work areas. Therefore, restriping activities would not impair implementation of or physically interfere with an adopted emergency response plan or emergency evacuation plan.

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Implementation of the Class II facility proposed on Driver Avenue would require pavement widening to allow for the addition of bicycle lanes. Construction activities would require the creation of storage, staging, and active work areas. Storage and staging areas would be contained within the identified project boundary and outside of existing roadway ROWs. At the time of construction, should the construction contractor require additional staging areas, they would be responsible for identifying and securing long-term staging areas on previously disturbed storage yards, the locations of which are currently unknown. To facilitate pavement widening, active work areas could be established within travel lanes, requiring temporary lane closures. During construction activities that require work within the roadway or temporary lane closures, a construction traffic control plan would be prepared and implemented in accordance with the CA MUTCD. The construction traffic control plan would include the use of flaggers during any temporary lane closures, consistent with Chapter 6 (Flagger Control) of the CA MUTCD, and no detours would be required (Caltrans 2014).

Therefore, construction of the Class II facilities would not impair implementation of or physically interfere with an adopted emergency response plan or emergency evacuation plan. This impact would be less than significant.

Operation of the Class II facilities would consist of bicycle travel along delineated bike lanes. The restriping and reconfiguration of lane widths to accommodate new dedicated bike lanes would not require a reduction in vehicle travel lanes along any roadway. As discussed in Section 4.13.6, Population and Housing, the proposed Project would not induce substantial unplanned population growth such that evacuation routes would be overburdened. Therefore, operation of the Class II facilities would not impair implementation of or physically interfere with an adopted emergency response plan or emergency evacuation plan during operation. This impact would be less than significant.

Class III Facilities
Class III facilities are proposed along primary evacuation routes and feeder routes in the Agoura Hills Evacuation Plan and the Old Agoura Area Emergency Traffic Control Plan. Implentation of Class III facilities involve roadway restriping to identify bike routes. Restriping can generally be completed within a single work period and does not require the establishment of storage, staging, or work areas. Therefore, restriping activities would not impair implementation of or physically interfere with an adopted emergency response plan or emergency evacuation plan. This impact would be less than significant.

Operation of the Class III facilities would consist of bicycle travel along shared use travel lanes. The restriping establish shared use travel lanes would not require a reduction in vehicle travel lanes along any roadway. As discussed in Section 4.13.6, Population and Housing, the proposed Project would not induce substantial unplanned population growth such that evacuation routes would be overburdened. Therefore, operation of the Class III facilities would not impair implementation of or physically interfere with an adopted emergency response plan or emergency evacuation plan during operation. This impact would be less than significant.

Class IV Facilities
Of the Class IV facilities identified within the BMP, one proposed Class IV facility would be constructed along Kanan Road north of Thousand Oaks Boulevard. Kanan Road is identified as a primary evacuation route in the Agoura Hills Evacuation Plan. Although Class II bicycle lanes are currently established along this portion of Kanan Road, physical vertical barriers, such as bollards, would be installed to convert the Class II bicycle lanes into a Class IV separated bikeway.

Environmental Impact Analysis
Hazards and Hazardous Materials
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.6-29
Construction activities would require the creation of storage, staging, and active work areas. Storage and staging areas would be contained within the identified project boundary and outside of existing roadway ROWs. At the time of construction, should the construction contractor require additional staging areas, they would be responsible for identifying and securing long-term staging areas on previously disturbed storage yards, the locations of which are currently unknown. A construction traffic control plan would be prepared and implemented for any construction activities occurring within the roadway, in accordance with the CA MUTCD. The construction traffic control plan would include the use of flaggers during temporary lane closures, consistent with Chapter 6 (Flagger Control) of the CA MUTCD, and no detours would be required (Caltrans 2014). Therefore, construction of the Class IV facility on Kanan Road would not impair implementation of or physically interfere with an adopted emergency response plan or emergency evacuation plan. This impact would be less than significant.

Operation of the Class IV facilities would consist of bicycle travel along physically separated bikeways adjacent to existing travel lanes. As discussed in Section 4.13.6, Population and Housing, the proposed Project would not induce substantial unplanned population growth such that evacuation routes would be overburdened. Therefore, operation of the Class IV facilities would not impair implementation of or physically interfere with an adopted emergency response plan or emergency evacuation plan during operation. This impact would be less than significant.

Enhanced Bicycle Treatments
Enhanced bicycle treatments would include street striping and restriping, signage and wayfinding, bicycle signals and detection at traffic signals, bicycle parking, and bicycle repair facilities.

Construction and implementation of these facilities would be completed within a single work period and would not require the establishment of storage, staging, or work areas. Operation of the enhanced bicycle treatments would include continued use of existing bicycle facilities, storing of bicycles at new parking facilities, and use of bicycle repair facilities. Therefore, the enhanced bicycle treatments would not impair implementation of or physically interfere with an adopted emergency response plan or emergency evacuation plan.

General Plan Amendments
As part of the proposed Project, the City must amend Chapter 3, Infrastructure and Community Services, of the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 to ensure consistency with the proposed BMP. These General Plan Amendments shift the focus from prioritizing automobile mobility to reducing VMT through alternative transportation modes like walking and biking, guided by the BMP.

The proposed General Plan Amendments would not result in construction or operation activities beyond existing conditions. Therefore, the Amendments would not result in impacts to the public and environment associated with an adopted emergency response plan or emergency evacuation plan. No impact would occur.

Mitigation Measures
No mitigation measures are required.

Significance After Mitigation
No impact would occur.

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Threshold 7: Would the project expose people or structures, either directly or indirectly, to a significant risk of loss, injury or death involving wildland fires? Impact HAZ-6 THE PROPOSED PROJECT WOULD NOT EXPOSE PEOPLE OR STRUCTURES, EITHER DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, TO A SIGNIFICANT RISK OF LOSS, INJURY OR DEATH INVOLVING WILDLAND FIRES. THIS IMPACT WOULD BE LESS THAN SIGNIFICANT.

The City of Agoura Hills is located in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ) in a Local Responsibility Area and is bordered to the north and south by a VHFHSZ in State Responsibility Area (California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection 2024). During construction activities, there would be a temporary increase in human activity and potential ignition sources, including equipment that could create sparks, be a source of heat, or leak flammable materials on individual project sites. Heat or sparks from construction equipment, vehicles, and the use of flammable hazardous materials have the potential to ignite adjacent vegetation and start a fire, especially during weather events that include low-humidity and high wind speeds. OSHA mandates that each job site have a fire prevention plan (CFR Standard 1910.39) that includes “a list of all major fire hazards, proper handling and storage procedures for hazardous materials, potential ignition sources and their control, and the type of fire protection equipment necessary to control each major hazard; procedures to control accumulations of flammable and combustible waste materials; as well as procedures for regular maintenance of safeguards installed on heat-producing equipment to prevent the accidental ignition of combustible materials.” Therefore, with OSHA compliance, construction of individual projects identified within the BMP would not potentially expose people or structures to a significant risk of loss, injury or death involving wildland fires.

Operation of individual projects identified within the BMP would consist of bicycle and pedestrian travel. Use of these bicycle facilities would not result in the operation of equipment that could create sparks, be a source of heat, or leak flammable materials on individual project sites. As discussed in Section 4.13.6, Population and Housing, the proposed Project would not induce substantial unplanned population growth. Furthermore, the Project would not include structural components or physical development that would expose people or structures, to a significant risk of loss, injury or death involving wildland fires. This impact would be less than significant.

Mitigation Measures
No mitigation measures are required.

Significance After Mitigation
Impacts would be less than significant without mitigation.

4.6.4 Cumulative Impacts
The cumulative study area for hazardous materials is the Project area, which encompasses all of the City of Agoura Hills. Past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future projects, including the projects listed in Table 3-1, would have the potential to expose residents, employees, and visitors to hazards and hazardous materials. The magnitude of hazards for individual projects would depend upon the location, type, and size of development and the specific hazards associated with individual sites.

Hazard evaluations would be completed on a case-by-case basis for all future development.

Compliance with applicable regulations and implementation of appropriate mitigation measures, including remedial action on contaminated sites, would address impacts related to these hazards Environmental Impact Analysis
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and hazardous materials associated with future development. Therefore, cumulative development would have a less-than-significant cumulative impact, involving the transport, use, and disposal of hazardous materials; accidental release of hazardous materials; release of hazardous materials within 0.25 mile of a school; and creation of a hazard to the public or environment from listed hazardous materials sites.

The Project site is not located within an airport land use plan or within two miles of a public airport.

Therefore, the project cannot contribute to a cumulative impact related to a safety hazard related to aircraft operations.

All cumulative projects would be required to comply with the LVMCOG Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan, which includes actions to reduce risks from hazards, including emergency response.

Therefore, cumulative development would not impair implementation of or physically interfere with an evacuation plan, and cumulative impacts related to hazards, hazardous materials, and emergency response would be less than significant.

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4.7 Hydrology and Water Quality

4.7.1 Setting
The analysis in this section considers potential impacts to hydrology and water quality. Specifically, this section discusses the environmental and regulatory setting; the criteria used to determine the significance of environmental impacts related to hydrology and water quality; and potential impacts related to hydrology and water quality that would result from implementation of the proposed Project.
a. Surface Water
The Project area, which encompasses all of the City of Agoura Hills, is located in the Malibu Creek Watershed (HUC-10 1807010401), Medea Creek Subwatershed (HUC-8 18070104) (California Department of Transportation n.d.). The Malibu Creek Watershed covers 109 square miles in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Much of the Malibu Creek Watershed remains relatively undeveloped; the dominant human-altered land uses within the watershed include residential use, agriculture, and commercial/industrial use. This development has been concentrated primarily in and around the cities of Agoura Hills, Westlake, Malibu, and Calabasas (Las Virgenes Malibu Conejo Council of Governments 2001).

The main hydrologic feature of the Malibu Creek Watershed is Malibu Creek, whose headwaters are located in the Simi Hills. Tributaries of Malibu Creek include Las Virgenes Creek and Medea Creek, the latter of which runs through the City of Agoura Hills (California Department of Transportation n.d.). Near the coast, Malibu Creek flows to the Santa Monica Bay through Malibu Lagoon.

Pollutants of concern in Malibu Creek, many of which are discharged from non-point-sources, include excess nutrients, sediment, and bacteria (California Department of Water Resources [DWR] 2013).

For regulatory purposes, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board (LARWQCB) uses the watershed classification system developed by DWR, which divides watersheds into Hydrologic Units (HUs) that are divided into Hydrological Areas (HA), which are further divided into Hydrological SubAreas (HSAs). As designated by the LARWQCB, the Project area is located within Santa Monica Bay HU, Malibu Creek HA, and Lindero Canyon HSA.
b. Surface Water Quality
Downstream receiving waters in the City of Agoura Hills include Palo Comado Creek, Lake Lindero, Lindero Creek, and Medea Creek. Lake Lindero, Lindero Creek, Palo Comado Creek and Medea Creek are listed on the 2024 303(d) list as impaired water bodies, as discussed below.

Lake Lindero
Lake Lindero is an artificial lake in the western portion of the City of Agoura Hills, primarily surrounded by residences as well as a public golf course. Lake Lindero is listed on the 2024 303(d) list as impaired for commercial and sport fishing, non-contact water recreation, and warm freshwater habitat. Plans to restore water quality of Lake Lindero include total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) for Malibu Creek and the Malibu Creek Watershed, which are designed to address trash and nutrients within the respective plan areas (United States Environmental Protection Agency [U.S.

EPA] 2024).

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Lindero Creek
Lindero Creek is a seasonal stream in the City of Agoura Hills, flowing through the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains and eventually feeding into Lake Lindero. Lindero Creek is listed on the 2024 303(d) list as impaired for water contact recreation and warm freshwater habitat. Plans to restore water quality of Lindero Creek include TMDLs for Malibu Creek, Malibu Lagoon, and the Malibu Creek Watershed, which are designed to address bacteria, trash, and nutrients within the respective plan areas (U.S. EPA 2024).

Palo Comado Creek
Palo Comado Creek is a seasonal stream located in the city of Agoura Hills, flowing through the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains. Palo Comado Creek is listed on the 2024 303(d) list as impaired for indicator bacteria. Plans to restore water quality of Palo Comado Creek include TMDLs for the Malibu Creek Watershed, which are designed to address bacteria within the respective plan area (U.S. EPA 2024).

Medea Creek
Medea Creek is a perennial stream in the City of Agoura Hills, located west of Kanan Road, that flows through residential and open space areas and eventually merges with Lindero Creek. Medea Creek is listed on the 2024 303(d) list as impaired for water contact recreation, cold freshwater habitat, and warm freshwater habitat. Plans to restore water quality of Medea Creek include TMDLs for Malibu Creek, Malibu Lagoon, and the Malibu Creek Watershed, which are designed to address bacteria, sedimentation, trash, and nutrients within the respective plan areas (U.S. EPA 2024). c. Drainage and Drainage Patterns
Drainage patterns within Agoura Hills are characterized by a network of creeks and stormwater management systems. Seasonal precipitation during the winter months is generally directed from the higher elevations (such as in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains) towards the lowerlying areas, where stormwater feeds into local creeks, such as Lindero Creek and Medea Creek.

These creeks channel stormwater south through the city before converging and eventually draining into Malibu Creek, which flows southerly into North Santa Monica Bay.

To manage stormwater runoff and prevent flooding, the City has implemented various infrastructure projects, including storm drain systems, retention basins, and low-impact development (LID) practices. These measures help control the flow of water, reduce erosion, and improve overall water quality by filtering pollutants before they reach natural waterways. d. Flooding and Inundation
Most of the City of Agoura Hills is not subject to flooding. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Flood Hazard Layer, most of the city is located within Zone X, defined as an area of minimal flood hazard. Areas of the city that are subject to flooding include Lake Lindero, Lindero Creek, and Medea Creek. Lake Lindero is located within Zone A, which is a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) with a one percent annual risk of a major flood, also known as the base flood or 100-year flood. Lindero Creek and Medea Creek each contain Zone A, as well as Zone AE (which refers to low-lying areas with a high risk of flooding; these areas have a one percent chance of flooding each year, and are also referred to as the 100-year floodplain), and Zone B Environmental Impact Analysis
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(defined as a low-risk flood zone with a 0.2 percent (one in 500) chance of experiencing a flood in a given year) (FEMA 2008, 2018).

Tsunamis and seiches are two types of water waves that are generated by earthquake events.

Tsunamis are broad-wavelength ocean waves, and seiches are standing waves within confined bodies of water, typically reservoirs. According to the California Tsunami Maps, the City of Agoura Hills is not within an area subject to inundation from tsunami (California Department of Conservation 2025). Due to the absence of a large body of water upslope of the city, the Project area is not subject to inundation from seiche.

The City of Agoura Hills is potentially affected by several upstream dams within the Malibu Creek watershed. Notable dams include the Malibu Creek Dam, Rindge Dam, and Century Dam. However, these dams are regularly inspected and maintained to ensure their structural integrity and operational safety. The City collaborates with dam operators and emergency services to develop and maintain an Emergency Action Plan to mitigate the risk of inundation and ensure the safety of residents.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works presently owns and maintains three major flood control facilities in Agoura Hills: the Lindero Canyon Channel, the Chesebro Canyon Channel, and parts of Medea Creek. The Lindero Canyon Channel provides flood protection for the west drainage flow from Lindero Canyon, which extends into Ventura County, well beyond the City of Agoura Hills’ northern boundary. The Chesebro Canyon Channel provides controlled drainage for the east drainage area of the city and intercepts the flows from Chesebro Canyon and Palo Comado Canyon. Medea Creek is partially improved between Agoura Road and north to the Ventura County line and provides flood control protection for the central drainage area of the city. Two major drainage channels not maintained by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works are the Palo Comado Canyon and Liberty Canyon (City of Agoura Hills 2022). Palo Comado Canyon lies within the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and is managed by the National Park Service as a semi-natural channel; Liberty Canyon Channel is maintained by the Los Angeles County Flood Control District’s Flood Maintenance Division.
e. Groundwater
The South Coast Hydrologic Region has 56 delineated groundwater basins (DWR 2003). The City of Agoura Hills overlies the Russell Valley Groundwater Basin, which covers approximately 3,100 acres in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties and is managed by the Calleguas Municipal Water District. The basin is a relatively small alluvial basin bounded by semi-permeable rocks of the Santa Monica Mountains, with the principal water-bearing formation being Holocene-age alluvium. This alluvium consists of unconsolidated, poorly sorted sand, gravel, silt, and clay, with groundwater being unconfined (DWR 2004).

The water balance of the basin indicates that recharge primarily occurs from the percolation of rainfall, with additional contributions from underflow and irrigation return. The basin is designated as Very Low Priority and is not in a state of overdraft. Groundwater quality within the basin is generally good, with no documented irrigation concerns, subsidence, or saline intrusion (DWR 2004, 2025). According to the United States Geological Survey, the minimum depth to groundwater (as recorded by wells within the area) is approximately 127 feet (United States Geological Survey 2025).

The Russell Valley Groundwater Basin is not adjudicated, meaning there is no court decree defining groundwater rights and usage. The regulatory boundaries for groundwater management align with the basin boundaries, ensuring consistent oversight and management practices.

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f. Water Agencies and Management Regions
The City of Agoura Hills lies within the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board’s (LARWQCB) boundaries. The LARWQCB protects ground and surface water quality in the Los Angeles Region, including the coastal watersheds of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, along with very small portions of Kern and Santa Barbara Counties. The LARWQCB is the primary agency responsible for overseeing water quality issues in the region.

The city is located within the Greater Los Angeles County Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) Region.1 The Greater Los Angeles County IRWM Region is comprised of five subregions (North Santa Monica Bay, Upper Los Angeles River, South Bay, Upper San Gabriel River and Rio Hondo River, and Lower San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers) that span from Ventura County to Orange County, including portions of both counties, and from the Pacific Ocean coastline to the San Gabriel Mountains.

4.7.2 Regulatory Setting
a. Federal Regulations
Clean Water Act
The Federal Water Pollution Prevention and Control Act of 1948 was the first major law to address water pollution in the United States. In 1972, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act was amended and became known as the Clean Water Act. The Clean Water Act established the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States. The Clean Water Act gave the U.S. EPA the authority to implement federal pollution control programs, such as setting water quality standards for contaminants in surface water, establishing wastewater and effluent discharge limits for various industry contaminants in surface water, establishing wastewater and effluent discharge limits for various industry categories, and imposing requirements for controlling nonpointsource pollution. At the federal level, the Clean Water Act is administered by the U.S. EPA and United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).

The federal Clean Water Act places the primary responsibility for the control of water pollution and for the planning of development and use of water resources with the states, although it does establish certain guidelines for the states to follow in developing their programs. At the state and regional levels in California, the Clean Water Act is enforced by the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and the nine RWQCBs.

SECTION 401: WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION
Section 401 of the Clean Water Act regulates discharges of fill and dredged material to waters of the United States. Under Section 401, the SWRCB and RWQCBs have regulatory authority over actions in waters of the United States through the issuance of water quality certifications, which are issued in conjunction with any federal permit (e.g., permits issued by the USACE under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, described below). Section 401 provides the SWRCB and the RWQCBs with the regulatory authority to waive, certify, or deny any proposed activity that could result in a discharge to surface waters of the State. To waive or certify an activity, these agencies must find the proposed discharge would comply with State water quality standards, including those protecting beneficial 1 IRWM regions serve to coordinate regional water project funding applications and planning and serve as a primary source of budgetary planning for multi-jurisdictional water infrastructure projects.

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uses and water quality. If these agencies deny the proposed activity, the federal permit cannot be issued.

SECTION 402: NATIONAL POLLUTANT ELIMINATION SYSTEM (NPDES) Section 402 of the Clean Water Act establishes the NPDES regulations for stormwater and other pollutant discharges. Section 402 prohibits discharge of pollutants to waters of the United States unless they are regulated by an NPDES permit. Stormwater discharges are regulated under a variety of NPDES permits, including municipal, agricultural, industrial, construction, and low-threat discharge permits.

In 1987, Congress amended the Clean Water Act to require the implementation of a two-phased program to address stormwater discharges. Phase I of the NPDES program, promulgated by the U.S.

EPA in November 1990, requires NPDES permits for stormwater discharges from municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s)2 serving populations of 100,000 or greater, construction sites disturbing greater than five acres of land, and 10 categories of industrial activities.

The U.S. EPA recognized that smaller construction projects (disturbing less than five acres) and small MS4s (serving populations smaller than 100,000) were also contributing substantially to pollutant discharges nationwide. Therefore, in order to further improve stormwater quality, the U.S. EPA promulgated the NPDES Phase II program in January 2000, which requires NPDES permits for stormwater discharges from regulated small MS4s and for construction sites disturbing between one and five acres of land.

In California, the NPDES program is administered by SWRCB through the nine RWQCBs. Further discussion of the NPDES program and permits in California relevant to the Project are provided in discussion of state regulations, below.

SECTION 303(D): IMPAIRED WATERS AND TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOADS (TMDL) Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act requires states to identify water bodies that do not meet water quality objectives and are not supporting beneficial uses. Each state must submit an updated biennial list, called the 303(d) list, to U.S. EPA. In addition to identifying the water bodies that are not supporting beneficial uses, the list also identifies the pollutant or stressor causing the impairment. Once a water body has been deemed impaired, a TMDL must be developed for each pollutant causing an impairment. A TMDL is an estimate of the total load of pollutants from point, nonpoint, and natural sources that a water body may receive without exceeding applicable water quality standards (often with a “factor of safety” included, which limits the total load of pollutants to a level well below that which could cause the standard to be exceeded). Once established, the TMDL is allocated among current and future dischargers into the water body.

National Flood Insurance Program
The National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 and the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 were enacted by Congress to reduce the costs of disaster relief. The intent of these acts was to reduce the need for large, publicly funded flood control structures and disaster relief efforts by restricting development in floodplains. FEMA administers the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to provide subsidized flood insurance to communities that comply with FEMA regulations limiting development in a floodplain. FEMA issues Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) of communities 2 An MS4 is a conveyance or system of conveyances designed or used to collect or convey stormwater (e.g., storm drains, pipes, ditches) that are owned by a state, city, town, or other public entity.

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participating in the NFIP. These maps delineate flood hazard zones in the community. Local agencies are responsible for administering their community’s floodplain management regulations. The City of Agoura Hills manages local storm drain facilities and is responsible for flood control planning within the city.
b. State Regulations
Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act
California’s primary statute governing water quality and water pollution is the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act of 1970 (Porter-Cologne Act). The Porter-Cologne Act grants the SWRCB and nine RWQCBs broad powers to protect water quality and is the primary vehicle for the implementation of the Clean Water Act in California. The Porter-Cologne Act grants the SWRCB and RWQCBs the authority and responsibility to adopt plans and policies, regulate discharges to surface water and groundwater, regulate waste disposal sites, and require cleanup of discharges of hazardous materials and other pollutants. The Porter-Cologne Act also establishes reporting requirements for unintended discharges of any hazardous substance, sewage, oil, or petroleum product. Each RWQCB must adopt and implement a Water Quality Control Plan (Basin Plan) for its region in conformance with the policies set forth in the Porter-Cologne Act. The City of Agoura Hills is within the jurisdictional boundaries of the LARWQCB (Region 4).

California Toxics Rule
In May 2000, the U.S. EPA promulgated the California Toxics Rule, which established numeric water quality criteria for toxic pollutants for waters in California. The California Toxics Rule provides water quality criteria for certain potentially toxic compounds for inland surface waters, enclosed bays, estuaries, and waters designated for human health or aquatic life uses. The California Toxics Rule is often used by the RWQCBs when establishing water quality objectives and TMDLs. Although the California Toxics Rule criteria do not apply directly to discharges of stormwater runoff, they are utilized as benchmarks for toxics in urban runoff and to evaluate the potential ecological impacts of stormwater runoff to receiving waters.

Antidegradation Policy
The State Antidegradation Policy (Resolution No. 68-16) was adopted by SWRCB in 1968 to protect surface water and groundwater from degradation. The Antidegradation Policy applies to the disposal of waste to high-quality surface water and groundwater. The Antidegradation Policy requires the water quality of these water bodies to be maintained unless SWRCB finds the change will be consistent with maximum benefit to the people of the state, will not unreasonably affect present and anticipated beneficial uses of the waters, and will not result in water quality less than that prescribed in policies regulating water quality. The Antidegradation Policy also requires the best practicable treatment or control of discharges to high-quality waters to assure pollution or nuisance will not occur, and the highest possible water quality will be maintained.

Construction General Permit
The General Permit for Storm Water Discharges Associated with Construction and Land Disturbance Activities, Order No. 2022-0057-DWQ, NPDES No. CAS000002 (Construction General Permit), adopted by SWRCB, regulates construction activities that include clearing, grading, and excavation resulting in soil disturbance of at least one acre of total land area. The Construction General Permit Environmental Impact Analysis
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authorizes the discharge of stormwater to surface waters from construction activities and requires all developers of land where construction activities will occur over more than one acre to do the following:
 Complete a Risk Assessment to determine pollution prevention requirements pursuant to the three risk levels established in the Construction General Permit;  Eliminate or reduce non-stormwater discharges to storm sewer systems and other waters of the United States;
 Develop and implement a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) that specifies construction best management practices (BMP) that will reduce pollution in stormwater discharges to the Best Available Technology/Economically Achievable/Best Conventional Pollutant Control Technology standards;
 Perform inspections and maintenance of all BMPs; and
 Conduct stormwater sampling, if required based on risk level.

To obtain coverage under the Construction General Permit, a project applicant must electronically file all permit registration documents with SWRCB prior to the start of construction. Permit registration documents must include a Notice of Intent, Risk Assessment, site map, SWPPP, annual fee, and signed certification statement.

Typical BMPs contained in SWPPPs are designed to minimize erosion during construction, stabilize construction areas, control sediment, control discharges from groundwater dewatering, and control pollutants from construction materials. The SWPPP must also include a discussion of the program to inspect and maintain all BMPs.

The Construction General Permit also contains post-construction requirements for projects not covered under a Phase I or Phase II MS4 Permit. The Construction General Permit requires implementation of operational BMPs and low impact development features to reduce runoff and pollutants in stormwater discharge.

The Construction General Permit also includes groundwater dewatering requirements for projects not covered under a De Minimis or Low Threat Discharge Permit. The dewatering requirements mandate dischargers to implement BMPs to control the volume and velocity of dewatering discharges. The Construction General Permit also requires testing and treatment, if necessary, of groundwater discharge to verify the discharge meets or exceeds the effluent limitations specified in the permit.

Sustainable Groundwater Management Act
The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) of 2014 is a comprehensive three-bill package that Governor Jerry Brown signed into California state law in September 2014. The SGMA provides a framework for sustainable management of groundwater supplies by local authorities, with a limited role for State intervention if necessary to protect the resource. The plan is intended to achieve a reliable groundwater supply for California for years to come. The SGMA requires governments and water agencies of high- and medium-priority basins to halt overdrafts of groundwater basins. The SGMA requires the formation of local GSAs that are required to adopt GSPs to manage the sustainability of the groundwater basins.

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c. Local Regulations
City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035
The City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 was adopted on March 24, 2010 (updated on August 10, 2022) by the City Council (City of Agoura Hills 2022). The City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 is a strategic document designed to guide the physical development of the city until the year 2035.

Among other things, the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 sets out the pattern of land uses, including residential, commercial, and industrial. It also establishes the system of streets, bikeways, and trails. The City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 addresses a wide variety of subject areas, including housing, traffic, natural resources, land uses, economic development, noise, and public safety.

The City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 contains the following goals and policies related to Hydrology and Water Quality, which would apply to the proposed Project.

Goal S-1. Minimize risk to residents, workers, and visitors from flood hazards.

Policy S-1.6. Regulate development within floodplains in accordance with the County, state and federal requirements, and maintain the City’s eligibility under the National Flood Insurance Program.

Policy S-1.9. Limit new development in Flood Zones A and AE, in accordance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and City Building Code requirements, and assess properties for flooding vulnerabilities in these zones.

City of Agoura Hills Municipal Code
Article III, Chapter 7 of the Agoura Hills Municipal Code (AHMC) regulates floodplain management and addresses the management of flood-prone areas within the city. It includes regulations for development in floodplains to minimize flood risks and ensure compliance with federal and state floodplain management standards. This chapter specifies requirements for building permits, elevation certificates, and floodproofing measures. It also outlines the responsibilities of the floodplain administrator and procedures for variances and appeals.

Article V, Chapter 5 of the AHMC regulates stormwater management and discharge, focusing on the preventing of pollution from stormwater and urban runoff. It establishes regulations for the discharge of pollutants into the storm drain system and natural watercourses. Key provisions include requirements for BMPs to control runoff from construction sites, industrial facilities, and commercial properties. The chapter also outlines enforcement mechanisms and penalties for noncompliance.

4.7.3 Impact Analysis
a. Methodology and Significance Thresholds
As discussed in Section 4.0, Environmental Impact Analysis, all Project components are analyzed at the programmatic level. Project components include the Bicycle Master Plan (BMP), the VMT Mitigation Exchange and Banking Program (Program), and the General Plan Amendments (Amendments). Projects included within the BMPare grouped into Class I facilities, Class II facilities, Class III facilities, Class IV facilities, and enhanced bicycle treatments, as identified in Section 2.5, Project Characteristics, and in Table 1 of Chapter 2, Project Description. The impact analysis Environmental Impact Analysis
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Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.7-9
contained herein provides a programmatic analysis of anticipated impacts for each of the five facilities, as impacts associated with each facility type are expected to be similar. However, because the City seeks to prioritize implementation of the Medea Creek Path (Path) and the Agoura High School Connection (Connection), the Path and the Connection have their own subheadings within the Class I Facility impact analysis subsection to provide a more specific assessment of their environmental impacts. Impacts associated with the General Plan Amendments are analyzed within their own subsection.

As discussed in Chapter 2, Project Description, the only projects that are currently planned, unfunded, and could potentially be funded by the VMT Mitigation Exchange and Banking Program are those currently included within the Bicycle Master Plan. Therefore, the impact analysis contained herein does not include a subsection for impacts associated with the Program, as the individual project list for the BMP and the Program are identical and impacts associated with the BMP would encompass impacts associated with the Program.

Within the following environmental analysis, impacts associated with each Project component are explicitly identified under the respective heading.

According to Appendix G of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, impacts related to hydrology and water quality would be significant if the proposed Project would:

Violate any water quality standards or waste discharge requirements or otherwise substantially degrade surface or ground water quality;
Substantially decrease groundwater supplies or interfere substantially with groundwater recharge such that the project may impede sustainable groundwater management of the basin; Substantially alter the existing drainage pattern of the site or area, including through the alteration of the course of a stream or river or through the addition of impervious surfaces, in a manner which would:
a. Result in substantial erosion or siltation on- or off-site, b. Substantially increase the rate or amount of surface runoff in a manner which would result in flooding on- or off-site,
c. Create or contribute runoff water which would exceed the capacity of existing or planned stormwater drainage systems or provide substantial additional sources of polluted runoff, or
d. Impede or redirect flood flows;
Risk release of pollutants due to project inundation if located in flood hazard, tsunami, or seiche zones; or,
Conflict with or obstruct implementation of a water quality control plan or sustainable groundwater management plan.

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b. Project Impacts and Mitigation Measures
Threshold 1: Would the project violate any water quality standards or waste discharge requirements or otherwise substantially degrade surface or ground water quality? Impact HYD-1 THROUGH COMPLIANCE WITH EXISTING REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS, THE PROJECT

WOULD NOT VIOLATE ANY WATER QUALITY STANDARDS OR WASTE DISCHARGE REQUIREMENTS OR OTHERWISE SUBSTANTIALLY DEGRADE SURFACE OR GROUND WATER QUALITY. THIS IMPACT WOULD BE LESS THAN SIGNIFICANT.

Construction of Class I through Class IV Facilities
Construction of the proposed Class I facilities, including construction of the Medea Creek Path and Agoura High School Connection, would require clearing and grubbing, pavement demolition, grading, utility relocation, retaining wall or fencing installation, asphalt paving or repaving, street and undercrossing improvements, striping, and revegetation. Construction of Class II facilities would generally require roadway restriping and reconfiguration of lane widths to accommodate new dedicated bike lanes. Pavement widening would be necessary on Driver Avenue, between Easterly Road and Colodny Drive, and on Cornell Road, between Agoura Road and Cornell Way to allow for the addition of bicycle lanes. Pavement widening associated with Class II facilities would require clearing and grubbing, subgrade stabilization, base course installation, and asphalt paving.

Construction of the Class III facilities would be limited to the restriping of existing roads to identify bike routes, which would not involve ground disturbance. Construction of Class IV facilities would require pavement demolition, minor grading, bollard or fencing installation, asphalt paving or repaving, and striping.

Construction activities resulting in soil disturbance would increase the potential for erosion and sedimentation to occur. If construction activities occur during the rainy season, or in the event of heavy storms, soils from individual project sites could be entrained, eroded, and transported off-site or to downstream receiving waters. In addition, chemicals, liquid products, petroleum products (e.g., paints, solvents, fuels), and concrete-related waste may be spilled or leaked during construction and have the potential to be transported off-site via stormwater runoff.

Individual projects proposed within the BMP that disturb less than one acre of soil are expressly exempt from the SWRCB’s Construction General Permit as long as they are not part of a larger project that results in an overall disturbance of one acre or more. Regardless of disturbance acreage, all projects proposed within the BMP would comply with the BMP requirements identified in AHMC Article V, Chapter 5, which mandate sediment control (e.g., fiber rolls, stabilized entry pads) and runoff management (e.g., temporary diversion swales). As a result, during construction of individual projects that disturb less than one acre of soil, water quality would be maintained at pre‐ construction levels through erosion controls; no waste discharge to surface waters would occur beyond natural stormwater flows; surface water degradation via siltation or flooding would be prevented by stabilizing exposed soils; and groundwater would remain unaffected because there are no uncontained discharges or anticipated dewatering activities.

Individual projects proposed within the BMP that disturb between one and five acres of soil may qualify for a Small Construction Rainfall Erosivity Waiver if the project’s Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation [R value3
] is below five for the proposed timeframe. Waived sites would not be required to 3 The rainfall-runoff erosivity factor (R-Factor) reflects the erosion potential on a site. It quantifies the effects of raindrop impacts and reflects the amount and rate of runoff associated with the rain. A lower R-Factor indicates a lower erosion potential.

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comply with the Construction General Permit but would still be required to implement a site‐ specific SWPPP‐equivalent in compliance with AHMC Article V, Chapter 5. Compliance with AHMC Article V, Chapter 5 would result in the implementation of BMPs for erosion and sediment capture (silt fences, sediment traps), pollution prevention (secured material storage, concrete washout containment), and routine inspections. Therefore, during construction of projects that qualify for a Small Construction Rainfall Erosivity Waiver, water quality would remain protected by the same suite of controls as required under the Construction General Permit; potential waste discharge would be managed on‐site; surface water paths would be preserved and stabilized to prevent new erosion or flooding; and groundwater would be safeguarded because sediment and chemicals would be held on‐site, with no dewatering or unpermitted discharges.

If the rainfall erosivity factor exceeds the waiver threshold (R value of five or more)—or if a waiver is not obtained—individual projects disturbing one to five acres would be required to comply with the Construction General Permit, and a full SWPPP would be implemented. The SWPPP prescribes BMPs for sediment control, dewatering, material handling, and spill response. It also requires visual monitoring, corrective‐action reporting, and, for higher‐risk segments, stormwater sampling.

Implementation of the SWPPP would ensure water quality standards are met or exceeded; no unauthorized waste discharges occur; surface water degradation from increased runoff, erosion, or silt loading is prevented; and groundwater protection is maintained through engineered controls on dewatering and chemical storage.

Individual projects proposed within the BMP that disturb over five acres of soil would automatically trigger Construction General Permit coverage, SWPPP development, and implementation of all permit‐level BMPs (including sediment basins and dewatering plans). The SWPPP would document pre‐ and post‐development hydrology to confirm no net increase in peak flows, and all stormwater would be treated through sediment traps or active treatment systems. Consequently, water quality would remain at or above baseline levels; waste discharges would be routed through containment and treatment; surface water courses would remain unaltered in course or flow, avoiding erosion, flooding, and siltation; and groundwater would be protected by strict dewatering controls and secondary containment for chemicals.

Across all disturbance thresholds (less than one acre, between one and five acres, and greater than five acres), compliance with the SWRCB Construction General Permit (or waiver), implementation of site‐specific SWPPPs, and compliance with AHMC Article V BMPs would collectively minimize the potential to violate water quality standards, result in unpermitted waste discharges, and degrade surface or groundwater quality. Construction impacts would be less than significant.

Operation of Class I through Class IV Facilities
Operation of the Class I facilities, including the Path and Connection, would consist of bicycle and pedestrian travel along shared use paths; operation of the Class II facilities would consist of bicycle travel along delineated bike lanes; operation of the Class III facilities would consist of bicycle travel along shared use travel lanes; operation of the Class IV facilities would consist of bicycle travel along physically separated bikeways adjacent to travel lanes. These operational activities would not introduce new land uses that discharge additional pollutants to downstream receiving waters relative to existing conditions. Compliance with existing regulatory requirements, such as the SWRCB’s Construction General Permit and Article V, Chapter 5 of the AHMC, would ensure that the Class I through Class IV facilities do not violate water quality standards or waste discharge requirements and would not create substantial runoff water or otherwise degrade water quality.

Operational impacts would be less than significant.

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Enhanced Bicycle Treatments
Enhanced bicycle treatments would include street striping and restriping, signage and wayfinding, bicycle signals and detection at traffic signals, bicycle parking, and bicycle repair facilities.

Construction activities associated with these facilities would disturb less than one acre of soil and would be exempt from the requirements of the Construction General Permit. Construction of the enhanced bicycle treatments would comply with Article V, Chapter 5 of the AHMC, which requires implementation of BMPs to control runoff from construction sites. Therefore, construction of the enhanced bicycle treatments would not violate water quality standards or waste discharge requirements or otherwise substantially degrade surface or ground water quality, and the impact would be less than significant.

Operation of the enhanced bicycle treatments would include continued use of existing bicycle facilities, storing of bicycles at new parking facilities, and use of bicycle repair facilities. Operation of enhanced bicycle treatments would not introduce new land uses that discharge additional pollutants to downstream receiving waters relative to existing conditions. Compliance with existing regulatory requirements would ensure that the enhanced bicycle treatments do not violate water quality standards or waste discharge requirements and would not create substantial runoff water or otherwise degrade water quality. Operational impacts would be less than significant.

General Plan Amendments
As part of the proposed Project, the City must amend Chapter 3, Infrastructure and Community Services, of the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 to ensure consistency with the proposed BMP. These General Plan Amendments shift the focus from prioritizing automobile mobility to reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) through alternative transportation modes like walking and biking, guided by the BMP. The proposed General Plan Amendments would not result in construction or operation activities beyond existing conditions. Therefore, the Amendments would not violate water quality standards or waste discharge requirements or otherwise substantially degrade surface or ground water quality. No impact would occur.

Mitigation Measures
No mitigation measures would be required.

Significance After Mitigation
Impacts would be less than significant without mitigation.

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Threshold 2: Would the project substantially decrease groundwater supplies or interfere substantially with groundwater recharge such that the project may impede sustainable groundwater management of the basin?
Impact HYD-2 THE PROJECT WOULD NOT SUBSTANTIALLY DECREASE GROUNDWATER SUPPLIES OR

INTERFERE SUBSTANTIALLY WITH GROUNDWATER RECHARGE SUCH THAT THE PROJECT MAY IMPEDE SUSTAINABLE GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT OF THE RUSSELL VALLEY GROUNDWATER BASIN. IMPACTS WOULD BE LESS THAN SIGNIFICANT.

Class I Facilities
Construction of the proposed Class I facilities would require clearing and grubbing, pavement demolition, grading, utility relocation, retaining wall or fencing installation, asphalt paving or repaving, street and undercrossing improvements, striping, and revegetation. Given the programmatic nature of the BMP, construction details for all individual projects included within the BMP are not yet known. As discussed in Chapter 2, Project Description, specific construction details have been identified for the Medea Creek Path, a two-mile bicycle path and the longest new facility proposed in the BMP. Construction of the Path would result in the largest area of disturbance with the most construction activities. The maximum depth of excavation required during construction of the Path would be 12 feet. All other facilities included within the BMP would be expected to result in less intensive construction. Therefore, it can be assumed that the maximum depth of excavation required during construction of the remaining Class I facilities would also be 12 feet. As discussed in Section 4.7.1(e), groundwater is anticipated at a depth of approximately 127 feet. Therefore, groundwater would not be encountered during grading and excavation activities for Class I facilities.

Thus, construction activities would not require groundwater dewatering and would not decrease groundwater supplies or interfere with recharge. No impacts to groundwater supplies or recharge would occur during construction.

Operation of the Class I facilities would consist of bicycle and pedestrian travel along shared use paths. Operation of the Class I facilities would not substantially increase impervious surface area, as the facilities would be constructed from semi-permeable materials such as asphalt concrete. During precipitation events, stormwater would flow into adjacent permeable (grass or landscaped) areas, or onto existing streets, where it would be collected by the city’s existing stormwater system.

Therefore, the Class I facilities would not substantially interfere with groundwater recharge such that the Class I facilities would impede sustainable groundwater management of the basin. No impacts on groundwater supplies or recharge would occur during operation.

MEDEA CREEK PATH
Groundwater is anticipated at a depth of approximately 127 feet. The estimated depth of ground disturbance during construction of the Path is 12 feet. Therefore, groundwater would not be encountered during grading and excavation activities associated with construction of the Path.

Construction activities would not otherwise require groundwater dewatering and therefore would not decrease groundwater supplies or interfere with recharge. No impacts to groundwater supplies or recharge would occur during construction.

Due to the addition of pavement within previously undisturbed areas, the Path would result in an increase in impervious surfaces. During precipitation events, stormwater would flow into adjacent permeable (grass or landscaped) areas or onto existing streets where it would be collected by the city’s existing stormwater system. Therefore, the Path would facilitate the off-site movement of City of Agoura Hills
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stormwater, allowing for infiltration and recharge of the underlying Russell Valley Groundwater Basin. Impacts during operation would be less than significant.

AGOURA HIGH SCHOOL CONNECTION
Groundwater is anticipated at a depth of approximately 127 feet. As discussed in Chapter 2, Project Description, specific construction details have been identified for the Connection, and the estimated depth of ground disturbance during construction of the Connection is 12 feet. Therefore, groundwater would not be encountered during grading and excavation activities associated with construction of the Connection. Construction activities would not otherwise require groundwater dewatering and therefore would not decrease groundwater supplies or interfere with recharge. No impacts to groundwater supplies or recharge would occur during construction.

Due to the addition of pavement within previously undisturbed areas, the Connection would result in an increase in impervious surfaces. During precipitation events, stormwater would flow into adjacent permeable (grass or landscaped) areas or onto existing streets where it would be collected by the city’s existing stormwater system. Therefore, the Connection would facilitate the off-site movement of stormwater, allowing for infiltration and recharge of the underlying Russell Valley Groundwater Basin. Impacts during operation would be less than significant.

Class II Facilities
Construction of Class II facilities would generally require roadway restriping and reconfiguration of lane widths to accommodate new dedicated bike lanes. Pavement widening would be necessary on Driver Avenue and Cornell Road to allow for the addition of bicycle lanes. Pavement widening would require clearing and grubbing, subgrade stabilization, base course installation, and asphalt paving.

These activities would not involve excavation and would not require groundwater dewatering, and therefore would not decrease groundwater supplies or interfere with recharge. No impacts to groundwater supplies or recharge would occur during construction.

Operation of the Class II facilities would consist of bicycle travel along delineated bike lanes, with the exception of roadway widening on Driver Avenue and Cornell Road. The proposed roadway widenings would not substantially increase impervious surface area, as the roadways would consist of semi-permeable materials such as asphalt, and would be similar to existing conditions in that stormwater would be directed to current drainage systems. Therefore, the Class II facilities would not increase impervious surface area and would not substantially interfere with groundwater recharge such that the Class II facilities would impede sustainable groundwater management of the basin. No impacts on groundwater supplies or recharge would occur during operation.

Class III Facilities
Construction of the Class III facilities would be limited to the restriping of existing roads to identify bike routes, which would not involve grading or excavation. Therefore, groundwater dewatering would not be required during construction activities. Construction activities would not otherwise require groundwater dewatering and therefore would not decrease groundwater supplies or interfere with recharge. Therefore, no impacts to groundwater supplies or recharge would occur during construction.

Operation of the Class III facilities would consist of bicycle travel along existing travel lanes.

Therefore, the Class III facilities would not increase impervious surface area and would not substantially interfere with groundwater recharge such that the Class III facilities would impede Environmental Impact Analysis
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sustainable groundwater management of the basin. No impacts on groundwater supplies or recharge would occur during operation.

Class IV Facilities
Construction of the proposed Class IV facilities would require pavement demolition, grading, bollard or fencing installation, asphalt paving or repaving, and striping. Given the programmatic nature of the BMP, construction details for all individual projects included within the BMP are not yet known.

As discussed in Chapter 2, Project Description, specific construction details have been identified for the Medea Creek Path, a two-mile Class I facility and the longest new facility proposed in the BMP.

Construction of the Path would result in the largest area of disturbance with the most construction activities. The maximum depth of excavation required during construction of the Path would be 12 feet. All other facilities included within the BMP would be expected to result in less intensive construction. Therefore, it can be assumed that the maximum depth of excavation required during construction of the Class IV facilities would also be 12 feet. As discussed in Section 4.7.1(e), groundwater is anticipated at a depth of approximately 127 feet. Therefore, groundwater would not be encountered during grading and excavation activities for Class IV facilities. Thus, construction activities would not require groundwater dewatering and would not decrease groundwater supplies or interfere with recharge. No impacts to groundwater supplies or recharge would occur during construction.

Operation of the Class IV facilities would consist of bicycle travel along physically separated bikeways. The bikeways would be located adjacent to existing travel lanes and would consist of semi-permeable materials such as asphalt. Similar to existing conditions, stormwater from the bikeways would be directed to current drainage systems. Therefore, the Class IV facilities would not increase impervious surface area and would not substantially interfere with groundwater recharge such that the Class IV facilities would impede sustainable groundwater management of the basin.

No impacts on groundwater supplies or recharge would occur during operation.

Enhanced Bicycle Treatments
Enhanced bicycle treatments would include street striping and restriping, signage and wayfinding, bicycle signals and detection at traffic signals, bicycle parking, and bicycle repair facilities.

Construction of the enhanced bicycle treatments would not involve excavation and would not require groundwater dewatering, and therefore would not decrease groundwater supplies or interfere with recharge. Therefore, no impacts to groundwater supplies or recharge would occur during construction.

Operation of the enhanced bicycle treatments would include continued use of existing bicycle facilities, storing of bicycles at new parking facilities, and use of bicycle repair facilities. Enhanced bicycle treatments would be implemented at various locations throughout the city within or adjacent to existing, new, or improved bikeways and would not result in the addition of new, paved areas. Therefore, the enhanced bicycle treatments would not increase impervious surface area and would not substantially interfere with groundwater recharge such that the enhanced bicycle treatments would impede sustainable groundwater management of the basin. No impacts on groundwater supplies or recharge would occur during operation.

General Plan Amendments
As part of the proposed Project, the City must amend Chapter 3, Infrastructure and Community Services, of the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 to ensure consistency with the proposed City of Agoura Hills
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BMP. These General Plan Amendments shift the focus from prioritizing automobile mobility to reducing VMT through alternative transportation modes like walking and biking, guided by the BMP.

The proposed General Plan Amendments would not result in construction or operation activities beyond existing conditions. Therefore, the Amendments would not substantially interfere with groundwater recharge such that the Amendments would impede sustainable groundwater management of the basin. No impact would occur.

Mitigation Measures
No mitigation measures would be required.

Significance After Mitigation
Impacts would be less than significant without mitigation.

Threshold 3a: Would the project substantially alter the existing drainage pattern of the site or area, including through the alteration of the course of a stream or river or through the addition of impervious surfaces, in a manner which would result in substantial erosion or siltation on- or off-site?
Threshold 3b: Would the project substantially alter the existing drainage pattern of the site or area, including through the alteration of the course of a stream or river or through the addition of impervious surfaces, in a manner which would substantially increase the rate or amount of surface runoff in a manner which would result in flooding on- or off-site?
Threshold 3c: Would the project substantially alter the existing drainage pattern of the site or area, including through the alteration of the course of a stream or river or through the addition of impervious surfaces, in a manner that would create or contribute runoff water which would exceed the capacity of existing or planned stormwater drainage systems or provide substantial additional sources of polluted runoff? Threshold 3d: Would the project substantially alter the existing drainage pattern of the site or area, including through the alteration of the course of a stream or river or through the addition of impervious surfaces, in a manner which would impede or redirect flood flows?
Impact HYD-3 THE PROPOSED PROJECT WOULD NOT SUBSTANTIALLY ALTER THE EXISTING DRAINAGE

PATTERN OF THE PROJECT AREA, INCLUDING THROUGH THE ALTERATION OF THE COURSE OF A STREAM OR RIVER

OR THROUGH THE ADDITION OF IMPERVIOUS SURFACES, IN A MANNER WHICH WOULD RESULT IN SUBSTANTIAL

EROSION OR SILTATION ON OR OFF SITE, WOULD RESULT IN FLOODING ON OR OFF SITE, WOULD PROVIDE SUBSTANTIAL ADDITIONAL SOURCES OF POLLUTED RUNOFF, OR WOULD IMPEDE OR REDIRECT FLOOD FLOWS.

IMPACTS WOULD BE LESS THAN SIGNIFICANT.

Class I Facilities
Construction of the Class I facilities would not substantially alter the existing drainage pattern of the Project area and would not alter the course of a stream or river because no streams or rivers are located within the individual Class I project sites. Construction and operation of the Class I facilities would not result in substantial erosion or siltation on or off site, flooding on or off site, substantial Environmental Impact Analysis
Hydrology and Water Quality
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.7-17
additional sources of polluted runoff, or impeded or redirected flood flows, as discussed in the following analyses.

Erosion and siltation are effectively controlled through a combination of SWRCB permits and AHMC requirements. Class I facilities that disturb more than one acre of soil are subject to the SWRCB Construction General Permit, which mandates preparation and implementation of a SWPPP. The SWPPP identifies and prescribes sediment controls—such as silt fences, sediment basins, and stabilized construction entrances—to maintain pre-development flow paths and prevent on- or offsite siltation. Class I facilities that disturb between one and five acres of soil may opt for a Small Construction Rainfall Erosivity Waiver, but regardless of waiver applicability must comply with Article V, Chapter 5 of the AHMC, which would ensure BMPs for erosion and siltation are implemented. Class I facilities disturbing less than one acre of soil, though exempt from the Construction General Permit, are bound by the AHMC’s BMP requirements, ensuring consistent erosion and sediment controls for construction of all Class I facilities. Therefore, construction of the Class I facilities would have a less than significant impact involving substation erosion or siltation.

Article V, Chapter 5 of the AHMC explicitly requires that post-development runoff rates and volumes do not exceed pre-development conditions, which would ensure construction of the Class I facilities would not increase downstream flood peaks. For larger Class I facilities covered by the Construction General Permit, hydrologic modeling submitted in the SWPPP would demonstrate that peak flow rates for the 10-, 25-, and 100-year storms remain unchanged. Therefore, construction of the Class I facilities would have a less than significant impact involving on- or off-site flooding.

The potential for additional pollutants to enter surface waters during construction of the Class I facilities would be addressed in the SWPPP (if required) and under the AHMC’s BMP requirements.

Specifically, the SWPPP prescribes pollution prevention measures for all potential sources of contamination including concrete washout areas, fuel and chemical storage zones, vehicle maintenance areas, and material stockpiles. These measures include covered staging areas, secondary containment, designated washout locations, and spill-response plans that together prevent oils, metals, and other chemicals from becoming entrained in stormwater. Article V applies these same standards to all Class I facilities, regardless of size, so even projects exempt from the Construction General Permit would implement run-on/run-off controls and strict handling procedures. Therefore, construction of the Class I facilities would have a less than significant impact involving additional sources of polluted runoff.

Construction activities associated with the Class I facilities would not impede or redirect flood flows because no permanent structures would be placed within mapped floodways or active channels, and natural overland flow paths would be preserved. Therefore, construction of the Class I facilities would have a less than significant impact involving impeded or redirected flood flows.

Operation of the Class I facilities would consist of bicycle and pedestrian travel along shared use paths and would not introduce new uses that discharge additional water pollutants relative to existing conditions. Operation of the Class I facilities would thus not have the potential to substantially alter the existing drainage pattern of the Project area, including through the alteration of the course of a stream or river or through the addition of impervious surfaces, in a manner which would result in substantial erosion or siltation on or off site, would result in flooding on or off site, would provide substantial additional sources of polluted runoff, or would impede or redirect flood flows. There would be no impact.

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MEDEA CREEK PATH
Existing drainage across the Path’s proposed alignment consists of shallow sheet flow over a gently sloping native soil surface that conveys rainfall downslope into intermittent swales and ultimately into Medea Creek. No defined channel crosses the Path alignment, and there is no current diversion or confinement of flows along the Path alignment. Construction of the Path would maintain nearly all pre-development infiltration: runoff would pass through the pavement, temporarily store in the aggregate bed, and then infiltrate into native soils. Therefore, construction of the Path would not substantially alter the existing drainage pattern of the Project area and would not alter the course of a stream or river. No construction work would occur within Medea Creek.

Construction of the Path would disturb more than one acre of soil, which would increase the potential for erosion and sedimentation. Construction of the Path would be required to comply with the Construction General Permit and Article V, Chapter 5 of the AHMC, which require preparation and implementation of a SWPPP and implementation of Erosion Control BMPs and Sediment Control BMPs designed to minimize erosion and retain sediment on-site. Additionally, the SWPPP would include construction BMPs to control and direct on-site surface runoff and would include detention facilities, if required, to minimize stormwater runoff from the construction site such that it does not exceed the capacity of the downstream stormwater drainage systems. Through compliance with the Construction Stormwater General Permit and implementation of the SWPPP and construction BMPs, as well as compliance with the AHMC, construction of the Path would not substantially alter the existing drainage pattern of the Project area, including through the alteration of the course of a stream or river or through the addition of impervious surfaces, in a manner which would result in substantial erosion or siltation on or off site, would result in flooding on or off site, would provide substantial additional sources of polluted runoff, or would impede or redirect flood flows. This impact would be less than significant.

Operation of the Path would not involve ground-disturbing activities that could increase the potential for erosion or siltation. Through the addition of paving for the proposed bike path, the Path would increase impervious surfaces. During precipitation events, stormwater would flow into adjacent permeable (grass or landscaped) areas, or onto existing streets, where it would be collected by the city’s existing stormwater system. The Path would consist of a primarily groundlevel bikeway, which would not constitute a barrier that could substantially increase on- or off-site flooding or impede or redirect flood flows when compared to existing conditions. Therefore, although the Path would result in an increase in impervious surface areas, operation of the Path would not substantially alter the existing drainage pattern of the Project area, including through the alteration of the course of a stream or river or through the addition of impervious surfaces, in a manner which would result in substantial erosion or siltation on or off site, would result in flooding on or off site, would provide substantial additional sources of polluted runoff, or would impede or redirect flood flows. This impact would be less than significant.

AGOURA HIGH SCHOOL CONNECTION
Construction of the Connection would not substantially alter the existing drainage pattern of the Project area and would not alter the course of a stream or river because no streams or rivers are located within the Project area. Construction of the Connection would disturb less than one acre of soil. Because construction of the Connection would disturb less than one acre of soil, the Connection would be exempt from the requirements of the Construction General Permit. However, construction of the Connection would comply with Article V, Chapter 5 of the AHMC, which requires implementation of BMPs to control erosion and sediment from construction sites. Therefore, Environmental Impact Analysis
Hydrology and Water Quality
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.7-19
construction of the Connection would not substantially alter the existing drainage pattern of the Project area, including through the alteration of the course of a stream or river or through the addition of impervious surfaces, in a manner which would result in substantial erosion or siltation on or off site, would result in flooding on or off site, would provide substantial additional sources of polluted runoff, or would impede or redirect flood flows. This impact would be less than significant.

Operation of the Connection would not involve ground-disturbing activities that could increase the potential for erosion or siltation. Through the addition of paving for the proposed bike path, the Connection would increase impervious surfaces. During precipitation events, stormwater would flow into adjacent permeable (grass or landscaped) areas, or onto existing streets, where it would be collected by the city’s stormwater system. The Connection would consist of a primarily groundlevel bikeway that would not constitute a barrier that could substantially increase on- or off-site flooding or impede or redirect flood flows when compared to existing conditions. Therefore, although the Connection would result in an increase in impervious surface areas, operation of the Connection would not substantially alter the existing drainage pattern of the Project area, including through the alteration of the course of a stream or river or through the addition of impervious surfaces, in a manner which would result in substantial erosion or siltation on or off site, would result in flooding on or off site, would provide substantial additional sources of polluted runoff, or would impede or redirect flood flows. This impact would be less than significant.

Class II Facilities
Construction of the Class II facilities would not substantially alter the existing drainage pattern of the Project area and would not alter the course of a stream or river because no streams or rivers are located within the Project area. Construction of Class II facilities would generally require roadway restriping and reconfiguration of lane widths to accommodate new dedicated bike lanes, as well as pavement widening on Driver Avenue and on Cornell Road to allow for the addition of bicycle lanes.

Pavement widening would require clearing and grubbing, subgrade stabilization, base course installation, and asphalt paving. These activities would result in soil disturbance, which would in turn increase the potential for erosion and sedimentation to occur.

Class II facilities that disturb more than one acre are subject to the SWRCB Construction General Permit, which mandates preparation and implementation of a SWPPP. The SWPPP identifies and prescribes sediment controls—such as silt fences, sediment basins, and stabilized construction entrances—to maintain pre-development flow paths and prevent on- or off-site siltation. Class II facilities that disturb between one and five acres may opt for a Small Construction Rainfall Erosivity Waiver, but must nonetheless comply with Article V, Chapter 5 of the AHMC, ensuring BMPs for erosion and siltation are implemented. Class II facilities under one acre, though exempt from the Construction General Permit, are bound by the AHMC’s BMP requirements, ensuring consistent erosion and sediment controls for construction of all Class II facilities. Therefore, construction of the Class II facilities would have a less than significant impact involving substation erosion or siltation.

The AHMC explicitly requires that post-development runoff rates and volumes do not exceed predevelopment conditions, which would ensure construction of the Class II facilities would not increase downstream flood peaks. For larger Class II facilities covered by the Construction General Permit, hydrologic modeling submitted in the SWPPP would demonstrate that peak flow rates for the 10-, 25-, and 100-year storms remain unchanged. Therefore, construction of the Class II facilities would have a less than significant impact involving on- or off-site flooding.

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The potential for additional pollutants to enter surface waters during construction of the Class II facilities would be addressed in the SWPPP (if required) and under the AHMC’s BMP requirements.

The SWPPP prescribes pollution prevention measures for all potential sources of contamination— concrete washout areas, fuel and chemical storage zones, vehicle maintenance areas, and material stockpiles. These measures include covered staging areas, secondary containment, designated washout locations, and spill-response plans that together prevent oils, metals, and other chemicals from becoming entrained in stormwater. Article V applies these same standards to all Class II facilities, regardless of size, so even projects exempt from the Construction General Permit would implement run-on/run-off controls and strict handling procedures. Therefore, construction of the Class II facilities would have a less than significant impact involving additional sources of polluted runoff.

Construction activities associated with the Class II facilities would not impede or redirect flood flows because no permanent structures would be placed within mapped floodways or active channels, and natural overland flow paths would be preserved. Therefore, construction of the Class II facilities would have a less than significant impact involving impeded or redirected flood flows.

Operation of the Class II facilities would consist of bicycle travel along delineated bike lanes and would not introduce new land uses with the potential to generate erosion, sedimentation, or additional water pollutants relative to existing conditions. Operation of the Class II facilities would thus not have the potential to substantially alter the existing drainage pattern of the Project area, including through the alteration of the course of a stream or river or through the addition of impervious surfaces, in a manner which would result in substantial erosion or siltation on or off site, would result in flooding on or off site, would provide substantial additional sources of polluted runoff, or would impede or redirect flood flows. There would be no impact.

Class III Facilities
Construction of the Class III facilities would not substantially alter the existing drainage pattern of the Project area and would not alter the course of a stream or river because no streams or rivers are located within the Project area. Construction of the Class III facilities would be required to comply with Article V, Chapter 5 of the AHMC, which requires implementation of BMPs designed to minimize erosion and retain sediment on site. Compliance with Article V, Chapter 5 of the AHMC would minimize sediment discharge in stormwater runoff. Therefore, construction of the Class III facilities would not substantially alter the existing drainage pattern of the Project area, including through the alteration of the course of a stream or river or through the addition of impervious surfaces, in a manner which would result in substantial erosion or siltation on or off site, would result in flooding on or off site, would provide substantial additional sources of polluted runoff, or would impede or redirect flood flows. This impact would be less than significant.

Operation of the Class III facilities would consist of bicycle travel along shared use travel lanes and would not introduce new land uses with the potential to generate erosion, sedimentation, or additional water pollutants relative to existing conditions. Operation of the Class III facilities would thus not have the potential to substantially alter the existing drainage pattern of the Project area, including through the alteration of the course of a stream or river or through the addition of impervious surfaces, in a manner which would result in substantial erosion or siltation on or off site, would result in flooding on or off site, would provide substantial additional sources of polluted runoff, or would impede or redirect flood flows. There would be no impact.

Environmental Impact Analysis
Hydrology and Water Quality
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.7-21
Class IV Facilities
Construction of the Class IV facilities would not substantially alter the existing drainage pattern of the Project area and would not alter the course of a stream or river because no streams or rivers are located within the Project area. The Class IV facilities would be located within existing roadways, and would not result in the addition of new, paved areas.

Class IV facilities that disturb more than one acre are subject to the SWRCB Construction General Permit, which mandates preparation and implementation of a SWPPP. The SWPPP identifies and prescribes sediment controls—such as silt fences, sediment basins, and stabilized construction entrances—to maintain pre-development flow paths and prevent on- or off-site siltation. Class IV facilities that disturb between one and five acres may opt for a Small Construction Rainfall Erosivity Waiver, but must nonetheless comply with Article V, Chapter 5 of the AHMC, ensuring BMPs for erosion and siltation are implemented. Class IV facilities under one acre, though exempt from the Construction General Permit, are bound by the AHMC’s BMP requirements, ensuring consistent erosion and sediment controls for construction of all Class II facilities. Therefore, construction of the Class IV facilities would have a less than significant impact involving substation erosion or siltation.

The AHMC explicitly requires that post-development runoff rates and volumes do not exceed predevelopment conditions, which would ensure construction of the Class IV facilities would not increase downstream flood peaks. For larger Class IV facilities covered by the Construction General Permit, hydrologic modeling submitted in the SWPPP would demonstrate that peak flow rates for the 10-, 25-, and 100-year storms remain unchanged. Therefore, construction of the Class IV facilities would have a less than significant impact involving on- or off-site flooding.

The potential for additional pollutants to enter surface waters during construction of the Class IV facilities would be addressed in the SWPPP (if required) and under the AHMC’s BMP requirements.

The SWPPP prescribes pollution prevention measures for all potential sources of contamination— concrete washout areas, fuel and chemical storage zones, vehicle maintenance areas, and material stockpiles. These measures include covered staging areas, secondary containment, designated washout locations, and spill-response plans that together prevent oils, metals, and other chemicals from becoming entrained in stormwater. Article V applies these same standards to all Class IV facilities, regardless of size, so even projects exempt from the Construction General Permit would implement run-on/run-off controls and strict handling procedures. Therefore, construction of the Class IV facilities would have a less than significant impact involving additional sources of polluted runoff.

Construction activities associated with the Class IV facilities would not impede or redirect flood flows because no permanent structures would be placed within mapped floodways or active channels, and natural overland flow paths would be preserved. Therefore, construction of the Class IV facilities would have a less than significant impact involving impeded or redirected flood flows.

Operation of the Class IV facilities would consist of bicycle travel along physically separated bikeways and would not introduce new land uses with the potential to generate erosion, sedimentation, or additional water pollutants relative to existing conditions. Operation of the Class IV facilities would thus not have the potential to substantially alter the existing drainage pattern of the Project area, including through the alteration of the course of a stream or river or through the addition of impervious surfaces, in a manner which would result in substantial erosion or siltation on or off site, would result in flooding on or off site, would provide substantial additional sources of polluted runoff, or would impede or redirect flood flows. There would be no impact.

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Enhanced Bicycle Treatments
Enhanced bicycle treatments would include street striping and restriping, signage and wayfinding, bicycle signals and detection at traffic signals, bicycle parking, and bicycle repair facilities.

Construction and operation of the enhanced bicycle treatments would not result in the addition of new, paved areas. Therefore, the enhanced bicycle treatments would not increase impervious surface area. Construction of the enhanced bicycle treatments would comply with Article V, Chapter 5 of the AHMC, which requires implementation of BMPs to control runoff from construction sites.

Construction and operation of the enhanced bicycle treatments would not have the potential to substantially alter the existing drainage pattern of the Project area, including through the alteration of the course of a stream or river or through the addition of impervious surfaces, in a manner which would result in substantial erosion or siltation on or off site, would result in flooding on or off site, would provide substantial additional sources of polluted runoff, or would impede or redirect flood flows. No impact would occur.

General Plan Amendments
As part of the proposed Project, the City must amend Chapter 3, Infrastructure and Community Services, of the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 to ensure consistency with the proposed BMP. These General Plan Amendments shift the focus from prioritizing automobile mobility to reducing VMT through alternative transportation modes like walking and biking, guided by the BMP.

The proposed General Plan Amendments would not result in construction or operation activities beyond existing conditions. Therefore, the Amendments would not have the potential to substantially alter the existing drainage pattern of the Project area, including through the alteration of the course of a stream or river or through the addition of impervious surfaces, in a manner which would result in substantial erosion or siltation on or off site, would result in flooding on or off site, would provide substantial additional sources of polluted runoff, or would impede or redirect flood flows. No impact would occur.

Mitigation Measures
No mitigation measures would be required.

Significance After Mitigation
Impacts would be less than significant without mitigation.

Threshold 4: In flood hazard, tsunami, or seiche zones, would the project risk release of pollutants due to project inundation?
Impact HYD-4 THE PROPOSED PROJECT WOULD NOT RISK THE RELEASE OF POLLUTANTS DUE TO PROJECT INUNDATION IN FLOOD HAZARD, TSUNAMI, OR SEICHE ZONES. IMPACTS WOULD BE LESS THAN SIGNIFICANT.

Class I Facilities
The proposed Class I facilities are not located within a flood hazard zone, tsunami inundation zone, or seiche inundation zone (FEMA 2008, 2018). Therefore, the Class I facilities would not have the potential to be subject to inundation, and no impact would occur.

Environmental Impact Analysis
Hydrology and Water Quality
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.7-23

MEDEA CREEK PATH
The Path is not located within a tsunami inundation zone or a seiche inundation zone. However, the Path is located within FEMA Zone AE and Zone B, which are designated as special flood hazard areas (FEMA 2008, 2018). Implementation of erosion control measures and BMPs as part of the SWPPP, as required by the Construction General Permit, would reduce the potential for release of pollutants during construction of the Path. Operation of the Path would consist of bicycle and pedestrian travel along a shared use path and would not involve the use of hazardous materials, and thus would not create a risk associated with the release of pollutants should the Path be inundated during a flooding event. Therefore, impacts involving the release of pollutants due to inundation would be less than significant.

AGOURA HIGH SCHOOL CONNECTION
The Connection is not located within a flood hazard zone, tsunami inundation zone, or a seiche inundation zone. Therefore, the Connection would not have the potential to be subject to inundation, and no impact would occur.

Class II Facilities
The proposed Class II facilities are not located within a flood hazard zone, tsunami inundation zone, or a seiche inundation zone. Therefore, the Class II facilities would not have the potential to be subject to inundation, and no impact would occur.

Class III Facilities
The proposed Class III facilities are not located within a tsunami inundation zone or a seiche inundation zone. However, six of the proposed Class III facilities are located within FEMA Zone AE and Zone B, which are designated as special flood hazard areas (FEMA 2008, 2018). Construction of the Class III facilities would be limited to the restriping of existing roads to identify bike routes, which would not involve ground disturbance, and thus compliance with the Construction General Permit, and implementation of an associated SWPPP, would not be required. However, implementation of BMPs for runoff control as required by Article V, Chapter 5 of the AHMC would reduce the potential for release of pollutants during construction of the Class III facilities. Operation of the Class III facilities would not involve the use of hazardous materials and thus would not create a risk associated with the release of pollutants should the proposed Class III bike paths be inundated during a flooding event. Therefore, impacts involving the release of pollutants due to inundation would be less than significant.

Class IV Facilities
The proposed Class IV facilities are not located within a flood hazard zone, tsunami inundation zone, or a seiche inundation zone. Therefore, the Class IV facilities would not have the potential to be subject to inundation, and no impact would occur.

Enhanced Bicycle Treatments
The enhanced bicycle treatments are not located within a tsunami inundation zone or a seiche inundation zone. However, some of the enhanced bicycle treatments may be located within FEMA Zone AE and Zone B, which are designated as special flood hazard areas (FEMA 2008, 2018).

Implementation of BMPs for runoff control, as required by Article V, Chapter 5 of the AHMC, would reduce the potential for release of pollutants during construction of the enhanced bicycle City of Agoura Hills
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treatments. Operation of the enhanced bicycle treatments would not involve the use of hazardous materials and thus would not create a risk associated with the release of pollutants, should the enhanced bicycle treatments be inundated during a flood event. Therefore, impacts involving the release of pollutants due to inundation would be less than significant.

General Plan Amendments
The Amendments would not facilitate direct or indirect development that could risk the release of pollutants due to inundation. No impact would occur.

Mitigation Measures
No mitigation measures would be required.

Significance After Mitigation
Impacts would be less than significant without mitigation.

Threshold 5: Would the project conflict with or obstruct implementation of a water quality control plan or sustainable groundwater management plan?
Impact HYD-5 THE PROPOSED PROJECT WOULD NOT CONFLICT WITH OR OBSTRUCT IMPLEMENTATION OF A WATER QUALITY CONTROL PLAN OR SUSTAINABLE GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT PLAN. IMPACTS WOULD BE LESS THAN SIGNIFICANT.

The Project area overlies the Russell Valley Groundwater Basin, which is designated as Very Low Priority and is not in a state of overdraft (DWR 2025). As discussed under Impact HYD-2, construction of the proposed Project would not require groundwater dewatering and therefore would not decrease groundwater supplies or interfere with recharge. The proposed Project would not require a water supply during operation. In addition, there is no Groundwater Sustainability Plan because the Basin is low priority and it is not required under SGMA. Therefore, the proposed Project would not conflict with or obstruct implementation of a Groundwater Sustainability Plan.

As discussed under Impact HYD-1, construction of the proposed Project would involve soildisturbing activities that would effectively be controlled through implementation of erosion control measures and BMPs as required by the AHMC and Construction General Permit (if applicable).

Impacts to water quality during operation of the proposed Project would be effectively controlled through compliance with existing water quality standards. Consequently, the proposed Project would not conflict with a water quality control plan, and impacts would be less than significant.

Mitigation Measures
No mitigation measures would be required.

Significance After Mitigation
Impacts would be less than significant without mitigation.

4.7.4 Cumulative Impacts
The cumulative study area for hydrology and water quality is the Malibu Creek Watershed.

Cumulative development in the Malibu Creek Watershed would be a continuation of the existing Environmental Impact Analysis
Hydrology and Water Quality
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.7-25
urban pattern of development that has already resulted in extensive modifications to watercourses in the Project area. Specifically, many of the Project area’s watercourses have been channelized, and drainage systems have been put into place to respond to the past urbanization that has occurred in this area. For the cumulative analysis related to hydrology and water quality, the cumulative projects being considered include the related projects listed in Chapter 3, Environmental Setting, which all discharge to the same watershed as the proposed Project. Each of these related projects could potentially increase impervious surfaces throughout the region, redirect stormwater runoff during storm events, increase the peak flow of stormwater runoff, and contribute to pollutant loading in stormwater runoff reaching both the storm drain system and the downstream receiving waters, such as Palo Comado Creek, Lake Lindero, Lindero Creek, and Medea Creek. However, all of the cumulative projects, including the proposed Project, would be required to comply with NPDES and local water quality requirements and drainage standards. All projects that disturb one acre or more of soil must comply with the requirements of the Construction General Permit. Furthermore, all projects in Agoura Hills must comply with Article V, Chapter 5 of the AHMC. Implementation of BMPs, as required, would address drainage and surface water quality protection. As a result, cumulative impacts on water quality, drainage, flooding, and sedimentation would be less than significant.

The cumulative study area for groundwater is the Russell Valley Groundwater Basin. For the cumulative analysis related to groundwater, the cumulative projects being considered include the related projects listed in Chapter 3, Environmental Setting, which are located above the same groundwater basin or would utilize groundwater from the same groundwater basin as the proposed Project. Cumulative increases in impervious surface areas above the groundwater basin could affect groundwater recharge, and additional water demand would occur due to population growth associated with buildout of the City of Agoura Hills. Potential increases in groundwater pumping above current levels due to buildout of the region could potentially decrease available groundwater supplies. However, each cumulative project, including the proposed Project, would be reviewed by the City of Agoura Hills to confirm adequate water supplies are available such that water supplied from groundwater sources would not substantially decrease groundwater supplies. Finally, the Russell Valley Groundwater Basin is not in a state of overdraft or designated as a medium or high priority groundwater basin, and water supplied to cumulative development from groundwater would not substantially decrease groundwater supplies. Therefore, cumulative impacts to groundwater resources would be less than significant.

The cumulative study area for flooding and inundation consists of special flood hazard areas within the City of Agoura Hills. Cumulative development within these areas, which include Lake Lindero, Lindero Creek, Medea Creek, and lands adjacent to these three waterbodies, could result in increased flooding, including redirection of flood flows, increases in flood boundaries, and increases in flood elevations. For the cumulative analysis related to flooding and inundation, the cumulative projects being considered include the related projects listed in Chapter 3, Environmental Setting, within the City of Agoura Hills. Each cumulative project that encroaches in a floodplain would be reviewed by the City of Agoura Hills and FEMA to verify compliance with all applicable regulations governing development within floodplain. If required, FEMA would revise the Flood Insurance Rate Map to reflect changes in floodplains resulting from the cumulative projects. Review of floodplain encroachments by the City of Agoura Hills and FEMA are designed to prevent substantial changes to the floodplain as a result of cumulative development in the region. As a result, cumulative impacts related to flooding would be less than significant.

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Environmental Impact Analysis
Land Use and Planning
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.8-1

4.8 Land Use and Planning
The analysis in this section considers potential impacts to land use and planning. Specifically, this section discusses the environmental and regulatory setting; the criteria used to determine the significance of environmental impacts related to land use and planning; and potential impacts related to land use and planning that would result from implementation of the proposed Project.

4.8.1 Setting
a. Current Land Use Pattern
The Project area, which encompasses all of the City of Agoura Hills, is located in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains on the far western edge of Los Angeles County in the Conejo Valley. The city is located approximately 36 miles west of downtown Los Angeles, encompasses approximately 4,366 acres, and is bisected by U.S. Highway 101 (Ventura Freeway), which runs east-west in the southern portion of the city. Rolling hills and a blend of semi-rural and suburban development characterize the City of Agoura Hills, which is known for its distinct neighborhoods, natural landscapes, and recreational resources.

Residential development is the predominant land use in the city; housing accounts for approximately 38 percent of the city‘s land uses. Approximately 32 percent of the city‘s land use is park and open space, the second largest land use category. There are over 700 acres of vacant land in the city, which is approximately 16 percent of the city’s land use (City of Agoura Hills 2010a).

Vacant land includes land where development is currently proposed and pending but not yet constructed, such as land within an adopted Specific Plan and land with regulatory and/or topographical constraints.
b. Residential
Although residential uses in the city have some variety in development densities, the majority (65 percent) are considered single-family residential, ranging between two and six dwelling units per acre. Single-family residential uses are found throughout the city but are primarily concentrated north of the Ventura Freeway. Approximately 24 percent of residential uses are classified as low to very low density, with densities ranging between 0.2 and two dwelling units per acre. These low densities are concentrated in the eastern area of the city, known as Old Agoura. The city allows for medium- and high-density residential uses, but these areas represent a much smaller proportion of the total residences (11 percent) (City of Agoura Hills 2022). c. Nonresidential
Commercial development occupies approximately 163 acres (less than 4 percent) of the city‘s total land area (City of Agoura Hills 2022). Commercial uses include neighborhood centers, shopping centers, mixed use centers, retail spaces, restaurants, hotels, and commercial recreation.

Commercial uses are concentrated along Kanan Road, Agoura Road, and near the Ventura Freeway.

Recent retail development near the Ventura Freeway includes household goods sales, such as furniture, rugs, and appliances. These developments are a regional commercial draw to Agoura Hills (City of Agoura Hills 2010a). Business parks occupy approximately 189 acres (four percent) of the city‘s total land area (City of Agoura Hills 2022). This land use is concentrated along Canwood Street and Agoura Road (City of Agoura Hills 2010a). Chapter 2, Community Conservation & Development, City of Agoura Hills
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of the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 identifies approximately 875 acres of planned nonresidential development (City of Agoura Hills 2010a). d. Parks and Open Space
Park and open space land uses include open space, local parks, and private recreation uses.

Restricted open space accounts for approximately 1,000 acres (23 percent) of the city‘s land area, permanent open space (deed-restricted open space) accounts for approximately 304 acres (7 percent) of the city‘s land area, and local parks account for approximately 74 acres (less than 2 percent) of the city’s total land area (City of Agoura Hills 2022). e. Drainage, Floodplain, and Water Course
Drainages, floodplains, and watercourses comprise approximately 38 acres (less than 1 percent) of the city‘s total land use. Drainage areas consist of concrete-lined channels and Lake Lindero. There are approximately 15 acres of open water within the city (City of City of Agoura Hills 2010a; City of Agoura Hills 2022).
f. Government, School, and Utility
Public facilities account for approximately 90 acres (2 percent) of the city’s total land use (City of Agoura Hills 2022). Public facilities include city, county, and other government properties and facilities. In the City of Agoura Hills, these facilities include public libraries, public schools, fire and police stations, City Hall, U.S. Post Offices, the County of Los Angeles Animal Shelter, and the County of Los Angeles Flood Control Yard. Public facilities also include public utilities and utility rights of way, including electrical utility facilities, water tanks, and a pump station (City of Agoura Hills 2010a).

4.8.2 Regulatory Setting
a. Federal Regulations
There are no federal regulations related to land use applicable to the proposed Project. b. State Regulations
Senate Bill 375
Senate Bill (SB) 375 requires that a metropolitan planning organization adopt a sustainable communities strategy as part of its regional transportation plan to reduce GHGG emissions from cars and light trucks in a region. SB 375 requires the State Air Resources Board, working in consultation with metropolitan planning organization, to provide each region with GHG emission reduction targets for the automobile and light truck sector. Agoura Hills is located within the Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy developed by the Southern California Association of Governments.

Environmental Impact Analysis
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Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.8-3
c. Regional and Local Regulations
Connect SoCal 2024
The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) is the regional planning agency for Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Imperial Counties. SCAG addresses regional issues relating to transportation, the economy, community development, and the environment. Every four years, SCAG updates their Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (RTP/SCS), as required by federal and state regulations. On April 4, 2024, SCAG’s Regional Council formally approved Connect SoCal 2024, the 2024-2050 RTP/SCS.

Connect SoCal 2024 builds upon the progress made through the 2020-2045 RTP/SCS. It includes ten goals focused on promoting economic prosperity, improving mobility, protecting the environment, and supporting healthy/complete communities. Implementation strategies include focusing growth near destinations and mobility options, promoting diverse housing choices, leveraging technology innovations, and supporting implementation of sustainability policies.

The SCS portion of Connect SoCal 2024 establishes a land use vision of center-focused placemaking, concentrating growth in and near Priority Growth Areas, transferring development rights, implementing urban greening, creating greenbelts and community separators, and implementing regional advanced mitigation. Overall, the RTP/SCS contributes to the fundamental goals of making the SCAG region a better place to live, work, and play for all residents regardless of race, ethnicity, or income class. Thus, decisions regarding growth, transportation, land use, and economic development should be made to promote and sustain the region‘s mobility, livability, and prosperity for future generations.

City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035
The City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 was adopted on March 24, 2010 (updated on August 10, 2022) by the City Council (City of Agoura Hills 2022). The City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 is a strategic document designed to guide the physical development of the city until the year 2035.

Among other things, the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 sets out the pattern of land uses, including residential, commercial, and industrial. It also establishes the system of streets, bikeways, and trails. The City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 addresses a wide variety of subject areas, including housing, traffic, natural resources, land uses, economic development, noise, and public safety.

The City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 contains the following goals and policies related to land use and planning, which would apply to the proposed Project Goal LU-3. Open space lands that are preserved to maintain the visual quality of the City and provide recreational opportunities, protect the public from safety hazards, and conserve natural resources.

Policy LU-3.3. Provide a network of open spaces and greenbelts with pedestrian access where appropriate.

Goal LU-4. Structure and form of development that respects Agoura Hills‘ natural setting; maintains distinct and interconnected places for residents to live, shop, work, and play; and is more compact to reduce automobile dependence.

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Policy LU-4.2. Maintain and, where incomplete, develop a citywide network of open spaces that is connected to and provides access for all neighborhoods and districts incorporating greenbelts, drainage corridors, parklands, bicycle and pedestrian paths, equestrian trails, and natural open spaces.

Policy LU-4.8. Promote the development of complete pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicular connections that provide access from all residential neighborhoods to commercial, employment, cultural, civic, recreational, and open space destinations.

Goal LU-5. Development and land use practices that sustain natural environmental resources, the economy, and societal well-being for use by future generations, which, in turn, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and impacts on climate change.

Policy LU-5.4. Promote land development practices that reduce energy and water consumption, pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and waste.

Goal LU-9. Maintenance of the identity, scale, and character of the City‘s distinct residential neighborhoods.

Policy LU-9.2. Ensure that existing neighborhoods contain a diverse mix of parks and open spaces that are connected by trails, pathways, and bikeways and are within easy walking distance of residents.

Goal LU-13. Retail centers and corridors that are well-designed and attractive, providing a positive experience for visitors and community residents, and fostering business activity.

Policy LU-13.1. Make centers more pedestrian friendly, reduce visual clutter associated with signage, and enhance the definition and character of the street frontage and associated streetscape.

Goal LU-19. Open space lands that provide an attractive environmental setting for Agoura Hills and visual relief from development, protect the viability of natural resources and habitat, offer passive recreational opportunities for residents and visitors, and protect residents from the risks of natural hazards.

Policy LU-19.1. Maintain a multi-functional “green infrastructure” consisting of natural areas, open spaces, urban forest, and parklands, which serves as a defining physical feature of Agoura Hills, provides visitors and residents with access to open spaces and recreation, is designed for environmental sustainability, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

Policy LU-19.2. Place a high priority on acquiring and preserving open space lands for purposes of passive recreation, habitat protection and enhancement, resource conservation, flood hazard management, public safety purposes, and overall community benefit.

Goal LU-21. An economically viable commercial center serving residents of adjoining neighborhoods, where the physical appearance of buildings, landscapes, and public rights-of-way are improved to complement the neighborhood‘s quality and character.

Policy LU-21.3. Improve the public streets and sidewalks that enhance the visual character and quality of the neighborhood commercial district, considering such elements as landscape; welldesigned benches, trash receptacles, and other street furniture; decorative sidewalk and crosswalk paving; and pedestrian-oriented lighting; wayfinding signage.

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Goal LU-27. Improvement of the economic vitality of the existing commercial shopping centers and re-positioning as a focal point of neighborhood identity, activity, and socialization.

Policy LU-27.4. Improve sidewalks and crosswalks with distinctive paving materials and pedestrian-oriented amenities, provide bikeway connections, where feasible, to improve the inter-connectivity of the shopping centers with one another and adjoining residential neighborhoods.

Agoura Village Specific Plan
The Agoura Village Specific Plan, adopted in 2008 and updated in 2024, is a long-range planning effort intended to guide the revitalization, appropriate uses, and beautification of the Agoura Village (City of Agoura Hills 2024b). The Specific Plan area encompasses approximately 135 acres of developed and underdeveloped land running along both sides of Agoura Road, one block west of Kanan Road to approximately two blocks east of Cornell Road. Roadside Drive and the Ventura Freeway border the Specific Plan area to the north, and open space borders the Specific Plan area to the south.

Chapter 3, Streetscape Beautification & Public Improvements, of the Agoura Village Specific Plan provides recommendations for street beautification amenities and gateways. This Chapter indicates that bicycle racks shall be installed at convenient locations along Agoura Road, at any future bus stop, and conveniently located near building entries that are centrally located within development and not facing Agoura Road. Chapter 4, Mobility, of the Agoura Village Specific Plan identifies opportunities for new or improved pedestrian, bicycle, and transit infrastructure, and traffic calming concepts. This chapter also notes that all bicycle facilities within the Specific Plan area shall be constructed in accordance with Figure M-7 of the General Plan, which will be updated as part of the General Plan Amendments.

City of Agoura Hills Municipal Code
Article IX of the Agoura Hills Municipal Code (AHMC) contains the city’s Zoning Code, which serves as the primary implementation tool of the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035. Whereas the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 is a policy document and sets forth direction for development decisions, the Zoning Code is a regulatory document that establishes specific standards for the use and development of all land in the city. The specific zoning districts, identified in Chapter 1 of the Zoning Ordinance, guide which specific uses are permitted in which locations throughout the city.

4.8.3 Impact Analysis
a. Methodology and Significance Thresholds
As discussed in Section 4.0, Environmental Impact Analysis, all Project components are analyzed at the programmatic level. Project components include the Bicycle Master Plan (BMP), the VMT Mitigation Exchange and Banking Program (Program), and the General Plan Amendments (Amendments). Projects included within the BMP are grouped into Class I facilities, Class II facilities, Class III facilities, Class IV facilities, and enhanced bicycle treatments, as identified in Section 2.5, Project Characteristics, and in Table 1 of Chapter 2, Project Description. The impact analysis contained herein provides a programmatic analysis of anticipated impacts for each of the five facility classes, as the individual project impacts associated with each class of facility are expected to be similar. Because the City seeks to prioritize implementation of the Medea Creek Path (Path) and the Agoura High School Connection (Connection), the Path and the Connection have their own City of Agoura Hills
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subheadings within the Class I Facility impact analysis subsection to provide a more specific assessment of their environmental impacts. Impacts associated with the General Plan Amendments are analyzed within their own subsection.

As discussed in Chapter 2, Project Description, the only projects that are currently planned, unfunded, and could potentially be funded by the VMT Mitigation Exchange and Banking Program are those currently included within the BMP. Therefore, the impact analysis contained herein does not include a subsection for impacts associated with the Program, as the individual project list for the BMP and the Program are identical and impacts associated with the BMP would encompass impacts associated with the Program.

Within the following environmental analysis, impacts associated with each Project component are explicitly identified under the respective heading.

According to State CEQA Guidelines Appendix G, , impacts related to land use and planning would be significant if the proposed Project would:

Physically divide an established community; or,
Cause a significant environmental impact due to a conflict with any land use plan, policy, or regulation adopted for the purpose of avoiding or mitigating an environmental effect. b. Project Impacts and Mitigation Measures
Threshold 1: Would the Project physically divide an established community? Impact LU-1 THE PROPOSED PROJECT WOULD RESULT IN THE ADDITION OF NEW AND IMPROVED

BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN PATHWAYS IN THE CITY OF AGOURA HILLS, WHICH WOULD ENHANCE LOCAL AND REGIONAL CONNECTIVITY. THIS IMPACT WOULD BE LESS THAN SIGNIFICANT.

Implementation of individual projects identified within the BMP would involve construction activities such as clearing and grubbing, pavement demolition, grading, subgrade stabilization, utility relocation, construction of undercrossings and/or overcrossings, installation of retaining walls, construction of bollards and fencing, asphalt paving or repaving, striping, restriping, reconfiguration and/or revegetation. Construction activities would require use of delivery trucks, vehicles, and other construction equipment, as well as the creation of storage, staging, and active work areas. These areas would be located within or adjacent to the identified project boundaries. At the time of construction, should the construction contractor require additional staging areas, they would be responsible for identifying and securing long-term staging areas on previously disturbed storage yards, the locations of which are currently unknown. Nonetheless, construction of individual projects could affect roadways and the circulation system if construction were to occur within roadway rights-of-way (ROWs) or require temporary lane closures. A construction traffic control plan would be prepared and implemented for any construction activities occurring within the roadway ROW in accordance with the California Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). The construction traffic control plan would include the use of flaggers during temporary lane closures and would ensure the use of proper signage, buffer zones, barriers, and reduced speed limits around construction zones consistent with Chapter 6 (Flagger Control) of the MUTCD, and no detours would be required (Caltrans 2014). Therefore, construction activities would not physically divide an established community.

Implementation of the Project would not result in the development of structures or buildings.

Operation of individual projects identified within the BMP would consist of bicycle and pedestrian Environmental Impact Analysis
Land Use and Planning
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.8-7
travel along shared use paths, delineated bike lanes, shared use travel lanes, and physically separated bikeways. Operation of the enhanced bicycle treatments would also include continued use of existing bicycle facilities, storing of bicycles at new parking facilities, and use of bicycle repair facilities. Use of these bicycle facilities would result in improved connectivity within the city by enhancing local mobility options and providing a diverse network of interconnected bicycle and pedestrian corridors and support facilities that aim to link local and regional destinations.

As part of the proposed Project, the City must also amend Chapter 3, Infrastructure and Community Services, of the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 to ensure consistency with the proposed BMP. The proposed General Plan Amendments would not result in physical development that could physically divide an established community.

Overall, implementation of the proposed Project would not physically divide an established community. No impact would occur.

Mitigation Measures
No mitigation measures would be required.

Significance After Mitigation
No impact would occur.

Threshold 2: Would the Project cause a significant environmental impact due to a conflict with any land use plan, policy, or regulation adopted to avoid or mitigate an environmental effect?
Impact LU-2 THE PROPOSED PROJECT WOULD BE CONSISTENT WITH CONNECT SOCAL 2024, THE CITY OF AGOURA HILLS GENERAL PLAN 2035, AND THE AGOURA VILLAGE SPECIFIC PLAN. THIS IMPACT WOULD BE LESS THAN SIGNIFICANT.

The primary land use plans relevant to the proposed Project are the RTP/SCS (Connect SoCal 2024) (SCAG 2024), the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035, and the Agoura Village Specific Plan.

Implementation of the proposed Project would result in shared use bicycle and pedestrian paths, delineated bike lanes, shared use travel lanes, and physically separated bikeways. Operation of these facilities would be consistent with the Connect SoCal 2024 goals aimed at reducing emissions from transportation sources, as the proposed Project would encourage alternative travel modes.

The Connect SoCal 2024 goals that the project would advance are as follows:

Mobility. Build and maintain and integrated multimodal transportation network.

Mobility Goal 1. Support investments that are well-maintained and operated, coordinated, resilient and result in improved safety, improved air quality and minimized greenhouse gas emissions.

Environment. Create a healthy region for the people today and tomorrow.

Environment Goal 2. Integrate the region’s development pattern and transportation network to improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enable more sustainable use of energy and water.

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Implementation of the BMP would also be consistent with City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 goals and policies, including Policy LU-3.3, which aims to provide a network of open spaces and greenbelts with pedestrian access; Policy LU-4.8, which aims to promote the development of complete pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicular connections that provide access from all residential neighborhoods to commercial, employment, cultural, civic, recreational, and open space destinations; Policy LU-5.4, which aims to promote land development practices that reduce energy consumption, pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions; and, Policy LU-27.4, which aims to improve sidewalks and crosswalks with pedestrian-oriented amenities and provide bikeway connections.

Implementation of the BMP would also result in the installation of enhanced bicycle treatments at various locations throughout the city. These facilities would include street striping and restriping, signage and wayfinding, bicycle signals and detection at traffic signals, bicycle parking, and bicycle repair facilities. Installation of these facilities would be consistent with Chapter 3, Streetscape Beautification & Public Improvements, of the Agoura Village Specific Plan, which calls for bicycle racks at convenient locations along Agoura Road, at any future bus stop, and conveniently located near building entries that are centrally located within development.

As part of the proposed Project, the City must also amend Chapter 3, Infrastructure and Community Services, of the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 to ensure consistency with the proposed BMP. These General Plan Amendments shift the focus from prioritizing automobile mobility to reducing VMT through alternative transportation modes like walking and biking, guided by the BMP.

This shift in focus to reducing VMT would be consistent with the Connect SoCal 2024 goals aimed at reducing emissions from transportation sources and City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 Policy LU-5.4, which aims to promote land development practices that reduce energy consumption, pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions.

Implementation of the BMP would also be consistent with the City of Agoura Hills Zoning Code. The BMP proposes the installation and enhancement of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, including shared use paths, bike lanes, and support facilities, which are permitted within public rights-of-way and open space areas. It does not propose changes to existing land uses or introduce incompatible uses in any zoning district. Therefore, implementation of the BMP would not conflict with the City’s Zoning Code and would result in a less than significant impact.

Overall, the proposed Project would not cause a significant environmental impact due to a conflict with any land use plan, policy, or regulation adopted for the purposes of avoiding or mitigating an environmental effect.

Mitigation Measures
No mitigation measures would be required.

Significance After Mitigation
Impacts would be less than significant without mitigation.

4.8.4 Cumulative Impacts
The geographic scope for cumulative impacts related to land use and planning is the Project area, which encompasses all of the City of Agoura Hills. Past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future projects, including the projects listed in Table 3-1, would not physically divide an established community because these cumulative projects do not involve the creation of new linear features, such as roads, that could divide the community or prohibit mobility within the community. Conflicts Environmental Impact Analysis
Land Use and Planning
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.8-9
regarding compatibility between past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future projects, and applicable land use plans, policies, or regulations would be localized and addressed on a case-bycase basis, with potential impacts being reduced through design review for consistency with the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 and the Agoura Village Specific Plan. Therefore, cumulative development would not result in a significant cumulative impact related to land use and planning.

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Environmental Impact Analysis
Noise
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.9-1

4.9 Noise
The analysis in this section considers potential impacts related to noise and vibration. Specifically, this section discusses the environmental and regulatory setting; the criteria used to determine the significance of environmental impacts related to noise and vibration; and potential impacts related to noise and vibration that would result from implementation of the proposed Project.

4.9.1 Setting
a. Noise
Sound is a vibratory disturbance created by a moving or vibrating source, which is capable of being detected by the hearing organs. Noise is defined as sound that is loud, unpleasant, unexpected, or undesired and may therefore be classified as a more specific group of sounds. The effects of noise on people can include general annoyance, interference with speech communication, sleep disturbance, and, in the extreme, hearing impairment (California Department of Transportation [Caltrans] 2013).

Noise level (or volume) is generally measured in decibels (dB) using the A-weighted sound pressure level (dBA). The A-weighted scale is an adjustment to the actual sound pressure levels so that the levels are consistent with the human hearing response, which is most sensitive to frequencies around 4,000 Hertz (Hz) and less sensitive to frequencies around and below 100 Hz. In addition to the actual instantaneous measurement of sound levels, the duration of sound is important since sounds that occur over a long period of time are more likely to be an annoyance or cause direct physical damage or environmental stress. One of the most frequently used noise metrics that considers both duration and sound power level is the equivalent noise level (Leq). The Leq is defined as the single steady A-weighted level that is equivalent to the same amount of energy as contained in fluctuating levels of sound over a period of time. Typically, Leq is summed over a one-hour period (Caltrans 2013).

Sound pressure is measured on a logarithmic scale with the 0 dB level based on the lowest detectable sound pressure level that people can perceive (an audible sound that is not zero sound pressure level). Based on the logarithmic scale, a doubling of sound energy is equivalent to an increase of 3 dB and a sound that is 10 dB less than the ambient sound level has no effect on ambient noise. Because of the nature of the human ear, a sound must be approximately 10 dB greater than the reference sound to be judged as twice as loud. In general, a 3 dBA change in community noise levels is noticeable, while 1-2 dBA changes generally are not perceived. Quiet suburban areas typically have noise levels in the range of 40 to 50 dBA, while noise levels along arterial streets are generally in the 50 to 60+ dBA range. Normal conversational levels are in the 60- 65 dBA range and ambient noise levels greater than that can interrupt conversations.

Noise levels typically attenuate at a rate of 6 dBA per doubling of distance from point sources such as industrial machinery. Noise from roads typically attenuates at a rate of about 4.5 dBA per doubling of distance over absorptive ground surfaces (e.g., grass). Noise from roads typically attenuates at about 3 dBA per doubling of distance over reflective ground surfaces (e.g., pavement).

The actual time period in which noise occurs is also important since noise that occurs at night tends to be more disturbing than that which occurs during the daytime. To evaluate community noise on a 24-hour basis, the day-night average sound level was developed (Ldn). Ldn is the time average of all A-weighted levels for a 24-hour period with a 10 dB upward adjustment added to those noise levels City of Agoura Hills
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occurring between 10:00 PM and 7:00 AM to account for the general increased sensitivity of people to nighttime noise levels. The Community Noise Equivalent Level (CNEL) is identical to the Ldn with one exception. The CNEL adds 5 dB to evening noise levels (7:00 PM to 10:00 PM). Thus, both the Ldn and CNEL noise measures represent a 24-hour average of A-weighted noise levels with Ldn providing a nighttime adjustment and CNEL providing both an evening and nighttime adjustment (Caltrans 2013).
b. Vibration
Groundborne vibration of concern in environmental analysis consists of the oscillatory waves that move from a source through the ground to adjacent buildings or structures and vibration energy that may propagate through the buildings or structures. Vibration may be felt, may manifest as an audible low-frequency rumbling noise (referred to as groundborne noise), and may cause windows, items on shelves, and pictures on walls to rattle. Although groundborne vibration is sometimes noticeable in outdoor environments, it is almost never annoying to people who are outdoors. The primary concern from vibration is that it can be intrusive and annoying to building occupants at vibration-sensitive land uses and may cause structural damage.

Typically, ground-borne vibration generated by manmade activities attenuates rapidly as distance from the source of the vibration increases. Vibration amplitudes are usually expressed in peak particle velocity (PPV). The PPV velocity is normally described in inches per second (in/sec). PPV is defined as the maximum instantaneous positive or negative peak of a vibration signal. PPV is often used as it corresponds to the stresses that are experienced by buildings (Caltrans 2020).

High levels of groundborne vibration may cause damage to nearby building or structures; at lower levels, groundborne vibration may cause minor cosmetic (i.e., non-structural damage) such as cracks. These vibration levels are nearly exclusively associated with high impact activities such as blasting, pile-driving, vibratory compaction, demolition, drilling, or excavation. c. Sources of Noise and Vibration
The Project area encompasses all of the City of Agoura Hills. Motor vehicles, including cars/light trucks, buses, and various types of heavy-duty trucks, are the most substantial sources of noise in most of the Project area. These sources can be attributed to the extensive network of major, primary, and secondary arterials located throughout the city, as well as the large number of vehicle trips that occur each day. Railway and airport noise sources are located far from the City of Agoura Hills and therefore noise levels associated with those sources are negligible; specifically, the nearest airport (Van Nuys Airport) is located approximately 14.2 miles east of the city, and the nearest railroad tracks are located approximately 7.4 miles to the north of the city.

In order to classify existing noise levels from mobile noise sources, existing roadway noise contours are shown in in Figure N-1 of the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 (Agoura Hills 2022). U.S.

Highway 101 (Ventura Freeway) and arterial roads, such as Kanan Road, Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Agoura Road, generate the greatest level of noise exposure in the community. Existing residential uses in close proximity to these roadway segments could be exposed to high noise levels on a regular basis; noise levels along the Ventura Freeway corridor could exceed 70 dBA CNEL near the freeway (Caltrans 2017).

Environmental Impact Analysis
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d. Sensitive Receptors
Noise-sensitive land uses include locations where people reside or where the presence of unwanted sound could adversely affect the use of the land. Noise exposure goals for various types of land uses reflect the varying noise sensitivities associated with those uses. Chapter 5, Community Safety, of the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 identifies noise-sensitive land uses as schools, libraries, hospitals, other medical facilities, and residences (Agoura Hills 2022). Vibration-sensitive receptors, which are similar to noise-sensitive receptors, include residences and institutional uses, such as schools, churches, and hospitals. Vibration-sensitive receptors also include buildings where vibrations may interfere with vibration-sensitive equipment or historic buildings that could sustain damage from strong vibrations. Sensitive receptors adjacent to individual project site boundaries include residences, schools, and medical facilities.

4.9.2 Regulatory Setting
a. Federal Regulations
FTA Transit and Noise Vibration Impact Assessment Manual The FTA provides reasonable criteria for assessing construction noise impacts based on the potential for adverse community reaction in their Transit and Noise Vibration Impact Assessment Manual (FTA 2018). For residential, commercial, and industrial uses, the daytime noise threshold is 80 dBA Leq, 85 dBA Leq, and 90 dBA Leq for an eight-hour period, respectively.

Occupational Health and Safety Administration
The federal government regulates occupational noise exposure common in the workplace through the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) under the U.S. EPA. Noise limitations would apply to the operation of construction equipment and could also apply to operational equipment proposed as part of the Project. Noise exposure of this type is dependent on work conditions and is addressed through a facility’s Health and Safety Plan, as required under OSHA. b. State Regulations
California General Plan Guidelines, Government Code Section 65302(f) State law requires general plans to include a Noise Element under Government Code Section 65302(f). The California General Plan Guidelines, published by the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, indicate acceptable, specific land use types in areas with specific noise exposure. The guidelines also offer adjustment factors that may be used to arrive at noise acceptability standards that reflect the noise control goals of the community, the community’s sensitivity to noise, and the community’s assessment of the relative importance of noise pollution. These Guidelines are advisory, and local jurisdictions have the authority to set specific noise standards based on local conditions.
c. Local Regulations
City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035
The City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 was adopted on March 24, 2010 (updated on August 10, 2022) by the City Council (City of Agoura Hills 2022). The City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 is a City of Agoura Hills
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strategic document designed to guide the physical development of the city until the year 2035.

Among other things, the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 sets out the pattern of land uses, including residential, commercial, and industrial. It also establishes the system of streets, bikeways, and trails. The City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 addresses a wide variety of subject areas, including housing, traffic, natural resources, land uses, economic development, noise, and public safety.

Chapter 5, Community Safety, of the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 specifies acceptable ranges of noise levels for various land use categories. These ranges, shown in Table 4.9-1, help determine compatibility between existing and future land uses. The Community Safety chapter also contains interior and exterior noise standards for various land use categories, shown in Table 4.9-2.

The City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 (City of Agoura Hills 2010) also contains the following goals and policies related to noise and vibration, which would apply to the proposed Project:

Goal N-1. Minimized land use conflicts between various noise sources and other human activities.

Policy N-1.2. Require buildings and sites to be designed such that surrounding noise-sensitive uses are adequately buffered from noise-generating uses.

Policy N-1.6. Enforce standards that specify acceptable noise limits for various land uses throughout the City. Table 4.9-1 shows criteria used to assess the compatibility of proposed land uses with the noise environment. These criteria are the bases of specific Noise Standards. These standards, presented in Table 4.9-2, define City policy related to land uses and acceptable noise levels.

Goal N-3. Minimized non-transportation-related noise impacts on sensitive noise receptors.

Policy N-3.1. Continue to enforce interior and exterior noise standards to ensure that sensitive noise receptors are not exposed to excessive noise levels from stationary noise sources, such as machinery, equipment, fans, and air conditioning equipment.

Policy N-3.3. Continue to enforce restrictions on hours of construction activity so as to minimize the impacts of noise and vibration from the use of trucks, heavy drilling equipment, and other heavy machinery, including property maintenance equipment, to adjacent uses, particularly in residential areas.

Table 4.9-1 Noise/Land Use Compatibility Matrix
Community Noise Equivalent Level (CNEL), dBA
Categories Uses
Clearly
Compatible
Normally
Compatible
Normally
Incompatible
Clearly
Incompatible
Residential Single-Family, Duplex, Multiple
Family
<55 – 59 60 – 69 70 – 74 75+
Residential Mobile Homes <55 – 59 60 – 64 65 – 74 75+
Commercial
Regional, District
Hotels, Motels, Transient Lodging <55 – 59 60 – 69 70 – 79 80+ Commercial
Regional, Village
District, Special
Commercial Retail, Banks,
Restaurants, Movie Theaters
<55 – 69 70 – 79 80+ n/a
Commercial
Industrial
Institutional
Office Buildings, Research and
Development, Professional Offices,
City Office Building
<55 – 64 65 – 74 75 – 79 80+
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Community Noise Equivalent Level (CNEL), dBA
Categories Uses
Clearly
Compatible
Normally
Compatible
Normally
Incompatible
Clearly
Incompatible
Commercial
Recreation
Institutional
Civic Center
Amphitheaters, Concert Halls,
Auditoriums, Meeting Halls
n/a <55 – 59 60 – 69 70+
Commercial
Recreation
Children’s Amusement Parks,
Miniature Golf Courses, Go-cart
Tracks, Equestrian Centers, Sports
Clubs
<55 – 64 65 – 74 n/a 75+
Commercial
General, Special
Industrial
Institutional
Automobile Service Stations, Auto
Dealerships, Manufacturing,
Warehousing, Wholesale, Utilities
<55 – 69 70+ n/a n/a
Institutional
General
Hospitals, Churches, Libraries,
School Classrooms
<55 – 59 60 – 64 65 – 74 75+
Open Space Parks <55 – 64 65 – 69 70 – 74 75+
Open Space Golf Courses, Cemeteries, Nature
Centers, Wildlife Habitat
<55 – 69 70 – 74 75+ n/a
Clearly Compatible. Specified land use is satisfactory, based upon the assumption that any buildings involved are of normal conventional construction without any special noise insulation requirements.

Normally Compatible. New construction or development should be undertaken only after detailed analysis of the noise reduction requirements is made and needed noise insulation features in the design are determined. Conventional construction, with closed windows and fresh air supply systems or air conditioning will normally suffice.

Normally Incompatible. New construction or development should generally be discouraged. If new construction or development does proceed, a detailed analysis of the noise reduction requirements must be made and needed noise insulation features included in the design.

Clearly Incompatible. New construction or development should generally not be undertaken.

Source: City of Agoura Hills 2022
Table 4.9-2 Interior and Exterior Noise Standards
Land Use Categories CNEL
Categories Uses Interiora Exteriorb
Residential Single Family, Duplex, Multiple Family 45c 55 Mobile Homes 45 55
Commercial Hotels, Motels, Transient Lodging 45 n/a
Commercial Retail, Banks, Restaurants 55 n/a
Office Buildings, Research and Development, Professional Offices, City Office Building
50 n/a
Amphitheaters, Concert Halls, Auditoriums, Meeting Halls 45 n/a Gymnasiums (multipurpose) 50 n/a
Sports Clubs, Movie Theaters 55 n/a
Industrial Manufacturing, Warehousing, Wholesale, Utilities 65 n/a Institutional Hospitals, School Classrooms 45 55
Churches, Libraries 45 55
City of Agoura Hills
Agoura Hills Bicycle Master Plan

4.9-6
Land Use Categories CNEL
Categories Uses Interiora Exteriorb
Open Space Parks n/a 65
a. Includes bathrooms, toilets, closets, corridors
b. Limited to the following:
 Private yard of single-family.
 Multi-family private patio or balcony which is served by a means of exit from inside the dwelling.  Balconies 6 feet deep or less are exempt.
 Mobile home park.
 Park’s picnic area.
 Schools’ playground.
c. Noise level requirement with closed windows. Mechanical ventilating system or other means of natural ventilation shall be provided as of Chapter 12, Section 1205 of UBC.

Source: City of Agoura Hills 2022
Agoura Hills Municipal Code
Chapter 6, Section 9656.2 of the Agoura Hills Municipal Code (AHMC) contains exterior noise standards based on time of day, as shown in Table 4.9-3. The AHMC prohibits the creation of any noise that exceeds these exterior noise limits, as measured at the property line of another residential property.

Table 4.9-3 City of Agoura Hills Exterior Noise Standards Noise Zone1 Noise Level2 Time Period
1 55 dBA 7:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.
50 dBA 10:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m.
1 Per Chapter 6, Section 9656.1, “[a]ll properties located in residential zone districts” are assigned to noise zone 1 (City of Agoura Hills 2024).
2 In the event the alleged offensive noise consists entirely of impact noise, simple tone noise, speech, music, or any combination thereof, each of the above noise levels shall be reduced by five dBA.

Source: City of Agoura Hills Municipal Code, Chapter 6, Section 9656 (City of Agoura Hills 2024b) Furthermore, Section 7.08.060(b) of the AHMC imposes additional limits to the exterior noise standards shown in Table 4.9-3 depending on the duration of the noise, stating it is unlawful for any person at any location within the city to create noise exceeding:
 The noise standard for a cumulative period of more than 15 minutes in any hour;  The noise standard plus 5 dBA for a cumulative period of more than 10 minutes in any hour;  The noise standard plus 10 dBA for a cumulative period of more than five minutes in any hour;  The noise standard plus 15 dBA for a cumulative period of more than one minute in any hour; or  The noise standard plus 20 dBA for any period of time.

Additionally, Section 9656.2(c) of the AHMC states “[i]n the event the ambient noise level exceeds any of the noise limit categories above, the noise level applicable to said category shall be increased to reflect said ambient noise level”. However, Section 9656.4(e) exempts “noise sources associated with construction, repair, remodeling, or grading of any real property, provided said activities do not take place between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on weekdays, including Saturday, or at any time on Sunday or a legal holiday.”
Environmental Impact Analysis
Noise
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.9-7

4.9.3 Impact Analysis
a. Methodology and Significance Thresholds
As discussed in Section 4.0, Environmental Impact Analysis, all Project components are analyzed at the programmatic level. Project components include the Bicycle Master Plan (BMP), the VMT Mitigation Exchange and Banking Program (Program), and the General Plan Amendments (Amendments). Projects included within the BMP are grouped into Class I facilities, Class II facilities, Class III facilities, Class IV facilities, and enhanced bicycle treatments, as identified in Section 2.5, Project Characteristics, and in Table 1 of Chapter 2, Project Description. The impact analysis contained herein provides a programmatic analysis of anticipated impacts for each of the five facility classes, as the individual project impacts associated with each class of facility are expected to be similar. Because the City seeks to prioritize implementation of the Medea Creek Path (Path) and the Agoura High School Connection (Connection), the Path and the Connection have their own subheadings within the Class I Facility impact analysis subsection to provide a more specific assessment of their environmental impacts. Impacts associated with the General Plan Amendments are analyzed within their own subsection.

As discussed in Chapter 2, Project Description, the only projects that are currently planned, unfunded, and could potentially be funded by the VMT Mitigation Exchange and Banking Program are those currently included within the Bicycle Master Plan. Therefore, the impact analysis contained herein does not include a subsection for impacts associated with the Program, as the individual project list for the BMP and the Program are identical and impacts associated with the BMP would encompass impacts associated with the Program.

Within the following environmental analysis, impacts associated with each Project component are explicitly identified under the respective heading.

According to Appendix G of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, impacts related to noise and vibration would be significant if the proposed Project would:

Generate a substantial temporary or permanent increase in ambient noise levels in the vicinity of the Project in excess of standards established in the local general plan, noise ordinance, or applicable standards of other agencies;
Generate excessive groundborne vibration or groundborne noise levels; or, For a Project located within the vicinity of a private airstrip or an airport land use plan or, where such a plan has not been adopted, within two miles of public airport or public use airport, expose people residing or working in the Project area to excessive noise levels.

Construction Noise
The City does not have a quantified noise level to assess noise impacts during construction, as daytime construction activities are exempt from noise thresholds under AHMC Section 9656.4(e).

Therefore, implementation of individual projects identified within the BMP would result in a significant impact if temporary construction noise produced during daytime hours could expose noise-sensitive receptors to adverse noise levels that substantially exceed the FTA’s standard of 80 dBA Leq(8-hour) at residential receptors. FTA’s noise standard of 80 dBA Leq(8-hour) would also be applied to other sensitive receptors, including schools, libraries, hospitals or other medical facilities, in the vicinity of the project boundaries.

City of Agoura Hills
Agoura Hills Bicycle Master Plan

4.9-8
For the purpose of this analysis, construction noise associated with implementation of the proposed Bicycle Master Plan is estimated based on reference noise levels reported by the FTA’s Noise and Vibration Impact Assessment (FTA 2018) for various pieces of construction equipment. Due to the linear nature of the proposed bicycle facilities, construction equipment would be mobile along individual project sites throughout the day. Therefore, it is conservatively assumed that construction equipment would generally operate as close as 25 feet from the nearest noise-sensitive receptors at any given time. Construction noise level estimates do not account for the presence of intervening structures or topography, which could reduce noise levels at receptor locations.

Operational Noise
Operational noise associated with the BMP would include landscaping and maintenance activities, portable amplified music from facility users, and people’s voices. Pursuant to AHMC Section 9656.2, operational noise would be significant if exterior noise levels at residences exceed 55 dBA during daytime hours of 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and 50 dBA during nighttime hours of 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.

Groundborne Vibration
The City does not have a quantified threshold to assess vibration impacts during construction and operation. Therefore, the Transit Noise and Vibration Impact Assessment Manual (FTA 2018) is used to evaluate potential impacts from vibration during construction activities related to potential building damage. Construction vibration impacts from implementation of individual projects identified within the BMP would be significant if vibration levels exceed the FTA criteria identified in Table 4.9-4. For example, impacts would be significant if vibration levels exceed 0.12 in/sec PPV at buildings extremely susceptible to vibration damage (e.g. historical buildings), 0.2 in/sec PPV at nonengineered timber and masonry buildings (e.g. residential structures), 0.3 in/sec PPV at engineered concrete and masonry (no plaster) (e.g. commercial structures) and 0.5 in/sec PPV at reinforcedconcrete, steel or timber (no plaster) (e.g. industrial buildings). These are the identified limits where minor cosmetic (i.e., non-structural) damage may occur to these buildings. Therefore, for a conservative analysis, construction vibration impacts would be significant if vibration levels exceed

0.12 in/sec PPV at nearby buildings.

Table 4.9-4 Vibration-related Building Damage Thresholds Building Category PPV (in/sec)
I. Reinforced-concrete, steel or timber (no plaster) 0.50 II. Engineered concrete and masonry (no plaster) 0.30
III. Non-engineered timber and masonry buildings 0.20
IV. Buildings extremely susceptible to vibration damage 0.12 PPV = peak particle velocity
in/sec = inches per second
Lv = root mean square velocity in decibels (VdB) re 1 micro-inch/second Source: FTA 2018
Environmental Impact Analysis
Noise
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.9-9
b. Project Impacts and Mitigation Measures
Threshold 1: Would the Project result in generation of a substantial temporary or permanent increase in ambient noise levels in the vicinity of the Project in excess of standards established in the local general plan or noise ordinance, or applicable standards of other agencies?
Impact NOI-1 CONSTRUCTION OF INDIVIDUAL BICYCLE FACILITIES IDENTIFIED IN THE BICYCLE MASTER PLAN

WOULD TEMPORARILY PRODUCE HIGH NOISE LEVELS, POTENTIALLY IMPACTING NEARBY NOISE-SENSITIVE LAND USES. OPERATION OF THE BICYCLE FACILITIES IS NOT ANTICIPATED TO INCREASE ON-SITE NOISE LEVELS OR RESULT IN ADDITIONAL TRANSPORTATION NOISE. IMPACTS WOULD BE LESS THAN SIGNIFICANT WITH MITIGATION.

Class I Facilities
Construction of Class I facilities would require clearing and grubbing, pavement demolition, grading, utility relocation, retaining wall or fencing installation, asphalt paving or repaving, street and undercrossing improvements, striping, and revegetation. Table 4.9-5 illustrates typical noise levels associated with various common types of construction equipment required for these activities at a distance of 25 feet, which is a conservative assumption of the distance of construction activities to the nearest sensitive receptors. Noise from stationary sources of construction equipment typically drops off at a rate of six dBA per doubling of distance; therefore, as shown in the table, noise levels would be approximately six dBA lower than shown in the table at 50 feet from source construction site and 12 dBA lower at a distance of 100 feet from source construction site.

Table 4.9-5 Typical Noise Levels for Construction Equipment (dBA) Equipment
Typical Level
25 feet
from the Source
Typical Level
50 feet
from the Source
Typical Level
100 feet
from the Source
Air Compressor 86 80 74
Backhoe 86 80 74
Concrete Mixer 91 85 79
Dozer 91 85 79
Grader 91 85 79
Jack Hammer 94 88 821
Loader 86 80 74
Paver 91 85 79
Roller 91 85 79
Saw 82 76 70
Scarified 89 83 77
Scraper 91 85 79
Truck 90 84 78
Source: FTA 2018
1 A jackhammer would exceed 80 dBA within 125 feet.

As shown in Table 4.9-5, construction noise levels could exceed 80 dBA Leq(8-hour) at adjacent sensitive receptors located up to 125 feet away from construction activities associated with implementation of the Class I facilities, including at the residences located on Medfield Street adjacent to the City of Agoura Hills
Agoura Hills Bicycle Master Plan

4.9-10
proposed Medfield Path and the residences on Dovetail Drive adjacent to the proposed Class I facility on Reyes Adobe Road.

Section 9656.4 of the AHMC exempts specified activities from the provisions of Section 9656 including noise sources associated with construction, repair, remodeling, or grading of any real property, provided said activities do not take place between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on weekdays, including Saturday, or at any time on Sunday or a legal holiday. Implementation of General Plan Policy N-3.3 would also minimize construction noise through restrictions on construction hours. Nonetheless, construction noise levels may exceed FTA’s standard of 80 dBA Leq within a distance of 125 feet, and construction noise impacts would be potentially significant.

Therefore, construction would result in a potentially significant impact, and mitigation would be required..

Operation of the Class I facilities would consist of bicycle and pedestrian travel along shared use paths. These activities would not contribute to existing traffic noise on or off-site. Operation could result in new sources of noise associated with landscaping and maintenance activities, portable amplified music from facility users, and people’s voices. Noise from these sources would be required to comply with AHMC Section 9656.2. Therefore, operation of the Class I facilities would not expose neighboring noise-sensitive land uses to noise levels exceeding the City’s existing standards shown in Table 4.9-3. Noise impacts associated with operation of the Class I facilities would be less than significant.

MEDEA CREEK PATH
Construction of the Madea Creek Path would temporarily increase ambient noise levels on and adjacent to areas where construction is occurring. As shown in Table 4.9-5, noise levels from individual pieces of construction equipment could exceed 80 dBA Leq(8-hour) at adjacent sensitive receptors located up to 125 feet away from construction activities, including at residences located adjacent to the proposed Path’s alignment, and may temporarily disturb people at neighboring properties. Although implementation of General Plan Policy N-3.3 would minimize construction noise through restrictions on construction hours, construction noise levels would still exceed 80 dBA Leq within a distance of 125 feet. Therefore, this impact would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required.

Operation of the Path would consist of bicycle and pedestrian travel along a shared use path. These activities would not contribute to existing traffic noise on or off-site. Operation could result in new sources of noise associated with landscaping and maintenance activities, portable amplified music from facility users, and people’s voices. Noise from these sources would be required to comply with AHMC Section 9656.2. Therefore, operation of the Path would not expose neighboring noisesensitive land uses to noise levels exceeding the City’s existing standards shown in Table 4.9-3.

Noise impacts associated with operation of the Path would be less than significant.

AGOURA HIGH SCHOOL CONNECTION
Construction of the Agoura High School Connection would temporarily increase ambient noise levels on and adjacent to areas where construction is occurring. As shown in Table 4.9-5, noise levels from individual pieces of construction equipment could exceed 80 dBA Leq(8-hour) at adjacent sensitive receptors located up to 125 feet away from construction activities, which include residences located on Carell Avenue and Agoura High School. Although implementation of General Plan Policy N-3.3 would minimize construction noise through restrictions on construction hours, construction noise Environmental Impact Analysis
Noise
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.9-11
levels would still exceed 80 dBA Leqwithin a distance of 125 feet. Therefore, this impact would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required during construction.

Operation of the Connection would consist of bicycle and pedestrian travel along a shared use path.

These activities would not contribute to existing traffic noise on or off-site. Operation could result in new sources of noise associated with landscaping and maintenance activities, portable amplified music from facility users, and people’s voices. Noise from these sources would be required to comply with AHMC Section 9656.2. Therefore, operation of the Connection would not expose neighboring noise-sensitive land uses to noise levels exceeding the City’s existing standards shown in Table 4.9-3. Noise impacts associated with operation of the Connection would be less than significant.

Class II Facilities
Construction of Class II facilities would generally require roadway restriping and reconfiguration of lane widths to accommodate new dedicated bike lanes. Pavement widening would be necessary on Driver Avenue, between Easterly Road and Colodny Drive, and on Cornell Road, between Agoura Road and Cornell Way to allow for the addition of bicycle lanes. Pavement widening would require clearing and grubbing, subgrade stabilization, base course installation, and asphalt paving. Common types of construction equipment required for these activities include concrete mixers, dozers, graders, pavers, rollers, scrapers, and haul trucks. Table 4.9-5 illustrates typical noise levels associated with these types of construction equipment. As shown therein, noise levels from individual pieces of construction equipment could exceed 80 dBA Leq(8-hour) at adjacent sensitive receptors located up to 50 feet away from construction activities, including at the residences adjacent to Driver Road Avenue. Although implementation of General Plan Policy N-3.3 would minimize construction noise through restrictions on construction hours, construction noise levels would still exceed 80 dBA Leq within a distance of 50 feet. Therefore, this impact would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required during construction.

Operation of the Class II facilities would consist of bicycle travel along delineated bike lanes. These activities would not contribute to existing traffic noise on or off-site. Operation could result in new sources of noise associated with landscaping and maintenance activities, portable amplified music from facility users, and people’s voices. Noise from these sources would be required to comply with AHMC Section 9656.2. Therefore, operation of the Class II facilities would not expose neighboring noise-sensitive land uses to noise levels exceeding the City’s existing standards shown in Table 4.9-3.

Noise impacts associated with operation of the Class II facilities would be less than significant.

Class III Facilities
Construction of Class III facilities would require roadway restriping to identify bike routes. Common types of construction equipment required for these activities include an air compressor. Typical noise levels associated with this type of construction equipment is 86 dBA at a distance of 25 feet, which would exceed 80 dBA Leq(8-hour) at adjacent residences located approximately 25 feet away from restriping activities. Although implementation of General Plan Policy N-3.3 would minimize construction noise through restrictions on construction hours, construction noise levels would exceed 80 dBA Leq within a distance of 25 feet. Therefore, this impact would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required during construction.

Operation of the Class III facilities would consist of bicycle travel along shared use travel lanes.

These activities would not contribute to existing traffic noise on or off-site. Operation could result in new sources of noise associated with landscaping and maintenance activities, portable amplified City of Agoura Hills
Agoura Hills Bicycle Master Plan

4.9-12
music from facility users, and people’s voices. Noise from these sources would be required to comply with AHMC Section 9656.2. Therefore, operation of the Class III facilities would not expose neighboring noise-sensitive land uses to noise levels exceeding the City’s existing standards shown in Table 4.9-3. Noise impacts associated with operation of the Class III facilities would be less than significant.

ClassI IV Facilities
Construction of Class IV facilities would require pavement demolition, minor grading, bollard or fencing installation, asphalt paving or repaving, and striping. Table 4.9-5 illustrates typical noise levels associated with various common types of construction equipment required for these activities. As shown therein, noise levels from individual pieces of construction equipment could exceed 80 dBA Leq(8-hour) at adjacent sensitive receptors located up to 125 feet away from construction activities, including at the residences adjacent to Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Kanan Road. Although implementation of General Plan Policy N-3.3 would minimize construction noise through restrictions on construction hours, construction noise levels would still exceed 80 dBA Leq within a distance of 125 feet. Therefore, this impact would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required during construction.

Operation of the Class IV facilities would consist of bicycle travel along physically separated bikeways adjacent to travel lanes. These activities would not contribute to existing traffic noise on or off-site. Operation could result in new sources of noise associated with landscaping and maintenance activities, portable amplified music from facility users, and people’s voices. Noise from these sources would be required to comply with AHMC Section 9656.2. Therefore, operation of the Class IV facilities would not expose neighboring noise-sensitive land uses to noise levels exceeding the City’s existing standards shown in Table 4.9-3. Noise impacts associated with operation of the Class IV facilities would be less than significant.

Enhanced Bicycle Treatments
Enhanced bicycle treatments would include street striping and restriping, signage and wayfinding, bicycle signals and detection at traffic signals, bicycle parking, and bicycle repair facilities.

Construction activities associated with these facilities would be generally minor but may still require use of some of construction equipment identified in Table 4.9-5, such as an air compressor for restriping. Typical noise levels associated with this type of construction equipment is 86 dBA at a distance of 25 feet, which would exceed 80 dBA Leq(8-hour) at adjacent sensitive receptors located approximately 25 feet away from the restriping activities. Although implementation of General Plan Policy N-3.3 would minimize construction noise through restrictions on construction hours, construction noise levels would exceed 80 dBA Leq within a distance of 25 feet. Therefore, impacts would be potentially significant, and mitigation would be required during construction.

Operation of the enhanced bicycle treatments would include continued use of existing bicycle facilities, storing of bicycles at new parking facilities, and use of bicycle repair facilities. These activities would not contribute to existing traffic noise on or off-site. Furthermore, operation of these facilities would not be expected to result in new sources of noise associated with landscaping and maintenance activities, portable amplified music from facility users, or people’s voices.

Nonetheless, any operational noise associated with the use of the enhanced bicycle treatments would be required to comply with AHMC Section 9656.2. Therefore, operation of the enhanced bicycle treatments would not expose neighboring noise-sensitive land uses to noise levels exceeding the City’s existing standards shown in Table 4.9-3. Noise impacts associated with the enhanced bicycle treatments of the Class I facilities would be less than significant.

Environmental Impact Analysis
Noise
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.9-13
General Plan Amendments
As part of the proposed Project, the City must amend Chapter 3, Infrastructure and Community Services, of the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 to ensure consistency with the proposed BMP. These General Plan Amendments shift the focus from prioritizing automobile mobility to reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) through alternative transportation modes like walking and biking, guided by the BMP. The proposed General Plan Amendments would not result in construction or operation activities beyond existing conditions. Therefore, the Amendments would not expose any noise-sensitive land uses to noise levels exceeding the FTA’s or the City’s existing noise standards. No impact would occur.

Mitigation Measures
N-1 Construction Noise Reduction Measures
The following construction noise reduction measures shall be included as standard conditions of approval for projects involving construction within 125 feet of a sensitive receptor:
 Properly muffle and maintain all construction equipment powered by internal combustion engines;
 Prohibit unnecessary idling of combustion engines;
 Locate all stationary noise-generating construction equipment (such as air compressors) as far as practical from existing nearby residences and other noise-sensitive land uses;  Select quiet construction equipment, particularly air compressors, whenever possible;  Fit motorized equipment with proper mufflers in good working order;  Residences, schools, libraries, hospitals or other medical care facilities adjacent to individual project sites shall be notified, in advance and by writing, of the proposed construction schedule before construction activities commence, including details for the noise disturbance coordinator; and,
 Construction of each individual project identified within the BMP shall have a designated “noise disturbance coordinator” responsible for responding to any local complaints about construction noise. The disturbance coordinator shall determine the cause of noise complaints and shall require that reasonable measures be implemented to correct the problem. A telephone number for the disturbance coordinator shall be posted at the construction site.

Significance After Mitigation
Implementation of Mitigation Measure N-1 would require all construction equipment powered by internal combustion engines be properly muffled and maintained. Properly muffling and maintaining construction equipment would reduce construction noise impacts by 10 dBA (FHWA 2017). Properly muffling and maintaining all construction equipment powered by internal combustion engines in combination with the other identified noise reduction measures would ensure construction noise levels would not exceed 80 dBA Leq(8-hour). Therefore, with implementation of Mitigation Measure N-1, construction noise impacts would be less than significant.

City of Agoura Hills
Agoura Hills Bicycle Master Plan

4.9-14
Threshold 2: Would the Project result in generation of excessive groundborne vibration or groundborne noise levels?
Impact NOI-2 CONSTRUCTION OF INDIVIDUAL BICYCLE FACILITIES IDENTIFIED IN BICYCLE MASTER PLAN

WOULD TEMPORARILY GENERATE GROUNDBORNE VIBRATION, POTENTIALLY AFFECTING ADJACENT SENSITIVE LAND USES. OPERATION ACTIVITIES ARE NOT ANTICIPATED TO INCREASE ON-SITE VIBRATION LEVELS. IMPACTS WOULD BE LESS THAN SIGNIFICANT WITH MITIGATION.

Class I Facilities
Construction of Class I facilities would require clearing and grubbing, pavement demolition, grading, utility relocation, retaining wall or fencing installation, asphalt paving or repaving, street and undercrossing improvements, striping, and revegetation. Typical construction equipment used for these types of activities that produce vibration include vibratory rollers, caisson drills, bulldozers, loaded trucks, and jackhammers. Use of these types of construction equipment could intermittently generate strong vibration on and adjacent to construction sites. Table 4.9-6 identifies the estimated vibration levels from the use of typical construction equipment, based on reference levels provided by the FTA. As identified therein, vibration-sensitive receptors located within 25 feet of construction activities would experience the strongest vibration during the use of vibratory rollers at neighboring construction sites. Specifically, vibration levels during use of vibratory rollers could approach 0.210 in/sec PPV at a distance of 25 feet from the source, and 0.074 in/sec PPV at 50 feet.

Table 4.9-6 Vibration Levels for Typical Construction Equipment Estimated in/sec PPV at Nearest Sensitive Receptors
Equipment 25 Feet 50 Feet 100 Feet 200 Feet
Vibratory Roller 0.210 0.074 0.026 0.009
Caisson Drilling 0.089 0.031 0.011 0.004
Large Bulldozer 0.089 0.031 0.011 0.004
Loaded Trucks 0.076 0.027 0.010 0.003
Jackhammer 0.035 0.012 0.004 0.002
Small Bulldozer 0.003 0.001 0.000 0.000
Source: FTA 2006
Compliance with AHMC Section 9656.4 and adherence to General Plan Policy N-3.3 would restrict construction activities to the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, which would reduce the exposure of vibration to people who are sleeping during the nighttime hours.

Nonetheless, vibration from a vibratory roller would exceed the FTA’s threshold of 0.12 in/sec PPV for buildings extremely susceptible to vibration damage (e.g. historical buildings) at distances of 37 feet or less. At distances of 26 feet or less, vibration from a vibratory roller would exceed the FTA’s threshold of 0.2 in/sec PPV for non-engineered timber and masonry buildings (e.g., a typical residential structure). For a conservative analysis, it is assumed that construction vibration levels would be significant if the 0.12 in/sec PPV threshold is exceeded for any off-site structures.

Therefore, use of a vibratory roller during construction would exceed FTA’s threshold of 0.12 in/sec PPV at off-site structures within 37 feet, and this impact would be potentially significant.

Implementation of mitigation would be required.

Environmental Impact Analysis
Noise
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.9-15
Operation of the Class I facilities would consist of bicycle and pedestrian travel along shared use paths. These activities would not result in a new substantial source of vibration. Therefore, operational groundborne vibration impacts would be less than significant.

MEDEA CREEK PATH
Construction of the Medea Creek Path could intermittently generate strong vibration on and adjacent to areas where construction is occurring. As shown in Table 4.9-6, vibration levels during use of a vibratory roller within 25 feet of a nearby building would exceed the FTA’s threshold of 0.12 in/sec PPV and may temporarily disturb people at neighboring properties. This impact would be potentially significant, and implementation of mitigation would be required.

Operation of the Path would consist of bicycle and pedestrian travel along a shared use path. These activities would not result in a new substantial source of vibration. Therefore, operational groundborne vibration impacts would be less than significant.

AGOURA HIGH SCHOOL CONNECTION
Construction of the Agoura High School Connection could intermittently generate strong vibration on and adjacent to areas where construction is occurring. As shown in Table 4.9-6, vibration levels during use of a vibratory roller within 25 feet of a nearby building would exceed the FTA’s threshold of 0.12 in/sec PPV and may temporarily disturb people at neighboring properties. This impact would be potentially significant, and implementation of mitigation would be required.

Operation of the Connection would consist of bicycle and pedestrian travel along a shared use path.

These activities would not result in a new substantial source of vibration. Therefore, operational groundborne vibration impacts would be less than significant.

Class II Facilities
Construction of Class II facilities would generally require roadway restriping and reconfiguration of lane widths to accommodate new dedicated bike lanes. Pavement widening would be necessary on Driver Avenue, between Easterly Road and Colodny Drive, and on Cornell Road, between Agoura Road and Cornell Way to allow for the addition of bicycle lanes. Pavement widening would require clearing and grubbing, subgrade stabilization, base course installation, and asphalt paving. A vibratory roller would be required for paving activities. As shown in Table 4.9-6, vibration levels during use of a vibratory roller within 25 feet of a nearby building would exceed the FTA’s threshold of 0.12 in/sec PPV and may temporarily disturb people at neighboring properties. This impact would be potentially significant, and implementation of mitigation would be required.

Operation of the Class II facilities would consist of bicycle travel along delineated bike lanes. These activities would not result in a new substantial source of vibration. Therefore, operational groundborne vibration impacts would be less than significant.

Class III Facilities
Construction of Class III facilities would require roadway restriping to identify bike routes. Roadway restriping would not require the use of construction equipment that would produce vibration.

Therefore, vibration levels during implementation of the Class III facilities would not exceed the FTA’s threshold of 0.12 in/sec PPV. This impact would be less than significant.

City of Agoura Hills
Agoura Hills Bicycle Master Plan

4.9-16
Operation of the Class III facilities would consist of bicycle travel along shared use travel lanes.

These activities would not result in a new substantial source of vibration. Therefore, operational groundborne vibration impacts would be less than significant.

Class IV Facilities
Construction of Class IV facilities would require pavement demolition, minor grading, bollard or fencing installation, asphalt paving or repaving, and striping. Typical construction equipment used for these types of activities that produce vibration include vibratory rollers, caisson drills, bulldozers, loaded trucks, and jackhammers. Use of these types of construction equipment could intermittently generate strong vibration on and adjacent to construction sites. As shown in Table 4.9-6, vibration levels during use of a vibratory roller within 25 feet of a nearby building would exceed the FTA’s threshold of 0.12 in/sec PPV and may temporarily disturb people at neighboring properties. This impact would be potentially significant, and implementation of mitigation would be required.

Operation of the Class IV facilities would consist of bicycle travel along physically separated bikeways adjacent to travel lanes. These activities would not result in a new substantial source of vibration. Therefore, operational groundborne vibration impacts would be less than significant.

Enhanced Bicycle Treatments
Enhanced bicycle treatments would include street striping and restriping, signage and wayfinding, bicycle signals and detection at traffic signals, bicycle parking, and bicycle repair facilities.

Implementation of these facilities would not require the use of construction equipment that would produce vibration. Therefore, vibration levels during implementation of the Class enhanced bicycle treatments would not exceed the FTA’s threshold of 0.12 in/sec PPV. This impact would be less than significant.

Operation of the enhanced bicycle treatments would include continued use of existing bicycle facilities, storing of bicycles at new parking facilities, and use of bicycle repair facilities. These activities would not result in a new substantial source of vibration. Therefore, operational groundborne vibration impacts would be less than significant.

General Plan Amendments
As part of the proposed Project, the City must amend Chapter 3, Infrastructure and Community Services, of the City of Agoura Hills General Plan 2035 to ensure consistency with the proposed BMP. These General Plan Amendments shift the focus from prioritizing automobile mobility to reducing vehicle miles traveled VMT through alternative transportation modes like walking and biking, guided by the BMP. The proposed General Plan Amendments would not result in construction or operation activities beyond existing conditions. Therefore, the Amendments would not generate vibration. No impact would occur.

Mitigation Measures
N-2 Construction Vibration Control Plan
Prior to the issuance of any Grading Permit, the Public Works Department shall verify that the Project plans and specifications include provisions that require that paving activities within 37 feet of off-site structures utilize a static roller in lieu of a vibratory roller.

Environmental Impact Analysis
Noise
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report 4.9-17
Significance After Mitigation
Mitigation Measure N-2 would require a static roller be used in lieu of a vibratory roller within 37 feet of an off-site structure. Use of a static roller would generate vibration levels of approximately

0.05 in/sec PPV at a distance of 25 feet (McIver 2012). With implementation of Mitigation Measure N-2, groundborne vibration associated with construction of individual projects would be less than the most conservative significance threshold of 0.12 in/sec PPV at adjacent off-site sensitive receptors in the vicinity of individual project sites. Therefore, with mitigation, impacts associated with project construction vibration at all surrounding sensitive receptors would be less than significant.

Threshold 3: For a Project located within the vicinity of a private airstrip or an airport land use plan or, where such a plan has not been adopted, within two miles of a public airport or public use airport, would the Project expose people residing or working in the Project area to excessive noise levels?
Impact NOI-3 NOISE-SENSITIVE RECEPTORS IN AGOURA HILLS WOULD BE LOCATED OUTSIDE OF NOISE CONTOURS ASSOCIATED WITH NEARBY AIRPORTS. NO IMPACT WOULD OCCUR.

The Van Nuys Airport is located approximately 14.2 miles east of the Project area. According to the Los Angeles County Airport Land Use Commission’s Airport Influence Area Figure, the City of Agoura Hills, and therefore the Project area, is not located within the noise contours of the Van Nuys Airport or any other nearby airport (Los Angeles County Airport Land Use Commission 2003).

Therefore, the implementation of the proposed Project would not expose people residing or working in the Project area to excessive aircraft noise levels. No impact would occur.

Mitigation Measures
No mitigation measures would be required.

Significance After Mitigation
No impact would occur.

4.9.4 Cumulative Impacts
The geographic scope for cumulative noise and vibration impacts includes the areas immediately adjacent to the individual bicycle facilities proposed within the BMP, as noise and vibration attenuates rapidly when it travels from the source to the receiver. A cumulative assessment of noise and vibration considers the proposed Project in combination with ambient growth and other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future projects, including the projects listed in Table 3-1, within the vicinity of the Project area. As discussed in Chapter 3, Environmental Setting, cumulative development would include recreation, residential, commercial, and office uses. Each proposed development would generate temporary noise and vibration impacts during construction.