Builder Digs in Fragile Habitat : Error Brings U.S. Warning on Toll Route

A road mistakenly cut by a building contractor through an environmentally sensitive area east of Laguna Canyon has prompted federal officials to warn that similar mistakes in the future may jeopardize federal funding for the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor.

County officials said Tuesday that they acknowledged the error after state officials, who were conducting an environmental study, discovered the dirt road a few weeks ago cutting through the area, which is home to two rare plant species and a threatened species of lizard.

After the mistake was found, Federal Highway Administration officials warned the county that more such incursions could harm the county’s chances of winning federal funding of up to 35% of the cost of what will to be California’s first toll road. The corridor will be in the same general area as the hauling road, and environmentalists have raised concerns about the threat to the habitat.

About $160 Million at Stake

Since the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor is projected to cost about $465 million to build, the federal money at stake amounts to about $160 million.

Since then, county officials have ordered the road--built to haul materials to and from the Aliso Viejo construction site--cordoned off until state and federal environmental impact studies are completed for the corridor, which is the subject of public hearings on a proposed route alignment.

County planners, who said the developer and subcontractor did nothing wrong, will revise flawed county procedures to ensure that such environmentally sensitive areas are protected in the future.

Carol Cirelli, a planner for the county Environmental Management Agency, said the contractor, whose name she said she did not know, cut the hauling road while working on grading for the Mission Viejo Co.’s 20,000-home Aliso Viejo planned community south of El Toro Road.

The road cut through 30% of two plant species: the many-stemmed dudleya and Turkish rugging, which are both candidates for the federal list of threatened and endangered species, according to state Department of Transportation senior planner Ronald J. Kosinski in Los Angeles.

The San Diego coast horned lizard has also been sighted in the area where the grading and road work has been conducted, Kosinski added in his July 8 letter to county officials. State biologists have identified the reptile, a subspecies of the coast horned lizard, as warranting “special concern,” a step below being placed on the state’s threatened or endangered species lists.

Kosinski reminded county officials that to qualify for future federal money, they must preserve federally protected resources.

County supervisors approved Aliso Viejo over the opposition of environmental activists in nearby Laguna Beach. Two slow-growth groups sued the county in March, seeking to halt Aliso Viejo and two other residential developments in the south county that were approved under developer agreements.

Cirelli said that all the grading was done within properly designated areas. But the hauling road “was an accident,” he said.

Officials for the Mission Viejo Co. could not be reached for comment late Tuesday, but county planners said developers are not responsible for keeping up with the location of environmentally sensitive areas.

That, they said, is the responsibility of the county, which uses a private biologist to guide developments away from ecologically fragile areas.

Bruce E. Cannon, California division administrator for the federal agency, said he put the county on notice after learning from Caltrans officials about the road.

“We are saying they are potentially jeopardizing their possibility of getting federal funding,” said Cannon, who is based in Los Angeles.

Rich Adler, a county planner for the corridor project, said the grading plan would not have included the hauling roads or have identified environmentally sensitive habitats.

Cirelli said the biological consultant is advising county officials of areas to keep buffered from future grading and construction activity.

Adler said the county is revising its methods to ensure that such errors do not occur in the future.

Foes of the toll road, which is at least two years away from construction, said the error substantiates some of their complaints.

“It confirms what we’ve said all along: The county’s not doing the job they’re supposed to be doing,” said Gregory Hile, attorney for Laguna Greenbelt, an environmental group active in the slow-growth movement and in efforts to preserve undeveloped areas in and around Laguna Canyon.

But Caltrans officials said the county has otherwise done well to preserve the area’s environment, as well as 21 archeological sites found in the vicinity.

The Board of Supervisors first approved the toll road in 1976. About 7 miles of intermittent grading along the proposed corridor route has been approved by county officials.

Officials at the Transportation Corridor Agencies, a consortium of city and county officials that will operate the county’s proposed toll roads, said they had no responsibility for the error.

“On this one I can take a cop-out: All of this was done through the county,” said John Meyer, director of the TCA. “We are not a party to any grading.”

The corridor is to run 15 miles through unincorporated land. The San Joaquin, Foothill and Eastern transportation corridors are proposed to reduce traffic congestion on overloaded streets and freeways in the south and central county.

Congress last year named Orange County as one of seven U.S. sites for a toll road demonstration project that would be eligible for federal aid of 35% of the cost. Because the San Joaquin Corridor is considered closest to construction--with a target date in mid-1990--county officials have said they believe it will receive the money as a federal demonstration project.

Almost half the money needed to build the San Joaquin Corridor will be paid by developer fees. Tolls are projected to pay another 17% to 39%, while state and federal money is expected to pay for the rest.

Former supervisor Bruce Nestande, now a member of the California Transportation Commission, said the panel will also consider a proposal in September to allocate up to $46 million for the toll road.

To get the federal money, the county must pass a yearlong environmental review by federal agencies. Before it can undergo that lengthy review, however, the county first is scheduled to decide the fate of its own environmental report on the project, which must be submitted to the state.

That report, covered by less stringent regulations than is required by the federal government, has been prepared by the county and is scheduled for a vote in October by both the Board of Supervisors and the Transportation Corridor Agencies.

The county Environmental Management Agency is holding public hearings for public reaction to the report. Last week, 150 people attended the first hearing, with all but a handful voicing support for the toll road, Cirelli said.

Another hearing is scheduled for tonight at 7:30 in the Saddleback Valley Board of Realtors auditorium in Laguna Hills. Public comments will be accepted until Aug. 15.

The county’s environmental report has concluded that there will be some unavoidable, significant environmental damage caused by the road, which is planned to be from four to six lanes wide, and with capacity for up to 10 lanes.

Major disruptions, for example, would occur at Oso Creek, Bonita Creek, Bonita Canyon Reservoir and Coyote Canyon Wash, the report says.

Pollutants washed off from the road could also add significant quantities of pollutants to adjacent drainage areas, the report says.

Construction of the corridor will also reduce available wildlife habitat, including wetlands, coastal sage, chaparral and oak woodland, the report says.

It will further disrupt wildlife behavior such as nesting, migration, dispersion and hibernation, the report adds.

PATH TO THE CORRIDOR Major events in the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor toll road project.

August, 1976--San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor added to the county’s Master Plan of Arterial Highways.

November, 1979--Board of Supervisors completed Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and approved the present alignment plan.

September, 1983--Legislature placed corridor in the state highway system, making it eligible for state and federal money.

January, 1987--Congress named Orange County one of seven U.S. sites eligible for a toll road demonstration project, making it eligible for federal aid amounting to 35% of the cost.

July, 1987--Federal Highway Administration issues letter interpreted to mean it favors San Joaquin Hills route over proposed Eastern and Foothill corridors for demonstration project funding.

October, 1987--State Legislature voted to allow toll roads in the county. Orange County Transportation Commission voted to make the corridor the state’s first toll road.

July 20--First of two scheduled public hearings was held on a county staff EIR. Report to go to Board of Supervisors and the jointly administered Transportation Corridor Agencies for action in October.

San Diego horned lizard

(Phrynosoma coronatum blainvillei)

Status: A candidate for the federal endangered species list; a state species of special concern.

More common elsewhere in the state, this subspecies of the coast horned lizard has been found in Orange County. It prefers undeveloped desert scrub and is also found in grasslands, coniferous forest, broad-leaved woodlands and in lowlands along sandy washes. Its declining numbers are attributed to loss of habitat and off-road vehicle use.

Many-stemmed dudleya

(Dudleya multicaulis)

Habitat: chaparral and rock outcrops in coastal scrub and coastal prairie.

General location in Orange County: Corona del Mar, Laguna Beach, Newport Bay, Weir Canyon, Peralta Hills.

Overall range: significant portion in Orange County; also known in Riverside, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Bernardino counties.

Natural history note: succulent perennial.

Threats: development.

Orange County Turkish rugging

(Chorizanthe staticoides ssp. chrysacantha)

Habitat: chaparral and coastal scrub on sandstone.

General location in Orange County: Laguna Beach, Aliso Canyon, Laguna Niguel, Newport Beach.

Overall range: occurs only in Orange County.

Natural history note: endemic to Orange County.

Threats: development.