Urban and Environmental Planning
CEQA: EIRs and more
Much of what environmental planners do in California is development-triggered California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) work, mainly Environmental Impact Reports, or EIRs. I worked on dozens of CEQA projects, such as EIRs, Initial Studies, Mitigated Negative Declarations and Mitigation Monitoring Programs, including the public participation process that goes along with them. Sometimes CEQA required a Program EIR be prepared when a municipality drafted a new General Plan or Master Plan, for example. A partial list of the CEQA projects on which I served as Project Planner, Project Manager or Senior Planner includes: Arana Gulch Park Master Plan EIR (with Amy Skewes-Cox for the City of Santa Cruz); Old Ranch Residential Project EIR (with Brady/LSA for the City of San Ramon); Martin Luther King Jr. EIR Addendum (with Brady/LSA for the City of Oakland); Marina Shores Village EIR (with Wagstaff and Associates/MIG for Redwood City); Central Petaluma Specific Plan EIR (with Wagstaff and Associates/MIG for the City of Petaluma); and Mountain House Village E and G Initial Study (with Amy Skewes-Cox for San Joaquin County).
Much of what environmental planners do in California is development-triggered California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) work, mainly Environmental Impact Reports, or EIRs. I worked on dozens of CEQA projects, such as EIRs, Initial Studies, Mitigated Negative Declarations and Mitigation Monitoring Programs, including the public participation process that goes along with them. Sometimes CEQA required a Program EIR be prepared when a municipality drafted a new General Plan or Master Plan, for example. A partial list of the CEQA projects on which I served as Project Planner, Project Manager or Senior Planner includes: Arana Gulch Park Master Plan EIR (with Amy Skewes-Cox for the City of Santa Cruz); Old Ranch Residential Project EIR (with Brady/LSA for the City of San Ramon); Martin Luther King Jr. EIR Addendum (with Brady/LSA for the City of Oakland); Marina Shores Village EIR (with Wagstaff and Associates/MIG for Redwood City); Central Petaluma Specific Plan EIR (with Wagstaff and Associates/MIG for the City of Petaluma); and Mountain House Village E and G Initial Study (with Amy Skewes-Cox for San Joaquin County).
NEPA and the realm of the EIS
Whenever federal funds are involved in a California project that requires a CEQA analysis, National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) documentation is also required. Normally the two documents are prepared concurrently because the requirements are so similar. (Since CEQA was designed using NEPA as a model, this is really no surprise!) In California it is often transportation or highway projects that end up receiving some federal funding and therefore require a joint CEQA-NEPA document, such as an EIR-EIS or an Initial Study- Environmental Assessment (EA). A partial list of the joint CEQA-NEPA projects on which I served as Project Planner, Project Manager or Senior Planner includes: Broadway-Brommer Street Bicycle/Path Connection Draft EIR/EA (with Brady/LSA for the City of Santa Cruz) and the Graham Hill Road Improvement Project Initial Study/Environmental Assessment (With Brady/LSA for Santa Cruz County).
Whenever federal funds are involved in a California project that requires a CEQA analysis, National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) documentation is also required. Normally the two documents are prepared concurrently because the requirements are so similar. (Since CEQA was designed using NEPA as a model, this is really no surprise!) In California it is often transportation or highway projects that end up receiving some federal funding and therefore require a joint CEQA-NEPA document, such as an EIR-EIS or an Initial Study- Environmental Assessment (EA). A partial list of the joint CEQA-NEPA projects on which I served as Project Planner, Project Manager or Senior Planner includes: Broadway-Brommer Street Bicycle/Path Connection Draft EIR/EA (with Brady/LSA for the City of Santa Cruz) and the Graham Hill Road Improvement Project Initial Study/Environmental Assessment (With Brady/LSA for Santa Cruz County).
Recreation Planning
The focus of much of my course of study in graduate school was recreation planning. For my master's thesis I worked with a grant from the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy in Los Angeles. In my thesis, Biodiversity Impacts Along Recreation Trails in the Santa Monica Mountains, I compared biodiversity along recreation trails in this urban edge recreation area against a number of different factors, including the amount of people using the trail and park, distance from the road as well as parcel size. I concluded that there was no significant correlation between biodiversity loss and park or trail usage and the only variable significantly affecting biodiversity was the size of the park - the bigger the park, the greater the biodiversity.
The focus of much of my course of study in graduate school was recreation planning. For my master's thesis I worked with a grant from the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy in Los Angeles. In my thesis, Biodiversity Impacts Along Recreation Trails in the Santa Monica Mountains, I compared biodiversity along recreation trails in this urban edge recreation area against a number of different factors, including the amount of people using the trail and park, distance from the road as well as parcel size. I concluded that there was no significant correlation between biodiversity loss and park or trail usage and the only variable significantly affecting biodiversity was the size of the park - the bigger the park, the greater the biodiversity.
Working with one of my thesis advisers at UC Berkeley, I completed the Draft Education and Recreation Master Plan for Soquel Demonstration State Forest. This beautiful piece of public land in Santa Cruz County was mainly used as a mountain biking destination, but needed a more comprehensive plan for recreation uses. California State forests differ from National Forests in a number of ways, emphasizing the multiple objectives of forest management, including for recreational purposes. Our client was the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Urban Design and Land Use Planning
While working at Brady/LSA in Berkeley, because of my background in architecture, I served as the Project Planner on a number of urban design and land use studies. I worked on the Downtown Markleeville Revitalization Plan (for stunning Alpine County) and I completed a land use analysis for an industrial site owned by an oil company in the Bay Area. In addition, I penned all the drawings for the urban design studies we completed for the light rail system in Salt Lake City, which was completed ahead of the 2002 Winter Olympics.
While working at Brady/LSA in Berkeley, because of my background in architecture, I served as the Project Planner on a number of urban design and land use studies. I worked on the Downtown Markleeville Revitalization Plan (for stunning Alpine County) and I completed a land use analysis for an industrial site owned by an oil company in the Bay Area. In addition, I penned all the drawings for the urban design studies we completed for the light rail system in Salt Lake City, which was completed ahead of the 2002 Winter Olympics.