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5.7 Biological Resources

temporary impacts from construction noise if present in the Project vicinity and could be
temporarily displaced. The effects of increased noise levels have been well documented for
many types of animals and can be responsible for reduced bird nesting success. Although no
specific noise thresholds have been established for wildlife on the Project site, substantial
noise-level increases can be expected relative to the amount of construction.

Noise will likely also increase after construction; therefore, open spaces and wildlife
remaining within and immediately surrounding the Project site would likely be subject to
increased disturbance. Wildlife stressed by noise may be displaced and may alter wildlife
movement patterns. In an effort to minimize operational noise impacts, the Conceptual Land
Use Plan (see Exhibit 4-1) has been designed to maximize the distance between areas of high
noise and preserved open space. Higher density housing and higher volume traffic roadways
are near the center of developed areas, while the lower density housing and lower traffic
roadways occur at the edge of the Project near open space areas. In addition, industrial and
business park land uses are located adjacent to the roadway with the highest noise level (SR-
138). As a result, potential wildlife impacts due to potential Project related noise are reduced
to a level considered less than significant.

Indirect Impacts Conclusion

Project implementation may have substantial indirect impacts on wildlife movement
adjacent to the site. Although some wildlife movement in adjacent areas may be disrupted,
areas further north and northwest in the Tehachapi Mountains would not likely be impacted.
Information presented in the Wildlife Movement discussion clearly identifies the foothills
and highlands of the Tehachapi Mountains as the regional linkage zone, and the core area of
this linkage zone is several miles to the northwest of the Project site. As a result, the Project’s
indirect impacts are not expected to reach the primary regional linkage area, and regional
connectivity is expected to be minimally impacted. The Project would not cause any regional
populations of plants or animals in adjacent regions to become isolated. The Project’s
indirect impacts on wildlife movement are therefore considered to be less than significant.
Please note that the evaluation of cumulative impacts on wildlife movement is provided in
Section 7.0, Cumulative Impacts, of this document and results in a separate conclusion.

Off-Site Impacts

Development of off-site Project features is expected to result in isolated and mostly
temporary impacts with very few permanent impacts. Due to the small scale of those features
with aboveground components (e.g., wells, bridges, and utility lines), both individually and
collectively, and the widely spaced geographic distribution of these features, impacts on
wildlife movement due to the presence of these features, alone, are expected to be temporary
and minor. Impacts of off-site Project features are not expected to affect movement of
regional or local populations and are not expected to be substantially adverse.

Impact Summary: Project implementation would result in potentially significant impacts
on wildlife movement. These impacts are addressed in PDF 7-7 and
PDF 7-8, and are further minimized with implementation of MMs 7-13
through 7-19, which incorporate planning and construction methods to

R:\Projects\PAS\CEN\000306\Draft EIR\5.7 Bio_051117.docx 5.7-170 Centennial Project
Draft EIR