HomeMy WebLinkAboutRE_ EXTERNAL_ Fwd_ Canyon Loop Trail Project_ Intervention Request (4)CAUTION: This message originated outside of our City of Diamond Bar network.
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Ryan,
I'm copying Anisha on this as I think this is more in her realm of expertise.
Ryan Winkleman | Project Manager/Senior Biologist/Certified Senior Ecologist
5 Hutton Centre Drive, Suite 500 | Santa Ana, CA 92707 | [O] 949-330-4115 | [M] (949) 533-0918
ryan.winkleman@mbakerintl.com | www.mbakerintl.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Ryan Wright <RWright@DiamondBarCA.Gov>
Sent: Thursday, November 3, 2022 3:46 PM
To: Richard Fisher (rfisher@rfaland.com) <rfisher@rfaland.com>; Winkleman, Ryan <Ryan.Winkleman@mbakerintl.com>
Subject: EXTERNAL: Fwd: Canyon Loop Trail Project, Intervention Request
Good Afternoon,
Please provide your thoughts regarding the email below. If you would like to call tomorrow that will work as well.
Thanks
Ryan
________________________________
From: Cynthia Robin Smith <diamondbarbeautiful@gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, November 3, 2022, 3:13 PM
To: Rwright@diamondbarca.gov <Rwright@diamondbarca.gov>
Subject: Canyon Loop Trail Project, Intervention Request
CAUTION: This message originated outside of our City of Diamond Bar network.
**Please exercise caution when opening attachments or clicking links, especially from unknown senders.**
TO: Mr. Ryan Wright, Project Mgr.
City of Diamond Bar
Los Angeles County
RE: City of Diamond Bar, Canyon Loop Trail Project - Oversight
Dear Ryan,
I am grateful for the conversation we had on the phone this week. I hope this letter will clarify my concerns about this active project and that changes can be made before serious damage
is done.
I understand the Canyon Loop Trail construction project intends to install PVC drainage piping and a mechanical irrigation system in this sensitive natural habitat area. Also, I previously
informed you that the City's routine installation of cement and cobblestone gutters, tracing the trails, is inferior and causes erosion and soil degradation. This mechanically-engineered
system wastes water and will cause years of incremental degradation.
Problems
These methods also violate CEQA and are an inferior mitigation for erosion and water management on watershed habitats.
Tradecraft Differences
The City's present choice of design is based on architectural engineering that is contrary to ecological land management practices and which do not support native vegetation, stormwater
management or watershed conditions.
PVC piping, manufactured hydration systems (sprinklers) and cement gutters will alter the (watershed) hydrology of the site, damaging the natural setting and increasing maintenance service
costs in future. Wasting water and budget resources.
Guidance & Permits Required
I have spoken with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. They informed me the City has not contacted them for the proper guidance and permits associated with my complaints
here. (USGS maps indicate jurisdictional hydrological features in the project area.)
Solutions
There are better solutions for conserving water on site that coincide with best natural land management practices. Bio-swales and pocket "dams", which are permeable plant, compost, rock
and gravel formations are excellent mitigation improvements. Bio-swales capture rainfall, arrest the process of erosion by slowing water down when it flows across a slope. Any soil
that has been carried off from uphill is deposited in the bottom of the bio-swale reducing erosion, recharging groundwater and building soil. Bio-swales are a superior watershed management
strategy.
A Request
On behalf of Diamond Bar residents, I again request the City of Diamond Bar perform a change-order to instead use a "watershed" supportive approach to drainage and irrigation on the
trail.
Please communicate to me your impression of this request and keep me informed of the progress of the Canyon Loop Trail project.
Thank you.
C. Robin Smith
Cynthia Robin Smith, Naturalist, Conservation Gardener, Teacher California Native Trees, Landscapes; Wildlife Habitat & Biodiversity Conservation Diamond Bar Preservation Foundation,
Conservation Consultant Conejo Ridge Native Garden, Outdoor Classroom, Director Diamond Bar - Pomona Valley Sierra Club, Angeles Chapter
324 S. Diamond Bar Blvd., #230
Diamond Bar CA 91765
951-675-6760 Mobile
CC: CDFW, Victoria Tang
Walnut Valley Water District, Director Hilden
Los Angeles Water Quality Control Board, Stormwater Management.com