Cutler-Orosi Community Plan Update
Live Oak Associates investigated the biotic resources of the 3,154-acre planning area, and evaluated potential impacts to those resources associated with the continued growth of Cutler and Orosi.
The planning area contained a larger number of habitats and land uses with varied potential to support special status species and other sensitive resources. Lands outside of the urban core of the two communities were generally of higher ecological value than lands within. Our biological evaluation, prepared in support of an Environmental Impact Report for CEQA review, established two general “zones” for the planning area – urban and rural – and presented a mitigation strategy for future projects that considered a project site’s zone, specific habitat types, and key habitat features. Our mitigation program was designed to reduce the magnitude of all potential biological resource impacts to a less than significant level under CEQA, and included measures for the protection of:
Sanford’s arrowhead
Western pond turtle
Swainson’s hawk
Burrowing owl
Roosting bats
Nesting migratory birds and raptors
Riparian habitat
Client
Tulare County
Location
Communities of Cutler and Orosi, Tulare County, California
Dates
2021
Project Description
Proposed update of the Cutler-Orosi Community Plan to accommodate population growth in an approximately 3,154-acre area (“planning area”) spanning the communities of Cutler and Orosi.