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During construction of the arroyo realignment project in 2003-2004, instead of completely filling the Staples Ranch site (as allowed by the Army Corps permit and the Wetlands Mitigation and Monitoring Reporting Plan) fill was placed in mounds, and the ACSPA states that seeds were collected and the underlying topsoil was scraped and stored prior to the placement of fill; and then distributed in the Arroyo mitigation area once construction was completed. Per the Mitigated Negative Declaration and the Army Corps permit, monitoring of the plantings in the Arroyo Mocho is required for five years. Thus far, the annual monitoring reports by Davis Environmental LLC have shown the mitigation to be a success. Monitoring began in 2004. The last monitoring report prepared was in September 2008. A final monitoring report will be submitted to the Army Corps for review and approval. Although the introduction of a set number of San Joaquin spearscale plants was not a requirement of the Wetlands Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Plan, the 2006 WRA rare plant survey for the Staples Ranch Project Area shows over 10,000 individuals of San Joaquin spearscale in the Arroyo Mocho mitigation area. Likewise, the EIR biologist for PBS&J has confirmed that scattering of spearscale seeds is an accepted mitigation for San Joaquin spearscale. The 2006 WRA report also shows that there were still approximately 1,250 San Joaquin spearscale, located on approximately YZ acre, in the upland areas of Staples Ranch after the realignment project. However, staff believes the population that would be impacted by the proposed project has already been fully and successfully mitigated for in advance as a result of the successful revegetation and mitigation effort. Likewise, per the 2006 WRA report, over 90% of the spearscale population within the Staples Ranch Project Area is now in the Arroyo Mocho. Revisions to the proposed Staples Ranch project or project alternatives will not cause a substantial reduction in impacts to the spearscale population since over 90% of the reported spearscale population is in the Arroyo Mocho and proposed mitigation BIO-6.2 (to erect exclusion fencing around the spearscale mitigation area) is proposed to protect this population during bridge construction. Staff believes impacts to the San Joaquin spearscale population in the Staples Ranch Project Area is therefore considered a less than significant impact. Although staff believes the CEQA impact is less than significant, the Staples Ranch project, through the development agreement between the ACSPA and the City, can include binding provisions to improve the environment even if mitigation measures are not required per CEQA. The ACSPA has agreed to provide for spearscale as part of the Staples Ranch project. The development agreement will provide that prior to grading on the Staples Ranch property, the ACSPA will, for example, purchase credits from the Springtown Natural Community Preserve in Livermore, or purchase land at another appropriate mitigation area in Alameda County, for an equivalent acreage of spearscale habitat to the area currently occupied by spearscale on the Staples Ranch site. Page 8 of 10