~ Public Services ~

3.1.5-1 INTRODUCTION
This section addresses the potential impacts of the proposed Brooktrails Township Specific Plan on the providers of public services and their ability to provide such services. The subject areas include police protection, fire protection, schools and solid waste disposal. Brooktrails is an unincorporated Mendocino County community which is organized into Brooktrails Township. The Township provides fire protection services, while the remaining public services are provided by the County of Mendocino, Willits Unified School District and private companies.

3.1.5-2 SETTING

Police Protection

Police services for Brooktrails Township are provided primarily by the Mendocino County Sheriff's Department, with some assistance from the California Highway Patrol. The County Sheriff is responsible for the enforcement of State laws and County ordinances, crime prevention and apprehension of criminals in the unincorporated areas of the County, such as Brooktrails Township. The Sheriff also operates the County jail facilities, assists with various court functions, and performs coroner investigations. The County Sheriff's Department operates sub-stations in Willits and Fort Bragg, and retains resident deputies in Boonville, Covelo, Gualala, Laytonville, Leggett, Philo and Point Arena.

The Willits substation is located approximately three miles from the Brooktrails Township, 125 East Commercial Street. This station serves the area between Ridgewood Grade (south of Willits) to the Humboldt County line. Response times for the County Sheriff's sub-station at Willits are hampered by the size of the patrol area and the terrain. Response times can vary from ten minutes to an hour depending on officer location and shift. There are a total of ten sworn officers assigned to the Willits sub-station. The evening shift consists of four deputies who are stationed along the Highway 101 corridor and to as many as four deputies in Covelo (depending upon conditions there) approximately one and one-half hours north of Willits. A supervisory sergeant travels throughout the area five nights a week. During the day shift, three deputies are on patrol; they are assigned respectively to Willits, Laytonville and Covelo, with two officers remaining at the sub-station. The Mendocino County Sheriff's Department currently maintains a total of 59 sworn officers (including the Sheriff) in a county with a population of about 75,000. Therefore, the ratio of Sheriff's officers to residents is 1 to 1,271.

The Sheriff's Department has identified the current Brooktrails area as utilizing approximately 15 percent of their resources and expressed concerns regarding the public safety aspects of buildout to 4,000 residential units, and the corresponding change in demographics. However, the Sheriff's office recognizes that this growth would occur over many years and does not see the Specific Plan as having an immediate concern for increased law enforcement in the Brooktrails area. The Sheriff's Department has further stated that the implementation of increased staffing, due to the increased population base that buildout would generate, would have to be reviewed on a yearly basis, until the number of new residences has stabilized.

Fire Protection

Fire protection in Mendocino County is provided by twenty-one fire districts and volunteer organizations, the California Department of Forestry and the U.S. Forest Service. Assistance with inspections and arson investigations is available from the Office of the State Fire Marshall.

Brooktrails maintains a fire department to meet the fire protection needs of the Township and the two nearby subdivisions of Sylvandale and Spring Creek. The Township is responsible for the protection of structures, rather than wildfires. The California Department of Forestry (CDF) is responsible by law for fire suppression on all wild lands, including those that are privately owned, and the 2,500 acres of Greenbelt located in Brooktrails Township.

The Brooktrails Fire Department and the CDF cooperate in serving a mutual protection area which includes Brooktrails, Sylvandale and Spring Creek subdivisions and occasionally areas outside of these developments. All Mendocino County fire districts participate in a mutual protection agreement which provides for backup in the case of large fires. During the summer, both the Brooktrails Fire Department and the CDF respond to all fires. During the winter, the Brooktrails Fire Department responds to all fires because the CDF has a lower response capability. CDF is manned only in the daytime during the winter.

The Brooktrails Fire Department currently maintains two stations. The main station is located at 24680 Birch Street in Brooktrails. This station is staffed by a full-time chief and approximately 24 volunteers. It also contains three fire engines, a squad truck and the Chief's vehicle. Township staff provide an additional seven auxiliary firefighters. A second station is located at the intersection of Ridge Road and Blue Lake Road in the Spring Creek subdivision. This station has six volunteer firefighters and two fire engines. The Township also has a contract with the City of Willits to dispatch fire calls. At present, about 50 percent of the Brooktrails Fire Department responses are to fires located outside of its District. Response times can be up to twenty minutes, depending upon road and weather conditions.

The Brooktrails Fire Department current five year plan calls for the addition of equipment, personnel, and a new fire station to be located at the Ells Field airport. Although this station is not planned as a result of growth in Brooktrails, it is planned in conjunction with the City of Willits and the nearby community of Little Lake to improve response times within the area. This station would not be manned full time.

Two additional stations are planned as a result of community growth. The first station is planned for a location north of the Spring Creek Subdivision, north of Brooktrails, outside of the Specific Plan area. The other station will be located in the south-central portion of the Specific Plan area at a site to be determined. Planned Fire Department equipment additions include an ambulance, a replacement of the Chief's vehicle, a new water tender, three fire engines, a utility vehicle and a squad vehicle.

Schools

Brooktrails Township is served by the Willits Unified School District. The District maintains a total of nine schools which could be attended by Brooktrails students. However, Brooktrails students would normally attend the following schools: Brookside (grades K-2); Blosser Lane (grades 3-5); Baechtel Grove (grades 6-8); and Willits High School (grades 9-12). In addition, the District has a Continuation High School, an Independent Study Program (home study), and three small "necessary" schools, which are located in remote areas of the District. Total enrollment of the Willits Unified School District for the 1995-96 school year is 2,643 students.

After experiencing a steady increase in enrollments in the late 1980's and early 1990's, the District has currently been experiencing more stable enrollments. Population growth in the area has slowed because of decreasing employment. There are presently no plans for new school construction, although the District has purchased the parcel adjacent to the Blosser Lane School as a contingency should the school need to expand in the future. There are presently no plans to develop this parcel. The District's main concerns regarding facilities at present involve the rehabilitation of existing facilities. The District has been avoiding building or expanding schools because of so many people leaving the area to seek employment.

Table 3.1.5-1 summarizes the Willits Unified School District student enrollment and capacities for the schools which would be mostly attended by Brooktrails students. Three of the schools (Brookside, Blosser Lane and Baechtel Grove) are above the capacity of their permanent facilities. Excess students are housed in portable classrooms. Willits High School is the only school currently with available capacity.

TABLE 3.1.7-1
WILLITS UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
STUDENT ENROLLMENT

1.Students in excess of permanent enrollment
Source: Willits Unified School District, March 26, 1996

Solid Waste
Brooktrails Township is currently serviced by Solid Wastes of Willits, Inc., a private garbage hauling company in Willits, for garbage collection and disposal for approximately half of the residences in the Township. The other Township residents self-haul their solid waste to the Willits landfill.

The City of Willits and Mendocino County jointly operate the Willits landfill, which is located about eight miles from downtown Willits. The Willits landfill receives approximately 18,000 tons of solid waste per year. Brooktrails is currently estimated to generate about 3,159 tons per year, approximately 18 percent, of the total solid waste accepted at the Willits landfill. The Willits landfill is scheduled for closure in mid-1997. Options being considered as to where Willits/Brooktrails-area solid waste would be disposed of after the closure of the Willits landfill include either using another landfill, or hauling the waste to an out-of-county location, yet to be determined.

Other landfills in the area include the Ukiah landfill, approximately 30 miles to the south of Willits. The Ukiah landfill is scheduled for closure in late 1998 or early 1999.All Mendocino County landfills are expected to be exhausted and closed by some time in 1999, at the latest. Long term County solid waste management plans are for out-of-county disposal. No new landfills are planned for Mendocino County. The location of any new disposal sites are presently undetermined. Studies to identify new disposal sites and methods are currently underway. The accommodation of the solid waste disposal needs of the growing communities in Mendocino County, including Brooktrails Township, are included in these studies.

The Mendocino Solid Waste Management Authority is planning to build a transfer station in Ukiah, scheduled to open after the Ukiah landfill closes. The transfer station would accept solid waste from both commercial haulers and self-haulers. The waste would then be hauled by either truck or railroad to an out-of-county location, yet to be determined. According to the Mendocino County Solid Waste Management Authority, the transfer station will have sufficient capacity to allow for the solid waste generated by the buildout at Brooktrails, as well as other communities in the area.

3.1.5-3 IMPACTS AND MITIGATION MEASURES

Introduction
Under CEQA, public services impacts are considered social or economic impacts, not environmental impacts. Effects on facilities or services are not automatically regarded as significant effects of a project. The changes must be related to, or caused by physical changes. However, economic or social effects of a project may be used to determine the significance of physical changes caused by a project. Where a physical change is caused by economic or social effects of a project, the physical change may be regarded as a significant effect in the same manner as any other physical change resulting from the project. For example, if a new housing development in an area were to increase demands for fire protection services to the degree that a department could no longer provide adequate protection with available resources and the department must build new stations or purchase equipment in order to maintain sufficient service, or otherwise expose residents to unacceptable risks. This situation would require a finding of significance. Similar situations could arise which would affect the level of service of police protection. Substantial adverse affects to the public could also arise from inadequate provision of schools facilities and solid waste disposal capabilities.

Brooktrails Township Specific Plan Policies
Plan goals specifically related to public services in the Plan area appear in the Community Facilities and Services Chapter of the Plan as GOAL FS-7.2-1 and FS-7.2-2. The Policies for implementing the Goals are central to the issue of providing public services and are reiterated here to allow the reader easy reference to the actual language in the Plan.

FIRE AND POLICE PROTECTION GOAL FS-7.2-1: Support and maintain adequate fire protection, police protection, ambulance service and other community services.

POLICY FS-7.2-1A: Establish brush reduction and fire abatement programs consistent with the existing ecosystem and accepted forestry management practices.

POLICY FS-7.2-1B: Evaluate whether potential building density affords suitable fire protection. Consider weather, fuel and slope in determining the level of fire risk.

SOLID WASTE GOAL FS-7.2-2: Facilitate efficient solid waste disposal to ensure a safe and sanitary community.

POLICY FS-7.2-2A: Promote recycling of consumer and business waste to reduce landfill requirements and lengthen service of existing landfills, and to meet mandatory waste stream reduction requirements established by State law.

Standards of Significance

Township buildout would have a significant adverse impact on public services if proposed development and uses would:

• Require a substantial increase in the demand for police or fire service such that meeting the demand would require additional staff, equipment or stations in excess of what is planned by the affected jurisdictions.
• Create a substantial increase in solid waste generation that would require the expansion of solid waste disposal facilities beyond foreseeable capacity.
• Or generate a substantial increase in student enrollments that causes local school districts to physically expand existing facilities, or build new schools, in order to adequately provide services.

Police Protection

Impact 3.1.5-1
The full buildout of Brooktrails Township could require additional staff and equipment to maintain acceptable law enforcement services both in the Township and in the surrounding area. This would be a significant impact. (S)

The County Sheriff's Department has expressed concern over the long-term consequences of providing adequate law enforcement in the Brooktrails area. The Sheriff's assessment of the situation acknowledges that the Plan presents no immediate concerns for law enforcement in the area. The full buildout would occur over approximately twenty or more years.

Mitigation Measure 3.1.5-1
Any requirements for increased Sheriff's Department staffing due to the increase of population presented by full buildout would have to be determined from reviews conducted on a yearly basis, until the number of new residences in Brooktrails has stabilized. The Township would coordinate with the Sheriff's Department as they conduct their yearly reviews to assure that any mutual concerns are addressed. Additional funding for additional manpower and/or equipment may only be provided by the Township as the need is identified in the Sheriffs Department reviews. This mitigation would reduce this impact to insignificant levels. (I)

Fire Protection
No adverse impacts on the provision of fire protection services are anticipated as a result of Township buildout. Full buildout of the Township would not be expected to generate any fire protection needs that have not been provided for in the Brooktrails Township Specific Plan. The Brooktrails Township has planned for the addition of two fire stations to meet the fire protection demands of planned community growth. The first fire station would be implemented before Township development reaches 2,000 residential units and would support development up to about 3,500 residential units. The second fire station would be implemented the full buildout fire protection needs for 4,000 residential units.

The Township takes precautions to prevent firestorms from occurring. Firestorms are a result of the buildup of fuel mixed with the right atmospheric conditions and a fire source. The key is to reduce the buildup of fuel and minimize the number of fire sources within the Township.

During the period of 1983 through 1985, the California Division of Forestry cut several fuel breaks in the Brooktrails Greenbelt area (see Figure 3.1.1-2, Existing Zoning Map). Since the late 1980's the Brooktrails Fire Department has taken specific steps toward minimizing the Township's fire exposure. For example the Department began writing Hazard Abatement Notices on vacant parcels, and entered into a Prescribed Burning Agreement with the California Department of Forestry.

Other measures being investigated include developing additional access into the Township (second access route as called for in the Specific Plan), continuation of the present program of enforcement of hazard abatement as described further below, the use of State forces on a limited charge basis, and expanding the fuel reduction program to beyond the Township's borders.

Annually, the Brooktrails Fire Department conducts a 12 hour course on wildland fire fighting and safety for all Brooktrails fire fighters. Areas covered include safety, wildland safety gear, fire behavior, use of the fire shelter, instruction in fire hose and fitting handling, use of hand tools and related fire fighting activities. This training is followed up with drills throughout the spring and summer seasons. The Fire Department also trains extensively in the incident Command System (ICS) which is the Command System used by all progressive fire departments. ICS is the only system that can be used effectively during a large scale disaster. As a result of the Oakland, California fire, Chief Thomen attended a new course entitled "Wild land Interface Fire Fighting Essentials for Chief Officers", first conducted in October of 1992.

The Brooktrails evacuation plan would be put into use during a major wildland fire in Brooktrails. Class "A" fire rated roofing is now required on all new structures within the Township. Managing the Greenbelt to improve fire safety will be part of the Redwood Park Management Plan update as noted in the Specific Plan (see Chapter 8, Public Safety).

Schools

Impact 3.1.5-2
The proposed buildout would potentially increase the Township population over the long-term to possibly require additional facilities for the Willits Unified School District. This is considered a potentially significant impact. (PS)

The Willits Unified School District uses a student generation rate of 0.5 students per dwelling unit. Applying this rate, the buildout of 4,000 residential units would generate up to a maximum of 2,000 students. In that the buildout could occur over 20 years or more, the potential increase in students is expected to occur quite slowly and no immediate need for additional school facilities is anticipated. The long-term potential enrollment situation for the Willits Unified School District is uncertain at present, in that the District's main concern is to be able to hold the line on their resources while being faced with possible declines in student enrollments resulting from families leaving the area to seek jobs. It is also uncertain if buildout would actually generate sufficient new students to induce the need for new or expanded facilities. Given the long period to buildout, it is also possible that the District may need to expand their facilities during this period in order to meet enrollment growth from sources other than Brooktrails. Should the need for new or expanded facilities occur as a result of buildout, this would be considered a potentially significant impact.

Mitigation Measure 3.1.5-2
In the event that buildout would generate the need for expanded or new school facilities, those responsible for new construction in the Township would pay a per unit impact fee, in accordance with the Willits Unified School District requirements, to provide a local share for funding the necessary expansions. This mitigation would reduce this impact to an insignificant level. (I)

According to the information at hand, it was not determined necessary to reserve a site for a school within the Township at this time. Should it be determined that a school site would be needed at Brooktrails as the Township develops into the next century, this would be so noted in a periodic update of the Specific Plan, and the Township would need to work with the School District to identify a future school site. Periodic five year updates are called for in the Specific Plan.

Solid Waste

Impact 3.1.5-3
Full buildout would increase the solid waste stream to Mendocino County solid waste management facilities by approximately 9,360 tons per year. Because buildout would occur over approximately 20 years, Brooktrails impact as a percentage of the total solid wastesteam cannot be quantified at this time. All Mendocino County landfills are projected for closure no later than 1999.

Brooktrails Township solid waste is presently accepted at the Willits landfill, which is scheduled for closure in 1997. Between 1998 and 1999, all other landfills in the area and throughout the county will be exhausted and closed. Mendocino County plans for all solid waste to be disposed of outside of the county after 1999, at yet to be determined locations. County solid waste planners presently intend for all solid waste generated after the landfill closures in the Brooktrails and Willits area to be hauled to a new transfer station in Ukiah, where it will then be hauled out of the county and disposed of. The proposed growth at Brooktrails is being taken into account in the County's solid waste planning process.

Mitigation Measure 3.1.5-3
Policy FS-7.2-2A of the Brooktrails Township Specific Plan requires the Township to "promote recycling of consumer and business waste to reduce landfill requirements and lengthen service of existing landfills, and to meet mandatory wastestream reduction requirements established by state law." The Township Board of Directors had adopted Resolution No. 1996-12, which specifies District policy for waste reduction and directs the Township General Manager to implement those policies, inclusive of the following:

1) Establish waste recycling bins at the following District facilities:

• Office complex
• Summer Lake
• Lake Emily
• Lake Ada Rose

2) Require that future copiers acquired by the District have two-sided printing option.
3) Require that District Offices use recycled content copy paper when it is cost effective.
4) Provide for recycling bins at all future multiple-family and commercial units as a part of development.