Land Use

1. Land Use Managing the Environmental & Project Development Process

2. Determine existing and proposed land uses • Existing zoning and land use plans • Existing and approved developments – residential, commercial, industrial • Flood plains • Agricultural resources / farms and soils Managing the Environmental & Project Development Process

3. Sources of information • Coordination with land use agencies • Public outreach • Comprehensive plans • NRCS soils maps and classification listings • USGS topographic maps • Aerial photographs • Field reviews Managing the Environmental & Project Development Process

4. Assessing Land Use Impacts • Direct land use impacts result from right-of-way acquisition • Indirect land use impacts are changes to development patterns and comprehensive plans Managing the Environmental & Project Development Process

5. Assessing Land Use Impacts • Consider direct impacts of right-of-way acquisition, as well as indirect effects • Evaluate consistency with local land use plans • Consider local stakeholder, public and agency input • Incorporate measures to minimize undesirable effects and maximize desired effects, within limits of transportation improvement (e.g. access management) Managing the Environmental & Project Development Process

6. Property Impacts and Relocations Managing the Environmental & Project Development Process

7. Property Impacts by Parcel • Residential, commercial, industrial, institutional • Quantity by parcel • Type - temporary or permanent; easement or fee simple (if known) • Effect – strip r/w purchase, total acquisition Managing the Environmental & Project Development Process

8. Relocations • Business – type, number of employees (if known) • Residential – type, number of dwellings • Potential relocation challenges, if identified through observation or public input, such as: • ADA • Low-income Managing the Environmental & Project Development Process

9. Community Impacts • Loss of residents or employment • Change in access • Loss of public facility or service • Community cohesion • Temporary impacts during construction Managing the Environmental & Project Development Process

10. Indirect and Cumulative Effects Managing the Environmental & Project Development Process

11. Definition of “Indirect” and “Cumulative” • Indirect effects, “are caused by the action and are later in time or farther removed in distance, but are still reasonably foreseeable” (40 CFR 1508.8). Examples are changes in land use, growth rate, water quality, economic vitality and population density. • Cumulative Impacts, “result from incremental consequences of an action when added to other past and reasonably foreseeable future actions” (40 CFR 1508.7). Managing the Environmental & Project Development Process

12. Impacts versus Effects • “Secondary impact” does not appear in CEQ regulation or guidance • Found in FHWA’s position paper • Secondary and Cumulative Impact Assessment in the Highway Project Development Process, April 1992 • Secondary impacts = indirect effects • Cumulative impacts = cumulative effects • Indirect does not equal cumulative Managing the Environmental & Project Development Process

13. What does “foreseeable” mean? • Impacts that are “sufficiently likely to occur,” such that a person of ordinary prudence would take it into account when making a decision • Must be probable - those effects that are considered possible, but not probable, may be excluded from the NEPA analysis • Need not speculate about all conceivable impacts Managing the Environmental & Project Development Process

14. Indirect Effects analysis approach • Identify the “but for” actions - those actions, considered to be induced, that would not or could not occur except for the implementation of a project • Likely effects related to those foreseeable “connected actions” Managing the Environmental & Project Development Process

15. Conducting the analysis • Contact MPOs, development and resource protection agencies during the planning phase • Consider past history as an indicator of future development patterns • Zoning boards • Water quality control departments • Building inspection agencies • Determine development changes and any expected growth, including environmental resources Managing the Environmental & Project Development Process

16. Conducting the analysis (continued) • Tailor the analysis and the discussion to the scope of the project • Relate development trends to the scope of the project’s influence (traffic volumes, etc.) • Determine reasonable time period (up to design life) • Mitigation not required - identification allows others to act Managing the Environmental & Project Development Process

17. Cumulative impacts • Past, present, and future actions of Federal, non-Federal, public and private entities • Sum of all impacts to a particular resource that are reasonably foreseeable, including direct and indirect effects • Not all resources require a cumulative impact analysis • Determined on a case-by-case basis • Consult with Participating Agencies Managing the Environmental & Project Development Process

18. Cumulative impact evaluation approach • Geographic area affected by the project • Resources affected within the geographic area • Other past, present, and future actions affecting the resource • Impacts associated with those actions • Overall impact on each of the resources from the accumulation of the actions Managing the Environmental & Project Development Process