CEQA Guidelines Section 15168(a)(3) defines a program environmental impact report (EIR) as one prepared for a “series of actions that can be characterized as one large project and that are related[…] in connection with issuance of rules, regulations, plans, or other general criteria to govern the conduct of a continuing program.” The Alameda-Tesla Classification and General Plan will outline the long-term management framework for the park property. As such, the appropriate level of CEQA review is a program-level EIR. As a program, the Classification and General Plan is still considered a type of “project” under CEQA, due to the need for a discretionary decision from the State Park and Recreation Commission. The program-level EIR will consider the whole of the Classification and General Plan project, and as such will evaluate the potential environmental effects associated with the entirety of the physical changes that could be permitted under the Classification and General Plan.

The program-level EIR will address the potential environmental impacts of the proposed project as specifically and comprehensively as reasonably possible given the level of detail that can be known at the General Plan planning phase. Later activities or individual improvement projects will be required to adhere to applicable regulations and standards, and any program-level mitigation measures included in the program EIR. Individual future activities and projects will be reviewed to determine whether they are within the scope of the program-level EIR. If a later activity is not within the scope of the Classification and General Plan, or if it could result in impacts not evaluated in the program-level EIR, then it will be subject to additional review under CEQA prior to implementation.

This project is anticipated to take approximately five years to complete.

In 2021, SB 155 (PRC sec. 5090.42) authorized planning work to determine the best use of the Alameda-Tesla property. This project will determine the best classification for the property and result in a general plan that will define the park’s primary purpose and establish a management direction for the park’s future.

More than two decades ago, State Parks acquired the Alameda- Tesla Property with the intent of expanding the adjacent Carnegie State Vehicular Recreation Area.  After challenges to this plan, and specified that the property shall not be designated as a state vehicular recreation area or be considered for any future expansion of off-highway vehicle recreation. 

The Alameda-Tesla Classification Process and General Plan Project now underway will result in a general plan that will guide future management and use of the property.  The effort includes  classification, naming, general plan, and full environmental assessment and review in support of the Programmatic Environmental Impact Report (EIR) required in the general plan process.

After legal challenges, the draft document has been set aside. State Parks is currently embarking on new General Plan effort for the Carnegie SVRA that does not include the Tesla-Alameda property.  To learn more about the Carnegie SVRA General Plan project, visit the Carnegie State Vehicular Recreation Area General Plan Update website.

No. SB 155 (PRC sec. 5090.42) specifies that the property shall not be designated as a state vehicular recreation area or be considered for any future expansion of off-highway vehicle recreation.

Management of the Alameda-Tesla Property currently consists of routine maintenance activities such as road grading, fire suppression, erosion control, and spot-control of invasive plant and animal species. Known occurrences of special-status species, such as California red-legged frog and California tiger salamander, are monitored and appropriate controls implemented to avoid inadvertent take as part of on-going management activities. Once the General Plan is complete, State Parks will work to develop a comprehensive management plan for the property.

Much of the information comes from surveys and observations that were conducted as part of the work that went into the 2016 Carnegie Draft General Plan. This includes mapping of vegetative cover and regulated waters, conduct of avian and other wildlife surveys, habitat assessments for special-status species, and systematic surveys for special-status plants, amphibians, and mammals.  Additional information comes from ongoing monitoring programs carried out by State Parks natural resources staff, partner organizations such as USGS, and focal surveys by consulting specialists.

Yes, additional surveys are underway or planned to further confirm existing natural resources on the Alameda-Tesla property. State Parks natural resources staff continue to conduct annual surveys for avian species, amphibian dip net surveys, and wildlife camera station monitoring.  State Parks has also authorized conduct of updated vegetation classification and mapping, systematic surveys for special-status plants, and special-status bird and mammal surveys, among other survey and mapping efforts. 

Additional surveys may be conducted if the project team determines they are needed as the project progresses.