[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 246 (Tuesday, December 30, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61160-61161]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-23971]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2025-0407; FXES11140800000-256-FF08ECAR00]
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed
Habitat Conservation Plan for Piraeus Point Project, City of Encinitas,
CA; Categorical Exclusion
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce receipt
of an application from Lennar Homes of California, LLC (applicant) for
an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
The applicant requests the ITP to take the federally threatened coastal
California gnatcatcher incidental to construction of the Piraeus Point
Project, in the City of Encinitas, San Diego County, California. We
request public comment on the application, which includes the
applicant's proposed habitat conservation plan (HCP), and on the
Service's preliminary determination that the proposed permitting action
may be eligible for a categorical exclusion pursuant to the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Department of the Interior's (DOI)
NEPA regulations, and the DOI Departmental Manual (DM). To make this
preliminary determination, we prepared a joint draft environmental
action statement and low-effect screening form, both of which are
available for public review. We invite comment from the public and
local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies.
DATES: We must receive your written comments on or before January 29,
2026.
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents this
notice announces, along with any comments and other materials that we
receive, online in Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2025-0407 at https://www.regulations.gov.
Submitting Comments: If you wish to submit comments, you may do so
in writing by one of the following methods:
Online: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2025-0407.
Email: [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jonathan Snyder, Acting Field
Supervisor, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office,
[email protected] (email) or 760-309-7993 (telephone).
Individuals in the United States who are deaf, blind, hard of hearing,
or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to
access telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the
United States should use the relay services offered within their
country to make international calls to the point-of-contact in the
United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service), have received an application from Lennar Homes of
California, LLC (applicant) for a 10-year ITP for one covered species
pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531
et seq.). The application addresses the potential ``take'' of the
threatened coastal California gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica
californica; gnatcatcher) associated with the construction of the
Piraeus Point Project in the City of Encinitas, San Diego County,
California.
We request public comment on the application, which includes the
applicant's HCP, and on the Service's preliminary determination that
this proposed ITP qualifies as ``low effect'' and may qualify for a
categorical exclusion pursuant to DOI's NEPA regulations (43 CFR part
46), and the DOI's DM (516 DM 1, DOI NEPA Handbook appendix 2, 8.5
C.(2)). To make this preliminary determination, we prepared a joint
draft environmental action statement and low-effect screening form
which are available for public review.
Background
The Service listed the gnatcatcher as threatened on March 30, 1993
(58 FR 16742) and published a revised final rule designating critical
habitat on December 19, 2007 (72 FR 72010). Section 9 of the ESA
prohibits take of fish and wildlife species listed as endangered (16
U.S.C. 1538).
Under the ESA, ``take'' is defined to include the following
activities: ``to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap,
capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct'' (16
U.S.C. 1532). Section 4(d) of the ESA allows the Secretary of the
Interior to extend protections for endangered species to those listed
as threatened.
Under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1539(a)(1)(B)), we
may issue permits to authorize take of listed fish and wildlife species
that is incidental to, and not the purpose of, carrying out an
otherwise lawful activity. Regulations governing incidental take
permits for threatened species are in the Code of Federal Regulations
(CFR) at 50 CFR 17.32. Issuance of an ITP also must not jeopardize the
existence of federally listed fish, wildlife, or plant species,
pursuant to section 7 of the ESA and 50 CFR 402.02. The permittee would
receive assurances under our ``No Surprises'' regulations (50 CFR
17.32(b)(5)).
Proposed Project
The proposed project site includes a 5.99 acres (ac) development
footprint in a 6.88 ac undeveloped property located east of Piraeus
Street and north of Plato Place, and 0.68 ac street vacation along
portions of Piraeus Street and Plato Place, in the City of Encinitas,
in San Diego County, California. The proposed Piraeus Point project
includes the construction of 134 residential units spread across 14
three-story residential buildings, a pool, pool house, lounge seating,
and 6.41 ac of land set aside (1.46 ac onsite and 4.95 ac offsite) as a
biological open space preserve in the City of Encinitas, California.
The applicant requests a 10-year ITP under section 10(a)(1)(B) of
the ESA. If we approve the permit, the applicant anticipates taking
gnatcatcher resulting from impacts to the project site, including about
2.64 ac of native coastal sage scrub vegetation that this species uses
for breeding, feeding, and sheltering. The take would be incidental to
the applicant's activities associated with the construction of the
Piraeus Point project.
The applicant's proposed HCP contains measures to minimize the
[[Page 61161]]
effects of construction activities on the gnatcatcher. During
construction, a Service-approved biological monitor will be present to
ensure avoidance and minimization measures are understood by the
contractors and implemented as anticipated. Impacts to preserved
vegetation adjacent to the project footprint will be avoided by
surveying, staking, and fencing the limits of proposed impacts and
controlling erosion, sedimentation, and pollution within the footprint
of impacts. Vegetation removal will occur outside the breeding season
to avoid active nests, and impacts to productivity will be minimized by
limiting construction within 500 feet of an active nest.
The applicant proposes restore 1.59 ac of non-native vegetation to
coastal sage scrub within the adjacent off-site preserve. In total,
6.41 ac of coastal sage scrub habitat for the coastal California
gnatcatcher will be conserved through a biological conservation
easement, with funding secured in a non-wasting endowment account, to
ensure management and monitoring in perpetuity.
Proposed Action and Alternatives
The proposed action consists of the issuance of an ITP to address
the incidental take of gnatcatchers from implementing the proposed HCP.
To comply with the requirements for an HCP under ESA section 10(a),
alternatives to the project and the incidental take of gnatcatcher were
evaluated.
Under the no project/no development alternative, the project would
not be constructed, and no ITP would be issued. The applicant would
have no use of the privately owned property. Under the reduced
development footprint alternative, the 2.64 ac of coastal sage scrub
gnatcatcher habitat onsite would be avoided. The gnatcatcher habitat
consists of 2.64 ac of coastal sage scrub and southern mixed/maritime
chaparral habitat in two main patches in the northern and center
portion of the project site. Therefore, the total avoidance of habitat
would also prevent any reasonable economic use of the site. With
implementation of the project, the development would be situated
primarily in the southern portion of the project site. A 1.46 ac
preserve would be established in the northern portion of the project
site, and an off-site preserve of 4.95 ac would be preserved in
perpetuity.
The applicant selected the project as proposed over these
alternatives because it achieves the project's primary goal of
providing housing, is financially feasible to implement, and would
result in the preservation, restoration, and management of coastal
California gnatcatcher habitat and prevent it from being further
degraded.
Our Preliminary Determination
The Service made a preliminary determination that the applicant's
HCP would have minor or negligible effects on the gnatcatcher.
Therefore, we have preliminarily determined that the proposed ESA
section 10(a)(1)(B) ITP would be a low-effect ITP that may qualify for
application of a categorical exclusion pursuant to NEPA, DOI's NEPA
regulations, and the DOI DM. Please see the draft environmental action
statement and low-effect screening form for more information.
Next Steps
The Service will evaluate the application and any comments received
resulting from this notice to determine whether to issue the requested
ITP. We will also conduct an intra-Service consultation pursuant to
section 7 of the ESA to evaluate the effects of the proposed take.
After considering the preceding and other matters, we will determine
whether the permit issuance criteria of section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA
have been met. If met, the Service will issue the permit to the
applicant for incidental take of the gnatcatcher.
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you may
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
Authority
We provide this notice under section 10(c) of the Endangered
Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations
(50 CFR 17.22 and 50 CFR 17.32), and NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and
the DOI's implementing regulations (43 CFR part 46).
Jonathan Snyder,
Acting Field Supervisor, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-23971 Filed 12-29-25; 8:45 am]
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