PG&E Charitable Donation – Defensible Space Assistance Program

2026030398

Nevada County Resource Conservation District

NOE - Notice of Exemption

3/10/2026

3/10/2026

nathan alcorn

Nevada County RCD

Program Director

Lead/Public Agency

113 Presley Way, suite 1
Grass Valley, CA 95945

(309) 368-7575

nate.alcorn@ncrcd.org

39°8'55.3"N 121°4'18.8"W

19175 Applejack Dr., Grass Valley, CA 95949; 17415 Norlene Way, Grass Valley, CA 95949; 10791 Ri

95945

10

5

NA

CA

Grass

Statutory Exemption

PRC 21080.49 (b) & 21080.49 (c)

The proposed project qualifies for a Statutory Exemption under Public Resource Code (PRC) 21080.49(b) and 21080.49(c). Pursuant to Section 21080.49(b) this project consists of “defensible space” fire clearance of up to 100 feet, as measured from the center line of the roadway, for a public roadway identified as an egress and evacuation route for a subdivision or community of 30 or more dwelling units, to remove flammable vegetation or trees of less than 12 inches in diameter as measured at chest height. Also pursuant to Section 21080.49(c), this project consists of the establishment or enhancement of residential home hardening or defensible space for wildfire risk reduction within 200 feet of a legal structure located in a high or very high wildfire hazard zone. The project involves removal of an abundance of small-diameter understory trees and brush species adjacent to habitable structures to reduce the vertical and horizontal continuity of forest fuels, reduce wildfire intensity and severity near developed communities, and to comply with PRC 4291 and local ordinances. Field review by the Nevada County Resource Conservation District Forester confirmed that fuel clearance in the project area is required to reduce hazardous fuel conditions adjacent to habitable structures for the safety of the public and emergency responders. No exceptions apply which would preclude the use of a Notice of Exemption for this project. The project consists of minor treatments to vegetation in the form of hand thinning and chipping. The trees being removed are in a suppressed state and are not considered healthy. The activities do not result in the taking of endangered, rare, or threatened plant or animal species, nor do they cause sedimentation to surface waters. This project will not convert forestland to non-forest uses, and all treated vegetation will have the ability to grow back. The Nevada County Resource Conservation District has concluded that no significant environmental impact would occur to aesthetics, agriculture and forestland/timberland, air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, geology and soils, greenhouse gas emissions, hazards and hazardous materials, hydrology and water quality, land use planning, mineral resources, noise, population and housing, public services, recreation, transportation/traffic, utilities and service systems, or to wildfire. Documentation of the environmental review completed by the department is kept on file at the Nevada County Resource Conservation District, located at 113 Presley Way, suite 1, Grass Valley CA. The NCRCD Board of Directors has authorized staff to file appropriate documentation and, furthermore, made a determination that the current fuel overgrowth poses a significant threat to Nevada County communities and that it is an urgent priority to implement wildfire mitigation projects to protect life, property, and the environment from wildfire.

Statutory Exemption

PRC 21080.49 (b) & 21080.49 (c)

The proposed project qualifies for a Statutory Exemption under Public Resource Code (PRC) 21080.49(b) and 21080.49(c). Pursuant to Section 21080.49(b) this project consists of “defensible space” fire clearance of up to 100 feet, as measured from the center line of the roadway, for a public roadway identified as an egress and evacuation route for a subdivision or community of 30 or more dwelling units, to remove flammable vegetation or trees of less than 12 inches in diameter as measured at chest height. Also pursuant to Section 21080.49(c), this project consists of the establishment or enhancement of residential home hardening or defensible space for wildfire risk reduction within 200 feet of a legal structure located in a high or very high wildfire hazard zone. The project involves removal of an abundance of small-diameter understory trees and brush species adjacent to habitable structures to reduce the vertical and horizontal continuity of forest fuels, reduce wildfire intensity and severity near developed communities, and to comply with PRC 4291 and local ordinances. Field review by the Nevada County Resource Conservation District Forester confirmed that fuel clearance in the project area is required to reduce hazardous fuel conditions adjacent to habitable structures for the safety of the public and emergency responders. No exceptions apply which would preclude the use of a Notice of Exemption for this project. The project consists of minor treatments to vegetation in the form of hand thinning and chipping. The trees being removed are in a suppressed state and are not considered healthy. The activities do not result in the taking of endangered, rare, or threatened plant or animal species, nor do they cause sedimentation to surface waters. This project will not convert forestland to non-forest uses, and all treated vegetation will have the ability to grow back. The Nevada County Resource Conservation District has concluded that no significant environmental impact would occur to aesthetics, agriculture and forestland/timberland, air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, geology and soils, greenhouse gas emissions, hazards and hazardous materials, hydrology and water quality, land use planning, mineral resources, noise, population and housing, public services, recreation, transportation/traffic, utilities and service systems, or to wildfire. Documentation of the environmental review completed by the department is kept on file at the Nevada County Resource Conservation District, located at 113 Presley Way, suite 1, Grass Valley CA. The NCRCD Board of Directors has authorized staff to file appropriate documentation and, furthermore, made a determination that the current fuel overgrowth poses a significant threat to Nevada County communities and that it is an urgent priority to implement wildfire mitigation projects to protect life, property, and the environment from wildfire.