2.
Response
to
Comments
2.9
Individual
Responses
to
Comments
from
Organizations
Native
American
cultural
resources
on
or
near
the
Baylands
Project
Site.
Except
for
Icehouse
Hill,
the
Baylands
Project
Site
was
previously
in
Bay
waters
or
tidal
wetlands
during
the
prehistoric
period
up
to
the
early
20
th
century.
Because
the
vast
majority
of
the
site
was
previously
submerged,
and
is
now
covered
with
modern
artificial
fill,
the
potential
to
contain
any
unrecorded
prehistoric
or
Spanish
Mission-period
archaeological
deposits
is
low.
With
the
inclusion
of
Mitigation
Measure
4.D-2,
on
Draft
EIR
pages
4.D-33–34,
Project
Site
development
would
not
cause
a
substantial
adverse
change
in
the
significance
of
archaeological
resources.
Please
see
As
described
above,
with
the
inclusion
of
Mitigation
Measure
4.D-2,
on
Draft
EIR
pages
4.D-33–34,
Project
Site
development
would
not
cause
a
substantial
adverse
change
in
the
significance
of
archaeological
resources.
Since
the
archaeological
sensitivity
of
the
Baylands
Project
Site
is
low,
there
would
be
no
need
to
monitor
during
ground
disturbing
construction.
Regardless,
Mitigation
Measure
4.D-2,
on
Draft
EIR
pages
4.D-33–34,
is
included
to
ensure
Project
Site
development
would
not
cause
a
substantial
adverse
change
in
the
significance
of
archaeological
resources.
Please
also
see
Most
of
the
Baylands
Project
Site
was
formerly
within
San
Francisco
Bay
and
is
currently
comprised
of
thick
layers
of
artificial
fill.
The
comment
is
correct
in
noting
that
there
are
portions
of
the
former
railyard
west
of
the
Caltrain
tracks
that
include
shallow
fill
over
bay
deposits
or
terrestrial
deposits
that
were
formerly
located
at
the
Bay
margins.
In
those
areas
where
ground
disturbance
would
occur
during
project
implementation,
Mitigation
Measure
4.D-2,
on
Draft
EIR
pages
4.D-33
and
34
would
apply.
The
comment
also
states
that
archaeological
remains
related
to
the
railroad-era
should
be
considered
historic
resources.
Information
about
the
SPRR
at
the
Baylands
Project
Site,
including
railroad
design,
engineering,
and
construction,
is
well
documented
at
the
Millbrae
Historical
Society
and
the
California
State
Railroad
Museum,
among
other
repositories
of
historical
information.
Because
of
existing
substantial
documentation
of
the
historical
resources
at
the
former
SPRR
railyard,
any
20
th
century
SPRR
features
or
remnants
that
may
be
encountered
at
the
Baylands
Project
Site
during
construction,
such
as
railroad
ties,
tracks,
spikes,
or
other
remnant
features
would
likely
not
yield
any
information
beyond
what
is
already
known
that
would
be
considered
significant
to
history,
nor
would
it
substantially
add
to
the
body
of
academic
knowledge
about
railroads
that
is
already
available.
Thus,
any
features
or
remnants
that
might
be
found
would
not
Brisbane
Baylands
Final
EIR
2.9.2-68
May
2015