7. Environmental Superior Alternative

The EIR identifies Alternative 2 as the environmentally superior alternative.

While implementation of all of the proposed project alternatives would result in significant unavoidable impacts on cultural resources, the degree of variation between their impacts in not material enough to determine a preferred alternative on the basis of impacts on cultural resources.

With regard to agricultural resources, Alternative 3 would have the least impact among the project alternatives, removing 18.2 acres of farmland. However, Alternative 3 would not be environmentally superior due to its significant unavoidable impacts on biological resources.

Alternative 3A would have the next least impact on agricultural resources, removing 21.8 acres of farmland. However, Alternative 3A would not be environmentally superior due to its potentially significant adverse impacts related to its proximity to several residences and surrounding of a business, its bisection of agricultural parcels, and encroachment on a proposed development.

Alternative 2 would have the next least impact on agricultural resources, removing 25.6 acres of farmland. Alternative 6 would have a greater impact on agricultural resources than Alternative 2, removing 31.6 acres of farmland, and Alternative 1 would have the greatest impact on agricultural resources among the alternatives, removing 31.8 acres of farmland.

Alternative 2 is the environmentally superior alternative because it would result in only slightly greater impacts to farmland than Alternatives 3 and 3A but would not result in the significant or potentially significant impacts unique to Alternatives 3 and 3A.