REPORT TO PLANNING COMMISSION
SUBJECT
Title
File #: 2013-7525
Location: 280 Santa Ana Ct. (APNs: 205-33-002, -005, -007, -009, -010, -011, -012, -013, -014)
Zoning: Industrial and Service (M-S) Zoning District
Proposed Project:
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT (EIR)
SPECIAL DEVELOPMENT PERMIT to allow three interconnected 6-story office buildings totaling approximately 777,000 square feet, a 6-story parking garage, and 2,541 parking spaces on a 17.84 acre site.
TENTATIVE MAP
Applicant/Owner: Landbank Investments, LLC
Environmental Review: Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR)
Note: Overview of CEQA and the Draft EIR will be provided at the Study Session.
Report
This report provides information on the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and environmental impact reports (EIRs). It also includes a brief summary of the Central & Wolfe Campus Project Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR).
The purpose of this Study Session is to introduce the Planning Commission to the EIR process and the Draft EIR for the Central and Wolfe Campus Project and to answer any questions the Commission may have on the process or purpose of the DEIR. Specific comments on the accuracy or completeness of the analysis, impacts or mitigation measures in this DEIR should be reserved for written comments or for the Planning Commission public hearing on the DEIR scheduled for Wednesday, May 28, 2014.
What is CEQA?
"CEQA" stands for the California Environmental Quality Act which was adopted in 1970 and requires public agencies making decisions which could affect the physical environment to evaluate any environmental impacts before approving a project or activity. The law is implemented by the CEQA Guidelines which are frequently updated by the California State Office of Planning and Research. Compliance with CEQA is also influenced by court decisions involving CEQA issues.
What is the Purpose of an EIR?
· An EIR is an informational document that informs the public and the City's decision-makers of the significant physical environmental impacts of a proposed project.
· An EIR also identifies actions that can minimize the significant environmental impacts to a "less than significant" level and to identify alternatives to the proposed project that could also reduce a significant impact to a "less than significant" level.
· The EIR is only part of the information that will be considered by the decision-makers in their review of the proposed project.
· The analysis and conclusions in the EIR do not mandate a particular decision on a proposed project nor does it act as a recommendation for the proposed project.
· The proposed project may ultimately be approved, even if the EIR discloses significant unavoidable impacts. Similarly, a project may be denied, even if the EIR determines that there are no significant impacts.
· A decision on the proposed project will be made based on the merits of the project, community needs and expectations, and the totality of the public record (of which the EIR is just one part).
EIR Public Review and Comment Period Overview
· The CEQA requires a 45-day public review and comment period for draft environmental impact reports.
· During the 45-day review and comment period, the DEIR is made available to decision makers, outside agencies, and the public.
· A public hearing with the Planning Commission is usually scheduled during the 45-day review and comment period to allow the public to provide verbal comments and testimony on the DEIR.
· Comments received during the review and comment period (including verbal testimony to Planning Commission) will be reviewed by the environmental consultant and City staff who will prepare formal responses to the comments. These responses can range from something as straightforward as "Comment Noted" (if, for example, the comment is an opinion on the desirability of the project and not on the adequacy of the environmental review) to including additional information in the Final EIR document. Many comments result in directing the reader to where the information can be found or result in an elaboration of the methodologies and analysis.
· The responses to the public comments, and any additions or modifications to the DEIR text are incorporated in the Final EIR (FEIR) that is considered by the Planning Commission and City Council prior to taking action on the proposed Project.
Reviewing a DEIR
· Review of a DEIR will depend on the interests of the individual and the complexity of the proposed project.
· Some reviewers may review each chapter in detail while other reviewers may just read the Executive Summary (which provides an overview of the main issues, impacts, and mitigation measures) or the section of most interest to them.
· When scanning a DEIR during the review process many reviewers sample the document by reading the impact title/description and summary impact assessment (e.g. Less Than Significant, Significant) to decide where to focus their review of a document.
· The various impact sections or chapters of the DEIR include the following: information on the physical and regulatory setting, a description of the impacts or effects on the project, a determination of the significance of the impacts, and an identification of measures to reduce or mitigate any of the impacts.
· Generally, impacts may be mitigated to a "Less Than Significant" level through a variety of means including the payment of impact fees or fair share contributions, special monitoring activities, or by the construction of physical improvements.
· While reading the DEIR it may be desirable to take notes and jot down questions which may be asked at the public hearing of the Planning Commission.
Next Steps
· Following this study session, there will be a formal Planning Commission public hearing to take public testimony during the 45-day public review and comment period. This hearing is not required by CEQA or the CEQA guidelines and is offered as a courtesy to the public as another way to provide input on the adequacy of the DEIR. Staff and the City's environmental consultant will at this public hearing. Answers to questions may not be available on the spot but will be addressed in the response to comments.
· Staff and the environmental consultant will collect all written public comments and testimony received during the 45-Day comment period including any comments provided to the Planning Commission at the public hearing.
· The environmental consultant will work with staff to prepare written responses to all of the comments.
· The environmental consultant will then prepare the Final EIR (which includes the DEIR, the responses to the comments, and any new analysis or needed information).
· At a noticed public hearing the Planning Commission will make a recommendation on the FEIR and the Project to the City Council based upon the merits of the proposed Project.
· The City Council will hold a formal public hearing on the FEIR and proposed Project and make a final decision on both the adequacy of the FEIR and on the proposed Project.
Central & Wolfe Campus Draft EIR Overview
The Central & Wolfe Campus (Landbank) Project is a proposal to remove nine 1-story light industrial/office buildings and construct three interconnected six story buildings totaling 747,100 square feet, and a multi-level parking garage on a 17.8 acre site located between North Wolfe Road, East Arques Avenue, the City Public Works Equipment (Corp) Yard, and Central Expressway.
The DEIR is organized into eight sections. These sections are as follows.
Executive Summary
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Project Description
Chapter 3: Environmental Setting, Impacts, and Mitigation Measures
Chapter 4: Cumulative and Growth-Inducing Impacts
Chapter 5: Alternatives to the Project
Chapter 6: Report Preparers
Technical Appendices
The DEIR addresses 14 issue/topic areas. Each impact area identifies short-term construction related impacts, operational impacts, cumulative impacts, and mitigation measures to reduce the identified impacts. These impact/topic areas addressed in the DEIR are as listed below.
• Land Use and Planning • Biological Resources
• Population and Housing • Geology and Soils
• Aesthetics • Hydrology/Water Quality
• Transportation and Traffic • Hazards and Hazardous Materials
• Air Quality • Cultural Resources
• Greenhouse Gases • Utilities and Service Systems
• Noise • Public Services
Significant Impacts
The DEIR identified potentially significant impacts for:
· Aesthetics
· Traffic and Transportation
· Air Quality - Construction
· Air Quality - Operation
· Greenhouse Gas Emissions
· Noise - Construction
· Biologic Resources
· Cultural Resources
Cumulative & Growth Inducing Impacts
The DEIR also addresses the cumulative impact of the project by assuming that all known future project in the surrounding area are also implemented and then assessing these cumulative impacts. The results of this analysis indicated that there would be cumulative transportation impacts at the previously identified intersection of Commercial Street and Central Expressway and at the intersection of Kifer Road and Lawrence Expressway. The cumulative impact at intersection of Commercial Street and Central Expressway would remain Significant and Unavoidable (as previously discussed) while the impacts at the intersection of Kifer Road and Lawrence Expressway would be mitigated through a fair-share payment to the City's Traffic Impact Fee.
The DEIR concluded that the project would induce growth in the City consistent with the adopted General Plan (the long term plan for the City). Because the future growth is consistent with the City General Plan, the impacts are considered to be less than significant.
Project Alternatives
CEQA also requires the consideration of Project Alternatives as a way to reduce the impacts of the Project. As required by CEQA Guidelines Section 15126.6, a range of reasonable alternatives to the project will be addressed within the EIR. While some of these alternatives did reduce the impacts of the project, none of them reduced a significant and unavoidable impact to a less than significant level. The three alternatives considered in the DEIR are:
A No Project Alternative which would not have the proposed Project constructed so that the existing one-story industrial/office buildings remain in use on the site. This alternative project would result in no new impacts on the environment.
A Reduced Development Alternative envisioning the future development of the site at 70% FAR (instead of the requested FAR 100%). This alternative would result in a reduction in the Project's impacts on the environment by about one-third.
An Alternative Transportation Alternative would reduce the number of parking spaces in conjunction with the implementation of an aggressive Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Program.
Several Project Alternatives were initially considered but rejected during the process of preparing the DEIR. These rejected project alternatives include: an alternate site alternative (the applicant does not have an equivalent alternative site in the area), an alternate land use project (the General Plan identifies this area for industrial/office development), and an even more reduced development alternative (that did not meet project objectives).
Public Review and Comment Period
The Draft EIR was released for public review and comment on April 18, 2014. The comment period will end at 5:00 pm on June 2, 2014. A public hearing to allow for the public to provide verbal comments on the DEIR is scheduled for May 28, 2014. All of the written received during the comment period (and verbal comments received at the public hearing) will be considered during the preparation of the Final EIR.