City of Livermore Notice of Preparation and Notice of Public Scoping Meeting Sunset Crossing Project / Catalina Crossing Project

Transcription

1 City of Livermore Notice of Preparation and Notice of Public Scoping Meeting Sunset Crossing Project / Catalina Crossing Project Date: Friday October 18, 2013 To: From: Subject: Public Agencies and Interested Parties Scott Lee, Senior Planner, City of Livermore Notice of Preparation of an Environmental Impact Report and Notice of Public Scoping Meeting for the Sunset Crossing Project / Catalina Crossing Project The City of Livermore will be the Lead Agency and will prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the projects identified herein. The project description, location, and probable environmental effects of the Sunset Crossing Project / Catalina Crossing Project are described in the attached materials. The City of Livermore is soliciting comments from public agencies, organizations, and members of the public regarding the scope and content of the EIR, and the environmental issues and alternatives to be addressed in the EIR. Public agencies may need to use the EIR when considering permitting or other approvals that are germane to the agencies responsibilities in connection with the projects. Because of time limits mandated by state law, public agencies must submit any comments in response to this notice at the earliest possible date but not later than 30 days after receipt of this notice. The City also will accept comments from other interested parties regarding this notice during this time period. Accordingly, please provide your written response to the address shown below by 5 p.m., Monday, November 18, If you wish to be placed on the notification list for this project, or if you have any questions or need additional information, please contact the person below. City of Livermore Community Development Department 1052 S. Livermore Avenue Livermore, CA Attn: Mr. Scott Lee, Senior Planner Phone: (925) Fax: (925) sslee@ci.livermore.ca.us Public Scoping Meeting A public scoping meeting will be held at 7 p.m., Wednesday, November 13, 2013 at the Livermore City Council Chambers, 3575 Pacific Avenue, Livermore, CA At this meeting, public agencies, organizations, and members of the public will be able to review the proposed projects and provide comments on the scope of the environmental review process.

2 Sunset Crossing Project / Catalina Crossing Project City of Livermore Notice of Preparation SUNSET CROSSING PROJECT / CATALINA CROSSING PROJECT Introduction Sunset Development filed applications with the City of Livermore to redevelop two office properties to residential uses ( Sunset Crossing and Catalina Crossing, respectively). Separate applications have been filed for these two development proposals. Because they are close to each other (approximately 600 feet apart) and are owned by the same applicant, both proposals will be evaluated in a single EIR and for the purposes of CEQA will be treated as one project. This approach complies with CEQA goals by ensuring comprehensive review of planned actions by the decisionmakers and the public Project Location Sunset Crossing The Sunset Crossing project site is located at 1712 Holmes Street within the City of Livermore, Alameda County, California (Exhibit 1). The project site encompasses approximately acres, bounded by Holmes Street (west), a single-family residential neighborhood (north and east), and Concannon Boulevard (south) (Exhibit 2). The project site is located on the Livermore, California, United States Geological Survey 7.5-minute topographic quadrangle map, Township 3 South, Range 2 East, Section 20 (Latitude North; Longitude West) Catalina Crossing The Catalina Crossing project site is located at 1504 and 1802 Catalina Court within the City of Livermore, Alameda County, California (Exhibit 1). The project site encompasses approximately 2.18 acres, bounded by Catalina Court (west), Catalina Drive (north), Barcelona Street (east), and an office property (south) (Exhibit 2). The project site is located on the Livermore, California, United States Geological Survey 7.5-minute topographic quadrangle map, Township 3 South, Range 2 East, Section 20 (Latitude North; Longitude West) Existing Conditions Sunset Crossing The Sunset Crossing project site contains the Sunset Office Plaza, a Class B office property 1. The plaza contains 10 single-story office buildings developed in the early 1970s. Existing tenants consist of professional businesses, non-profits, and medical offices (dentists and doctors). Interior spaces range from 400 to 875 square feet, although some have been combined into contiguous suites. The vacancy rate for this property as of July 2013 was 29 percent. 1 Office space is classified as A, B, or C, with A representing newer space in business centers, B representing older space in business centers or newer space in outlying areas, and C representing alternative space such as office flex buildings that are not located within business parks or business districts. FirstCarbon Solutions 2 H:\Client (PN-JN)\1728\ \NOP\ Sunset-Catalina Crossings NOP.doc

3 Sunset Crossing Project / Catalina Crossing Project City of Livermore Notice of Preparation A perimeter drive aisle provides access to both Concannon Boulevard and Holmes Street. A landscaped area provides a buffer between the plaza and the residential uses to the north and east. There are a total of 233 trees on the Sunset Crossing project site. The plaza is designated Office Commercial and Open Space by the City of Livermore General Plan, and is zoned Commercial Office by the Livermore Development Code Catalina Crossing The Catalina Crossing project site contains the Livermore Financial Center, a Class B office property. The center contains four single-story office buildings developed in the early 1970s. Existing tenants consist of professional businesses, non-profits, and medical offices (dentists and doctors). Interior spaces range from 300 to 840 square feet, although some have been combined into contiguous suites. The vacancy rate for this property as of July 2013 was 38 percent. Off-street parking is provided on the north and south sides of the center. Vehicular access is provided to and from Catalina Court and Barcelona Street. There are a total of 49 trees on the Catalina Crossing project site. The center is designated Neighborhood Commercial by the City of Livermore General Plan and is zoned Commercial Office by the Livermore Development Code Project Description Sunset Crossing Demolition of existing office buildings would be required for the proposed change in use. Sunset Crossing would consist of 87 dwelling units, allocated as follows: 49 single-family residences (4.45 dwelling units / acre) 2 and 38 townhomes (12.25 dwelling units / acre). Table 1 summarizes the Sunset Crossing Project. Table 1: Sunset Crossing Project Summary Component Single-Family Detached Attached Townhomes Public Street Private Street Common Area Open Space / Water Quality Public Easement Total Source: Sunset Development, Characteristics 49 dwelling units 6.90 acres 38 dwelling units 1.88 acres 3.16 acres 0.47 acre 0.34 acre 0.65 acre 0.07 acre acres 2 Gross acres used in calculating the residential density may include all or a portion of the adjacent street frontage, which is the area between the street right-of-way boundary and the mid-line of the adjacent fronting street (General Plan, Land Use Element, p. 3-10). FirstCarbon Solutions 3 H:\Client (PN-JN)\1728\ \NOP\ Sunset-Catalina Crossings NOP.doc

4 Sunset Crossing Project / Catalina Crossing Project City of Livermore Notice of Preparation Circulation and Access The Sunset Crossing Project would maintain the existing vehicular access point on Concannon Boulevard and would relocate the Holmes Street access point to align with Catalina Drive, creating a four-way intersection. A network of internal streets ranging from 20 feet to 36 feet in curb-to-curb width would provide access to individual properties. The project would also provide an Emergency Vehicle Access/bicycle/pedestrian connection to an existing stub of London Way to the north of the project site. Private Common Green Space A 14,632 square-foot private common green space would be provided in the center of the site. Utilities The project is an infill development and would connect to an existing water line within Concannon Boulevard and two existing sewer lines located within Holmes Street and London Way. The Sunset Crossing Project would involve the installation of underground potable water, sewer, and storm drain utility lines within the project site. Storm runoff would be directed to storm water basins located within the project site and then ultimately discharged into an existing storm drainage line located within Holmes Street. General Plan Amendment / Rezone The applicant is requesting approval of a General Plan Amendment to redesignate the site to Urban Medium Residential and Urban High Residential-2 and a rezone to Residential Low Density and Transect 4 Neighborhood Catalina Crossing Catalina Crossing would consist of 31 dwelling units at a density of 12.4 dwelling units / acre. Demolition of existing office buildings would be required for the proposed change in use. Circulation, Access, and Parking The project would maintain the existing vehicular access to Catalina Court and Barcelona Street. A network of 20-foot to 24-foot-wide private drive aisles would allow for internal circulation within the Catalina Crossings Project. The Catalina Crossings Project would provide 72 off-street parking spaces, with 62 spaces provided in garages and 10 guest spaces provided along the southern boundary of the project site. Private Common Green Space A 10,948 square-foot private common green space would be provided along the project frontage with Catalina Court. FirstCarbon Solutions 4 H:\Client (PN-JN)\1728\ \NOP\ Sunset-Catalina Crossings NOP.doc

5 Sunset Crossing Project / Catalina Crossing Project City of Livermore Notice of Preparation Utilities The project is an infill development and would connect to existing potable water, sewer, and storm drain lines located within Catalina Drive. The Catalina Crossing Project would involve the installation of underground potable water, sewer, and storm drain utility lines within the project site. General Plan Amendment / Rezone The applicant is requesting approval of a General Plan Amendment to redesignate the site to Urban High Residential-2 and a rezone to Transect 4 Neighborhood Required Approvals and Intended Uses Sunset Crossing Project The Sunset Crossing Project requires the following discretionary approvals from the City of Livermore: General Plan Amendment Zoning Map Amendment (Rezoning) Vesting Tentative Tract Map (Subdivision) Site Plan Design Review Variance Catalina Crossing Project The Catalina Crossing Project requires the following discretionary approvals from the City of Livermore: General Plan Amendment Zoning Map Amendment (Rezoning) Vesting Tentative Tract Map (Subdivision) Site Plan Design Review Variance Environmental Review Potential Environmental Effects The EIR will evaluate whether the proposed projects may potentially result in one or more significant environmental effects. Construction activities (demolition, grading, tree removal, etc.) and operational activities (traffic, noise, air emissions, light and glare, etc.) will be evaluated in the relevant EIR sections listed below. Aesthetics, Light, and Glare Air Quality/Greenhouse Gas Emissions Biological Resources Cultural Resources Hydrology and Water Quality Land Use Noise Public Services and Recreation FirstCarbon Solutions 5 H:\Client (PN-JN)\1728\ \NOP\ Sunset-Catalina Crossings NOP.doc

6 Sunset Crossing Project / Catalina Crossing Project City of Livermore Notice of Preparation Geology, Soils, and Seismicity Hazards and Hazardous Materials Transportation Utility Systems Effects Found Not To Be Significant Unless specific comments are received during the NOP public comment period that indicate a potential for the project to result in significant impacts, the following issues will be addressed in the Effects Found Not To Be Significant section of the EIR. Agriculture and Forest Resources The two project sites contained developed office properties and are mapped as Urban and Built-Up Land by the California Department of Conservation Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program. As such, they do not support agricultural or forested land. Additionally, the project sites are currently zoned Commercial Office by the Livermore Zoning Ordinance, which is a non-agricultural and nonforest zoning designation. These characteristics preclude the possibility of impacts on agriculture and forest resources. No impacts would occur. Cultural Resources The two project sites contained developed office properties that were developed in the early 1970s. Neither site is listed of a federal, state, or local historic register and the characteristics of each site would not meet historic eligibility criteria. Additionally, both sites were previously graded and soil engineered, which makes the likelihood of undiscovered buried resources unlikely. These characteristics preclude the possibility of impacts on cultural resources. No impacts would occur. Mineral Resources The project sites contain developed urban uses. Neither project site is mapped as a Mineral Resource Zone by the State of California or the City of Livermore. Additionally, the project sites have not historically supported mineral extraction operations. This precludes the possibility of the loss of mineral resources of statewide or local importance. No impacts would occur Scoping Meeting A public scoping meeting will be held at 7 p.m., Wednesday, November 13, 2013, at the following location: Livermore City Council Chambers 1052 S. Livermore Avenue Livermore, CA At this meeting, agencies, organizations, and members of the public will be able to review the proposed project and provide comments on the scope of the environmental review process. FirstCarbon Solutions 6 H:\Client (PN-JN)\1728\ \NOP\ Sunset-Catalina Crossings NOP.doc

7 Contra Co ty Sherman Lake San Joaq Big Break Martinez 24 Concord 4 Antioch Oakley Pleasant Hill Lafayette Pro jectsite Walnut Creek Brentwood Discovery Bay 4 Moraga Text Alamo Danville Mo u n tdiabl o State Park Los Vaqueros Reservoir Byron Clifton Court Forebay Mountain House 680 San Ramon Co n traco staco un ty AlamedaCo un ty 205 Castro Valley Dublin 580 Livermore San Jo aquin Co un ty 580 San Lorenzo Pleasanton Pro jectsite Hayward 92 Union City Sunol Fremont 84 Newark Menlo Park East Palo Alto 680 Alameda County Santa Clara County 101 Milpitas Palo Alto Mountain View Sunnyvale Los Altos So urce:cen sus 2000Data,TheCaSIL East Foothills /2013 1_regio n al.mxd Miles Exhibit1 Regio n al Lo catio n Map CITY OFLIVERMORE SUNSETCROSSING PROJECT/CATALINACROSSING PROJECT NOTICEOFPREPARATION

8

9 Joe Michell Elementary School Arroyo Mocho Elementary School Holmes St CatalinaCro ssing Pro jectsite SunsetCro ssing Pro jectsite Catalina Dr Barcelona St Sunset Elementary School Granada Church Concannon Blvd St Charles Borromeo Arroyo Rd So urce:esriaerialim agery /2013 2_lo cal_aerial.m xd 1, ,000 Feet Exhibit2 Lo calvicinity Map AerialBase CITY OFLIVERMORE SUNSETCROSSING PROJECT/CATALINACROSSING PROJECT NOTICEOFPREPARATION

10

11

12

13