City of Pittsburg Development Services Planning Department Civic Center 65 Civic Avenue, Pittsburg, California NOTICE OF PREPARATION

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1 City of Pittsburg Development Services Planning Department Civic Center 65 Civic nue, Pittsburg, California Telephone: (925) FAX: (925) NOTICE OF PREPARATION To: State Clearinghouse From: City of Pittsburg, Planning Department 1400 Tenth Street 65 Civic nue Sacramento, California Pittsburg, California To: Interested Parties; Responsible & Trustee Agencies Subject: Notice of Preparation of a Draft Environmental Impact Report for the Proposed Pittsburg Making Waves Academy Charter School Project The City of Pittsburg is the lead agency for the preparation of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Pittsburg Making Waves Academy Charter School Project (proposed project). A general description of the proposed project, its location, and the scope of the environmental assessment are contained in the attached materials. A Draft Initial Study checklist with a more detailed project description has also been prepared and is available on the City s website at The City has directed that an EIR be prepared to evaluate the project in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Once a decision is made to prepare an EIR, the lead agency must prepare a Notice of Preparation (NOP), this document, to inform all responsible and trustee agencies that an EIR will be prepared (CEQA Guidelines Section 15082). The purpose of the NOP is to provide agencies with sufficient information describing both the proposed project and the potential environmental effects to enable the agencies to make a meaningful response as to the scope and content of the information to be included in the EIR. The City is also soliciting comments on the scope of the EIR from interested persons. Project Title: Pittsburg Making Waves Academy Charter School Project Project Applicant: Steve Roth, Making Waves Foundation Date August 15, 2018 Signature Title Senior Planner Telephone (925) Reference: California Code of Regulations, Title 14, (California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines) Sections 15082(a), 15103, Pittsburg Making Waves Academy Charter School Project EIR NOP/August 2018 Page 1

2 The purpose of the EIR is to provide information about potential significant physical environmental impacts of the Pittsburg Making Waves Academy Charter School Project (proposed project), to identify possible ways to minimize those significant impacts, and to describe and analyze possible alternatives to the proposed project if potential significant impacts are identified. Preparation of an NOP or EIR does not indicate a decision by the City to approve or disapprove the project. However, prior to making any such decision, the City Council must review and consider the information contained in the EIR. PUBLIC SCOPING MEETING AND COMMENT SUBMITTAL A scoping meeting open to the public will be held to receive comments regarding the scope and content of the environmental information to be included in the EIR. At the scoping meeting, staff will give a brief presentation of the EIR process and will take oral and any written comments. The meeting time and location follow: Date: Thursday, September 6, 2018 Time: 5:30 PM Location: Pittsburg City Hall Council Chambers, 3 rd floor, 65 Civic nue, Pittsburg, California Written comments on the scope of the proposed project and the associated EIR are welcome and should be sent by e mail, fax, or regular mail no later than 5:00 p.m. on September 17, 2018, to: Hector Rojas, Senior Planner City of Pittsburg Planning Department 65 Civic nue Pittsburg, California hrojas@ci.pittsburg.ca.us Fax: (925) Questions concerning the environmental review of the proposed project should be directed to Hector Rojas at (925) ; please note that comments responding to this NOP and on the Draft Initial Study cannot be accepted over the phone. To be considered during preparation of the EIR, comments must be received in writing by the deadline identified above. INITIAL STUDY The City has prepared a Draft Initial Study (available on the City s website at to evaluate the potential environmental effects of the proposed project and to determine the scope of the EIR. The Initial Study includes a detailed description of the proposed project, location, and an evaluation of the potential environmental effects of the proposed project, utilizing the Environmental Information Form, Appendix G of the CEQA Guidelines. Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15063(c)(3), the Initial Study has been prepared to: 1) focus the EIR on effects determined to be significant; and 2) to identify the effects determined not to be significant or that can be reduced to a less than significant level through standard mitigation measures or conditions of approval (for example for noise associated with construction). Pittsburg Making Waves Academy Charter School Project EIR NOP/August 2018 Page 2

3 PROJECT LOCATION The approximately acre project area consists of seven individual parcels located between 374 and 798 East 3rd Street within the City of Pittsburg. Pittsburg is located approximately 40 miles northeast of San Francisco, in the northern portion of Contra Costa County. The project area is located along the New York Slough, which feeds into Suisun Bay. The project area is bounded by the New York Slough to the north, industrial uses to the east, and park and residential uses to the south and west. The project area is divided into two distinct sites: 1) the campus site, located south of East 3rd Street; and 2) the sports facility site, which includes all the parcels within the project area north of East 3rd Street. Regional vehicular access to the project area is provided by State Route 4 (SR 4), via the Harbor Street/Railroad nue on and off ramps. Direct local access is provided via Harbor Street and East 3 rd Street adjacent to the project area, Cumberland Street approximately 0.2 miles to the west, and Railroad nue approximately 0.3 miles to the west. Figure 1 depicts the project areaʹs regional and local context. Figure 2 depicts the project area and its vicinity via aerial photographs. With the exception of a small building on the sports facility site and a large berm on the campus site, the project area is vacant. The City s General Plan designates the campus site as Downtown Medium Density Residential, Downtown Commercial, Park and the sports facilities site as Marine Commercial, Park, and Industrial. PROPOSED PROJECT The proposed project includes three distinct components that would be developed in two phases: the first phase (Phase 1) would include two components, the removal and remediation of the berm on the eastern portion of the site and the design and construction of a new Making Waves Academy (campus), analyzed at the project level; and the second phase (Phase 2) would be the design and construction of a new sports facility to support the campus which is analyzed at a program level as this component is still undergoing design. In the first phase, after remediation of the berm on the campus site, a kindergarten through 12th grade charter school financed by the project applicant, Campus LLC, would be constructed for the Making Waves Academy to operate. Site remediation, acquisition and construction would be wholly financed by the applicant and would not involve any State funding. The sports facility would be located on one or more of the parcels that comprise the sports facility site. As the final design of the sports facility has not occurred, all of the parcels that make up the site would be evaluated in the EIR. The project applicant anticipates leasing the sports facility to the Making Waves Academy, which would operate the campus site. The applicant proposes to work with the City to comply with the City s neighborhood and community use policy, and will identify a program that will detail how and when the facility could be used by the public through a joint use agreement. In total, the new school campus would serve approximately 2,000 students and include approximately 220 staff. The new school campus and sports facility would operate from 7:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday with some activities in the evening and on weekends. The proposed project would include open space, circulation and parking, infrastructure, soil remediation, and grading improvements on both sites. Refer to the Initial Study for a more detailed description of the proposed project, the project area, and the existing environmental setting. Pittsburg Making Waves Academy Charter School Project EIR NOP/August 2018 Page 3

4 ENTITLEMENTS The following table lists the anticipated permits and approvals for each phase that are anticipated to implement the project. Anticipated Permits and Approvals for Project Implementation Lead Agency Permit/Approval Permits and Approvals for Phase 1 (Berm Removal and Construction of the School Campus) City of Pittsburg EIR Certification Design Review Development Agreement Approval and Sale of City property Ministerial permits (e.g., Building, Grading, Encroachment) Utility/Service connections Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) Electricity and gas connections San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for stormwater discharge Berm removal and modification of environmental covenant Permits and Approvals for Phase 2 (Design and Construction of the Sports Facility) City of Pittsburg Environmental Review Use Permit Design Review Ministerial permits (e.g., Building, Grading, Encroachment) Utility/Service connections U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Possibly subject to a Section 404 permit U.S. Coast Guard Possibly subject to Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) Section 1600 Streambed Alteration Agreement Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) Electricity and gas connections Surface Transportation Board (STB) Rail spur abandonment Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Source: LSA (2018). Approval of plans for soil cover and related actions Potential oversight of environmental closure of portions of sports facility site National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for stormwater discharge Possible Section 401 water quality certification Oversight of environmental closure of sports facility site Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) Pittsburg Making Waves Academy Charter School Project EIR NOP/August 2018 Page 4

5 CONTENTS OF THE DRAFT EIR The topics to be evaluated in individual sections in the Draft EIR will be identified based on the results of this scoping process and the analysis contained in the Initial Study (which will be included and may be updated in Appendix A of the Draft EIR). At this time, because other environmental topics have been evaluated and determined to be less than significant in the attached Initial Study, the Draft EIR s environmental analysis of the proposed project is anticipated to focus on the topics of transportation and circulation, air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, noise and hazards and hazardous materials. Consistent with CEQA and the requirements of the City of Pittsburg, each environmental topic chapter in the Draft EIR will include an introduction, existing environmental setting, regulatory context, and impacts and mitigation measures. In addition, the Draft EIR will contain a comprehensive project description, project alternatives and statutorily required sections (growth inducing impacts; cumulative impacts; and significant and unavoidable impacts). Pittsburg Making Waves Academy Charter School Project EIR NOP/August 2018 Page 5

6 80 Fairfield 680 Suisun City Solano County Project Location Sacramento River 780 Martinez Pleasant Hill ST 24 Bay Point Concord Walnut Creek 680 Pittsburg Danville ST 4 Antioch ST 160 Contra Costa County Oakley ST 4 Dr Heron Bay Side Dr Marina Pelican Loop Blvd Marina Project Area Blvd E 3rd St Willow Creek Willow Pass Rd Balsam St P ower ST 4 Burton Andrew W Leland Rd Beacon St W N Parkside Dr Power Marsh Bruno W 17th St Davi Frontage Rd Kno x Av e W 8th St W 10th St 12th Civic W 7th St St Railroad School St Macarthur E 8th St E 10th St Solari E 15th St Avalon Cir Harbor St E 12th St Harbor St E 14th St Central El Pueblo Columbia St Railroad Presidio Ln Atlantic Garcia California Pine St Stone Harbour Dr E Santa Fe Pittsburg H wy Antioch Carpino E 3rd St New York Slough Pittsburg St Piedmont Way E Leland Rd Loveridge Rd Pittsburg Antioch Hwy Loveridge Rd E 3rd St Standard Oil D r William Way Ra vine West Blvd Cecelia Way Atherton Bliss Freed Clark Hanna St Diane California California N Park Blvd ST 4 W 10th St Century Blvd FIGURE FEET SOURCE: ESRI STREETMAP NORTH AMERICA (2012). I:\PIT1801 Making Waves\figures\NOP\Fig_1.ai (7/31/18) Pisburg Making Waves Academy Charter School Project NOP Project Locaon and Regional Vicinity Map

7 Browns Island Regional Shoreline Harbor Street New York Slough Columbia St Industry Industry Rd Rd PITTSBURG MARINA SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL Riverway Dr E 4th St E 3rd St Shoreline Shoreline Dr COMMERCIAL SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL INDUSTRIAL Loop Loop Beach Pebble Pebble Cir Avalon Cumberland St E 8th St E 9th St Tracks Railroad Pelican Loop Marina Blvd W 6th St E 5th St Herb White Way Bayside Dr W 8th St E 7th St Black Diamond St W 10th St Railroad FEET SOURCES: GOOGLE EARTH, 4/2/18; LSA, I:\PIT1801 Making Waves\figures\NOP\Fig_2.ai (7/31/18) Project Site FIGURE 2 Pisburg Making Waves Academy Charter School Project NOP Aerial Photograph of Project Area and Surrounding Land Uses

8 FIGURE FEET SOURCE: STUDIO BONDY ARCHITECTURE, MAY I:\PIT1801 Making Waves\figures\Fig_3.ai (7/31/18) Pisburg Making Waves Academy Charter School Project NOP Conceptual Site Plan - Campus Site