NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY (NOA) OF A DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT AND NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING 2190 Shattuck Avenue Mixed-Use Project

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1 Planning and Development Department Land Use Planning Division NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY (NOA) OF A DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT AND NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING 2190 Shattuck Avenue Mixed-Use Project Notice is hereby given that the City of Berkeley has completed a Draft Environmental Impact Report (Draft EIR), pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), for the proposed 2190 Shattuck Avenue Mixed-Use Project in the Downtown area of Berkeley. PUBLIC REVIEW TIMELINE: The public review and comment period for the Draft EIR will be from August 10, 2017 to September 25, The City must receive all written comments regarding the adequacy of the Draft EIR within this time period. Written comments may be submitted via U.S. mail or in person to: Leslie Mendez, Senior Planner City of Berkeley Planning and Development Department 1947 Center Street, 2 nd Floor Berkeley, California Comments may also be submitted by to zab@cityofberkeley.info. DOCUMENT AVAILABILITY: Copies of the Draft EIR are available for review Monday through Friday with the exception of the second Friday of every month and Labor Day, Monday September 4, 2017 between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. at the City of Berkeley Planning and Development Department, 1947 Center Street, 2 nd Floor, Berkeley. Copies are also available at the Berkeley Main Public Library Reference Desk, 2090 Kittredge Street or online at _Shattuck.aspx. DRAFT EIR HEARING: The City of Berkeley will hold a hearing on the Draft EIR on September 14, 2017, as part of the regularly scheduled Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) hearing starting at 7:00 PM at 2134 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way, 2 nd Floor Council Chambers, Berkeley. Interested parties should check the ZAB s website at for details. PROJECT LOCATION: The project site, assessor s parcel number (APN) , is located at 2190 Shattuck Avenue, on the northwest corner of Shattuck Avenue and Allston Way, in the Downtown area. The site has frontage on Shattuck Avenue and Allston Way, and is adjacent to the southern end of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Plaza associated with the Downtown Berkeley BART Station. It is also

2 Notice of Availability of a Draft EIR 2190 Shattuck Avenue Mixed-Use Project August 10, 2017 accessible by several bus lines operated by the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit), including lines 6, 7, 12, 18, 25, 49, 51B, 52, 65, 67, 88, 800, 851, and F, along with shuttle buses serving the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). Local access is provided by Shattuck Avenue and Allston Way. Regional vehicular access is provided by Interstate 80 (I-80), California State Route 13, California State Route 123 (San Pablo Avenue) and California State Route 24. Figures 1 and 2 (attached) show the project site s regional and immediate locations. EXISTING CONDITIONS: The 0.46-acre project site is slightly trapezoidal in shape, with frontage on Allston Way and Shattuck Avenue. The site is generally level, sloping approximately five feet downward from east to west. As part of a fully urbanized block in Downtown Berkeley, the site is entirely covered by a two-story commercial building with a basement and lacks vegetation. The first floor has retail space occupied by a drug store and pharmacy (Walgreens); the second floor has administrative office (roundcorner) and electronics development and administration (Nokia) uses. Until December 2016, the basement was occupied by Fast Response, a paramedics and phlebotomy training center; it is currently vacant. Pedestrian access to the building is available at the Walgreens retail entrance on the corner of Allston Way and Shattuck Avenue and to the west along Allston Way. No vehicular access to the project site is available. The project site is located in the Core Area sub-area of the Commercial-Downtown Mixed-Use (C-DMU) zone within Downtown Berkeley. As shown in Figure 2, a range of public and institutional uses occur within one block of the project site, including the Downtown Berkeley BART Station, Berkeley City College, the Downtown Berkeley YMCA, the Downtown Berkeley U.S. Post Office, and Berkeley High School. The outdoor plaza associated with the BART Station, which is located between Shattuck Avenue and the eastern property line, is currently under construction for planned improvements. In addition, a six-level public parking lot is located adjacent to and west of the project site on Allston Way. PROJECT APPLICANT: Don Peterson, PR III Shattuck LLC, 2190 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, California PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The project would involve demolition of an existing twostory commercial building and construction of an 18-story, 211,590-square-foot building with commercial retail ground-floor uses, residential upper-floor uses, and a two-level subterranean parking garage. The commercial storefronts would front on the Shattuck Avenue BART Plaza and wrap around to Allston Way on the south. A 677-square-foot community art space next to the residential lobby would be available for community events. The project would include 21,924 square feet of residential open space on rooftop terraces and gardens and private balconies for residents. Additionally, the project would include 449 square feet of public open space on the site s Allston Way frontage adjacent to the driveway and residential lobby, featuring stone paving, trees, planters, and benches. The site s Allston Way frontage would feature art vitrines with glass display cases integrated in the retail commercial storefront, enhanced stone paving on 2

3 Notice of Availability of a Draft EIR 2190 Shattuck Avenue Mixed-Use Project August 10, 2017 the sidewalk and along the curb, benches, planted trees, and bike racks. The proposed garage would provide 103 automobile parking spaces, including four electric vehicle charging stations, and five car share parking spaces. In addition, 100 secure bicycle parking spaces and a bicycle repair shop would be provided indoors. A 25-foot-long commercial loading zone and 135-foot-long bus layover zone would be provided on the project site s Allston Way frontage. REQUESTED APPROVALS: The proposed project is subject to approvals by the City of Berkeley s Zoning Adjustments Board. The project would require the following discretionary entitlements from the City of Berkeley: Use Permit to demolish a non-residential building Use Permit for a Mixed Use Development in the C-DMU Zoning District Use Permit to construct two-level parking garage Use Permit to construct more than 10,000 square feet of floor area Use Permit to exceed a building height of 75 feet Use Permit for portion of building exceeding 120 feet in height to be greater than 120 feet in width when measured at widest point on the diagonal in plan view Administrative Use Permit to allow architectural projections to exceed maximum building height STREAMLINED CEQA PROCESSING FOR INFILL PROJECTS: The project qualifies for streamlined review under CEQA Guidelines Section , due to its mixed-use nature and proximity to a major transit stop, among other site- and project-specific factors. The purpose of Guidelines section is to allow lead agencies to limit the topics subject to CEQA review at the project level where the effects of infill development have been addressed in a planning level decision or by uniformly applicable development policies. The primary planning level decision is the adopted Downtown Area Plan, and the referenced environmental documentation is the 2009 Downtown Area Plan Final EIR. ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS: The Infill Environmental Checklist (included as Appendix A to the Draft EIR) determined that the project would not have significant impacts that either have not already been analyzed in a prior EIR or that are more significant than previously analyzed, for the following environmental issues: Aesthetics; Agricultural and Forestry Resources; Biological Resources; Greenhouse Gas Emissions; Hazards and Hazardous Materials, Hydrology and Water Quality; Land Use and Planning; Mineral Resources; Population and Housing; Public Services; Recreation; Tribal Cultural Resources; and Utilities and Service Systems. The Draft EIR evaluates the following environmental issues in detail: Air Quality Cultural (Historic) Resources Geology and Soils Noise and Vibration Transportation/Traffic 3

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5 Notice of Availability of a Draft EIR 2190 Shattuck Avenue Mixed-Use Project August 10, 2017 Figure 1 Regional Location Map 5

6 Notice of Availability of a Draft EIR 2190 Shattuck Avenue Mixed-Use Project August 10, 2017 Figure 2 Project Location Map 6