SIMULATED VIEW FROM ACALANES HIGH SCHOOL
Final EIR:
The following is an excerpt of portions of the Environmental Impact Report for the Terraces project, prepared by consultants to the City of Lafayette.
Areas of Concern:
The project Environmental Impact Report prepared by the City of Lafayette’s consultant identified 52 significant environmental impacts if the project were to proceed, the following would be signifiant impacts:
Aesthetic and Visual Resources - Significant and Unavoidable Impact
Air Quality - Significant and Unavoidable Impact
Biological Resources - Significant and Unavoidable Impact
Land Use and Planning - Significant and Unavoidable Impacts
Transportation and Traffic - Significant and Unavoidable Impacts
Draft EIR also analyzed three other alternatives:
1.No Project
2.Mitigated Project Alternative, developed by the City:
3.Office Development Alternative, consistent with current zoning
The draft EIR concluded that the City’s Mitigated Project Alternative is the environmentally superior alternative, of the four alternatives. This lays the groundwork for the City to negotiate to that project scope. The applicant was not supportive of this alternative (to say the least).
Final EIR Applicant Refined Alternative
The November 19, 2012 Final EIR added a fifth alternative requested by the applicant in response to the draft EIR. It is called the Applicant Refined Alternative and is discussed in Exhibit 5-1. The Applicant Refined Alternative was only partially developed for comparative analysis, and did not include even grading plans. Key elements:
Final EIR Conclusion regarding alternatives
Both the City’s Mitigated Project Alternative and the Applicant Refined Alternative will have significant and unavoidable impacts.
The Applicant Refined Alternatives would provide a slight improvement in environmental impacts over the proposed Project.
- The Project would block views of ridgelines, causing a significant impact to scenic vistas.
- The project would develop a grassy, largely undeveloped site that many members of the community to be a visual resource, causing an impact to the visual character that would be considered significant.
- The project would develop a largely undeveloped site that is visible from State Highway 24, a State-designated scenic highway, blocking views of Lafayette Ridge. This would be a significant impact.
- The EIR currently states that the Development of the proposed multi-family buildings on the west side of Pleasant Hill Road, which is a Route of Regional Significance, is consistent with the existing suburban uses at the intersection and would not negatively affect the visual character of the immediate area. This statement is incorrect, the surrounding area with the exception of one corner gas station is all single family residents with a few parcels housing schools and church. This would be a significant and unavoidable.
- Policy LU 1.2 Design: Development should respect the architectural character of the neighborhood.Multi-family buildings do not represent the architectural character of the surrounding residential neighborhoods. This would be a significant and unavoidable.
- Policy LU-4.1 Infrastructure Design: Public and private infrastructure should reinforce the semi-rural qualities of residential neighborhoods. Multi-family buildings are inconsistent with the surrounding residential neighborhoods.This would be a significant and unavoidable.
Air Quality - Significant and Unavoidable Impact
- Use of Heavy off-road and on-road construction equipment would produce substantial emissions of criteria air pollutants, which would exceed the BAAQMD threshold of significance for NOx and could contribute to the ozone and particulate matter nonattainment designation. This would be a significant impact.
- Construction activities associated with the Project would result in a temporary increase in criteria air pollutants that exceed the BAAQMD’s regional significance thresholds and, when combined with the construction of cumulative projects, would further degrade the regional and local air quality. This would be a significant impact.
Biological Resources - Significant and Unavoidable Impact
- Proposed grading would eliminate the estimated 2 acres of native blue wildrye from the site, considered a sensitive natural community, and additional areas of native grassland could be affected by off-site wetland enhancement activities if grasslands are present in those locations. This would be considered a significant impact.
- The proposed Project would fill an estimated 295 linear feet of creek channel on the site, eliminating about half of the central portion of the intermitent creek chanel and all of the tributary ephemeral drainage. Potential indirect effects could also degrade the existing habitat functions and values of downstream Las Trampas Creek and other jurisdictional waters as a result of accidental spills, contamination from fertilizers and other urban pollutans, and increased runoff volumes and possible erosion in waters of the U.S. and State. This would be a signficant impact. [Note this impact is concluded in EIR to be less than significant after mitigation, but the logic as to the determination is inconsistent with other significant and unavoidable impacts].
- The proposed Project would remove 91 of 117 existing trees on the site which qualify as “protected trees” under the City’s Tree Protection Ordinance, eliminating about 78 percent of the trees on the site, including the 58-inch valley oak which is one of the largest trees of its kind in the City. An additional nine trees are proposed for relocation....The loss of healthy trees on the site would conflict with relevant policies and programs in the City’s General Plan which call for preservation of healthy trees and native vegetation to the “maximum extent feasible.” This would be considered a significant impact.
Land Use and Planning - Significant and Unavoidable Impacts
- The Project would be inconsistent with General Plan Policy LU-2.1 and Policy LU-2.3. Policy LU-2.1 states, “Density of Hillside Development: Land use densities should not adversely affect the significant natural features of hill areas.” Policy 2.3 states, “Preservation of Views: Structures in the hillside overlay area shall be sited and designed to be substantially concealed when viewed from below from publicly owned property. The hillsides and ridgelines should appear essentially undeveloped, to the maximum extent feasible.” This would be a significant impact.
- The proposed project would be inconsistent with General Plan Policy LU2.2: “Cluster Development: Preserve important visual and functional open space by requiring development to be clustered in the most buildable portions of lots, minimizing grading for building sites and roads.” This would be a significant impact.
- The Project would be inconsistent with the several Hillside Development Permit requirements set forth in the Municipal Code. This would be a significant impact.
- The proposed project would be inconsistent with the General Plan Policy Policy LU-5.1 Residential Entryways: Residential entryways to the City should be distinctive and establish a positive image of the community and reflect the semi-rural residential character of the community.” This would be a significant Impact.
Transportation and Traffic - Significant and Unavoidable Impacts
- Under Existing plus Project conditions, the Deer Hill Road - Stanley Boulevard/Pleasant Hill Road intersection would operate at Level Of Service F [the worst grade on scale A to F] during the AM peak hour, with delay increasing by 9.0 seconds as a result of the Project the Project would increase delay by more than 5 seconds at an intersection operating below the acceptable standard.
- Under the Cumulative Year 2030 plus Project scenario, the peak estimated 95th percentile left turn length for the northbound traffic on Pleasant Hill Road at Deer Hill Road would be 306 feet during the AM peak hour, would exceed the capacity of the existing 250-foot storage lane. This would be considered a significant cumulative impact.
- Under the Cumulative Year 2030 plus Project conditions, the addition of Project trips to Pleasant Hill Road would increase the peak hour peak direction Delay Index by approximately 0.41 for soughbound traffic in the AM peak hour and northbound traffic in the PM peak hour. The Delay Index would increase by more than 0.05 for peak hour peak direction traffic where the Delay Index exceeds 2.0 on Pleasant Hill Road, the result would be a significant cumulative impact.
Draft EIR also analyzed three other alternatives:
1.No Project
2.Mitigated Project Alternative, developed by the City:
- 153-unit moderate income family apartment development
- “No Build” areas are designated in the ridgeline setback areas and creek riparian corridor
- Six residential buildings two- or three-story
- Parking, internal roadways, and would be reduced significantly. Clubhouse would not be developed
- New entry roads modified
3.Office Development Alternative, consistent with current zoning
- Four three-story buildings comprising 90,000 sf
The draft EIR concluded that the City’s Mitigated Project Alternative is the environmentally superior alternative, of the four alternatives. This lays the groundwork for the City to negotiate to that project scope. The applicant was not supportive of this alternative (to say the least).
Final EIR Applicant Refined Alternative
The November 19, 2012 Final EIR added a fifth alternative requested by the applicant in response to the draft EIR. It is called the Applicant Refined Alternative and is discussed in Exhibit 5-1. The Applicant Refined Alternative was only partially developed for comparative analysis, and did not include even grading plans. Key elements:
- 248-unit moderate income family apartment development
- Twelve two-story buildings clustered in center of site
- Clubhouse would be combined with the rental office
- Reduced impacts to existing trees and partial saving of native blue wildrye grassland
- Increased setbacks from ridgeline but still infringes on ridgeline setback and creek riparian corridor
Final EIR Conclusion regarding alternatives
Both the City’s Mitigated Project Alternative and the Applicant Refined Alternative will have significant and unavoidable impacts.
The Applicant Refined Alternatives would provide a slight improvement in environmental impacts over the proposed Project.