Response to City of Fullerton comment letter of September 15, 2003

Irena

Informations

• Publié par: Musong
• Nombre de lectures: 4
• Langue: English

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ADDENDUM TO FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FOR THE CSU FULLERTON 2003 MASTER DEVELOPMENT PLAN Role of the Addendum A Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the CSU Fullerton Master Development Plan was completed in August 2003. This addendum provides additional information requested by the City of Fullerton after the completion of the Final EIR, with regard to the description of the City’s General Plan and zoning designations for the College Park portion of the Master Plan. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the CEQA Guidelines Section 15162 and 15164 provide for the preparation of an addendum to the EIR when the EIR requires “minor technical changes or additions” that do not require major revisions to the previous EIR “due to involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects”. The CEQA Guidelines Section 15164 also indicate that the addendum need not be circulated for public review, but can be included in, or attached to the EIR and that the decision-making body shall consider the addendum together with the EIR prior to making a decision on the project. This addendum to the CSU Fullerton Master Development Plan 2003 Final EIR is appropriate because the provision of information about the City of Fullerton General Plan and zoning designations necessitates only minor additions to the Final EIR, and none of the conditions described in CEQA Guidelines Section 15162 have occurred that would require the preparation of a subsequent negative declaration or an EIR. This conclusion is supported by substantial evidence identified within the Final EIR and this addendum. General Statement While the University plans for and develops facilities within the Master Plan boundary to adequately serve the projected student enrollment on campus, the University is cognizant of the City’s need to be an active partner on University projects that impact density, development, and parking within the City. The University has been involved in and will continue on-going communications with the City. Consistent with the University’s position of promoting good neighborly relations with the City, the University has been working with City throughout the years on a number of issues related to physical planning. Through this long- standing communications process, the University and the City have always been able to resolve matters of concern, and the University will continue to do so. As indicated in the City of Fullerton Office of the Mayor and City Council letter dated October 28, 2003: “the City and University enjoy a very positive relationship”, and “mutual respect and communication have been, and will continue to be, the hallmark of the relationship between the University and the City of Fullerton”. 1Additions to the Final EIR The CSU Fullerton Master Development Plan includes a College Park component located south of Nutwood Avenue, within the proposed 2003 Master Plan boundary. The College Park, as a component of the University’s Master Development Plan, will provide housing for 390 students and 250 units for faculty and staff, plus a small amount of auxiliary retail/office serving students and faculty similar to that at the existing student housing on CSU Fullerton campus. Such support retail/office uses on campus are an integral part of the planned University land and facility development to accommodate the projected student enrollment on campus. The College Park portion of the Master Plan is designated for office use in the City of Fullerton General Plan and is zoned O-P (office-professional). That designation permits development with professional office uses at a 0.35 floor-to-area ratio (FAR), which would correspond to approximately 99,000 square feet of professional office space on an approximately 6.5-acre site of the College Park portion of the Master Plan that is planned for student and staff housing. Findings of No New or Increased Significant Impact Based on the information provided in this addendum, the inclusion of information about land use designations shown in the City of Fullerton General Plan and zoning map for the College Park portion of the proposed CSU Fullerton physical Master Development Plan neither raises new important issues about the involvement of new significant environmental effects nor substantial increases in the severity of previously identified significant effects. For informational purposes, the development within the College Park portion of the Master Plan in accordance with the City of Fullerton land use designations could result in greater potential environmental impacts when compared to potential impacts associated with development pursuant to the University’s Master Plan, as follows: Nearly four times more vehicular traffic: Based on the traffic study analysis prepared for the Master Plan and included in the Final EIR, housing for 390 students and 250 faculty and staff units will generate approximately 640 average daily trips (ADT). The approximately 99,000 square feet of professional office space permitted under the City of Fullerton’s OP - Professional Office designation could generate approximately 1,145 or more additional daily trips (based on the ratio of 11.57 trips per 1,000 square feet of general office use according to the Institute of Institute of Transportation Engineers Trip thGeneration, 6 Edition). In addition, if no student and staff housing were to be provided within the College Park, the 390 students and 250 faculty and staff that would have been living on campus would instead be commuting to campus and adding approximately 1,344 additional daily trips (based on a rate of 2.1 trips/commuting student or staff identified in the traffic study analysis prepared for the Master Plan and included in the Final EIR) to local and regional roadways. This could result in a total of approximately 2,489 daily trips associated with professional office development versus approximately 640 daily trips associated with student and staff housing. The potential traffic impacts, particularly at the Nutwood Avenue/SR-57 northbound and southbound ramps and local streets serving the campus, could be proportionally more severe. Nearly four times more vehicular air pollutant emissions: Developing professional offices at College Park could result in nearly four times more exhaust emissions of air pollutants produced by approximately 2,489 daily trips generated by professional office development 2when compared to emissions associated with approximately 640 daily trips generated by student and staff housing. Greater contribution vehicular noise: Vehicular noise associated with nearly four times more daily vehicular trips generated by the professional office development would result in greater contribution to ambient vehicular noise levels in proportion to the trips added along specific roadway links. New growth-inducing impacts: In compliance with the State Master Plan for Education, the California State University is obligated to continue to accommodate all fully eligible students in the upper one-third of all California high school graduates and fully eligible, upper division California community college transfer students. To do so, CSU Fullerton must provide for the 25,000 FTE student enrollment in response to an unprecedented increase in demand for higher education enrollment projected for California in the next 10 years. Development of the campus pursuant to Master Development Plan, including development of student and faculty housing on the College Park site, is designed to accommodate additional students generated by state-wide growth and thus will not induce population growth in the region. In comparison, development of up to 99,000 square feet of professional office uses on the College Park site could induce population growth through provision of employment. Office development could generate approximately 396 jobs (at an average of 4 employees/1,000 square feet) versus up to 80 jobs (at an average of 2 employees/1,000 square feet) anticipated to result from developing of up to 40,000 square feet of flex retail/office space within the entire University Master Plan planning area. The issues of land use and planning were addressed in the Initial Study, which is a part of the Final EIR. The analysis indicated that no adverse impact will result with regard to land use planning from proposed development pursuant to the CSU Fullerton Master Development Plan. The City of Fullerton has reviewed the Initial Study document as part of the Notice of Preparation (NOP) process and provided comments in a letter dated March 26, 2003. The City stated in this comment letter that: “The Initial Study appears to adequately address the breath of issues that the City believes is pertinent”. As required by CEQA, the Draft EIR and Final EIR evaluated the effects of the Master Plan development, including its College Park component, on the surrounding uses in Section 3.1, Air Quality; Section 3.2, Noise; Section 3.4, Traffic and Parking; Section 3.6 Construction Effects, and Section 5.0 Cumulative and Long-Term Effects. The Draft EIR and Final EIR have addressed compatibility with the surrounding uses, including uses in the vicinity of the College Park throughout the document with regards to potential air quality, traffic, noise, construction, and other environmental effects. Specifically, mitigation measures have been identified to reduce potential effects on the surrounding uses, including effects from construction activity at campus edges where the College Park is located, as follows: “In addition to implementing mitigation measures 1 through 23 as applicable, the following measures shall be i