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Home My WebLink About2013-12-04 Packet - Agenda Item 11a Attachment 2 - 11-21-13 Planning Commission staff report with attachments Costco Wholesale Warehouse Environmental Impact Report (EIR) Eastside, south end of Airport Park Boulevard APNs 180-110-08, 09, 10 and 180-080-57, 58, 59, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, and 67 File Nos.: 11-01-REZ-SDP-CC-PC / 11-16-EIR-CC 1 ITEM NO. 9A 1 Community Development and Planning Department 300 Seminary Avenue Ukiah, CA 95482 planning@cityofukiah.com (707)463-6203 2 DATE: November 21, 2013 3 4 TO: Planning Commission 5 6 FROM: Kim Jordan, Senior Planner 7 8 SUBJECT: Consideration of the Costco Wholesale Project EIR and possible 9 recommendation to the City Council on EIR certification 10 Eastside, south end of Airport Park Boulevard 11 APNs 180-110-08, 09, 10 and 180-080-57, 58, 59, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, and 67 12 File Nos.: 11-01-REZ-SDP-CC-PC and 11-16-EIR-CC 13 14 RECOMMENDATION 15 16 Staffs recommends the Planning Commission conduct a public hearing and make a 17 recommendation to the City Council to certify the Costco Wholesale Project EIR based on the 18 findings included in attachment 1. 19 20 PROJECT DESCRIPTION 21 22 Project Description 23 24 An application has been received from David Babcock and Associates on behalf of Costco 25 requesting the following: 26 27 1. City Council approval of a rezoning to amend the Airport Industrial Park Planned 28 Development Land Use Map to change the land use designation of the Costco Project 29 site from Industrial/Auto Commercial and Light Manufacturing/Mixed Use to Retail 30 Commercial; 31 32 2. Planning Commission approval of a Site Development Permit; and 33 34 3. Consolidation and reconfiguration of the parcels included in the Project. 35 36 to allow the construction of a 148,000 square foot Costco Wholesale store, 20 pump fuel station, 37 and 607 parking spaces, landscaping, and associated site improvements on a 15.33 acre site 38 located on the eastside of Airport Park Boulevard between Ken Fowler Auto Center and the 39 southern terminus of Airport Park Boulevard (APNs 180-110-08, 09, 10 and 180-080-57, 58, 59, 40 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67) within the Airport Industrial Park Planned Development (AIP PD). 41 Costco Wholesale Warehouse Environmental Impact Report (EIR) Eastside, south end of Airport Park Boulevard APNs 180-110-08, 09, 10 and 180-080-57, 58, 59, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, and 67 File Nos.: 11-01-REZ-SDP-CC-PC / 11-16-EIR-CC 2 1 The proposed Costco warehouse would include the following: 2 3  rezoning of all or portions of the parcels that comprise the Costco Project site; 4  bakery, pharmacy, optical center, hearing aid, testing center, food court, photo 5 center, tire center (sales and installation); 6  sales of over 4,000 retail products; and 7  16 pump fueling station with the ability to expand to 20 pumps. 8 9 For additional information on the Project Description see DEIR pages 2-1 to 2-14 and FEIR 10 pages 4-1 to 4-5. 11 12 SETTING 13 14 The Costco Project would be located on the east side of Airport Park Boulevard south of Ken 15 Fowler Auto Center and north of the existing drainage area. The parcels included in the Project 16 total approximately 18.57 acres and the Costco Project development is proposed to be 17 developed on 15.33 acres north of the drainage area. The Project site is relatively flat and 18 undeveloped. The Project site is covered in grasses, and there are several trees located to the 19 east of the site along the Caltrans right-of-way. 20 21 The Project has street frontage on Airport Park Boulevard which would provide the primary 22 access to the site via new driveway curbcuts. An existing access easement ending in a cul-de-23 sac is located on the north side of the site. This access easement provides access to Ken 24 Fowler Auto Center and will provide access to the loading areas for the Costco store and 25 secondary access to the parking lot. 26 27 The Project site is surrounded by parcels with the following general plan and zoning 28 designations and land uses. 29 30 General Plan Zoning Land Uses Project Master Plan Area (MPA) Planned Development (PD) - Airport Industrial Park Industrial/Auto Commercial Light Manufacturing/Mixed Use N/A - Vacant North Master Plan Area (MPA) Planned Development (PD) - Airport Industrial Park Industrial/Auto Commercial Retail Commercial Ken Fowler Auto Center Friedman’s Home Improvement Staples, Food Maxx Ashley Furniture Walmart South Master Plan Area (MPA) County Planned Development (PD) - Airport Industrial Park Light Manufacturing/Mixed Use Industrial County Vacant land Mendocino Brewing Company Vineyards County East County County U.S. 101 Costco Wholesale Warehouse Environmental Impact Report (EIR) Eastside, south end of Airport Park Boulevard APNs 180-110-08, 09, 10 and 180-080-57, 58, 59, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, and 67 File Nos.: 11-01-REZ-SDP-CC-PC / 11-16-EIR-CC 3 General Plan Zoning Land Uses County – Pear orchards (east side of U.S. 101) West Master Plan Area (MPA) Public (P) Planned Development (PD) - Airport Industrial Park Light Manufacturing/Mixed Use Ukiah Municipal Airport PD Vacant parcels with concrete debris Les Schwab, small retail stores and restaurants Ukiah Municipal Airport 1 2 EIR AND PROJECT REVIEW PROCESS 3 4 The EIR analyzes the potential environmental impacts resulting from the construction and 5 operation of the Project, including the potential environmental effects associated with the 6 rezoning/PD amendment, site development permit, and parcel reconfiguration and 7 consolidation. 8 9 Rezoning/Planned Development Amendment. The rezoning/PD Amendment would amend 10 the Airport Industrial Park Planned Development to change land use of the Costco Project site 11 from Industrial/Auto Commercial and Light Manufacturing/Mixed Use to Retail Commercial. 12 13 Amending the AIP-PD to rezone the Project site from Industrial/Auto Commercial and Light 14 Manufacturing/Mixed Use to Retail Commercial requires City Council approval. Prior to City 15 Council consideration of the rezoning, Planning Commission is required to hold at least one 16 public hearing and make a recommendation to City Council. Prior to holding a public hearing on 17 the rezoning/PD Amendment, the City Council is required to certify the EIR for the Project. 18 19 All of the parcels within the AIP PD have a Master Plan Area (MPA) general plan land use 20 designation. The Retail Commercial, Light Industrial/Mixed Use, and Industrial/Auto Commercial 21 are consistent with the MPA general plan designation; therefore, a general plan amendment is 22 not required. 23 24 Site Development Permit. In the Retail Commercial designation, retail commercial stores are 25 allowed with approval of a Site Development Permit. Due to the size of the Project, Planning 26 Commission approval of the site development permit is required. Prior to Planning Commission 27 consideration of the Site Development Permit, City Council certification of the EIR is required. 28 Planning Commission will rely on the EIR certified by the City Council for the environmental 29 review required for the Site Development Permit. Therefore, staff requests the Planning 30 Commission review the EIR to ensure the EIR includes the necessary analysis of potential 31 environmental impacts associated with the Site Development Permit and Rezoning. 32 33 Environmental Review. In order to construct the proposed Project, City approval of a 34 rezoning/PD amendment and site development permit are required. The EIR analyzed the 35 potential impacts related to construction and operation of the Project; therefore, the analysis of 36 the potential impacts includes the City approvals required for construction and operation of the 37 Costco Wholesale Warehouse Environmental Impact Report (EIR) Eastside, south end of Airport Park Boulevard APNs 180-110-08, 09, 10 and 180-080-57, 58, 59, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, and 67 File Nos.: 11-01-REZ-SDP-CC-PC / 11-16-EIR-CC 4 Project. Since the Project requires City Council approval of a rezoning/PD Amendment, City 1 Council will make a decision on the certification of the EIR. 2 Environmental Impact Report Preparation. An EIR (State Clearinghouse #2011112025) has 3 been prepared for the Project pursuant to the requirements of the California Environmental 4 Quality Act (CEQA). 5 6  Notice of Preparation: On November 4, 2011 a Notice of Preparation (NOP) was sent 7 to responsible agencies, organizations, and interested parties to provide notice that the 8 City of Ukiah as the Lead Agency would be preparing an environmental impact report 9 (EIR) for the proposed Costco project. The comment period to identify and provide 10 input on the potentially significant environmental effects to be addressed in the EIR was 11 from November 4 to December 6, 2011, and a scoping meeting was held on November 12 21, 2011. 13 14  Notice of Availability: A Notice of Availability (NOA) on the draft environmental impact 15 report (DEIR) was mailed to interested parties and neighboring property owners on 16 January 24, 2013. The comment period on the DEIR was January 30 to March 15, 2013, 17 and Planning Commission held a public hearing and received public comment on the 18 DEIR on February 27, 2013. 19 20  Final EIR: The Final EIR has been prepared and responds to the comments received on 21 the DEIR. The Final EIR was made available on November 1, 2013 (see also Public 22 Notice below). 23 24 BACKGROUND 25 26 Selection of EIR Consultant & EIR Preparation 27 28 After it was determined that preparation of an EIR would be required in order to analyze the 29 potential environmental impacts of the Costco Project, Environmental Science Associates was 30 selected to prepare the EIR. ESA also prepared the EIR for the Walmart Expansion project. 31 Based on their experience with the Walmart Expansion project, similar projects, knowledge of 32 the area and Airport Industrial Park, knowledge of CEQA, and expertise of their sub-consultants, 33 the Costco EIR was sole-sourced to ESA by City Council on October 19, 2013. 34 35 The Project applicant is required to pay for the preparation of the EIR. This includes the 36 consultant’s costs associated with the preparation of the EIR and City staff time associated with 37 the administration of the EIR. The cost of the EIR consultant and City staff time is paid to the 38 City prior to the start of EIR preparation. The City receives invoices from the EIR consultant and 39 pays the consultant directly. The applicant’s contact with the EIR consultant is severely limited 40 by the City, and City staff is included in any contact between the EIR consultant and the 41 applicant. It should be noted that CEQA does not require this arrangement. As allowed by 42 CEQA, the applicant may prepare the EIR and submit the EIR along with the project for 43 consideration by the local agency. To ensure that the EIR, whether prepared by the local 44 agency, applicant, or consultant, represents the judgment of the local agency, CEQA re quires a 45 finding to be made as part of EIR certification that the EIR represents the independent judgment 46 and analysis of the Lead Agency (see attachment 1). 47 Costco Wholesale Warehouse Environmental Impact Report (EIR) Eastside, south end of Airport Park Boulevard APNs 180-110-08, 09, 10 and 180-080-57, 58, 59, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, and 67 File Nos.: 11-01-REZ-SDP-CC-PC / 11-16-EIR-CC 5 1 Comments on the Draft EIR 2 3 Many of the comments received on the Draft EIR were not related to the adequacy of the DEIR. 4 Some of the comments received expressed support of or opposition to the Project, objection to 5 the use of City funds to pay for infrastructure improvements, and concerns about the Project’s 6 effect on local businesses. Comments that do not address the adequacy of the EIR are not a 7 consideration when deciding whether to certify the EIR. 8 9 As stated in the Final EIR, the City (City Council and Planning Commission) will consider all 10 comments when making a decision on the Project. The comments that are not related to the 11 adequacy of the EIR would be considered as part of City Council’s review of the Rezoning and 12 Planning Commission’s review of the Site Development Permit. 13 14 Some commenters disagreed with the analysis and conclusions reached in the DEIR. CEQA 15 Guidelines section 15204(c) states: 16 17 Reviewers should explain the basis of their comments, and should submit data or 18 references offering facts, reasonable assumptions based on facts, or expert opinion 19 supported by facts in support of the comments. Pursuant to Section 15064, an effect 20 shall not be considered significant in the absence of substantial evidence. 21 22 It is not unreasonable that there may be a disagreement with some of the conclusions reached 23 in the EIR; however, disagreement alone does not indicate that the EIR is inadequate or the 24 information, analysis, or conclusions are faulty. CEQA Guidelines section 15151 states: 25 26 An EIR should be prepared with a sufficient degree of analysis to provide 27 decisionmakers with information which enables them to make a decision which 28 intelligently takes account of environmental consequences. An evaluation of the 29 environmental effects need not be exhaustive, but the sufficiency of the EIR is to be 30 reviewed in the light of what is reasonably feasible. Disagreement among experts does 31 not make an EIR inadequate, but the EIR should summarize the main points of 32 disagreement among the experts. The courts have looked not for perfection but for 33 adequacy, completeness, and a good faith effort at disclosure. 34 35 STAFF ANALYSIS 36 37 Environmental Review 38 39 Public Notice of Environmental Review 40 41 The following notices were provided as part of the preparation of the Costco Wholesale Project 42 EIR. 43 44  Notice of Preparation. Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15082, a Notice of 45 Preparation (NOP) advising that an environmental impact report (EIR) was to be 46 prepared for the Project was sent to the State Clearinghouse for distribution to 47 Costco Wholesale Warehouse Environmental Impact Report (EIR) Eastside, south end of Airport Park Boulevard APNs 180-110-08, 09, 10 and 180-080-57, 58, 59, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, and 67 File Nos.: 11-01-REZ-SDP-CC-PC / 11-16-EIR-CC 6 responsible and/or trustee agencies on November 4, 2011. The NOP was sent to 1 property owners within 300 feet of the parcel, property owners within the AIP, and 2 persons on the interested parties list. The notice was also published in the Ukiah Daily 3 Journal and posted on the project site. A scoping meeting was held on November 21, 4 2013 for the purpose of identifying and receiving input on the potentially significant 5 environmental effects to be discussed in the EIR. 6 7  Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR). As 8 required, the DEIR was routed through the State Clearinghouse to all responsible and 9 trustee agencies and filed with the Mendocino County Clerk. Notice of the availability of 10 the DEIR was also sent to property owners within 300 feet of the parcel, property owners 11 within the AIP, tenants on parcels contiguous to the Project, and persons on the 12 interested parties list. The notice was also published in the Ukiah Daily Journal, posted 13 on the Project site, and posted on the City of Ukiah website. 14  The 45 day review period on the DEIR began on January 30, 2013 and ended on March 15 15, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. On February 27, 2013, Planning Commission held a public hearing 16 to receive public comment and provide Planning Commission comment on the adequacy 17 of the analysis presented in the DEIR. 18 19  Notice of the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR). As required by Ukiah City 20 Code, a public notice of the Planning Commission public hearing for the Costco Final 21 EIR was provided as indicated below (see Public Notice and Comment below). On 22 November 21, 2013, Planning Commission will conduct a public hearing on the Costco 23 Wholesale Project EIR. 24 25 Environmental Impacts 26 27 The EIR analyzed the potential for environmental impacts to result from the Project. The EIR 28 determined impacts to Agricultural Resources and Mineral Resources would not be significant, 29 and, therefore, they are not discussed in detail in the EIR (see DEIR page 4-5). Impacts to 30 Aesthetics, Air Quality, Urban Decay, Geology and Soils, Hazards and Hazardous Materials, 31 Hydrology and Water Quality, Land Use and Planning, Noise, Public Services and Utilities, 32 Transportation and Traffic, Global Climate Change, Biological Resources, Population and 33 Housing, and Cultural Resources were considered to have the potential to be significant and, 34 therefore, are discussed in detail in the EIR. 35 36 The level of the potential impacts to the environmental topics covered in detail in the EIR as less 37 than significant (LTS), potentially significant (PS), or significant and unavoidable (SU). The level 38 of impact for each environmental topic analyzed in detail in the EIR is provided below: 39 40 Less than Significant Impacts. The EIR analysis concluded impacts to the following 41 would be less than significant; and, therefore, no mitigation measures are required: 42 43  Urban Decay  Public Services and Utilities  Land Use and Planning  Population and Housing  Noise 44 Costco Wholesale Warehouse Environmental Impact Report (EIR) Eastside, south end of Airport Park Boulevard APNs 180-110-08, 09, 10 and 180-080-57, 58, 59, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, and 67 File Nos.: 11-01-REZ-SDP-CC-PC / 11-16-EIR-CC 7 Potentially Significant Impacts. The EIR analysis identified potentially significant 1 impacts to the following and identified mitigation measures that would reduce the 2 impacts to less than significant: 3 4  Aesthetics (light and glare)  Biological Resources  Geology and Soils  Cultural Resources  Hazards and Hazardous Materials  Hydrology and Water Quality  Transportation and Traffic (pedestrian, bicycle, and public transit) 5 Significant and Unavoidable Impacts. The EIR analysis identified significant and 6 unavoidable impacts to the following: 7 8  Air Quality (operational emissions, and cumulative operational emissions) 9  Transportation and Traffic (level of service and queuing) 10  Global Climate Change 11 12 Mitigation Measures 13 14 Most of the impacts identified as potentially significant can be reduced to a less than significant 15 level with the incorporation of the specific mitigation measures identified in the EIR (see FEIR, 16 Summary, pages ES-3 to ES-15 and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program, pages 5-3 to 17 5-10). The mitigation measures identified would be incorporated into and carried out through a 18 Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP) and Project conditions of approval. 19 Mitigation Measures are identified for Aesthetics (light and glare), Geology and Soil, Hazards 20 and Hazardous Materials, Hydrology and Water Quality, Biological Resources, Transportation 21 and Traffic (pedestrian, bicycle, and public transit), and Cultural Resources. 22 23 Significant and Unavoidable Impacts 24 25 The EIR identified significant and unavoidable impacts to Air Quality, Transportation and Traffic, 26 and Global Climate Change. Each of the significant and unavoidable impacts are discussed 27 below. 28 29 Air Quality. The EIR concludes the Air Quality impacts identified in the table below would 30 not be reduced to less than significant with the inclusion of mitigation measures identified in 31 the EIR; and, therefore, these impacts are considered significant and unavoidable (SU). 32 33 34 Impact Discussion Impact 3.2.2: Operation of the Project would generate significant emissions of criteria pollutants (NOX, PM10, and PM 2.5) that could contribute to existing nonattainment conditions and degrade air quality. As stated in the DEIR, the Project’s construction related emissions would be less than significant (DEIR, pages 3.2-12 and 3.2-13). Operational Emissions. Pollutant concentrations for NOX, PM10, and PM2.5 would exceed the threshold of significance established by the Mendocino County Air Quality Management District. As stated in the DEIR, most of the Project related emissions are associated with motor vehicles trips to and from the Project site (see DEIR pages 3.2-13 and Costco Wholesale Warehouse Environmental Impact Report (EIR) Eastside, south end of Airport Park Boulevard APNs 180-110-08, 09, 10 and 180-080-57, 58, 59, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, and 67 File Nos.: 11-01-REZ-SDP-CC-PC / 11-16-EIR-CC 8 Impact Discussion Impact 3.2.5: Construction and operation of the Project would result in cumulatively considerable increases of criteria pollutant (NOX, PM10, and PM2.5) emissions. 3.2-14). Mitigation measures have been applied to the Project to reduce the amount of emissions generated by the Project (see FEIR, pp. ES-3 to ES-5 and FEIR, pp. 5-3 to 5-5). These mitigation measures would not reduce the impacts to a less than significant; therefore, the impact is SU. Cumulative Emissions. Since the Project’s operational emissions exceed the threshold established by MCAQMD, impact 3.2.5 is significant and unavoidable. According to the MCAQMD, no single Project is sufficient in size to result in nonattainment of ambient air quality standards. However, since air quality is measured basin-wide, a project’s individual emissions contribute to the existing cumulative air quality. When an individual project’s emissions exceed the established significance threshold, the impact is cumulatively considerable to the region’s air quality conditions. The same mitigation measures identified to reduce operational emissions have also been applied to cumulative emissions (see FEIR, pp. ES-3 to ES-5 and FEIR, pp. 5-3 to 5- 5).These mitigation measures would not reduce the impacts to a less than significant; therefore, the impact is SU. Discussion. The Project relies on vehicle trips for transport of bulk items. In order to reduce emissions related to operation of the Project to a less than significant level, vehicle trips would have to be reduced to 2% of the number of trips estimated for the Project (see FEIR, pages 3-75 and 3-76, Response to Comment 18). Reducing the number of vehicle trips allowed for this Project to this level would likely make the Project economically infeasible for the Project proponent. Based on membership information provided by Costco, in 2012 Costco had 18,228 members with Ukiah addresses. These members made 201,803 visits to the Santa Rosa and Rohnert Park Costco stores in 2012. In order to be conservative when estimating impacts, the air quality analysis did not deduct potentially redirected trips from the air quality analysis emissions analysis. Construction of the Ukiah Costco would allow many of these trips to be redirected from the Santa Rosa and Rohnert Pak Costco stores to the Ukiah Costco store which could reduce regional emissions resulting from mobile sources. 1 2 Transportation and Traffic. The EIR concludes that the Transportation and Traffic impacts 3 identified in the table below would not be reduced to less than significant with the inclusion 4 of mitigation measures identified in the EIR; and, therefore, these impacts are considered 5 significant and unavoidable (SU). 6 7 Impact Discussion Costco Wholesale Warehouse Environmental Impact Report (EIR) Eastside, south end of Airport Park Boulevard APNs 180-110-08, 09, 10 and 180-080-57, 58, 59, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, and 67 File Nos.: 11-01-REZ-SDP-CC-PC / 11-16-EIR-CC 9 Existing Plus Project Impacts Impact 3.10.1: Implementation of the Project would increase traffic volumes on area roadways. Level of Service: Under Existing Plus Project Conditions, th e intersection of Talmage Road/Airport Park Boulevard would operate at level of service (LOS) E (see DEIR, page 3.10-24). The acceptable LOS established by the City’s General Plan is LOS D. Since the Existing Plus Project LOS would exceed LOS D, this impact is considered potentially significant. Queuing: The EIR traffic study indicates that the existing queuing condition (without the Project) for the right hand turn at Talmage Road/U.S. 101 southbound exceeds the available vehicle storage (see DEIR, Appendix E, page 11, Table 4). Under Existing Plus Project Conditions, Queuing would exceed available storage on: 1) westbound Talmage Road/Airport Park Boulevard for the left hand turn; and 2) Talmage Road/US 101 Southbound Ramp right hand turn (see DEIR, page 3.10-25). Mitigation: Mitigation Measure (MM) 3.10.1 identifies improvements to the Talmage Road/US 101 interchange that would reduce LOS and queuing impacts to LTS (see DEIR, pages 3.10-26 and 3.10-27). As of the preparation of the Costco EIR, funding for construction of these improvements has not been secured by the City of Ukiah. For this reason, the impact has been identified as SU. City of Ukiah Interchange Project. The improvements identified in MM 3.10.1 are part of the City of Ukiah Talmage Road Interchange Project being undertaken and designed as a City of Ukiah Project. The purpose of this project is to improve the operation at the intersection of Airport Park Boulevard/Talmage Road and Talmage Road/U.S. 101 Southbound ramps to better serve the Airport Industrial Park and the surrounding area. Airport Industrial Park is a regional serving retail and commercial center that provides goods and services to City residents as well as the greater region. These improvements are currently being designed and the City has been meeting with Caltrans while designing the interchange improvements since the design of the improvements requires Caltrans approval. Caltrans has analyzed the proposed mitigation measure included in the DEIR and consulted with W-Trans (preparer of the Costco Project Traffic Study) and GHD (preparer of the traffic study and design on the interchange improvements). Caltrans has concluded that the mitigation measures in the DEIR adequately mitigate projected traffic impacts to State facilities (FEIR, Appendix A, Caltrans letter dated April 15, 2013). For additional information on Traffic, including the status of funding, see FEIR Master Response #4 (FEIR, pages 3-13 and 3-14). Near-Term (Baseline) Plus Project Impacts Costco Wholesale Warehouse Environmental Impact Report (EIR) Eastside, south end of Airport Park Boulevard APNs 180-110-08, 09, 10 and 180-080-57, 58, 59, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, and 67 File Nos.: 11-01-REZ-SDP-CC-PC / 11-16-EIR-CC 10 Impact 3.10.3: Implementation of the Project would result increase traffic volumes on area roadways under Near-Term conditions. Level of Service: Under Near-Term Plus Project Conditions, the acceptable intersection LOS would be exceeded at two intersections: 1) Talmage Road/Airport Park Boulevard would operate at LOS E; and 2) Talmage Road/U.S 101 would operate at LOS F (see DEIR, page 3.10- 31). The acceptable LOS established by the City’s General Plan is LOS D. Since the Existing Plus Project LOS would exceed LOS D, this impact is considered potentially significant. Queuing: The EIR traffic study indicates that under Near-Term conditions (without the Project) the maximum queue exceeds the available storage for: 1) southbound Talmage Road/U.S. 101 right hand turn; and 2) westbound Talmage Road/Airport Park Boulevard left hand turn (see DEIR, Appendix E, page 23, table 7). The EIR indicates that under the Near-Term Plus Project conditions the maximum queue also would exceed the available storage for: 1) southbound Talmage Road/U.S. 101 right hand turn; and 2) westbound Talmage Road/Airport Park Boulevard left hand turn (see DEIR, pages 3.10.31 and 3.10.32, table 3.10-13). Mitigation: Mitigation Measure (MM) 3.10.3 identifies improvements to the Talmage Road/U.S. 101 interchange that would reduce LOS and queuing impacts to LTS (see DEIR, pages 3.10-26 and 3.10-27). As of the preparation of the Costco EIR, funding for construction of these improvements has not been secured by the City of Ukiah. For this reason, the impact has been identified as SU. City of Ukiah Interchange Project. See discussion above for Impact 10.1.1. For additional information on Traffic, including the status of funding, see FEIR Master Response #4 (FEIR, pages 3-13 and 3-14). Future (2030) Plus Project Level of Service Impacts Impact 3.10.4: Implementation of the Project would increase traffic volumes on area roadways under Future Plus Project (2030) conditions. Level of Service: Under Future (2030) Plus Project Conditions, the acceptable intersection LOS would be exceeded at three intersections: 1) Talmage Road/Airport Park Boulevard would operate at LOS F; 2) Talmage Road/U.S 101 would operate at LOS E; and 3) South State Street/Hastings Avenue would operate at LOS E. The acceptable LOS established by the City’s General Plan is LOS D. Since the Future (2030) Plus Project LOS would exceed LOS D, this impact is considered potentially significant. Planned City improvements to the intersection of South State Street/Hastings Road include the installation of a left turn lane on the westbound approach of this intersection. Mitigation Measure 3.10.4: In addition to implementing the traffic improvements for the Talmage Road/U.S. 101 interchange identified in Costco Wholesale Warehouse Environmental Impact Report (EIR) Eastside, south end of Airport Park Boulevard APNs 180-110-08, 09, 10 and 180-080-57, 58, 59, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, and 67 File Nos.: 11-01-REZ-SDP-CC-PC / 11-16-EIR-CC 11 MM 10.1.1, mitigation is also included for the South State Street/Hastings Avenue. In addition to the improvements to the South State Street/Hastings Road intersection planned by the City (see above), a left hand turn lane would need to be installed on the eastbound approach of this intersection. These improvements would reduce the LOS impacts to LTS. As of the preparation of the Costco EIR, funding for construction of these improvements has not been secured by the City of Ukiah. For this reason, the impact has been identified as SU. City of Ukiah Interchange Project. See discussion above for Impact 10.1.1. For additional information on Traffic, including the status of funding, see FEIR Master Response #4 (FEIR, pages 3-13 and 3-14). Future (2030) Plus Project Queuing Impacts Impact 3.10.5: Under Future Plus Project conditions, traffic associated with the Project would contribute to inadequate queuing storage at Talmage Road/Airport Park Boulevard and Talmage Road/U.S. 101 Southbound Off- Ramp. Queuing: The EIR traffic study indicates that under Future (2030) conditions (without the Project) the maximum queue exceeds the available storage for: 1) southbound Talmage Road/U.S. 101 right hand turn; and 2) westbound Talmage Road/Airport Park Boulevard left hand turn (see DEIR, Appendix E, page 28, table 9). The EIR indicates that under Future (2030) Plus Project conditions the maximum queue also would exceed the available storage for: 1) southbound Talmage Road/U.S. 101 right hand turn; and 2) westbound Talmage Road/Airport Park Boulevard left hand turn (see DEIR, pages 3.10.36 to 3.10.38, table 3.10-16). Mitigation: Mitigation Measure (MM) 3.10.5 identifies improvements to the Talmage Road/U.S. 101 interchange identified in MM 10.1.1 that would reduce queuing impacts to LTS (see DEIR, pages 3.10-37 and 3.10-38). As of the preparation of the Costco EIR, funding for construction of these improvements has not been secured by the City of Ukiah. For this reason, the impact has been identified as SU. City of Ukiah Interchange Project. See discussion above for Impact 10.1.1. For additional information on Traffic, including the status of funding, see FEIR Master Response #4 (FEIR, pages 3-13 and 3-14). 1 Global Climate Change. The EIR concludes that the Global Climate Change impact 2 identified in the table below would not be reduced to less than significant with the inclusion 3 of mitigation measures in the EIR; and, therefore, these impacts are considered significant 4 and unavoidable (SU). 5 : 6 7 Costco Wholesale Warehouse Environmental Impact Report (EIR) Eastside, south end of Airport Park Boulevard APNs 180-110-08, 09, 10 and 180-080-57, 58, 59, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, and 67 File Nos.: 11-01-REZ-SDP-CC-PC / 11-16-EIR-CC 12 Impact Discussion Impact 3.11.1: The Project could generate GHG emissions that may have a significant impact on the environment or conflict with an applicable plan, policy, or regulation adopted to reduce GHG emissions. There are no local or regional plans that apply to the Project. Since the Project would result in operational emissions that exceed the threshold adopted by the MCAQMD, the EIR concludes that the impact would be significant and unavoidable (DEIR, pages 3.11-16 to 3.11-18). The operational emissions associated with the Project include area sources, energy sources, mobile sources, waste sources, and water sources. Due to the vehicle trips associated with the Project, the emissions resulting from mobile sources exceed the threshold of 1,000 metric tons of emissions per year established by MCAQMD (MCAQMD adopted the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s threshold). The mitigation measures for the Air Quality impacts have also been applied to the global climate change impacts (see FEIR, p. ES-12). As noted above in the Air Quality discussion, some of the trips associated with the Project would be redirected trips. Redirected trips are trips made by existing Costco members with Ukiah addresses that may travel to the Ukiah Costco rather than continuing to travel to the Santa Rosa or Rohnert Park Costco stores. In order to provide a conservative estimate of potential impacts, the GHG emissions analysis did not deduct these potential redirected trips from the modeling. Since most of the emissions contributing to the SU impact to GHG emissions are the result of mobile sources, reducing this impact to LTS would require a substantial reduction in vehicle trips. As noted above in the Air Quality discussion, vehicle trips would have to be reduced to 2% of the vehicle trips estimated for the Project (see FEIR, pages 3-75 and 3-76, Response to Comment 18). Reducing the number of vehicle trips allowed for this Project to this level would likely make the Project economically infeasible for the Project proponent. 1 2 Certification of the EIR 3 4 In order to certify the EIR, the City (City Council) is required to make the following specific 5 findings pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15090(a): 6 7 1. The final EIR has been completed in compliance with CEQA; 8 9 2. The Final EIR was presented to the decisionmaking body of the lead agency and that 10 the decisionmaking body reviewed and considered the information contained in the final 11 EIR prior to approving the project; and 12 13 3. The final EIR reflects the lead agency’s independent judgment and analysis. 14 15 City Council action to certify the EIR is an action separate from and independent of City Council 16 action on the rezoning and Planning Commission action on the site development permit. The 17 Costco Wholesale Warehouse Environmental Impact Report (EIR) Eastside, south end of Airport Park Boulevard APNs 180-110-08, 09, 10 and 180-080-57, 58, 59, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, and 67 File Nos.: 11-01-REZ-SDP-CC-PC / 11-16-EIR-CC 13 City Council may certify the EIR and approve, conditionally approve, or deny the rezoning. 1 Should the City Council certify the EIR and approve the rezoning, Planning Commission would 2 hold a public hearing to consider the site development permit. Planning Commission would rely 3 on the EIR certified by the City Council as the environmental analysis for the site development 4 permit. Planning Commission may approve, conditionally approve, or deny the site 5 development permit. Staff has included a draft City Council resolution to certify the EIR (see 6 attachment 1). 7 8 CEQA Guidelines section 15091 requires public agencies to make one or more written findings 9 supported by substantial evidence in the record for each of the significant environmental 10 impacts identified in the EIR prior to project approval and to provide an explanation of the 11 rationale for each finding (see attachment 1). 12 13 Statement of Overriding Considerations 14 15 A project with significant and unavoidable impacts (as identified above) may be approved if the 16 economic, legal, social, technological or other benefits of the proposed project outweigh the 17 significant and unavoidable environmental effects of the project; in which case these 18 environmental effects may be considered “acceptable.” CEQA Guidelines section 15093 19 requires decision makers to balance the economic, social, technological, or other benefits of the 20 proposed project against its unavoidable environmental impacts when deciding whether or not 21 to approve a project with significant and unavoidable impacts. 22 23 In order to approve a project that would result in significant and unavoidable environmental 24 effects identified in the EIR that cannot be reduced to a less than significant level, the Lead 25 Agency must state in writing the specific reasons to support the project approval based on a 26 balancing of project benefits against impacts remaining significant as identified in the Final EIR 27 and/or other information in the record. This is formally known as a “Statement of Overriding 28 Considerations” and is made pursuant to CEQA Guidelines, Section 15093. The findings 29 required for a statement of overriding considerations are made in addition to the findings 30 required by CEQA Guidelines section 15091. 31 32 Before approving a project with significant and unavoidable environmental impacts, a Lead 33 Agency is required to first certify the EIR and adopt a statement of overriding considerations. If 34 findings of overriding consideration are not adopted by the Lead Agency in those instances 35 where unavoidable project-related environmental effects identified in the EIR would remain 36 significant, the Lead Agency cannot approve the proposed project. 37 38 PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENT 39 40 Notice of this public hearing and the availability of the FEIR was provided in the following 41 manner: 42 43  published in the Ukiah Daily Journal on November 3, 2013; 44  posted on the subject parcel on October 31, 2013; 45  mailed to all property owners within 300 feet of the subject parcel on October 31, 2013; 46 Costco Wholesale Warehouse Environmental Impact Report (EIR) Eastside, south end of Airport Park Boulevard APNs 180-110-08, 09, 10 and 180-080-57, 58, 59, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, and 67 File Nos.: 11-01-REZ-SDP-CC-PC / 11-16-EIR-CC 14  mailed to all property owners within Airport Industrial Park Planned Development (not 1 within 300 feet of the Project site) on November 9; 2  mailed to all tenants on parcels contiguous to the subject parcel on October 31, 2013; 3  mailed and/or emailed to all persons on the Costco Project interested parties list on 4 October 31, 2013; and 5  posted on the City’s website on October 31, 2013. 6 7 On November 1, the 2013, the FEIR was made available on the City of Ukiah website under the 8 Featured Topics section, see Costco Project. On November 1, 2013, copies of the FEIR were 9 available for review at the following locations: 10 11 City of Ukiah Main Branch Library Planning & Community Development Dept. 105 North Main Street 300 Seminary Avenue Ukiah, CA 95482 Ukiah, CA 95482 The comments received prior to and during the comment period on the DEIR are included in 12 chapter 2 of the FEIR (see attachment 2). 13 14 Comments received after the close of the comment period on the DEIR and during the 15 preparation of the FEIR are included as attachment 3A. Comments received in response to the 16 notice for this public hearing are included as attachment 3B. No new impacts were identified or 17 issues raised in these comments. 18 19 CONCLUSION 20 21 The purpose of this public hearing is to: 22 23 1. take public and Planning Commission comment on the Costco Wholesale Project EIR; 24 and 25 26 2. make a recommendation to the City Council on certification of the EIR (see attachment 27 1). 28 29 Should the Planning Commission be in a position to recommend the City Council certify the 30 Costco Wholesale Project EIR, staff requests Planning Commission begin the public hearing for 31 the rezoning of the Project site which is agendized as a separate item (item 9B) for this meeting. 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 Costco Wholesale Warehouse Environmental Impact Report (EIR) Eastside, south end of Airport Park Boulevard APNs 180-110-08, 09, 10 and 180-080-57, 58, 59, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, and 67 File Nos.: 11-01-REZ-SDP-CC-PC / 11-16-EIR-CC 15 ATTACHMENTS 1 2 1. Draft Resolution to Certify the Costco Wholesale Project EIR 3 2. Final Environmental Impact Report available on the City of Ukiah website at 4 https://cityofukiah.app.box.com/s/zg0ftxrd7xcsdbna68dv or contact Kim Jordan at 5 707.463.6207 at kjordan@cityofukiah.com (Provided to Planning Commission on 6 11/1/2013) 7 3A. Public Comment during FEIR Preparation 8 3B. Public Comment in Response to Public Notice 9 10 S:Planning/Planning Commission/Staff Reports/ Costco FEIR 11 12 Costco Wholesale Project Environmental Impact Report (EIR) Eastside, south end of Airport Park Boulevard APNs 180-110-08, 09, 10 and 180-080-57, 58, 59, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, and 67 File Nos.: 11-01-REZ-SDP-CC-PC / 11-16-EIR-CC 1 ATTACHMENT 1 1 2 RESOLUTION NO._______ 3 4 RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF UKIAH MAKING FINDINGS 5 PURSUANT TO CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY 6 ACT ("CEQA") GUIDELINES SECTION 15090 IN CONNECTION 7 WITH THE CERTIFICATION OF THE COSTCO WHOLESALE 8 PROJECT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT 9 10 11 12 WHEREAS: 13 14 1. The City of Ukiah (“City”) as Lead Agency has conducted an environmental review for 15 the proposed Costco Wholesale Project that included the Environmental Impact Report 16 (EIR) scoping period, the Draft EIR, public review of the Draft EIR, and the Final EIR; 17 and 18 19 2. The Final EIR consists of the Draft EIR, as revised, plus the Final EIR. The Final EIR 20 includes all written comments received regarding the Draft EIR, responses to comments, 21 and the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP). 22 23 3. The implementation of the EIR scoping and review process is described in Section 1.2 of 24 the Final EIR (pp. 1-2 and 1-3). The following is a summary of the City’s environmental 25 review for this project. 26 27 A. The City issued a Notice of Preparation (NOP) for a 30 -day comment period between 28 November 4 and December 6, 2011. The NOP was distributed to governmental 29 agencies, organizations, and persons interested in the proposed project. The City 30 sent the NOP to agencies with statutory responsibilities in connection with the 31 proposed project with the request for their input on the scope and content of the 32 environmental information that should be addressed in the EIR. The City Planning 33 and Community Development Department held a Scoping Meeting on November 21, 34 2011 to take comments regarding the scope of the EIR in response to the NOP. The 35 environmental issues raised during the scoping process were considered in the Draft 36 EIR. 37 38 B. The Draft EIR was released on January 30, 2013. The Notice of Availability was 39 published in the Ukiah Daily Journal on January 27, 2013. The Notice of Completion 40 was delivered to the State Clearinghouse on January 30, 2013 (State Clearinghouse 41 # 2011112025). The review period closed on March 15, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. The 42 Planning Commission of the City of Ukiah held a public hearing to receive comment 43 on the Draft EIR on February 27, 2013. Fifty-nine (59) written comment letters were 44 received during the review period, in addition to comments made at the Planning 45 Costco Wholesale Project Environmental Impact Report (EIR) Eastside, south end of Airport Park Boulevard APNs 180-110-08, 09, 10 and 180-080-57, 58, 59, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, and 67 File Nos.: 11-01-REZ-SDP-CC-PC / 11-16-EIR-CC 2 Commission hearing on February 27th. These comments are included in their entirety 1 in Chapter 2 of the Final EIR. 2 3 C. The Final EIR was released on November 1, 2013, 21 days prior to the Planning 4 Commission public hearing regarding EIR certification and project consideration. 5 6 D. On November 21, 2013, the Planning Commission conducted a public hearing on the 7 certification of the EIR and made a recommendation to the City Council. 8 9 E. On December 4, 2013, the City Council conducted a public hearing on the 10 certification of the EIR. 11 12 4. The custodian of the Project record is the City of Ukiah Planning and Community 13 Development Department. The documents and other materials, which constitute the 14 record of proceedings for the City’s certification of the EIR and potential approval of the 15 Project, including, but not limited to the items described in Public Resources Code 16 Section 21167.6(e), are located at the Planning and Community Development 17 Department, 300 Seminary Ave., Ukiah, CA 95482, and are available for review during 18 normal City business hours. 19 20 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Ukiah finds as 21 follows: 22 23 1. Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15090 (Title 14 of the California Code of 24 Regulations, Section 15090) the City Council certifies that the Final EIR has been 25 completed in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) and the 26 State CEQA Guidelines. The City Council makes the following findings: 27 28 A. The Final EIR has been completed in compliance with CEQA. 29 30 B. The City retained ESA of San Francisco, California, to prepare the Draft and Final 31 EIR documents for the proposed Project. The EIR was prepared under the 32 supervision and direction of the City Planning and Community Development 33 Department staff and presented to the City Council and Planning Commission. 34 The EIR was presented to the Planning Commission on November 21, 2013 for 35 review and consideration of the information contained in the Final EIR. The EIR 36 was presented to the City Council on December 4, 2013 for review and 37 consideration of the information contained in the Final EIR. The City Council 38 has reviewed and considered the information contained in the Final EIR. 39 40 C. The Final EIR reflects the City’s independent judgment exercised in accordance 41 with CEQA Section 21082.1 (c) by reviewing, analyzing and revising material 42 prepared by the consultant; circulating the Draft EIR as a City document and 43 certifying that the Final EIR reflects the independent judgment of the lead 44 agency. 45 Costco Wholesale Project Environmental Impact Report (EIR) Eastside, south end of Airport Park Boulevard APNs 180-110-08, 09, 10 and 180-080-57, 58, 59, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, and 67 File Nos.: 11-01-REZ-SDP-CC-PC / 11-16-EIR-CC 3 1 2. The proposed Project has the potential to result in significant impacts on the 2 environment. Pursuant to the CEQA Guidelines, an EIR is the required environmental 3 documentation for the City’s consideration of the Project. 4 5 6 7 8 Douglas Crane, Mayor 9 10 11 12 ATTEST: 13 14 15 Kristine Lawler, City Clerk 16 17 ATTACHMENT 2 Costco Wholesale Project Final Environmental Impact Report Available on the City of Ukiah website at https://cityofukiah.app.box.com/s/zg0ftxrd7xcsdbna68dv#/s/zg0ftxrd 7xcsdbna68dv/1/1275364745/11418836193/1 and at the City of Ukiah Planning and Community Development Department 300 Seminary Avenue, Ukiah Or contact Kim Jordan, Project Planner at 707.463.6207 of kjordan@cityofukiah.com