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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRDA AG PKT 1979-07-23 #7C , • July 18, 1979 MEMORANDUM TO: City Council FROM: Dennis Courtemarche, City Manager SUBJECT: DWP Project: Federal Land & Water Conservation Fund Grant Environmental Assessment. On July 2 , 1979, we were• notified by the Coastal Conservancy that an Environmental Assessment, in compliance with the regulations of the CEQA, would be necessary shld we wish to apply for the $450 ,000 grant from the Federal Land an W ter Conservation Fund. Discussions with the Conservancy, County, the Federal office of Coastal Zone Management and the City resulted in the determination that Seal Beach is the Lead Agency and therefore, responsible for the development of any Environmental Assessments . We received a letter to this effect on July 5, 1979, from the Conservancy. (attached) . Should the City decide to apply. for the Conservation Fund Grant, it would be necessary to have the application, and the Environmental Assessment completed and submitted by September 15, 1979 . Because of the nature of this project and the designated purpose of the Grant (project development rather than site purchase) a categorical exemption or a Negative Declaration will not be adequate in determining the potential significance of any impacts which may result from the development of this proposed project. In our attempts to get this procedure underway and therefore meet our deadline, it was necessary to call upon a number of Environmental Consultants, discuss our needs, outline our time table and ask for their written response as to their abilities and desires to help us achieve this objective via an Environmental Impact Report. • As expected, the response was limited due to the nature of the project and the short time schedule. However, because of their large and very capable organization and on-board staff, one of the most respected firms "Ultasystems, Inc. " was able to submit a very favorable response. Their proposal is attached for your review. It is the recommendation of Staff, that in the best interest of moving the project forward, the Environment Assessment be given the go ahead and that the proposal and contract submitted by Ultasystems, Inc. be approved by Council. • L--i— Dennis Courtemarche DC/NR/ss AGENDA ITEM # VII. C. • • STATE OF CAL:FORNIA—RESOURCES AGENCY EDMUND G. BROWN SR.,GovernT STATE COASTAL CONSERVANCY 1212 BROADWAY ROOM 514 OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA 94612 1415) 464.1071, July 5, 1979 ATSS 561.107D Mr. Dennis Courtemarche, City Manager Seal Beach City Hall 211 Eighth Street Seal Beach, California 90740 • Dear Dennis: We discussed on Monday, July 2, the need for a Draft Environmental Impact Report on the conceptual restoration plan for the Department of Water and Power Site. In response to your request we would like to describe why this is needed at this time for the purposes of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (L&WCF) grant application. First, we would like to apologize for this sudden notice. We understood that the Federal Office of Coastal Zone Management would be preparing an E.I.S. or a Negative Declaration for the purposes of the CEIP loan which would satisfy State CEQA requirements and the requirements-of the L&WCF program. We have just learned that they do not intend to do so. This creates-an immediate concern regarding the September 15 deadline_for the - L&WCF grant application. We have enclosed copies of the State's suggested L&WCF grant application schedule and the guidelines for environmental clearances. An EIR is required by September 15 or the application will be penalized in the competitive process. As we discussed, application for a grant. under the Director's Contingency Reserve Fund might be an alternative. That deadline_ would be November-A- . We recently received the enclosed letter informing us that Russell Cahill , Director. of the State Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) , is looking favorably on the Seal Beach project for funding this year. - - 4 • It is important to take' advantage•of DPR's interest in this- project this .•year.• and. the. favorable momentum this- project_ has achieved with the County Board of-Supervisors and' the -Harbors , Beaches and Parks Commission. Fail- ure to meet-the deadline could mean losing the -likely $450,000 Federal Grant or delay construction of the park -for another year since L&WCF grants are made only once a year. Uncertainty regarding the amount of public grants available for the restoration and. development of the park could also compro- mise the scheduling of the total project. According to the schedule we discussed with you, the "City could be soliciting bids from developers in November, if not sooner. The City should at that time know the site acqui- sition price and public grants and loans available in order to be in the clearest and strongest bargaining position with the developer. The question of funding the EIR has been raised with the County. Supervisor Wieder's office has agreed to recommend a grant to the City for that purpose at the same time the $450,000 budget appropriation comes before the Board of • Mr. Dennis Courtemarche July 5, 1979 . ' page 2 Supervisors on Tuesday, July 10. We will be forwarding to you a letter from the Supervisor confirming that offer. Larry Leamon, Director of Open Space and Recreation for Orange County, has suggested that the City do the EIR as soon as possible. The timing of the EIR completion is crucial . We understand that if the - County approves the grant to the City, the City Council could then approve the EIR contract at its meeting on July 23. The contract could then be signed immediately. According to the State Office of Planning and Research (OPR) , a notice of preparation should be sent out at the same time, giving concerned agencies 45 days to comment. If this is done then OPR's policy is that review of the Draft EIR, once prepared, need take only a maximum of 30 days. The 30 day time frame can even be reduced given extenuating circum- stances. We have asked Steve Williamson of OPR to confirm this schedule with Mr. Romaniello. Mr. Williamson's phone number is (916) 322-7796. Please let me know if you have any further questions. Sincerely, Peter S. Brand Field Representative • Enclosures PSB:drg f:?5 , jleit kon rpm- • . . • • • • ,ems I ' ld7ins}s ems O IL / •l Pr' ,/ July 12, 1979 Mr. Nicholas Romaniello Director of Planning City of Seal Beach City Hall - 211 Eighth Street Seal Beach, California 90740-• Dear Mr. Romaniello: Ultrasystems, Inc. , is pleased to offer our professional environmental services to the City of Seal Beach -for the preparation of a draft EIR on your proposed Development Plan for the nine-acre Department of Water and Power site. This proposal is in response to your request and its scope is based on 1) the project material you provided to us during our orientation meeting, 2) our on-going and previous experience with coastal , recreation and redevelopment projects, 3) our background knowledge of the general area and 4) the availability of the California State Coastal Conservancy - report prepared-on- the-project area. The Draft and Final EIR will be prepared in accordance with the Guidelines of Implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act of 1970, as amended May 5, 1979, as well as the guidelines provided by the City of Seal Beach. The EIR will discuss environmental effects in proportion to their severity, concern to the City, and probability of occurrence and will contain a statement briefly indicating the reasons for determining that various project effects that could possibly be considered significant were not found to be significant and were therefore not discussed in detail in the -EIR. In performing this work, Ultrasystems , Inc. , will work in close cooperation with -you- and with -the City of Seal Beach staff to assure that the EIR is accurate relative to your project and reflects the. City's concerns as required under the .C..E.Q.A. . . With reference to the earlier mentioned sources of project-related- material , we believe that the following environmental areas will be potentially . significant and will be emphasized in the EIR. - Traffic. and public circulation - ' Noise • - Socio-economic - Public Services/Facilities - - Ai r Quality- - - - - Land Use Planning - Aesthetics/Visual - Energy Conservation - Natural Resources V • The following is an outline of our proposed activity based on the preceeding assumptions: LILTPASYSTEMS. INC. P.O. BOX 19505 0 0 0 9400-MICHELSON DR!VE IRVINE, CALIFORNIA 92715 (7141752-7500 Tc1 V.• rn .•'r. Mr. Nicholas Romaniello July 12, 1979 City of Seal Beach Page Two TASK I : PROJECT FAMILIARIZATION Obtain a complete understanding of the project's physical and operational characteristics to the degree- that is available. Applicable information will be used for project description in the Environmental Impact Report (EIR). TASK II : SITE ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING Obtain the existing environmental conditions on and surrounding the project area. A thorough description and identification of the existing setting provides the base on which to evaluate the delta and/or change in each • • of the environmental disciplines. Some of the setting data will be obtained from the Coastal Conservancy Report mentioned earlier. It will be updated and supplemented where appropriate. Special attention will be given to the following environmental issues: - _ a) Physical Features and Land Use: We will narratively and photographically record existing general .land uses and state of conditions in the site areas. b) Traffic: The existing traffic and circulation conditions will be identified on those primary roadways which are expected to be utilized by the proposed project traffic_ The traffic consultant firm of Linscott, Law Greenspan will- be employed for this task. c) Noise: The subject site, by being located near residential land uses, will generate traffic and noise sources which may be an impact to these residents. On-site and surrounding area -noise level measurements will be made so that the - impact of construction, land 'uses and future traffic can - be-..eval uated. - - • • d) Air: Existing-meteorology and air quality conditions at the- sites will be updated through the use of Air Pollution • Control District data. • • . • e) Public Facilities: Identification of public facilities • which may serve the project will be accomplished including fire, ._police.,_water, sewerage, power, drainage facilities , . _ etc. - - f) Socio-Economics: The existing socio-economic conditions -- within--the--site boundaries will be determined and reported. . City input data will be required for this task effort. • • Mr. Nicholas Romaniello July 12, 1979 City of Seal Beach Page Three g) Natural Resources: Although the site is not expected to contain significant resources, an archaeological and biota survey will be conducted for compliance with CEQA. TASK III: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS During this task, the long and short-term impacts of each of the environmental disciplines will be addressed, utilizing the material that is applicable in the previous Conservancy Report. Special attention will be given to the following areas: a) Physical/Aesthetic Features: . Visual aspects of the project will be addressed by photographically drawing comparison to comparable existing land uses. This activity will be supplemented by the utilization of landscaping plans and architectural drawings as available from the City or future _ project planners. b) Land Use and Zoning: Compatibility comparisons will be made between existing land uses and zoning and those required by the proposed project. A conformance review will also be conducted for the proposed project relative to the City's Ordinances and District Plan; i .e. , circulation element, land use element, housing element, noise element, open space element, community plans, safety element, etc. c) Traffic Circulation: Traffic from the land uses which may be developed as a result of this action will be determined and distributed on the primary roadways. Increases in traffic levels will be identified and areas where circulation and parking problems are expected will be identified: Mitigation measures will be.proposed where. applicable. . . d) Air: A project review of air pollutant sources and the • • meteorology at the site established in Task II will be used to determine the possible impact of project-generated con- struction dust, traffic emissions and other pollutants. • e) Noise: Project-generated noise levels will be assessed . _ ._ _ by utilizing_applicable project data on earth-moving and • grading equipment. Future traffic noise and stationary source noise will be evaluated. Mitigation measures will be noted. • Mr. Nicholas Romaniello July 12, 1979 City of Seal Beach Page -Four f) Service Systems: The project's impact on electric power, gas ,.water, sewers, flood control , solid waste and communications systems will be evaluated for the project. The impact on public facilities; i .e. , police, fire, medical , parking, etc. , will also be determined. g) Socio-Economic: A general cost/revenue analysis will be prepared for the project utilizing the economic material contained in the Conservancy Report as a base. Consideration of future employment opportunities will also be addressed. TASK IV: UNAVOIDABLE ADVERSE IMPACTS If it is determined that this project has any adverse impacts that cannot be reduced to insignificant levels through economically viable mitigation __.measures, reasons will ' be provided for proceeding._with the project, not- - withstanding the impacts. Input from City will be necessary for this task. TASK V: MITIGATION MEASURES For each of the environmental disciplines being adversely impacted, mitigation measured will be proposed by Ultrasystems. These will be. reviewed by the City for reasonableness and economics. Ultrasystems will also take full advantage of project designs and systems which can function as mitigation measures and are already being. planned for use in the project. In addition, we will discuss possible project energy conservation systems. Our existing energy related company contracts with the Federal Government and previous conservation studies provide -us-with the technical background for this specific section of the report. . - - . TASK VI : PROJECT ALTERNATIVES - • • Project alternatives such as no. project, project at another location, other land uses as allowed.by existing zoning, and 'project design variations, will be evaluated as required by C.E..Q.A. and the City's guidelines. Specific project.variations. will be coordinated with the City as well as the rationale supporting_.the reasons :.for not_pursuing these alternatives. • • • Mr. Nicholas Romaniello July 12, 1979 City of Seal Beach Page Five • Upon completion of the research and analysis, a draft Environmental Impact Report will be prepared in compliance with the City's guidelines and recent C.E.Q.A. Amendments for.your review within six (6) weeks after authority- to-proceed, assuming timely- input to Ultrasystems of project information. I believe this meets with your schedule of project activities provided to us. Assuming that the project information is provided..to us, we will prepare the subsequent draft Environmental. Impact Report for a price not to exceed $14,000. This includes the traffic and circulation study and all effort, up to and including the submittal of the screen check copies of the draft Environmental Impact Report to the City and reasonable follow-up coordination activity with the City prior to public circulation to assure that the report reflects the City's independent judgement as required by law. Report reproduction for public circulation and other consulting services i_ncludi_ng_p.ubJ_i_shear__i.ng_s_upport-and_r-esponse-.to-publ-i c-comments --as requested -- - by the City will be performed on a -time and materials basis per our standard rate sheet (Attachment I) . These costs are grossly estimated to be $400.00 for report reproduction and $400.00 for technical support. Provided the cost and schedule__ar_e--acceptable to you, a.signed copy of this letter, returned to us, will serve as a binding contract for our services . I-f you have any questions regarding the contents of this proposal or our company, please call me. • Very truly yours, - . � L EMS, INC. #(k_CAD City- of Seal Beach Don M. DeMars Department Manager Environmental Studies Department • Date • -- DMD/_1 h: - - . - -- .. ._ Attachment • • • ulthisysterms., • ATTACHMENT I ULTRASYS T EMS, INC. , STANDARD RATE SCHEDULE EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1 , 1979 Hourly Rates Professional Staff Senior Investigator $ 40.00 Principal Investigator 35.00 Senior Scientist 40.00 Scientist 30.00 Research Analyst 21 .00 Support Staff Technical Illustrator 13.00 - Secretary 13.50 . General Consultant support, printing, reproduction, travel , subsistence ($25/day) and all other non-wage costs are billed at cost plus twenty-five (25) percent. • Hourly rates apply to travel , in addition to working time. • - :Statements are payable upon receipt-and will be submitted monthly • for work in progress. . ; : ._ • • • • • • • • • •