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R-9849 RESOLUTION NO. 9849 (City Council Series) A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA MAKING FINDINGS NECESSARY TO APPROVE A DEVELOPMENT PROJECT AT 1540 2ND STREET, ADOPT A STATEMENT OF OVERRIDING CONSIDERATIONS, AND ADOPT A MITIGATION MONITORING PROGRAM WHEREAS, an Environmental Impact Report has been prepared which analyzes the environmental effects of the proposed development project at 1540 2nd Street; and WHEREAS, the City Council, as Lead City Agency, reviewed the Final Environmental Impact Report in full compliance with State and City CEQA Guidelines; and WHEREAS, on May 13, 2003, the City Council certified that the Final Environmental Impact Report was prepared in full compliance with State and City CEQA Guidelines, NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES HEREBY RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Consistent with Article VI, Section 12 of the City of Santa Monica CEQA Guidelines and Section 15128 of the State CEQA Guidelines, the Initial Study/Notice of Preparation determined that the following environmental impacts were not considered potentially significant and were not addressed further in the Final EIR: plant life, human health, animal life, fiscal, risk of upset, recreation, and public services. 1 I , t.., \; '- V L SECTION 2. Consistent with Article VI, Section 12 of the City of Santa Monica CEQA Guidelines and Sections 15091 and 15092 of the State CEQA Guidelines, and as detailed in the Final EIR at Sections IV.A, IV.B, IV.C, IV.F, and IV.H, the City Council finds that there are no significant impacts for land use, aesthetics/light and glare/shade and shadow, population/employment, noise and utilities. SECTION 3. Consistent with Article VI, Section 12 of the City of Santa Monica CEQA Guidelines and Sections 15091 and 15092 of the State of California CEQA Guidelines, the City Council finds that most additional impacts resulting from the project can be reduced to levels that are less than significant. More specifically, potentially significant environmental effects, as identified in this Section below, can feasibly be eliminated or substantially reduced to below a level of significance. (a) The Final EIR determined that without mitigation the project's operation would result in potentially significant impacts on air quality. Consistent with Article VI, Section 12 of the City of Santa Monica CEQA Guidelines and Sections 15091 and 15092 of the State CEQA Guidelines, and as detailed in the Final EIR at Section IV.E, the City Council finds that the following mitigation measures have been required of the project, which will mitigate or reduce some impacts of the project on traffic to below a level of significance: (1) Mitigation Measure AQ-1 (a): Use solar or low emission water heaters to reduce natural gas consumption and emissions. 2 ',I ~- 5 t~ (2) Mitigation Measure AQ-1(b): Use energy-efficient and automated controls for air conditioners to reduce energy consumption and emissions. (3) Mitigation Measure AQ-1 (c): Use light-colored roofing materials as opposed to dark roofing materials. These materials would reflect, rather than absorb, sunlight and minimize heat gains in buildings. This measure would lessen the overall demand for mechanical air conditioning systems. (4 ) Mitigation Measure AQ-1 (d): Install special sunlight filtering window coatings or double-paned windows to reduce thermal gain in hot weather and loss in the cold weather, thus reducing emissions associated with heaters and air conditioners. (b) The Final EIR determined that without mitigation, the project could have a potentially significant effect on earth resources. Consistent with Article VI, Section 12 of the City of Santa Monica CEQA Guidelines and Sections 15091 and 15092 of the State CEQA Guidelines and as detailed in the Final EIR at Section IV.G, the City Council finds that the following mitigation measures have been required of the project which will mitigate or reduce the impact of the project on earth resources to below levels of significance: 3 ;. t:: '-1 , ... l} ,.J (1) Mitigation Measure ER-1: The project applicant shall prepare and submit to the City of Santa Monica, a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) to be administered throughout all phases of grading and project construction. The SWPPP will incorporate Best Management Practices (BMPs) to ensure that potential water quality impacts during construction phases are minimized. Examples of BMPs that may be implemented during site grading and construction could include straw hay bales, straw bale inlet filters, filter barriers, and silt fences. (2) Mitigation Measure ER-2: The parking structure design shall consider a mechanism of removing groundwater, if present at the site. Due to the fact, depth to groundwater varies seasonally; the groundwater removal design shall consider historical ranges in depth to groundwater. The removal system shall be designed to prevent the parking structure from flooding. (3) Mitigation Measure ER-3: The project applicant shall provide a focused geotechnical report that specifically analyzes the geotechnical characteristics of the project site. This report is to 4 t: \ ; ...; (1 be prepared by a qualified and certified geologist. This report is shall be prepared prior to any issuance of grading permits. Any potential soil or geology problems encounter during the preparation of the geotechnical report shall be identified, and appropriate techniques to minimize potential problems prescribed and implemented. Suitable measures could include but are not limited to specialized design of foundations by a structural engineer; removal or treatment of soils to reduce potential problems; in-situ densification; or other alternations to ground characteristics. (c) The Final EIR determined that without mitigation, the project could have a potentially significant effect on cultural resources. Consistent with Article VI, Section 12 of the City of Santa Monica CEQA Guidelines and Sections 15091 and 15092 of the State CEQA Guidelines, and as detailed in the Final EIR at Section IV.I, the City Council finds that the following mitigation measures have been required of the project which will mitigate or reduce the impact of the project on cultural resources to below levels of significance: (1) Mitigation Measure C-1 (a): In the event that archaeological resources are unearthed during Project subsurface activities, all earth disturbing work within a 200-meter radius must be temporarily suspended or redirected until an archaeologist has evaluated the nature and significance ofthe find. After the find 5 1..< l t~ :0) ..... , has been appropriately mitigated, work in the area may resume. A Native American shall monitor any mitigation work associated with prehistoric cultural find. (2) Mitigation Measure C-1 (b): If human remains are unearthed, State Health and Safety Code Section 7050.5 requires that no further disturbance shall occur until the County coroner has made the necessary findings as to origin and disposition pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 5097.98. If the remains are determined to be of Native American descent, the coroner has 24 hours to notify the Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC). The NAHC will then contact the most likely descendant of the deceased Native American, who will then serve as consultant on how to proceed with the remains (i.e., avoid, rebury). (3) Mitigation Measure C-1 (c): In the event that paleontological resources are unearthed during Project subsurface activities, all earth disturbing work within 200-meter radius must be temporarily suspended or redirected until a paleontologist has evaluated the nature and significance of the find. After the find has been appropriately mitigated, work in the area may resume. 6 t,. L. r~~ ~: ..... v (d) The Final EIR determined that without mitigation, the project could have a potentially significant effect on construction-related traffic. Consistent with Article VI, Section 12 of the City of Santa Monica CEQA Guidelines and Sections 15091 and 15092 of the State CEQA Guidelines, and as detailed in the Final EIR in Section IV. K, the City Council finds that the following mitigation measures have been required of the project which will mitigate the impact of the construction-related traffic to below a level of significance: (1) Mitigation Measure C-3(a): The applicant shall prepare a construction traffic control plan prior to issuance of grading permit. This plan shall identify the traffic control measures to be used by the contractor during construction activity. SECTION 4. Consistent with Article VI, Section 12 of the City of Santa Monica CEQA Guidelines and Sections 15091, 15092, and 15093 of the State of California CEQA Guidelines, the City Council finds that significant adverse environmental effects in the areas of project-related traffic and construction-related noise and air quality cannot feasibly be avoided or mitigated to below a level of significance. Nevertheless, these impacts are found to be acceptable due to overriding considerations as discussed in Section 6 below. (a) The Final EIR determined that without mitigation, the project could result in significant effects on project-related traffic. Consistent with Article VI, Section 12 of the 7 I : r:.- , ., \... ..; f City of Santa Monica CEQA Guidelines and Sections 15091 and 15092 of the State of California CEQA Guidelines, and as detailed in the Final EIR at Section IV.D, the City Council finds that the following mitigation measure would avoid or substantially lessen the potential significant environmental effects with respect to traffic: (1 ) Mitigation Measure TC-1 (a): Pacific Coast Hiqhwav and California Avenue - Convert the existing westbound shared left- turn/through lane to a shared left/through/right-turn lane. This improvement will require the modification of the existing traffic signal equipment at the intersection. However, consistent with Article VI, Section 12 of the City of Santa Monica CEQA Guidelines and Sections 15091, 15092 and 15093 of the State of California CEQA Guidelines, and as detailed in Final EIR Section IV.D, the City Council finds that the significant environmental effects related to traffic cannot be feasibly avoided or mitigated to below a level of significance because the intersection is owned by the State of California Department of Transportation and the implementation of the mitigation measure is outside the control of the City of Santa Monica and project applicant. Therefore, the impact remains significant and unavoidable. In addition, as detailed in the Final EIR, Section IV.D, the City Council finds that, in light of the City's policy to avoid widening streets, which results in other adverse impacts including eliminating sidewalks or reducing sidewalk widths, and removing on-street parking spaces in areas where public parking is in high demand, no feasible mitigation measures have been identified at Fourth Street/Wilshire 8 1,0t:.~)) ..... l Boulevard, Second Street/Colorado Avenue, Fourth Street/Olympic Drive/I-1 0 eastbound on-ramp, and Fourth Street/Colorado Avenue. Therefore, the impacts at these intersections are considered to be significant and unavoidable. (b) The Final EIR determined that without mitigation, the construction of the project could have potentially significant effects in the area of air quality due to demolition, excavation, grading and construction vehicles. Consistent with Article VI, Section 12 of the City of Santa Monica CEQA Guidelines and Sections 15091 and 15092 of the State CEQA Guidelines, and as detailed in the Final EIR at Section IV.F, the City Council finds that the following mitigation measures have been required of the project, which will reduce construction-related air quality impacts but not mitigate to levels that would be considered less than significant: (1) Mitigation Measure C-1 (a): The project developer shall prepare and implement a Construction Impact Mitigation Plan prior to issuance of building permits. This plan shall be subject to review and approval by the City and, at a minimum, shall include the following: · A public information program to advise motorists of impending construction activities (example: media coverage, portable message signs, and information signs at the construction site); · Approval from the City Engineer and all other affected agencies for any construction detours or construction work requiring encroachment into public rights-of-way, or any other street use activity (example: haul routes); · Timely notification of construction schedules to all affected agencies (example: Police Department, Fire 9 i)L.t.:q V,-j Department, Department of Works, Department of Planning and Community Development, and transit agencies); · Coordination of construction work with affected agencies five to ten days prior to start of work; · A traffic control plan for the streets surrounding the work area, which includes specific information regarding the project's construction and activities that will disrupt normal traffic flow; · Prohibition of dirt and demolition material hauling and construction material delivery during the morning and afternoon peak traffic periods and cleaning of streets and equipment as necessary; · Scheduling and expediting of work to cause the least amount of disruption and interference to the adjacent vehicular and pedestrian traffic flow. It is recommended that all weekday daytime work on City streets be performed between the hours of 9:00 A.M. and 3:00 P.M.; · Limiting of queuing of trucks to on site and prohibition of truck queuing on area roadways; · Scheduling of preconstruction meetings with affected agencies to properly plan methods of controlling traffic through work areas; · Storage of construction material and equipment within the designated work area and limitation of equipment and material visibility to the public; · Provision for providing off-street parking to construction employees, including use of a remote location with shuttle transport to the site, if determined necessary by the City of Santa Monica. . (2) Mitigation Measure C-1 (b): The developer shall implement all rules and regulations by the Governing Board of the SCAQMD which are applicable to the development of the project (such as Rule 402 - Nuisance, Rule 403 - Fuqitive Dust, Rule 1113 - Architectural Coatinqs) and which are in effect at the time of development. The following measures are currently 10 t, b i ~ recommended to implement Rule 403 - Fuqitive Dust. These measures have been quantified by the SCAQMD as being able to reduce dust generation between 30 and 85 percent depending on the source of the dust generation. . Apply approved non-toxic chemical soil stabilizers according to manufacturer's specification to all inactive construction areas (previously graded areas inactive for four days or more). Replace ground cover in disturbed areas as quickly as possible. Enclose, cover, water twice daily, or apply approved soil binders to exposed piles (i.e., gravel, sand, and dirt) according to manufactures' specifications. Water active grading sites at least twice daily. Suspend all excavating and grading operations when wind speeds (as instantaneous gusts) exceed 25 miles per hour. Provide temporary wind fencing consisting of three- to five-foot barriers and 50 percent or less porosity along the perimeter of sites that have been cleared or are being graded. All trucks hauling dirt, sand, soil, or other loose materials are to be covered or should maintain at least two feet of freeboard (i.e., minimum vertical distance between top of the load and the top of the trailer), in accordance with Section 23114 of the California Vehicle Code. Sweep streets at the end of the day if visible soil material is carried over to adjacent roads (recommend water sweepers using reclaimed water if readily available ). Install wheel washers where vehicles enter and exit unpaved roads onto paved roads, or wash off trucks and any equipment leaving the site each trip. Apply water three times daily or chemical soil stabilizers according to manufactures' specifications to all unpaved parking or staging areas or unpaved road surfaces. Enforce traffic speed limits of 15 miles per hour or less on all unpaved roads. . . . . . . . . . . 11 !; \,.: c.: \ U .1 However, air quality impacts related to construction-related activities will remain due to dust generated by the operation of heavy construction vehicles and the extensive amount of excavation required. Although dust control measures will help minimize the overall air quality impacts related to dust, there are no feasible mitigation measures to reduce emissions during demolition, grading and construction to below recommended thresholds; therefore, significant and unavoidable construction-related air quality impacts remain. (c) The Final EIR determined that without mitigation, the construction of the project could have potentially significant effects in the area of noise created by construction vehicles and construction activities, including pile driving. Consistent with Article VI, Section 12 of the City of Santa Monica CEQA Guidelines and Sections 15091 and 15092 of the State CEQA Guidelines, and as detailed in the Final EIR at Section IV.F, the City Council finds that the following mitigation measures have been required of the project which will reduce the construction-related noise effects: (1) Mitigation Measure C-2(a): Provide a staging and storage area on the project site that is located at the greatest distance possible from the adjacent mixed-use residential use. As per the City's Noise Ordinance, all construction equipment with a high noise generating potential, such as pile drivers, jackhammers, pavement breakers or similar equipment which produces noise levels greater than 90 dBA at a distance offifty 12 ijl:F;r; feet will be limited to the hours of 10:00 A.M. and 3:00 P.M. (2) Mitigation Measure C-2(b): Develop a hauling and delivery route that avoids, to the greatest extent possible, sensitive receptor locations. Machinery, including motors, shall be turned off when not in use. (3) Mitigation Measure C-2(c): Provide temporary noise attenuation walls around the project site during all construction activities. (4) Mitigation Measure C-2(d): During shoring activities, should the pre-cast pile driving method be utilized, The applicant shall pre-drill the locations where piles will be driven prior to driving the piles. Under this approach, the soil is pre-drilled to a depth below the saturation zone (zone of potential liquefaction). Pre- cast piles are then driven into the dense soil strata to the minimum length specified by the project geotechnical engineer. This approach reduces the duration and intensity of pile driving activity to the minimum necessary to ensure adequate structural support. 13 !, 0 C: ',i U ..... (5) Mitigation Measure C-2(e): The applicant shall provide adjacent owners with a pile driving schedule 10-days in advance of activities, and a 3-day notice of any re-tapping activities that may need to occur. The applicant shall submit a copy of the scheduled and mailing list to the appropriate City regulatory agency prior to the initiation of construction activities. The City Building Official or a designee should spot check and respond to complaints. Although construction-related noise impacts would cause temporary adverse change in the noise environment of nearby residences and potentially sensitive businesses, the mitigation measures listed above would reduce noise levels. However, there are no feasible mitigation measures to fully mitigate the construction-related noise impacts on the local businesses and population to below levels of significance so the impacts remain significant and unavoidable: (d) The Final EIR determined that without mitigation, the project could have a potentially significant effect on neighborhoods. These neighborhood effects were also identified and detailed in the transportation/traffic and construction effects sections of the Final EIR and the same mitigation measures were proposed in these sections as in the neighborhood effects analysis. SECTION 5. The CEQA-mandated environmentally superior alternative was found to be the No Project Alternative. Any significant and adverse environmental impacts 14 L,I.. F; directly or cumulatively associated with the proposed project would be avoided. However, the No Project Alternative is not feasible. It would not satisfy the basic project objectives since it would not provide a viable restaurant, retail and commercial center at the site. However, when the No Project Alternative is identified as the environmentally superior alternative, CEQA requires that another alternative that substantially reduces or eliminates potential impacts be identified. In terms of physical effects on the environment, the environmentally superior alternative (other than the No Project) is the Alternative Mixed Use Project which calls for the replacement of the ground floor fast-food restaurant use with retail/commercial and office uses. This project alternative results in fewer impacts with respect to air quality, traffic/circulation and neighborhood effects, but would still result in environmental impacts that could not be reduced to below levels of significance. However, this project alternative would not meet the project's goal of providing a replacement facility for the existing McDonald's fast-food restaurant. SECTION 6. As fully described in Section 4 above, the Final EIR found that the proposed project would result in significant and unavoidable adverse impacts in the areas of traffic and construction-related air quality and noise. These unmitigable impacts were also identified in the neighborhood effects section of the Final EIR. Consistent with Section 15093 of the State CEQA Guidelines, the City Council hereby makes a Statement of Overriding Considerations and finds that the benefits of the project and other considerations outweigh its unavoidable environmental impacts based on the following reasons. Each benefit and consideration set forth below constitutes an overriding consideration warranting approval of the project, independent of the other benefits, despite 15 . {' t, ; \,.. t. each and every unavoidable impact. (a) The project will provide the community with additional off-street parking spaces during weekday evenings and weekends in an area of the City that is heavily visited by the public and where parking is at a premium for area visitors. It is anticipated that a minimum of 115 parking spaces will be available to the public during the weekday evenings after 6:00 p.m. and 118 spaces on weekends. These spaces will help alleviate a shortage of downtown parking spaces, particularly in the area of Santa Monica Pier. (b) The proposed project will provide an updated and improved fast-food restaurant on the ground floor that provides an affordable dining alternative to visitors to the downtown, including low and moderate individuals and families. (c) The first floor design of the new proposed project will be setback to enhance the heavily traveled pedestrian environment along Colorado Avenue which links to the Santa Monica Pier, the beach and Palisades Park by providing an additional two and one half feet of sidewalk width. (d) The proposed project will improve the pedestrian environment along Colorado Avenue, one of the City's key pedestrian corridors and a primary pedestrian access to the landmark Santa Monica Pier - a major tourist attraction. The existing double driveway that currently 16 I (.,., . _I '\..,. t~ f"; provides ingress and egress to vehicles will be removed, eliminating conflicts between vehicles and pedestrians. (e) The proposed project will provide a source oftax revenues to the City and jobs to residents of the area during a time of falling tax revenues and increased unemployment. SECTION 7. Consistent with Public Resources Code Section 21081.6, the City Council adopts the Mitigation Monitoring Plan, which is included as Attachment A, to mitigate or avoid the significant effects of the Project on the environment and to ensure compliance during project implementation. SECTION 8. Consistent with Section 21081.6(d) of the California Environmental Quality Act, the documents, which constitute the record of the proceedings for approving this project, are located in the Planning and Community Development Department, 1685 Main Street, Room 212, Santa Monica, California. The custodian of these plans is Paul Foley, Senior Planner in the City Planning Division of the Planning and Community Development Department. 17 , . ,,, I 1 \ . \... \-. I . ~'IO SECTION 9. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Resolution, and thenceforth and thereafter the same shall be in full force and effect. APPROVED AS TO FORM: I<<~~ MARSHA J ES MOUTRIE City AttorneY Attachment A: Mitigation Monitoring Program 18 i. l t: 8 Adopted and approved this 13th day of May, 2003. ~~aYor I, Maria M. Stewart, City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution No. 9849 (CCS) was duly adopted at a meeting of the Santa Monica City Council held on the 13th day of May, 2003, by the following vote: Ayes: Council members: O'Connor, Holbrook, Katz, Genser, Pro Tem McKeown, Mayor Bloom Noes: Council members: Feinstein Abstain: Council members: None Absent: Council members: None ATTEST: ~\.6,~~ Maria M. Stewart, City Clerk