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R11108City Council Meeting: March 27, 2018 Santa Monica, California RESOLUTION NO. I II v5' (CCS) (City Council Series) A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA MAKING FINDINGS NECESSARY To APPROVE THE AIRPORT PARK EXPANSION PROJECT, ADOPTING A STATEMENT OF OVERRIDING CONSIDERATION, AND ADOPTING A MITIGATION MONITORING PLAN WHEREAS, to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Santa Monica City staff, working with technical consultants, has prepared an Environmental Impact Report for the Airport Park Expansion Project; and WHEREAS, a Notice of Preparation of the Environmental Impact Report was issued on March 8, 2017; and WHEREAS, a Notice of Completion/Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Report (Draft EIR) was published on October 27, 2017, in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act and the City of Santa Monica CEQA Guidelines; and WHEREAS, the Draft EIR was circulated for a 45 -day public comment period which ended on December 11, 2017; and WHEREAS, the Draft EIR analyzed the potential development of the Airport Park Expansion Project and five alternatives; and 1 WHEREAS, the Final Environmental Impact Report (Final EIR) was published on January 25, 2018; and WHEREAS, on March 27, 2018, the Santa Monica City Council, as Lead Agency, reviewed and considered the contents of the Final EIR in its decision-making process; and WHEREAS, the City Council has determined that the Final EIR has been prepared in accordance with the Final EIR has been prepared in accordance with CEQA and the Santa Monica CEQA Guidelines; and WHEREAS, the City Council has certified that the Final EIR for the project was presented to the City Council, that the Final EIR for the project was completed in full compliance with State law and City CEQA Guidelines, that there was adequate public review of the Final EIR, that it has considered all comments on the Final EIR and responses to those comments, that the Final EIR adequately discusses all significant environmental issues, that the Final EIR reflects the independent judgement and analysis of the City, and that the City Council has reviewed and considered the information contained in the Final EIR in its decision-making process prior to acting on the project. NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES HEREBY RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Consistent with Article IV, Section 12 of the City of Santa Monica CEQA Guidelines and Section 15128 of the State CEQA Guidelines, and as discussed in the Final EIR, the City Council finds that the Final EIR determined that environmental impacts of the 2 Airport Park Expansion Project related to Agriculture and Forestry Resources, Aesthetics, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Hydrology/WaterQuality, Geology/Soils, Mineral Resources, Neighborhood Effects, Population/Housing, Public Services, Tribal Cultural Resources, and Utilities were not potentially significant. SECTION 2. Consistent with Article VI, Section 12 of the City of Santa Monica CEQA Guidelines and Section 15091 and 15092 of the State CEQA Guidelines, and as detailed in the Final EIR, the City Council finds that impacts of the Airport Park Expansion Project related to Air Quality, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and Land Use/Planning would be less than significant without mitigation. 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 impacts resulting from the Airport Park Expansion Project can be reduced to an acceptable level. More specifically, significant environmental effects as identified below can feasibly be avoided and have been eliminated or substantially lessened to less than significant levels with the mitigation measures as discussed in the Final EIR, as set forth below: (a) The Final EIR determined that without mitigation, the Airport Park Expansion Project could result in significant adverse impacts related to Construction Effects. Consistent with Article VI, Section 12 of the City CEQA Guidelines and Section 15091 and 15092 of the State of California CEQA Guidelines and as detailed in the Final EIR, the City Council finds that mitigation measures HAZ-1, MM HAZ-2, and MMT -1 described in the following 3 subsections (i) and (ii) have been required for the Airport Park Expansion Project and will eliminate or substantially reduce the Project's impacts to below significant levels. (i) The Final EIR determined that without mitigation, the project could result in significant adverse impacts related to Hazards and Hazardous Materials. Consistent with Article VI, Section 12 of the City CEQA Guidelines and Section 15091 and 15092 of the State of California CEQA Guidelines and as detailed in the Final EIR, the City Council finds that the following mitigation measures have been required for the project that will reduce the project's impacts to below levels of significance: MM HAZ-1 Prior to the start of construction, the contractor shall conduct a comprehensive survey of lead based paint (LBP) and asbestos containing materials (ACM). If such hazardous materials are found to be present, the contractor shall follow all applicable local, state and federal regulations, including compliance with SCAQMD Rule 1403 as well as best management practices related to the treatment, handling, and disposal of LBP and ACM. MM HAZ-2 Prior to the start of excavation or grading in areas of known soils contamination, the construction contractor shall submit a Soils Management Plan and a Transportation Plan to the appropriate cleanup agency (e.g., Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board [LARWQCB], Department of Toxic Substances Control [DTSC], Santa Monica Fire Department [SMFD]) for review and approval. The Soils Management Plan and Transportation Plan shall include the following tasks: Soils Management Plan 18 Affected soils shall be either directly loaded into awaiting trucks for immediate offsite disposal or temporarily stockpiled on plastic sheeting prior to load -out and offsite disposal. If temporarily stockpiled, soil removed from the excavations shall be placed next to or as close as possible to the excavation from which it came. Prior to load -out, the construction contractor shall prepare waste profiles and example waste manifests for approval by the receiving facilities. Soil and material segregation, stockpile handling, truck loading, and storm water management practices shall be followed during the remedial action according to the following. Soil and Material Segregation Overburden soils shall be screened with an organic vapor analyzer (OVA) in accordance with South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) Rule 1166. Any affected soils shall be segregated and disposed of in accordance with federal, state, and local regulations. Stockpile Management Any stockpiled soils for load -out shall be segregated by waste classification: Nonhazardous waste. • Volatile Organic Compound (VOC)-contaminated nonhazardous waste with OVA readings greater than 50 parts per million (ppm) but less than 1,000 ppm. VOC-contaminated nonhazardous waste with OVA readings of 1,000 ppm or greater. These soils shall be immediately sprayed with water or suppressant and placed in a sealed container (roll off bin) or directly loaded into a suitable transport truck, moistened with water, and covered with a tarp for offsite 5 transportation to the appropriate disposal facility, as specified in the SCAQMD Rule 1166 Mitigation Plan. The temporary stockpiles containing affected soils shall be managed as follows: • The temporary stockpiles for non-VOC contaminants shall be placed on plastic sheeting and kept moist during working hours and covered with plastic sheeting at the end of the day to control dust. • The VOC-contaminated stockpiles shall be placed on plastic sheeting and immediately covered with plastic sheeting. The edges of the plastic shall have an overlap of at least 24 inches. The plastic shall be secured at the base of the stockpile and along the seams of overlapping plastic sheeting with sandbags or equivalent means. The stockpiles shall remain covered until load -out. • Daily inspections of the stockpiles shall be conducted to verify the integrity of the stockpile covers. Any gaps, tears, or other deficiencies shall be corrected immediately. Daily records shall be kept of stockpile inspections and any repairs made. • If necessary, commercial vapor suppressants and sealants shall be prepared and applied to VOC-contaminated soil in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations. • During stockpile generation and removal, only the working face of the stockpile shall be uncovered. Decontamination Methods and Procedures 0 Each piece of equipment used for the excavation of affected soils shall have a cleanout bucket or continuous edge across the cutting face of its bucket. No excavation of affected soil shall be permitted with equipment utilizing teeth across the cutting edge of its bucket. Entry to the contaminated areas (i.e., work exclusion zones) shall be limited to avoid unnecessary exposure and related transfer of contaminants. In unavoidable circumstances, any equipment or truck(s) that come into direct contact with affected soil shall be decontaminated to prevent the onsite and offsite distribution of contaminated soil. The decontamination shall be conducted within a designated area by brushing off equipment surfaces onto plastic sheeting. Trucks shall be visually inspected before leaving the site, and any dirt adhering to the exterior surfaces shall be brushed off and collected on plastic sheeting. The storage bins or beds of the trucks shall be inspected to ensure the loads are properly covered and secured. Excavation equipment surfaces shall also be brushed off prior to removing the equipment from contaminated areas. Movement of affected soils from the excavation area to temporary stockpiles shall be conducted using enclosed transfer trucks, if possible. If affected soils must be moved within an open receptacle (e.g., loader bucket), the travel path for the loader shall be scraped following this activity, with scraped soils placed in the temporary stockpile for load -out. Sampling equipment that comes into direct contact with potentially contaminated soil or water shall be decontaminated to assure the quality of samples collected and/or to avoid cross -contamination. Disposable sampling equipment intended for one-time use shall not be decontaminated, but shall be packaged for appropriate offsite rr disposal. Decontamination shall occur prior to and after each designated use of a piece of sampling equipment, using the following procedures: • Nonphosphate detergent and tap -water wash, using a brush if necessary. • Tap -water rinse. • Initial deionized/distilled water rinse. • Final deionized/distilled water rinse. Truck Loading Trucks may be loaded directly from the excavation or temporary stockpile based on truck availability and excavation logistics. Trucks shall be routed and stockpile areas shall be located so as to avoid having trucks pass through impacted areas. The truckloads shall be wetted and tarped prior to exiting the site. All soil hauled from the site shall comply with the following: • Materials shall be transported to a Class II landfill in accordance with applicable rules and regulations for the handling and disposal of hazardous materials. If contamination in the soils is at or above regulatory levels, the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) shall be contacted and notified to determine appropriate action. • No excavated material shall extend above the sides or rear of the truck/trailer. • Trucks/trailers carrying affected soils shall be completely tarped/covered to prevent particulate emissions to the atmosphere. Prior to cover! ng/tarping, the surface of the loaded soil shall be moistened. • The exterior of the trucks/trailers shall be cleaned off prior to leaving the site to eliminate tracking of material offsite. `:3 Storm Water Management The good housekeeping practices prescribed in the City's Urban Runoff Mitigation Plan (Municipal Code Section 7.10.060) shall be implemented during soil excavation activities to contain and control storm water runoff that might convey contaminated or excessive sediments.. If rainfall is expected, the areas around open excavations shall be graded and bermed to prevent storm water from flowing into the excavation. Any standing water that collects in the bottom of the excavations shall be removed and handled in accordance with federal, state, and local regulations. The water shall be sampled and analyzed either as standing water in the excavation or following containment in a temporary above -ground storage tank. Depending on the volume of water and the sampling results, options for handling the standing water could include: • Pumping the standing water into temporary above -ground storage tanks for reuse onsite for dust suppression. • Pumping the standing water through filters and a carbon absorption filter (if required based on analytical results) prior to discharge to a storm drain, subject to approval by the City of Santa Monica Water Resources Division. • Pumping the standing water into vacuum trucks for transport and disposal at a recycling facility., Transportation Plan All affected soils shall be transported offsite for lawful management and disposal. Prior to load -out, the construction contractor shall prepare waste profiles for the 0 receiving facility using analytical data from the previous environmental site assessment. On -Site Soils Remediation Plan If remediation for contaminated soils remaining on site is required, all remediation activities shall be accomplished in a manner that reduces risk to below applicable standards and shall be completed prior to opening the park to the public. Closure report or other reports regarding investigation and/or remediation activities regarding contaminated soil shall be submitted to DTSC for review and approval. Approved reports that document the successful completion of required remediation activities for contaminated soils shall be submitted to the DTSC prior to opening the park to the public. (ii) The Final EIR determined that without mitigation the Project could result in significant adverse impacts related to Transportation/Traffic. Consistent with Article VI, Section 12 of the City CEQA Guidelines and Section 15091 and 15092 of the State of California CEQA Guidelines and as detailed in the Final EIR, the City Council finds that the following mitigation measure has been required for the Project that will reduce the Project's impacts to below levels of significance: MM T-1 The City shall prepare, implement and maintain a Construction Impact Mitigation Plan for review and approval prior to issuance of a building permit to address and manage traffic during construction and shall be designed to: • Prevent traffic impacts on the surrounding street network. 10 . Minimize parking impacts both to public parking and access to private parking to the greatest extent practicable. Ensure safety for both those constructing the Project and the surrounding community. Prevent substantial truck traffic through residential neighborhoods. Provide for coordination with adjacent or nearby construction Projects. The Construction Impact Mitigation Plan shall be subject to review and approval by the following City departments: Public Works, Fire, Planning and Community Development, and Police to ensure that the Plan has been designed in accordance with this mitigation measure and meets City standards. This review shall occur prior to issuance of grading or building permits. It shall, at a minimum, include the following: Ongoing Requirements throughout the Duration of Construction • A detailed Construction Impact Mitigation Plan for work zones shall be maintained. At a minimum, this shall include parking and travel lane configurations; warning, regulatory, guide, and directional signage; and area sidewalks, bicycle lanes, and parking lanes. The plan shall include specific information regarding the Project's construction activities that may disrupt normal pedestrian and traffic flow and the measures to address these disruptions. Such plans shall be reviewed and approved by the Strategic and Transportation Planning Division prior to commencement of construction and implemented in accordance with this approval. 11 Work within the public right-of-way shall be performed between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. This work includes dirt and demolition material hauling and construction material delivery. Work within the public right-of-way outside of these hours shall only be allowed after the issuance of an after-hours construction permit. Streets and equipment shall be cleaned in accordance with established Public Works Department requirements. Trucks shall only travel on a City -approved construction route. Truck queuing/staging shall not be allowed on Santa Monica streets. Limited queuing may occur on the construction site itself. Materials and equipment shall be minimally visible to the public; the preferred location for materials is to be onsite, with a minimum amount of materials within a work area in the public right-of-way, subject to a current Use of Public Property Permit. Any requests for work before or after normal construction hours within the public right-of-way shall be subject to review and approval through the After Hours Permit process administered by the Building and Safety Division. Provision of off-street parking for construction workers, which may include the use of a remote location with shuttle transport to the site, if determined necessary by the City of Santa Monica. Project Coordination Elements That Shall Be Implemented Prior to Commencement of Construction 12 • The City shall advise the traveling public of impending construction activities (e.g., information signs, portable message signs, media listing/notification, and implementation of an approved Construction Impact Mitigation Plan). • The City shall provide timely notification of construction schedules to all affected agencies (e.g., MTA, Big Blue Bus, Police Department, Fire Department, Public Works Department, and Planning and Community Development Department) and to all owners and residential and commercial tenants of property within a radius of 500 feet. • The City shall coordinate construction work with affected agencies in advance of start of work. Approvals may take up to two weeks per each submittal. SECTION 4. Consistent with Article IV, Section 12 of the City of Santa Monica CEQA Guidelines and Section 15091, 15092, and 15093 of the State of California CEQA Guidelines, the City Council finds that significant adverse environmental effects in the areas of Construction Noise and Transportation/Traffic cannot feasibly be avoided or mitigated to below a level of significance. Nevertheless, these impacts are found to be acceptable when balanced against the long-term policy, social, and other benefits and overriding considerations of the Project as discussed in Section 7. (a) The Final EIR determined that the project would result in significant adverse impacts from Construction Noise related to short-term noise based on City of Los Angeles' significance thresholds, which are more stringent than the City of Santa Monica thresholds. Consistent with Article VI, Section 12 of the City of Santa Monica CEQA Guidelines, and as detailed in Final EIR in Section 3.13, the City Council finds that the Project would generate construction noise from construction equipment and vehicles. Construction noise levels 13 would affect nearby sensitive receptors that are located to the east in the City of Los Angeles and could exceed the City of Los Angeles' significance thresholds. Even with implementation of mitigation, construction noise levels would still exceed thresholds based on City of Los Angeles Thresholds. Therefore, this impact is significant and unavoidable. The following mitigation measure has been required for the Project to reduce noise levels: MM NOI-1 A Construction Noise Management Plan shall be implemented during Project construction. The Plan would address noise and vibration impacts and outline measures that would be used to reduce impacts. Measures would include: • To the extent that they exceed the applicable construction noise limits, excavation, foundation -laying, and conditioning activities shall be restricted to between the hours of 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM, Monday through Friday, in accordance with Section 4.12.110(d) of the Santa Monica Municipal Code. • The construction contracts shall require implementation of the following construction best management practices (BMPs) by all construction contractors and subcontractors working in or around the Project site to reduce construction noise levels: Contractors and subcontractors shall ensure that construction equipment is properly muffled according to manufactures specifications or as required by the City's Department of Building and Safety, whichever is the more stringent. Contractors and subcontractors shall place noise -generating construction equipment and locate construction staging areas IEI away from sensitive uses, where feasible, to the satisfaction of the Department of Building and Safety. • Contractors and subcontractors shall implement noise attenuation measures which may include, but are not limited to, noise barriers or noise blankets to the satisfaction of the City's Department of Building and Safety. • Contracts with its construction contractors and subcontractors shall include the requirement that construction staging areas, construction worker parking and the operation of earthmoving equipment within the project site, are located as far away from vibration- and noise -sensitive sites as possible. Contract provisions incorporating the above requirements shall be included as part of the project's construction documents. • Contract specifications shall instruct that heavily loaded trucks used during construction shall be routed away from residential streets to the extent possible. Contract specifications shall be included in the Project's construction documents. (b) The Final EIR determined that the Project would result in significant adverse impacts from Transportation/Traffic (intersection level of service). Consistent with Article VI, Section 12 of the City of Santa Monica CEQA Guidelines, and as detailed in Final EIR in Section 3.13, the City Council finds that the Project would result in traffic -related impacts that would exceed City of Santa Monica significance thresholds at three intersections under Approval Year (2017) Plus Project conditions, at four intersections under Future Year (2025) Plus Project conditions, and at two street segments under Existing (2017) ADT. 15 Under Approval Year (2017) Plus Project conditions, the project would result in traffic related impacts at: 23rd Street and Dewey Street (PM peak hour), ■ 23rd Street and Walgrove Avenue (AM peak hour) Bundy Drive and Ocean Park Boulevard (AM and PM peak hour) Under Future Year (2025) Plus Project conditions, the project would result in traffic - related impacts at: 23rd and Dewey Street (PM peak hour), 23rd Street and Airport Avenue (AM peak hour) ■ Bundy Drive and Ocean Park Boulevard (AM and PM peak hour) Centinela Avenue and Airport Avenue (PM peak hour) Furthermore, the street segments that would be impacted include: 23rd Street north of Dewey Avenue Dewey Street west of 23rd Street Physical improvements were considered that could potentially reduce the traffic impacts at the significantly impacted intersections under Approval Year (2016) Plus Project and Future Year (2025) Plus Project conditions. However, as described in Section 3.7 of the Final EIR, these improvements are considered infeasible due to physical constraints and the secondary adverse effects of increasing vehicle delay at significantly impacted intersections. Therefore, the project would have significant and unavoidable impacts on intersections. 16 SECTION 5. Consistent with Sections 15126.6 of the CEQA Guidelines, the Final EIR includes a discussion and evaluation of a reasonable range of alternatives to the Project that could feasibly attain the project objectives while avoiding or substantially lessening any of the significant effects of the originally proposed project. The Final EIR provides a robust analysis of alternatives that include the No Project/No Build Alternative (Alternative 1) as well as four additional alternatives. (a) Alternative 1 (No Project/No Build Alternative) represents a scenario where the project would not be developed and the existing commercial and aviation -related uses would remain. The Final EIR found that the No Project Alternative would be environmentally superior to the project on the basis of the minimization or avoidance of physical environmental impacts. However, the No Project Alternative would not achieve any of the project objectives. (b) Alternative 2 (No Project/Reasonable Foreseeable Alternative) would develop institutional uses associated with Santa Monica College (SMC) on the site consistent with the land use designation and existing SMC Bundy Campus. The Final EIR found that Alternative 2 would result in greater impacts than the project and would not meet project objectives. (c) Alternative 3 (Airport Park Expansion without Fields) would develop the project but without the active playfields. The Final EIR found that Alternative 3 would also result in significant impacts related to construction noise and traffic impacts, but such impacts would be less than the Project. Without the playfields, Alternative 3 would not achieve project objectives to the same extent as the Project. 17 (d) Alternative 4 (Reduced Project Alternative) assumes development of the project on the east paved surface area only. Alternative 4 would also result significant impacts related to construction noise and traffic. However, without the development of the west parcel, this alternative would partially achieve project objectives. (e) Alternative 5 (Community Center Alternative) would involve development of a two-story, 25,000 sf community recreation center on the site. Alternative 5 would also result in significant impacts related to construction noise and traffic and would only partially meet project objectives. The CEQA Guidelines require that if the environmentally superior alternative is the No Project alternative, that the Environmental Impact Report also identify an environmentally superior alternative among the other alternatives. Consistent with Article VI, Section 12 of the City of Santa Monica CEQA Guidelines and Section 15091, 15092, and 15093 of the State of California CEQA Guidelines, and as detailed in Final EIR Chapter 5.0, the City Council finds that, based on the other project alternatives, Alternative 3 (the Airport Park Expansion without Fields Alternative) would reduce significant impacts related to construction noise and traffic. Therefore, this alternative is considered to be the environmentally superior alternative. However, this alternative would not meet the primary project objectives to provide a broad range of safe park uses and to develop recreational uses that meet the highest priority needs of the community. SECTION 6. The preceding Findings, although based primarily on conclusions in the Final EIR, have not attempted to describe the full analysis of each environmental impact contained in the Final EIR. Instead, the Findings incorporate by reference the discussions and analyses in the Final EIR and supporting reference documents im supporting the Final EIR's determinations regarding the nature and severity of the impacts of the project and mitigation measures designed to address those impacts. In making these findings, the City Council ratifies, adopts, and incorporates into these findings the analysis and explanation in the Final EIR and ratifies, adopts, and incorporates in these findings the determinations and conclusions of the Final EIR. SECTION 7. The Final EIR found that the project would result in significant unavoidable adverse impacts in the areas of Construction Noise and Traffic/Transportation. Consistent with Article VI, Section 13 of the City CEQA Guidelines and Section 15093 of the State of California CEQA Guidelines, the City Council hereby makes a Statement of Overriding Considerations and finds that the benefits of the Airport Park Expansion Project outweigh its unavoidable environmental impacts based on the reasons stated below. The benefits identified are each one, in and of themselves, sufficient to make a determination that the adverse environmental effects are acceptable. Specifically, the Airport Park Expansion Project will provide the following benefits: • Add 12 acres of land previously utilized for aviation purposes to Santa Monica's park inventory and provide new opportunities for passive and active recreation; Provide greatly needed field space to accommodate sports such as soccer, lacrosse, and rugby; Establish a significant number of new community garden plots and a communal learning garden that will host educational workshops and activities; and im Y Provide pickle ball courts, outdoor fitness equipment, and space for yoga and other fitness classes to promote an active community and support improved health of Santa Monica residents. SECTION 8. Consistent with Public Resources Code Section 21081.6, the City Council adopts the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program, which is included as Section 11 of the Final EIR, to mitigate or avoid significant effects of the Airport Park Expansion Project on the environment, as detailed in Sections 3 and 4 of this Resolution, and to ensure compliance during project implementation. SECTION 9. Consistent with Section 15091(e) of the California Environmental Quality Act, the documents which constitute the record of proceedings for approving the Airport Park Expansion Project are located in the Planning and Community Development Department, 1685 Main Street, Room 212, Santa Monica, California. The custodian of these documents is Rachel Kwok, Environmental Planner. SECTION 10. 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: Lane Dilg City Attorney 20 Adopted and approved this 27th day of March, 2018. Ted Winterer, Mayor I, Denise Anderson -Warren, City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do hereby certify that Resolution No. 11108 (CCS) was duly adopted at a meeting of the Santa Monica City Council held on the 27th day of March, 2018, by the following vote: AYES: Councilmembers McKeown, O'Connor, Mayor Pro Tem Davis, Mayor Winterer NOES: None ABSENT: Councilmembers Himmelrich, Vazquez, O'Day ATTEST: Denise Anderson -Warren, City Clerk