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HomeMy WebLinkAboutGENERAL PLAN UPDATE CITY OF PALM DESERT GPA 16-261 - FILE 5 2016 (3) APPENDICES ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT 1.0-1 NOTICE OF PREPARATION AND COMMENT LETTERS 1 NOTICE OF PREPARATION AND NOTICE OF PUBLIC SCOPING MEETING Date: August 5, 2015 To: California State Clearinghouse Responsible and Trustee Agencies Interested Parties and Organizations (Local Distribution List) Affected Property Owners (See attached distribution list) Subject: Notice of Preparation (NOP) of the City of Palm Desert 2015 General Plan Update and Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and Notice of Public Scoping Meeting for the Proposed Project Lead Agency: City of Palm Desert Contact: Lauri Aylaian, Community Development Director Project Title: 2015 General Plan Update and EIR Project Location: The City of Palm Desert is located in Riverside County in the Coachella Valley. Palm Desert encompasses approximately 27.0 square miles, or 17,280 acres, generally bounded by the City of Rancho Mirage and Haystack Mountain to the west, Interstate 10 to the north, the suburban residential community of Bermuda Dunes to the east, and the City of Indian Wells and undeveloped mountains to the south (Exhibit 1, Regional Location Map). The US Census Bureau estimated the 2013 population of Pam Desert at 50,508. The city is located on the Palm Desert, CA USGS 7.5-Minute Quad Map, USGS 7.5-Minute Quad Maps, 33˚43'45" North, 116˚22'20" West. 2 This page is intentionally left blank. 3 Figure 1, Regional Location Map 4 This page is intentionally left blank. 5 In accordance with Section 15021 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, the City of Palm Desert, as lead agency, will prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the 2015 General Plan Update (proposed Project; Project). Pursuant to Section 15082(a) of the CEQA Guidelines, the City of Palm Desert (City) has issued this Notice of Preparation (NOP) to provide responsible agencies, trustee agencies, and other interested parties with information describing the proposed project and its potential environmental effects. The City is soliciting your comments on the scope of the environmental analysis. This will allow your input to be taken into consideration during the evaluation of the environmental impacts of the 2015 General Plan Update to be addressed in the EIR. A description of the proposed Project, a location map, and preliminary identification of the potential environmental effects are contained in this NOP. If your agency is a responsible agency as defined in Section 15381 of the CEQA Guidelines, your agency will need to use the EIR prepared by the City of Palm Desert when considering your permit or other approval for action. In compliance with the time limits mandated by CEQA, the comment period for this NOP is 30 days, running from 8/10/15 to 9/11/15. Your response must be sent at the earliest possible date, but no later than 30 days after the date of this notice pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15082(b). The City welcomes public input during this review period. In the event no response or request for additional time is received by any responsible or trustee agency by the end of the review period, the City may presume that the responsible or trustee agency has no response. Please send your written responses to Lauri Aylaian, Community Development Director, City of Palm Desert, 73510 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert, CA 92260. Responses must include the name of a contact person at your agency or organization. PROJECT SUMMARY The City of Palm Desert’s General Plan Update encompasses future community development plans from now until 2040. The General Plan will provide long term planning guidelines for the City‘s growing population and projected development. The City of Palm Desert is likely to grow from its current population of approximately 50,500 to a population of approximately 61,000 by 2040. This growth is expected to include approximately 8,000 new households and 14,000 new jobs over the 25-year planning horizon. The General Plan will identify long-term goals; provide a basis for decision-making; provide citizens a forum for input on their community’s direction; and inform citizens, developers, decision-makers, and other cities of the ground rules for development within Palm Desert. To provide greater specificity on where and how this growth will occur, the project also includes a Specific Plan for the development of a walkable, mixed-use neighborhood west of the California State University San Bernardino-Palm Desert Campus. The project also includes detailed policy guidance, development standards, and design guidelines for the transformation of the 111 corridor into a walkable, mixed-use city center. The end result of the project will be a comprehensive report on goals and policies that will enhance the overall wellbeing for all residents, business owners, and visitors of Palm Desert. 6 BACKGROUND In 2013, more than 100 Palm Desert residents, business owners, and policy makers came together to develop a 20-year strategic plan for the City. The 2013 Strategic Plan identified the following vision for the City: Palm Desert is the heart of California’s Coachella Valley. Palm Desert’s outstanding quality of life offers residents and visitors of all ages a wide array of recreational, educational, shopping, housing and entertainment opportunities as well as arts and cultural activities and world-class events in a uniquely beautiful desert environment. This premier resort destination is a thriving, safe and sustainable community that attracts innovative employers by virtue of its diverse, highly qualified workforce and synergistic business, civic and educational partnerships. The Strategic Plan identifies several important strategies that pertain to planning, land use, and transportation, including: • Expand economic competitiveness • Build on tourism, education, arts, and business successes • Enhance quality of life • Attract new employers • Leverage universities • Anticipate new demographics and market trends • Capitalize on the City’s outstanding climate and geography • Expand access to the City Given the connections to planning, land use, and transportation, the Strategic Plan recommended the City prepare a General Plan Update, including a revitalization plan for the 111 corridor that would codify these strategies. PROJECT DESCRIPTION The City of Palm Desert is preparing an update to its existing General Plan, which was extensively updated in 1980 and, again in 2004. The update will focus on key areas of the City, including the 111 corridor/City Center and the areas around the Cal State University campus. The General Plan update will also include goals and policies that provide the City with tools to seek pedestrian oriented development patterns to diversify the City’s existing primarily automobile-oriented development patterns and realize both a true City Center and a vibrant university campus area. The plan will be prepared in compliance with Government Section Code 65300 that states; “Each planning agency shall prepare and the legislative body of each county and city shall adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or 7 city, and of an land outside its boundaries which in the planning agency’s judgment bears relation to its planning. Chartered cities shall adopt general plans, which contain the mandatory elements specified in Section 65302.” The content of the General Plan update will describe intended development and advised changes to be made to the cityscape and community over the next 25 years. The proposed elements, with their respective goals and policies, address a number of topics including Land Use & Community Character, Mobility, Health & Wellness, Environmental Resources, Safety, Noise, and Public Services and Utilities. The City’s Housing Element is current, has been certified by the state, and will not be included as a part of this update. General Plan Elements  The Land Use and Community Character Element designates the general distribution and intensity of residential, commercial, industrial, open space, public/quasi-public, and other categories of public and private land uses. Through placetype-based land use designations organized around Neighborhoods, Districts, and Centers, the Land Use Element will preserve the City’s existing neighborhoods, enhance key commercial corridors, and provide strategic guidance for the transformation of the 111 corridor into a true downtown. Similarly, the Land Use Element will provide direction and the policy foundation for creating a walkable, mixed-use neighborhood near the University.  The Mobility Element seeks to create a balanced transportation system that accommodates all modes of travel safely and efficiently, without prioritizing automobile travel. Through complete streets, traffic calming, and a network of bike paths, trails, and roads, the element will connect all modes of transportation to facilities and recreation.  The Health and Wellness Element will encourage a physical, social and civic environment that supports residents’ health. This element will address the requirement and location of parks and recreational facilities throughout the city. The element will create community programs, local food systems, and educational facilities to increase awareness and practice of healthy living.  The Environmental Resources Element will present goals and policies for the community of Palm Desert that will minimize risks of climate change, promote resource efficient and environmentally respectful communities, and offer access to open space and parkland. Heat island mitigation, alternative energy uses, and water recycling programs are also presented in the General Plan to sustain an environmentally sound city for years to come.  The Safety Element establishes policies and programs to protect the community from risk associated with known hazards (i.e., geologic, flood, and fire), and sets standards for emergency preparedness.  The Noise Element establishes standards and policies to protect the community from the harmful and annoying effects of exposure to excessive noise levels. This element includes strategies to reduce land use conflicts that may result in exposure to unacceptable noise levels. 8 Goals, Policies, and Action Items Each element of the Palm Desert General Plan will contain a series of goals, policies, and action items. The goals, policies, and action items provide guidance to the City on how to direct change, manage growth, and manage resources over the expected 25-year horizon of the General Plan. The following provides a description and explains the relationship of each:  A goal is a description of the general desired result that the City seeks to create through the implementation of the General Plan  A policy is a specific statement that guides decision-making as the City works to achieve its goals and objectives. The General Plan’s policies set out the standards that will be used by City staff, the Planning Commission, and the City Council in their review of land development projects, resource protection activities, infrastructure improvements, and other City actions. Policies are ongoing and require no specific action on behalf of the City.  An action item is an implementation measure, procedure, technique, or specific program to be undertaken by the City to help achieve a specified goal or implement an adopted policy. The City must take additional steps to implement each action item in the General Plan. An action item is something that can and will be completed. General Plan Land Use Map The General Plan Land Use Map identifies the land use designations for each parcel within the City. The proposed City of Palm Desert General Plan Land Use Map is shown in Figure 2. 9 This page is intentionally left blank. 10 Figure 2, Proposed General Plan Land Use Designations Proposed General Plan Land Use Designations 111 I-10 _ 111 Land Use Designations 11 This page is intentionally left blank. 12 111 Corridor Plan As described above, the 2013 Strategic Plan identified the need to revitalize the 111 corridor into a true downtown-type City Center. As such, the General Plan will include detailed policies and actions to chart a path for the revitalization of this area of the City. To implement this plan, the Project will also include new development standards and design guidelines. The 111 planning area, Figure 3, is presented below. Figure 3, 111 Corridor Planning Area 111 San Pablo Ave. 13 University Neighborhood Specific Plan Both the 2004 General Plan and the 2013 Strategic Plan identify the area around the Cal State/UC campus as a strategic opportunity for the City. To take full advantage of the university, the surrounding lands are intended to be developed in relation to the university with great connectivity, a mix of housing types, and new commercial opportunities. In concert with this General Plan, the City initiated a Specific Plan for a 170 acre parcel at the northeast corner of Portola Avenue and Frank Sinatra Drive. Many of the property owners to the north and east of the City’s property expressed interest in joining the City in the master planning process and will be included in the City’s Specific Plan. This Specific Plan, approximately 397 acres, will present a plan for single family, multifamily, commercial, and parks, and will serve as an implementation tool of the General Plan Update. Refer to Figure 4 below for the Specific Plan land use plan. Figure 4, University Neighborhood Specific Plan Area 14 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS The City has determined that the update to the General Plan will clearly require preparation of an EIR to address all aspects of the environmental analysis resulting from the project. As a result, the City will not prepare an Initial Study as permitted in Section 15060(d) of the CEQA Guidelines. The EIR will be prepared to evaluate the potential impacts that would result from implementation of the proposed project. The EIR will also evaluate the potential for the General Plan update to cause direct and indirect growth-inducing impacts, as well as cumulative impacts. Mitigation will be proposed for those impacts that are determined to be significant. Mitigation will be identified and a mitigation monitoring program will be developed as required by the CEQA Guidelines (Section 15150). The City anticipates the potential for the following significant environmental impacts: Aesthetics: The City anticipates that the implementation of the General Plan update would have less than significant impacts on Aesthetics in the following areas: scenic vistas, the redevelopment of vacant or underutilized golf courses, preservation of the night sky with respect to light and glare impacts associated with new public safety and security lighting, and the possible implementation of underground utility lines. Although the overall effect of the General Plan update would be to improve the aesthetic quality of the City, these efforts must be balanced with the City’s ongoing need for economic development as well as the safety and security of its residents. Air Quality: Construction and operation of land uses accommodated under the General Plan update could result in air pollutant emissions. Earth is disturbed during site development activities, generating dust, and construction equipment will create short-term pollutant emissions. Development accommodated under the General Plan update could result in additional vehicular traffic that would generate air pollution, exacerbated by the City’s location in a desert climate with high winds present, and close proximity to high-traffic corridors. The General Plan update will incorporate policies addressing sources of air pollution. Biological Resources: The City implements the Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP). The General Plan update will include policies and action items needed to ensure compliance with that habitat conservation plans. Development accommodated under the General Plan update may have an adverse effect on rare, threatened, or endangered species and/or the habitat that supports them, which could impact potential development outcomes. In addition, such development could potentially affect existing wildlife corridors. The General Plan update could affect riparian habitat and/or wetlands. 15 Cultural Resources: Development accommodated under the General Plan update may have an adverse effect on historic, archaeological, and/or paleontological resources. There is the potential for construction- related effects on historical and archaeological resources. In addition, many areas of the City have not been surveyed for cultural resources or have surveys that are out of date. Geological Resources: Development accommodated under the General Plan update may result in soil erosion or the loss of topsoil and/or allow development in areas with geologic or soils constraints. There could be potential effects associated with geologic or soil limitations. There could be impacts associated with grading, such as increased wind and water erosion potential, particularly in an area with consistently high winds such as Palm Desert. Impacts may involve disruptions of the soil, changes in topography, erosion from wind or water, and other impacts, as well as a potential impact of development on significant mineral resources. Greenhouse Gas: While a goal of the update is to help further the reduction in greenhouse gas production from existing operations and future development, it is likely that future development may contribute to cumulative increases in greenhouse gases. The analysis will assume a buildout figure for the existing land use pattern and use traffic data from the impact analysis in the EIR to determine the potential GHG emissions. The EIR will include methods of reducing greenhouse gases, while the General Plan update will include associated action items, such as strategies to increase the intensity and mix of land uses, which could encourage people to walk or bike for short trips, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the City. Hazards: Development accommodated under the General Plan update could have public and environmental health effects related to hazardous material exposure either during construction or during long-term occupation. The City is also subject to an increase in fire hazards due to ongoing drought conditions. Hydrology and Water Quality: Development accommodated under the General Plan update may affect groundwater supplies, could change drainage patterns, and/or could have the potential to contribute polluted stormwater runoff. There could be impacts related to urban runoff and flooding potential, as well as to water quality. There is also the threat of ongoing drought conditions leading to a decrease in annual rainfall 16 in the coming years. The limited supply of water in the City could also negatively impact future development. Land Use: As discussed above, this General Plan update affords the City an opportunity to increase the density and mix of land uses for the purposes of decreasing dependence on the automobile as well as implementing improvements to the Highway 111 Corridor. Noise: Increases in traffic as result of future development accommodated under the General Plan update may result in an increase in ambient and transportation noise, although efforts would be made to incorporate high-density mixed use development into the General Plan update in order to minimize any increases in transportation noise. Recreation: The City’s provision of public park space is below target levels established in the 2004 General Plan. Potential options with regard to increased recreational space in the City include working to increase access to alternative recreation spaces, amending established goals and standards in this General Plan update, or the construction of additional public recreational space. Transportation: Future development may result in impacts on area roadways, including roadways outside of the City’s jurisdiction. The City will use existing traffic information and provide a summary buildout analysis based on the existing General Plan land use designations. Further, the City currently experiences only moderate levels of traffic congestion, leading to opportunities to intensify land use. The General Plan update would also include strategies to increase employment opportunities within the City to minimize vehicle trips to other areas by commuters. TYPE OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT The City will prepare a Program EIR as defined in Section 15168 of the CEQA Guidelines. As a Program EIR, the analysis will focus on the cumulative impacts associated with the proposed change to the General Plan goals policies and programs. The Program EIR will help provide a basis for determining whether later activity associated with the General Plan will have significant environmental impacts. Some of the proposed goals, policies, and action items may result in physical environmental impacts. These environmental impacts will be highlighted in the appropriate EIR section and addressed. In order to ensure consistency in application and thoroughness in review of future projects, any mitigation measures identified in the EIR will be included as policies or action items in the General Plan rather than as separate mitigation measures. 17 PUBLIC SCOPING A public scoping meeting will be conducted to provide the public with the opportunity to learn more about the proposed project and to provide an opportunity for discussion of the environmental issues important to the community. The scoping meeting will include a presentation of the proposed project and a summary of the environmental issues to be analyzed in the EIR. Following the presentation, interested agencies, organizations, and members of the public will be encouraged to present views concerning the environmental issues that should be included in the EIR. The oral and written comments provided during the meeting will assist the City in scoping the potential environmental effects of the project to be addressed by the EIR. The City also invites written comments. The scoping meeting will be held at the following time and location: 6pm August 18, 2015 City of Palm Desert 73510 Fred Waring Drive Palm Desert, CA 92260 If you have further questions or require additional information, please contact Lauri Aylaian, Community Development Director, 760-636-5860 or laylaian@cityofpalmdesert.org. Signature: Community Development Director City of Palm Desert 18 This page is intentionally left blank.