HomeMy WebLinkAboutRes 01-57 Fred Waring Drive Improvement Project Resolution No. 01-57
CITY OF PALM DESERT
STAFF REPORT
REQUEST: REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF CHANGE TO FRED WARING
DRIVE IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT AND ADDENDUM TO
MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION FOR FRED WARING DRIVE
WIDENING
DATE: 10 MAY 2001
CONTENTS: 1) RESOLUTION NO. 01- 57
2) NOTICE OF DETERMINATION
3) ADDENDUM TO THE MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION
Recommendation:
By minute motion:
1. Approve a change to the Fred Waring Drive Improvements Project;
2. Adopt Resolution No. 01- 57 , approving the Addendum to the Mitigated
Negative Declaration for the Proposed Widening of Fred Waring Drive
from San Pascual Avenue to Deep Canyon Road; and
3. Find that the change to the project will not have a significant effect on the
environment.
Executive Summary:
Approval of the recommended actions approves a change to the subject project and
approves an addendum to the previously adopted mitigated negative declaration to
reflect right-of-way changes discovered as the engineering design progressed.
Background:
On 12 October 2000, the City Council adopted Resolution 00-122 adopting the
Mitigated Negative Declaration for the Fred Waring Drive Improvements Project from
San Pascual Avenue to Deep Canyon Road. Subsequent to that time, TetraTech / ASL
Consulting Engineers began preparation of the plans, specifications, and estimates for
the planned work. During this design work, they determined that the proposed right-of-
way for the road widening impacts five homes that were not identified in the original
environmental studies. The likely consequence of the impact is that potential additional
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Staff Report Resolution No. 01-57
Fred Waring Drive Widening - Addendum to Mitigated Negative Declaration
10 May 2001
Page 2
right-of-way may need to be acquired from the owners of these five properties. The
owners of the properties have been advised in person and in writing of this potential
impact. In order to correct the Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND), Myra Frank &
Associates prepared an addendum for that document pursuant to CEQA Guidelines
15164. As indicated in the addendum, the configuration of the road, sidewalks, and
landscaping has not changed from what is shown in the MND. The only change is in
the location of the existing right-of-way lines on the south side of Fred Waring Drive.
The attached Notice of Determination (NOD) for the change to the project finds that the
change will not have a significant effect on the environment. Approval of the change,
the addendum, and the NOD will allow posting of the NOD by the County Clerk to
permit the statutory challenge period to commence.
Submitted by:
Lauri Aylaian
Project Administrator
LA:mh
Approval: CITY COUNCITION:
APPROVED DENIED
RECEIVED OTHER
Director velopment MEETING DATE - 1
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ABSENT: _-t-ti.(i^vt Qi
ABSTAIN:
City Manager VERIFIED BY: 12( ,,,i h
Original on File with City al erk's Office
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NOTICE OF DETERMINATION
TO: _ Office of Planning and Research FROM: City of Palm Desert
1400 Tenth Street, Room 121 Redevelopment Agency
Sacramento, CA 95814 73-510 Fred Waring Drive
Palm Desert, CA 92260
X Riverside County Clerk's Office
2724 Gateway Drive
Riverside, CA 92507
Attention: Cindy Kohler
SUBJECT: Filing of Notice of Determination in compliance with Sections 21108 and 21152
of the Public Resources Code.
Project Title: Widening of Fred Waring Drive: San Pascual Avenue to Deep Canyon Drive
State Clearing House Number: Not applicable
Lead Agency Contact Person: Lauri Aylaian Phone No. (760) 776-6421
Project Location: Palm Desert, California
Project Description: The project has been modified to include the potential acquisition of five (5)
additional parcels of private property, for right-of-way purposes. Up to three (3) of the added
acquisitions may be acquired in their entirety; two (2) of the added acquisitions would only be
partial takes. An Addendum to the original Mitigated Negative Declaration has been prepared
and is on file for inspection.
This is to advise that the Palm Desert City Council has approved the above described change
to the project on and has made the following determinations regarding
the above described project:
1. The change to the project_will, X will not have a significant effect on the environment.
2. _ An Environmental Impact Report was prepared for this project and certified
pursuant to the provisions of CEQA.
X A Mitigated Negative Declaration was previously prepared for this project
pursuant to the provisions of CEQA.
3. Mitigation measures X were, _were not made a condition of the approval of the
project.
4. Findings were, X were not made pursuant to Section 15091.
5. A Statement of Overriding Considerations was, X was not adopted for this
project.
Date Received for Filing and Posting at OPR: Not Applicable
Project Administrator
Signature (Lead Agency) Title
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ADDENDUM
to the
MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION
for the
PROPOSED WIDENING OF FRED WARING DRIVE
from
SAN PASQUAL AVENUE TO DEEP CANYON ROAD
Prepared for
The City of Palm Desert
Prepared by
Tetra Tech ASL
Myra L. Frank& Associates, Inc.
JHA Environmental Consulting
Sladden Engineering
Overland Resources, Inc.
ADDENDUM TO THE MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION
PROJECT: Widening of Fred Waring Drive between San Pasqual Avenue and Deep
Canyon Road in Palm Desert, California.
LEAD AGENCY: City of Palm Desert
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Fred Waring Drive serves as a major east/west arterial
street in the City of Palm Desert. It is classified as an arterial from Highway 111 to
Washington Street. In the reach between San Pasqual Avenue and Cook Street, Fred
Waring Drive has four lanes plus a two-way left turn lane, except for a portion near San
Pasqua) Avenue that has a raised median island. Parking is not permitted on either
side of the street. The proposed project would widen Fred Waring Drive from four to six
lanes, including 18-foot wide raised median islands, meandering sidewalks, and sound
walls where applicable, from San Pasqual Avenue to Deep Canyon Road, a distance of
0.76 miles. The proposed widening would require additional right-of-way and result in
displacement of existing land uses including single-family and multi-family residential
uses.
BACKGROUND: On October 12, 2000, the Palm Desert City Council adopted
Resolution No. 00-122, which approved the above-described roadway widening project
and an associated Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) and Mitigation Monitoring and
Reporting Program. A Notice of Determination to this effect was filed with the Riverside
County Clerk on November 8, 2000, and the CEQA statutory period for challenge
expired on December 8, 2000, without a response. Subsequent to these actions, it has
become known that additional right-of-way is required for the project, resulting in the
potential acquisition of additional private properties that have not been previously
disclosed. The purpose of this Addendum is to update the disclosure of the project's
effects on right-of-way acquisitions.
DESCRIPTION OF THE CHANGE TO THE PROJECT: The proposed project would
require the potential acquisition of additional properties for purposes of project right-of-
way. Five parcels of private property would be affected, located on the south side of
Fred Waring Drive, extending from Deep Canyon Drive westerly. All of the properties
affected are single-family residences. Three of the affected parcels may be subject to
full or partial acquisition and two of the affected parcels would be subject to only partial
acquisition. All of the acquisitions involve the taking of area from back yards. In the
case of the three parcels potentially subject to full acquisition, the areal extent of the
front yard takes are being evaluated for their effect on the value of the remainder
parcels; the results of this evaluation are not yet available. For purposes of this
Addendum, it is assumed that all three of these parcels would be subject to full
acquisition.
The MND identified a total of 27 single-family residences, 4 duplexes, and 1 triplex
subject to full acquisition for purposes of project right-of-way, for a total of 38 dwelling
units. The new acquisitions would therefore increase the number of full single-family
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residence acquisitions to a maximum of 30 and the total number of dwelling units
acquired to 41. Two additional partial acquisitions affecting single-family residential
property would be added to the list of acquisitions. Previously identified mitigation,
consisting of monetary compensation for the value of property to be acquired, would be
extended to the additional property owners affected.
FINDINGS: The additional acquisitions of private property are determined to be a minor
technical change to the project that was disclosed in the MND, within the meaning of
CEQA Guidelines Section 15164 (b). As required under this section of the guidelines, a
review of Section 15162 was conducted to determine if any conditions exist that would
cause the need for issuance of a subsequent Negative Declaration. The results of this
review were as follows:
• A substantial change to the project (or the circumstances under which the project is
to be undertaken), requiring major revision of the previously prepared MND due to
the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in
the severity of previously identified significant effects, has not occurred.
• New information is known regarding property acquisitions associated with the
project, but this information is not of substantial importance and does not reveal a
previously undisclosed significant adverse effect or effects that would be
substantially more severe than previously disclosed. The effects of property
acquisition were previously disclosed in the MND; only the number of acquisitions
has changed and this change is not substantial. No new mitigation measures, either
previously thought to be infeasible or considerably different from those already
discussed in the MND, have been identified.
A copy of the MND is available for public review in the municipal offices of the City of
Palm Desert. Questions or comments regarding the MND and this Addendum may be
addressed to:
Lauri Aylaian, Project Administrator
City of Palm Desert
Redevelopment Agency
73-510 Fred Waring Drive
Palm Desert, CA 92260
(760) 776-6421
Lauri Aylaian, Project Administrator Date
City of Palm Desert
Redevelopment Agency
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