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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRDA RES 274RESOLUTION NO. 274 A RESOLUTION OF THE PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY APPROVING THE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR PROJECT AREA NO. 4 OF THE PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, CERTIFYING THE FINAL ENYIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FOR THE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN AND MAKING FINDINGS PURSUANT TO THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT THE PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY HEREBY FINDS, DETERMINES, RESOLVES AND ORDERS AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. The Palm Desert Redevelopment Agency hereby certifies that the Final Environmental Impact Report, including the addendum thereto, (the "EIR"), on the proposed Redevelopment Plan (the "Redevelopment Plan") for Project Area No. 4 of the Agency (the "Project Area") was completed pursuant to the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act and the guidelines promulgated with respect thereto and that the Agency has reviewed and considered the contents of the EIR prior to deciding whether to approve the Redevelopment Plan and finds that the EIR reflects the independent judgment of the Agency. Section 2. Based upon the initial study, the EIR and other information contained in the record, the Agency finds that the Redevelopment Plan will not cause significant environmental impacts in the areas of Population, Housinq, Transportation, Fire Protection, Water Resources, Wastewater, Parks and Recreational Facilities, Solid Waste, and those other areas set forth in Section 1.5 of the EIR. Section 3. The EIR identifies potentially significant environmental impacts that may be caused by implementation of the Redevelopment Plan in the areas of Police Protection, Schools, Storm Drainage Facilities, and Growth Induced Impacts. The EIR identifies feasible mitigation measures for each impact that reduce the impact to a level of insignificance. Section 4. In response to each significant impact identified in the EIR, and listed in Section 3 of this Resolution, changes or alterations have been required in, or incorporated into, the Redevelopment Plan which avoid or substantially lessen the significant environmental impacts identified. The chanqes or alterations required in, or incorporated into, the Redevelopment Plan, and a brief explanation of the rationale for this finding with regard to each impact, are set forth below. RESOLUTION NO. 274 A. Police Protection. The EIR identifies impacts to the level of police protection services as potentially significant. Changes or alternations have been required in, or incorporated into, the Redevelopment Plan which avoid or substantially lessen this impact. The City of Palm Desert shall contract to add additional sheriff personnel and equipment to adequately serve the Project Area based on the sheriff's target density of 1.4 sworn officers per 1,000 people. The target density shall apply only to the portion of the initial Project Area currently located in the County of Riverside that will be annexed into the City in conjunction with this Redevelopment Plan. Also, development plans for projects located within the Project Area shall be submitted to the Sheriff's Department for review. The Department shall review the plans and make recommendations that can be incorporated into the projects to increase security and prevent crime thereby reducing the demand for police protection. Through these measures, demand for police protection will be reduced and an adequate number of police officers will be designated to serve the Project Area so that impacts on police protection services will be insignificant. B. Schools. The EIR identifies impacts to school facilities resulting from increased student population as a potentially significant environmental impact. Changes or alterations have been required in, or incorporated into, the Redevelopment Plan which avoid or substantially lessen this impact. The Agency shall confer with the affected school district to identify and address any substantial financial burden or detriment. Through this procedure the Agency will work with the school district to ensure that there is financing to accommodate additional students, thereby reducing any impacts to the school district to a level of insignificance. C. Storm Drainaqe Facilities. The EIR identifies drainage and water quality impacts from storm water and runoff a potentially significant environmental impact. Changes or alterations have been required in, or incorporated into, the Redevelopment Plan which avoid or substantially lessen these impacts. All development within the Project Area, when applicable, shall be required to obtain all necessary permits approvals from the Regional Water Quality Control Board and incorporate all applicable Best Management Practices into the development to reduce runoff sedimentation. All construction projects involvinq clearing, grading and excavation totalling five acres or more shall file for and obtain all necessary clearances and permits from the State Water Resources Control Board in order to obtain the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System general permit necessary for stormwater as or - 2 - RESOLUTION NO. 274 discharges associated with construction activity. A drainage analysis shall be prepared for individual development projects within the Project Area to determine the impact of additional runoff on the external storm drains in the Project Area. Required upgrades to storm drain lines shall be implemented as part of individual development construction. Future drainage improvement projects shall be constructed in accordance with the City's Master Plan of Drainage. Through implementation of these measures, adequate drainage facilities will be provided to accommodate storm drainage flows and such flows shall be reduced or adequately treated to meet pollution control criteria. Therefore, storm drainage and runoff impacts will be insignificant. D. Growth Induced Impacts. The EIR identifies certain growth induced impacts as potentially significant. Changes or alterations have been required in, or incorporated into, the Redevelopment Plan which avoid or substantially lessen this impact. Within the Project Area, the City will require all development which meets certain threshold criteria to perform traffic and noise studies to determine whether the development will create an adverse traffic or noise impact. If such reports identify significant impacts, the reports shall recommend, and the City shall adopt, mitiqation measures for these impacts. In addition, the City shall prohibit developments within the Project Area from substantially reducing the existing level of public services and, prior to occupancy, shall require (or the Agency shall provide) the construction of sufficient public utilities to serve each development. Throuqh the monitoring and mitigation of individual development impacts, growth induced impacts of the Redevelopment Plan have been avoided or substantially lessened. Section 5. The EIR describes a reasonable range of alternatives to the Redevelopment Plan which might fulfill the basic objectives of the Redevelopment Plan. However, the alternatives identified in the EIR either would not sufficiently achieve the basic objectives of the Redevelopment Plan, or would do so only with unacceptable adverse impacts. Accordingly, and for the reasons set forth herein and in the EIR, none of the alternatives are feasible. Each alternative analyzed, including the no project alternative, the optional no project alternative, the reduced project area alternative, and the alternative fundinq mechanisms, limit the Aqency's ability to correct current environmental problems such as a blighted aesthetic character in the Project Area, and deficiencies in the area infrastructure. Furthermore, an alternative site was not considered feasible because an alternative site would not address conditions of blight in the Project Area. Finally, because the environmental benefits of the Redevelopment Plan will outweiqh the - 3 - RESOLUTION NO. 274 environmental impacts, the alternatives presented will not be environmentally superior to the Redevelopment Plan. Section 6. The mitigation measures incorporated into Section 4 of this Resolution avoid or substantially lessen the potential significant environmental impacts of the Redevelopment Plan. Furthermore, the environmental benefits of the Redevelopment Plan, in addition to the social, economic and other benefits of the Redevelopment Plan, outweigh any unavoidable adverse impacts that may occur as a result of the Plan. Therefore, due to the overriding environmental benefits of the Redevelopment Plan as well as the social, economic and other benefits of the Redevelopment Plan, and because alternatives to the Redevelopment Plan identified in the EIR are infeasib2e and not environmentally superior, as discussed in Section 5 of this Resolution, the Agency finds that any unavoidable environmental impacts are acceptable. This determination is based on the following environmental and other benefits of the project identified in the Final EIR and the record of proceedings regarding the approval of the Redevelopment Plan. (A) As a whole, the project will improve the environmental conditions of the entire Project Area. The Redevelopment Plan will eliminate blight and blighting conditions identified within the Project Area. (B) The Redevelopment Plan will encourage additional development within the Project Area and surrounding areas, thereby creating short-term consiruction and long-term employment opportunities for workers of all skill levels within the Project Area and the community. (C) The Redevelopment Plan will revitalize and upgrade the Project Area by accelerating the achievement of General Plan goals for land uses within the Project Area. (D) The Redevelopment Plan will improve housing opportunities within the region. Section 7. The Agency hereby adopts the "Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program for the Redevelopment Plan for Project Area No. 4, Palm Desert Redevelopment Agency" prepared by Stevenson, Porto & Pierce, Inc. This Plan will be used to monitor the chanqes to the Redevelopment Plan which have been adopted or made a condition of Redevelopment Plan approval as provided in Section 4 of this Resolution. Section 8. A fu1Z and fair joint public hearing regarding the proposed Redevelopment Plan and the EIR has been duly noticed and held by the City Council and the Aqency pursuant to law and the Agency and City Council have received written and oral testimony concerning such proposed Redevelopment Plan and - 4 - RESOLUTION NO. 274 the City Council has adopted written findings in response to each written objection or suggestion of an affected property owner or taxing entity in accordance with Health and Safety Code Section 33363. The Agency has evaluated its Report to the City Council, which is comprised of the reports and information required by Health and Safety Code Section 33352, and which report was previously submitted to the City Council, and all evidence and testimony for and against adoption of such Redevelopment Plan. Al1 objections to the proposed Redevelopment Plan were heard and passed upon by the Agency and the City Council and are hereby overruled by the Agency. Section 9. The proposed Redevelopment Plan, a copy of which has been presented to the Aqency and which is now on file in the office of the City Clerk, is hereby approved subject to the mitigation measures set forth in Section 4 hereof. Section 10. The Agency hereby recommends approval and adoption of the proposed Redevelopment Plan by the City Council of the City of Palm Desert. PASSED, APPROVED and ADOPTED this 8th day of July, 1993 by the following vote, to wit: AYES: CRITES, KELLY, SNYDER, WILSON, BENSON NOES: NONE ABSENT: NONE ABSTAIN: NONE � � /f�C �z�'� r��C - M. Benson, Chairman ATTEST: . _ , j, �, � � �.-��lL, � ,' � Sheila R. Gi igan, Cf y Clerk - 5 -