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4.0 – ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING , IMPACTS AND MITIGATION MEASURES 4.0 INTRODUCTION TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS AND ASSUMPTIONS USED The following is an introduction to the environmental analysis of project-specific and cumulative impacts and general assumptions used in the analysis. The reader is referred to the individual technical sections of the Draft EIR regarding specific assumptions and methodology used in the analysis. ANALYSIS ASSUMPTIONS GENERALLY USED TO EVALUATE THE IMPACTS OF THE TOWN OF CORTE MADERA GENERAL PLAN BASELINE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS ASSUMED IN THE DRAFT EIR Section 15125(a) of the State CEQA Guidelines requires that an EIR include a description of the physical environmental conditions in the vicinity of a project, as they exist at the time the Notice of Preparation (NOP) is published. The CEQA Guidelines also specify that this description of the physical environmental conditions should serve as the baseline physical conditions by which a lead agency determines whether impacts of a project are considered significant. The environmental setting conditions of the Town of Corte Madera and the surrounding area are described in detail in the technical sections of the Draft EIR (see Sections 4.1 through 4.12). In general, these setting discussions describe the setting conditions of the Town of Corte Madera and the surrounding area as they existed when the NOP for the project was released on June 3, 2005. In addition, the Draft EIR includes updated setting information since release of the NOP, such as the status of large-scale development projects in the Town and surrounding region (see Table 4.0-2 and Figure 4.0-1). BUILDOUT ASSUMPTIONS UNDER THE GENERAL PLAN WITHIN EXISTING TOWN LIMITS Table 4.0-1 identifies land use categories under the proposed General Plan Update within existing Town limits at buildout. TABLE 4.0-1 PROPOSED TOWN OF CORTE MADERA GENERAL PLAN LAND USE SUMMARY AT BUILDOUT WITHIN THE TOWN LIMITS Land Use Category Acreage Residential Designations Open Residential (0 to 0.2 du/ac) 43 Hillside Residential (0.2 to 2.2 du/ac) 192 Low-Density Residential (LDR) (0.2 to 6.0 du/ac) 507 Medium-Density Residential (MDR) (6.0 to 11.0 du/ac) 38 High-Density Residential (HDR) (11 to 25 du/gac w/ a density bonus 1 up to 31.5 du/gac) Commercial Designations Local-Serving Commercial (FAR to 0.34) 12 Office (FAR to 0.34) 2 Mixed Use (MU) Designations MU Region-Serving Commercial (FAR to 0.60; and 15.1 to 25.0 and 59 up to 31.0 du/ac w/density bonus) Town of Corte Madera General Plan Update April 2008 Draft Environmental Impact Report 4.0-1 4.0 INTRODUCTION TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS AND ASSUMPTIONS USED Land Use Category Acreage MU: Old Corte Madera Square (FAR to 1.0; and 15.1 to 25.0 and up 5 to 31.0 du/ac w/density bonus) MU Commercial (FAR to 0.34; and 15.1 to 25.0 and up to 31.0 du/ac 79 w/density bonus) Public Use Designations Public and Semi-Public Facilities (FAR to 0.35) 77 Parks 93 Open Space Water Bodies and Waterways 788 Wetlands and Marshlands 440 Hillside Open Space 159 Total 2,495 Source: General Plan Land Use Map, 2004 Based on Traffic Analysis Zone (TAZ) mapping, historic and maximum residential development densities (i.e., Open Residential – 0.2 dwelling units per acre, Hillside – 2.2 dwelling units per acre, LDR – 6.0 dwelling units per acre, MDR – 11 dwelling units per acre, HDR – 25 dwelling units per acre) and consideration of development of net acreage in the Town, it is anticipated that buildout of the proposed General Plan Update would result in approximately 4,118 housing units and a population of approximately 9,917 within the Town limits by the year 2025. The buildout of the General Plan would consist of the increase in floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial development in the two regional shopping centers (the Village and the Town Center) and infill development (218 units). The population within the Town of Corte Madera in 2005 was approximately 9,400, and the number of housing units was approximately 3,900. Therefore, the buildout of the proposed General Plan Update would consist of a slight increase in housing units through infill development. It should be noted that these estimates of dwelling units and population do not constitute a dwelling unit or population cap for the Town. BUILDOUT ASSUMPTIONS UNDER THE GENERAL PLAN ASSOCIATED WITH THE PLANNING AREA As described in Section 3.0, Project Description, the proposed General Plan Update identifies the Planning Area, which is the equivalent to the existing Town’s sphere of influence and includes all lands within the incorporated Town limits, a large area within San Francisco Bay, lands just beyond the southern Town limit (near Tiburon and the Ring Mountain Open Space Preserve), and the area encompassed by the Greenbrae Boardwalk. Assumptions used in the environmental analysis for these areas are described below. There are several areas within the Planning Area that cannot be developed with the buildout of the proposed General Plan Update. These areas include waters of the San Francisco Bay, including all tidelands, wetlands, and marshlands, and dedicated open space lands along ridgelines and hillsides. General Plan Update Town of Corte Madera Draft Environmental Impact Report April 2008 4.0-2 4.0 INTRODUCTION TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS AND ASSUMPTIONS USED TABLE 4.0-2 PROPOSED AND APPROVED LARGE -SCALE RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL PROJECTS IN CORTE MADERA Map Total Number of Total Commercial Name of Project Use Total Acreage Location Status Number Dwelling Units Square Footage Corte Madera Projects 1 1421 Casa Buena Dr. Residential 8 0 1.23 1421 & 1425 Casa Buena Drive APP MMWD Corporation Yard 2 Commercial 0 5,300 4.95 220 Tamal Vista Blvd. CC Lab Building San Clemente Housing & 3 Mixed Use 79 68,665 3.51 25 San Clemente Drive UC Self Storage 4 The Cheesecake Factory Commercial 0 8,537 16.55 1736 Redwood Hwy. CC Marin County Projects 1 Paradise Cay North Residential 31 0 24.8 Paradise Drive in unincorporated Tiburon UC 3820 Paradise Drive in unincorporated 2 Sorokko Master Plan Residential 5 0 18.9 UR Tiburon Larkspur Projects Bordered by Magnolia Ave., East Ward St., Meadow Dr., Larkspur Creek, and Central Larkspur Area 5 Mixed Use 22.00 Doherty Dr.; and the entire Doherty Dr. UR Specific Plan right-of-way from Magnolia Ave. to the city limit NE of the intersection of East Sir Francis 6 Drake's Cove Residential 23 0 10.00 UC Drake Blvd. & Larkspur Landing Circle East of the intersection of East Sir Francis 7 Drakes Way Residential 24 0 8.00 APP Drake Blvd. & Larkspur Landing Circle 8 Elm Crest Subdivision Residential 8 0 8.00 Elm Avenue CC 9 Marin Rowing Commercial 0 13,475 0.60 50 Drakes Landing Way CC 10 Sanitary District Property Mixed Use 151 82,000 10.65 200 Larkspur Landing Circle APP Town of Corte Madera General Plan Update April 2008 Draft Environmental Impact Report 4.0-5 4.0 INTRODUCTION TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS AND ASSUMPTIONS USED Map Total Number of Total Commercial Name of Project Use Total Acreage Location Status Number Dwelling Units Square Footage Mill Valley Projects 11 Country Club Estates Residential 5 0 11.17 End of Sarah UC 12 Old Mill Commons Residential 10 0 0.23 8 Old Mill APP 13 Camino Alto Town Homes Residential 20 0 1.00 Camino Alto and E. Blithedale UR 14 Von der Werth Mixed Use 20 5,000 1.00 Miller Avenue and Reed Street UR 15 Coopersmith Residential 13 0 N/A Miller Avenue UR 16 La Goma Residential 20 0 N/A 5, 7, 9 La Goma UR Tiburon Projects 17 Belvedere/Tiburon Library Commercial 0 17,075 0.37 1501-1503 Tiburon Blvd. APP 18 Caceres Mixed Use Mixed Use 3 1,966 0.00 41 Main Street CC 19 Easton Point Residential 40 0 110.00 Mar West & Esperanza Street WD/E 20 Ling Precise Development Residential 3 0 5.80 Stony Hill Road WD/E 21 Parente Precise Residential 2 0 10.00 Antonette/Parente Drive UR 22 Tiburon Glen Residential 3 0 26.03 Paradise Drive/Norman Way APP 23 Tiburon Court Residential 3 0 13 Trestle Glen Boulevard APP 24 Rabin/SODA Residential 13 0 50 Paradise Drive/Seafirth Drive UR Kol Shofar Synagogue 25 Commercial 0 12,500 N/A 215 Blackfield Drive UR Expansion Key for Project Status: UR: Under Review, APP: Approved, UC: Under Construction, CC: Construction Complete, WD/E: Withdrawn, Denied, Expired Source: PROPDEV 42 Semi-Annual Proposed Development Survey, An Inventory of Proposed Development Projects in Marin County as of October, 2006. Published by the Marin County Community Development Agency in cooperation with the Planning Departments of the Cities and Towns of Marin 7/1/2006. General Plan Update Town of Corte Madera Draft Environmental Impact Report April 2008 4.0-6 4.0 INTRODUCTION TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS AND ASSUMPTIONS USED COMMUNITY PLAN AREAS The General Plan Update proposes Community Plans for Old Corte Madera Square, the Fifer/Tamal Vista area, the Paradise/San Clemente area, and the Tamalpais Drive/Casa Buena Drive area. These areas are further described in Section 3.0, Project Description. Old Corte Madera Square The area surrounding Old Corte Madera Square effectively serves as one of the “centers” of the Town. The Town is committed to enhancing the area to promote pedestrian and bicycle activity and local businesses and to improve circulation along the area roads.