III. Environmental Setting
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
III. Environmental Setting III. ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING A. OVERVIEW OF ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING REGIONAL CONTEXT The project site is located in Los Angeles County, within the City of Pasadena, approximately 12 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles. The City of Pasadena is located at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains within the western part of the San Gabriel Valley. The City of Pasadena is approximately 23 square miles in area and maintains a sphere of influence area that is approximately 883 acres in size. The sphere of influence area is located adjacent to the southeastern boundaries of the City north of Huntington Drive and west of Rosemead Boulevard. The City of Pasadena is bordered by Altadena, an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County and by the City of La Canada-Flintridge to the north and by the Cities of South Pasadena and San Marino to the south. The City is bordered by the City of Glendale and the City of Los Angeles community of Eagle Rock to the west and the Cities of Arcadia and Sierra Madre to the east. The City is roughly bounded by two open space corridors along the eastern and western perimeters of the City. These corridors are located along two drainages, the Arroyo Seco Stream and the Eaton Wash. According to the City of Pasadena General Plan Land Use Element, approximately 58% of City’s acreage is devoted to residential uses while 10% of the land is allocated to commercial uses, including offices, restaurants and retail stores.1 Only 2% of the land is used for industrial purposes, such as manufacturing and warehousing. The remaining 30% of the land is distributed among open space/parks, institutional uses, or is vacant, but approximately 400 acres of the vacant area are in hillside areas where development is difficult. According to the 2000 Census, the City’s population was 133,936. The City of Pasadena General Plan Land Use Element projects a population increase to approximately 150,000 for the year 2015, an increase of twelve percent over the population of 133,936 in 2000.2 The City has a subtropical and semi-arid climate. The average daytime and nighttime temperatures are 78 degrees and 53 degrees Fahrenheit respectively. Summer highs are typically in the upper 80’s with winter lows in the 40’s. The City receives an average annual rainfall of approximately 20 inches. LOCAL SETTING Project Site The 1.95-acre site (85,136 square feet) encompasses eight separate lots along Colorado Boulevard from S. Mentor to S. Lake Avenues. Specifically, the project site is located at multiple addresses including 940-942 East Colorado Boulevard, 908-938 East Colorado Boulevard, 880 East Colorado Boulevard, and 19-25 South Mentor Avenue. 1 http://www.ci.pasadena.ca.us/planning/deptorg/commplng/GenPlan/pdf/LandUseElement_110804.pdf. Accessed May 6, 2009 2 Ibid. City of Pasadena Colorado at Lake Project State Clearinghouse No. 2009051066 Page III-1 Final EIR III. Environmental Setting The project site and surrounding area are located in the Central District Specific Plan Area- Lake Avenue Sub-district. The site itself is currently developed with commercial, retail and hotel uses. Specifically, it is occupied with the former Constance Hotel (now vacant), various one- story retail and restaurant uses, and a one-story Bank of America branch with drive-up tellers. A two-story parking garage is also located on the project site. Regional and Local Access Several major freeways are located in the project vicinity and would provide regional access to the site. Regional access to Pasadena is provided by the 110 Freeway, State Route 134, and the 210 Freeway. The 110 Freeway connects the City of Pasadena to Downtown Los Angeles and other areas of the southern California region. The SR-134 and 210 Freeway serve as east/west corridors, providing access to Ventura and Riverside Counties. The Metro Gold Line provides regional rail access throughout Los Angeles County. The 13.7- mile light rail Gold Line transports passengers from Pasadena to Union Station in downtown Los Angeles and points in between. There are six stations throughout the City. Colorado Boulevard on which the site is located, is a major arterial in the area that provides access to the site and surrounding uses. In addition to Colorado Boulevard, local access to the project site and surrounding area is provided by Lake Avenue which is considered a minor arterial that provides for local circulation throughout the City. Mentor Avenue, which borders the site to the east, also provides for local circulation in the surrounding area. Under current conditions, Mentor Avenue provides the one- way exit for the bank drive-up tellers. Site Characteristics Project Site The project site is located on the south side of Colorado Boulevard between South Lake Avenue and South Mentor Avenue in the City of Pasadena. The 1.95 acre project site is located in an urban setting and is completely developed with structures and parking uses. The site encompasses addresses from 880-940 E. Colorado Boulevard. On-site uses include a vacant hotel structure, a bank in current use (including separate drive-up tellers), parking, and various retail and restaurant uses. The former Constance Hotel, is located on the northweastern corner of the site. The Pasadena City Council determined that the Constance Hotel, originally constructed in 1926, building qualifies for designation under Criterion “A” for landmark designation (PMC §17.52.40) as a representative example of the tourist hotel property type constructed in a significant period in the City’s history under the historic context theme of tourism (see IV.C Cultural Resources for further discussion). The building was subsequently occupied as the Pasadena Manor retirement home, and is currently vacant. The retail buildings are of slab-on-grade construction while the retirement building has a basement featuring concrete masonry unit (CMU) walls with a superstructure of concrete encased structural steel. The site is also occupied by various one-story retail and restaurant uses, and a one-story Bank of America branch with drive-up tellers. The Bank of America is currently in use and includes associated surface parking. The entrance for the drive-up tellers may be accessed from Colorado Boulevard and Lake Avenue. The exit is located on Mentor Avenue. City of Pasadena Colorado at Lake Project State Clearinghouse No. 2009051066 Page III-2 Final EIR III. Environmental Setting The project site is also occupied with a two-story parking garage that includes 31 parking spaces. The parking structure is located immediately east of the Bank of America building, just south of the one-story retail uses that are located on the project site along Colorado Boulevard and serves existing retail/restaurant uses on Colorado Boulevard. Table III-1 further identifies existing site uses. TABLE III-1 Existing Uses on the Project Site Area Use (Sq. Ft.) Hotel (Vacant) Former Constance Hotel1 65,570 Commercial One-Story Retail/Restaurant 11,011 Two-Story Bank2 24,885 USES TOTAL 101,466 Parking Two-story Parking Structure3 13,284 Source: RTKL Architects. 1 Built originally as the Constance Hotel in 1926. Last used as senior housing and has been vacant for over a year. 2 Bank of America branch with separate drive-up tellers. 3 Parking serves on-site retail and restaurants uses Colorado Boulevard. The project site includes ornamental trees and associated landscaping along Colorado Boulevard, Mentor and Lake Avenues, and internal to the existing parking lot on-site. A tree report prepared for the project site in March 2009 indicated that there are 36 trees on the site including five street trees. Of the five street trees, three are located on Colorado Boulevard, one located on Lake Avenue and one on Mentor Avenue (the Tree Inventory is included as Appendix EF to this EIR, also see IV.A for further discussion of proposed tree removal). Three of the existing 36 trees qualify as protected under the City of Pasadena’s Tree Protection Ordinance 6896 (TPO). Utility infrastructure provided by Pasadena Water and Power and the Gas Company is in place to serve the site including sewers, domestic water/fireflow, stormwater drainage, electricity and natural gas. See IV.F.1 and IV.F.2 for more detailed discussions of existing sewer and domestic water facilities. As addressed by the Initial Study for the proposed project (included as Appendix C to this EIR), no active or potentially active faults underlie the project site, and the project site is not located within any Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault zone, as set forth by the California State Mining and Geology Board. The site slopes gently from the northwest to southeast at an average gradient of approximately five percent. The topography of the area is best described as gently sloping. City of Pasadena Colorado at Lake Project State Clearinghouse No. 2009051066 Page III-3 Final EIR III. Environmental Setting Figures III-1 through III-6 show existing uses on the project site. Regional and Local Land Uses Adjacent Uses The project site is located within an urbanized area on Colorado Boulevard, one of the City of Pasadena’s main commercial streets. Generally, the area surrounding the site is densely developed with buildings, and associated landscaping, and contains several thoroughfares. The surrounding area consists of office, commercial and retail uses located along major corridors. The area immediately surrounding the site is characterized by higher density commercial uses. Building heights in the immediate project vicinity range from one to 11 stories. In general, the project area can be described as predominantly commercial and fully developed, distinguishing it from the entertainment, retail and mixed-use/residential areas that make up much of the area further to the west.