SOUTHEAST AREA SPECIFIC PLAN City of Long Beach
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
August 2017 | Final Environmental Impact Report State Clearinghouse No. 2015101075 SOUTHEAST AREA SPECIFIC PLAN City of Long Beach Prepared for: City of Long Beach Contact: Christopher Koontz, AICP, Advance Planning Officer Development Services Department, Planning Bureau 333 W. Ocean Boulevard, 5th Floor Long Beach, California 90802 562.570.6288 [email protected] Prepared by: PlaceWorks Contact: Nicole Morse, Esq., Associate Principal 3 MacArthur Place, Suite 1100 Santa Ana, California 92707 714.966.9220 [email protected] www.placeworks.com SOUTHEAST AREA SPECIFIC PLAN FINAL EIR CITY OF LONG BEACH Table of Contents Section Page 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 1-1 1.1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................... 1-1 1.2 FORMAT OF THE FEIR ............................................................................................................................. 1-1 1.3 CEQA REQUIREMENTS REGARDING COMMENTS AND RESPONSES ................................ 1-2 2. GENERAL RESPONSES ............................................................................................................. 2-1 2.1 TYPE AND PURPOSE OF THIS DEIR .................................................................................................. 2-1 2.2 TRANSPORTATION AND TRAFFIC ..................................................................................................... 2-1 2.2.1 Traffic Mitigation Measures ........................................................................................................... 2-3 2.3 BIRD-SAFE TREATMENTS ...................................................................................................................... 2-4 3. RESPONSE TO COMMENTS ON THE DEIR .............................................................................. 3-1 4. RESPONSE TO COMMENTS ON RECIRCULATED TRAFFIC SECTION ................................. 4-1 5. REVISIONS TO THE DRAFT EIR ................................................................................................ 5-1 6. REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................. 6-1 APPENDICES Appendix A. Comment Letters on DEIR A1. Agency and Organization A2. Residents A3. Late Letters Appendix B. Comment Letters on DEIR Recirculated Traffic Section B1. Agency and Organization B2. Residents Appendix C. Biological Resources C1. WRA Memo on Bird Safe Measures C2. WRA SEASP DEIR RTC Memo Appendix D. Traffic Data D1. Traffic Data Sheets on Intersection #10 D2. New Intersections: Freeway Figures D3. Public Records Request Memo Appendix E. Infrastructure Report Appendix F. PC Study Session Meeting Minutes August 18, 2016 Appendix G. Petitions August 2017 Page i SOUTHEAST AREA SPECIFIC PLAN FINAL EIR CITY OF LONG BEACH Table of Contents LIST OF TABLES Table Page Table A3-1 MXD+External Vehicle Trip In/Out Summary .......................................................................... 3-8 Table A7-1 Level of Service Descriptions for Signalized Intersections ...................................................... 3-24 Table R60-1 Level of Service Descriptions for Signalized Intersections .................................................... 3-139 Table R83-1 Existing With Project Intersection Impact Summary – HCM Intersections >80 sec delay .......................................................................................................................................... 3-166 Table R83-2 Cumulative 2035 With Project Intersection Impact Summary – HCM Intersections >80 sec delay ......................................................................................................... 3-167 Table R99-1 Existing With Project Intersection Impact Summary – HCM Intersections >80 sec delay ............................................................................................................................................ 4-20 Table R99-2 Cumulative 2035 With Project Intersection Impact Summary – HCM Intersections >80 sec delay ........................................................................................................... 4-21 Table 7-2 Summary of Impacts of Alternatives Compared to the Proposed Project ............................ 5-28 Page ii PlaceWorks 1. Introduction 1.1 INTRODUCTION This Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) has been prepared in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as amended (Public Resources Code §§ 21000 et seq.) and CEQA Guidelines (California Code of Regulations §§ 15000 et seq.). According to the CEQA Guidelines, Section 15132, the FEIR shall consist of: (a) The Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) or a revision of the Draft; (b) Comments and recommendations received on the DEIR either verbatim or in summary; (c) A list of persons, organizations, and public agencies comments on the DEIR; (d) The responses of the Lead Agency to significant environmental points raised in the review and consultation process; and (e) Any other information added by the Lead Agency. This document contains responses to comments received on the DEIR and recirculated traffic section of the DEIR for the Southeast Area Specific Plan (SEASP; Specific Plan) during two public review periods. The 60- day public review period on the DEIR began July 20, 2016, and closed September 19, 2016 and the 45-day public review period on the recirculated traffic section of the DEIR from February 17, 2017 to April 3, 2017. This document has been prepared in accordance with CEQA and the CEQA Guidelines and represents the independent judgment of the Lead Agency. This document and the circulated DEIR will comprise the FEIR, in accordance with CEQA Guidelines, Section 15132. 1.2 FORMAT OF THE FEIR This document is organized as follows: Section 1, Introduction. This section describes CEQA requirements and content of this FEIR. Section 2, General Comments. This section includes responses to recurring comments received on the DEIR. Section 3, Response to Comments on DEIR. This section provides a list of agencies and interested persons commenting on the DEIR and individual responses to written comments. The corresponding comment letters are provided in Appendix A. This section also includes responses to written responses received at a Study Session held by the City of Long Beach Planning Commission on August 18, 2016 regarding the DEIR. To facilitate review of the responses, each comment letter has been reproduced and assigned a number (A1 through A15 for letters received from agencies and organizations, R1 through R97 for August 2017 Page 1-1 SOUTHEAST AREA SPECIFIC PLAN FINAL EIR CITY OF LONG BEACH 1. Introduction letters received from residents, L1 through L7 for late letters received). Individual comments have been numbered for each letter and the letter is followed by responses with references to the corresponding comment number. This section also incorporates comments and responses received at the August 18, 2016 Planning Commission Study Session (see Appendix F) that was held during the DEIR 60-day public review period. Section 4, Response to Comments on Recirculated Traffic Section. This section provides a list of agencies and interested persons commenting on the recirculated traffic section of the DEIR and individual responses to written comments. The corresponding comment letters are provided in Appendix B. To facilitate review of the responses, each comment letter has been reproduced and assigned a number (A-16 through A- 21 for letters received from agencies and organizations, and R-98 through R-179 for letters received from residents). Individual comments have been numbered for each letter and the letter is followed by responses with references to the corresponding comment number. Section 5. Revisions to the Draft EIR. This section contains revisions to the DEIR text and figures as a result of the comments received by agencies and interested persons as described in Sections 3 and 4, and/or errors and omissions discovered subsequent to release of the DEIR for public review. 1.3 CEQA REQUIREMENTS REGARDING COMMENTS AND RESPONSES CEQA Guidelines Section 15204(a) outlines parameters for submitting comments, and reminds persons and public agencies that the focus of review and comment of DEIRs should be “on the sufficiency of the document in identifying and analyzing possible impacts on the environment and ways in which significant effects of the project might be avoided or mitigated. Comments are most helpful when they suggest additional specific alternatives or mitigation measures that would provide better ways to avoid or mitigate the significant environmental effects. At the same time, reviewers should be aware that the adequacy of an EIR is determined in terms of what is reasonably feasible. …CEQA does not require a lead agency to conduct every test or perform all research, study, and experimentation recommended or demanded by commenters. When responding to comments, lead agencies need only respond to significant environmental issues and do not need to provide all information requested by reviewers, as long as a good faith effort at full disclosure is made in the EIR.” CEQA Guidelines Section 15204(c) further advises, “Reviewers should explain the basis for their comments, and should submit data or references offering facts,