4.0 Environmental Impact ANALYSIS 4.0 Environmental Impact
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4.0 Environmental Impact ANALYSIS 4.0 Environmental Impact 4.0 Environmental Impact Analysis 4.0 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ANALYSIS 4.1 Land Use and Planning This section describes the existing land use policy and any conflicts with the applicable land use plans, policies, or regulations as evaluated under the certified General Plan EIR as well as with respect to the proposed Town Center Specific Plan. This section analyzes the potential impacts to the existing land use pattern and the potential for adverse changes to those land uses. The proposed Specific Plan would not physically divide an established community and is not subject to any habitat conservation plan or natural community conservation plan, as discussed in the Initial Study (Appendix B of this EIR), and these issues will not be discussed further. Environmental Setting Existing Land Uses The City of Duarte consists of two distinct land use areas: the northern wilderness area and the southern urbanized area. According to the previously certified General Plan EIR, the existing (2006) land uses include the following: Wilderness land – approximately 54 percent (2,331 acres) of the total land acreage in the City. Urbanized area – approximately 47 percent of total land area in the City. Residential uses – approximately 902 acres of land approximately, representing 21 percent of the total land area and approximately 45 percent of developed land in the City.i Industrial uses – approximately 4.4 percent of developed land area. Commercial uses – approximately 5.6 percent of developed land area. Planned Communities and Areas – approximately 6.5 percent of developed land area. Table 4.1-1 (Existing Conditions [2006]), prepared for the General Plan EIR, describes the distribution of existing land uses within Duarte in 2006, when the General Plan Update was prepared. i Developed land excludes Wilderness Area. 4.1-1 City of Duarte Environmental Impact Report Table 4.1-1 Existing Conditions (2006) Percent of Existing Acreage Percent of City Developed Land Land Use Designation (Acres) (%) (%) Very Low Density Residential 113 2.60 5.60 Low Density Residential 646 14.85 32.0 Medium Density Residential 91 2.09 4.51 High Density Residential 52 1.19 2.58 Administrative Professional 4 0.09 0.20 Neighborhood Commercial 5 0.11 0.25 General Commercial 103 2.37 5.1 Hospital 79 1.81 3.91 Industrial 89 2.05 4.41 Public School 80 1.84 3.96 City Owned Facilities 12 0.28 0.59 County Owned Facilities 2 <0.01 0.10 Edison and Flood Control Utilities 95 2.18 4.70 Streets and Freeway 478 10.99 23.68 Parks/Trails 39 0.90 1.93 Wilderness Areas 422 9.70 N/A National Forest 1,909 43.89 N/A Planned Communities and Areas/Specific Plan 131 3.01 6.49 TOTAL DEVELOPED LAND 2,019 100.0 TOTAL LAND 4,350 100.0 Source: 2007 Duarte General Plan Update EIR As of 2015, the Specific Plan Planning area was composed of 110 parcels across 55 acres (not including street rights-of-way). The Planning Area is generally occupied by commercial uses in the western portion of the area, government uses in the center, and residential uses intermixed along the corridors and concentrated on the eastern end. Table 4.1-2 (Existing Land Use [2015]) shows the allocation and distribution of existing land use in the Planning Area. Table 4.1-2 Existing Land Use (2015) Percent of Land Use Acres Total Commercial 27.71 50% Office 3.57 6% Single-Family Residential 2.14 4% Multi-Family Residential 6.29 11% Government 7.77 14% Institutional 3.24 6% Vacant 4.36 8% Total 55.08 100% Source: MIG, October 2015 4.1-2 City of Duarte 4.1 Land Use and Planning Residential Uses The majority of the urbanized land area within the southern half of Duarte is residential, predominantly single-family. Homes built prior to 1970 were single-family and although single-family construction continues to dominate the market, multi-family units began to be developed post-1970. According to the General Plan, there are four categories of residential uses within the City: Very Low, Low, Medium, and High Density Residential Development. According the General Plan EIR, the Department of Finance, as of January 2006, estimated the following medium- and high- density residential uses in Duarte: 4,353 single-family detached units, 882 attached single-family housing units, 224 two to four multi-family units, 1,278 residential units within a structure with five or more units, and 229 mobile homes.1 Within the Planning Area, as of 2015, just over 15 percent of land uses are residential and are concentrated in the eastern portion of the Planning Area, east of Oaks Avenue and Pops Road. While lower density, single-family homes remain the dominant housing type citywide (totaling 77 percent of the City’s housing stock in 2010), residential uses in the Planning Area are predominately higher density, ranging from apartment homes to attached townhomes. The single-family uses within the Planning Area also tend to be higher density than elsewhere in Duarte, in the form of small-lot developments such as the homes developed at the Citrus Collection Specific Plan area at the south end of Highland Avenue. There are 107 existing residential units in the Planning Area. The proposed Specific Plan estimates the amount of new development that would occur within the Planning Area after adoption of the Specific Plan, based on identified opportunity development sites, would be 1,036 net new residential units. This total number may be further constrained by the Maximum Allowable Development amounts identified in the Specific Plan. To provide for a conservative analysis, this SEIR utilizes the theoretical maximum build-out amount, rather than the Maximum Allowable Development amount. Commercial Uses The General Plan EIR found that commercial land in the City encompasses approximately 112 acres divided between General Commercial (2.4 percent of the total land area, approximately 103 acres), Neighborhood Commercial (less than one percent, approximately five acres), and Administrative/Professional uses (less than one percent, approximately four acres). Commercial developments make up approximately 50 percent of land uses in the Planning Area (including their respective surface parking areas). Existing commercial uses are distributed throughout the Planning Area, with a concentration in the western half of the Planning Area. With the exception of businesses with direct access to the I- 210 freeway, Duarte businesses tend to be smaller establishments serving a local market. Due to their location near the I-210, commercial uses in the Planning Area are primarily composed of commercial centers, including both strip commercial centers and commercial shopping centers. The largest centers are located at the corner of Huntington Drive and Buena Vista Street, which serves as an anchor and focal point for the Planning Area. Office uses within the Planning Area make up just over six percent of land uses and are generally clustered around the Buena Vista Street and Highland Avenue intersections with Huntington Drive. Office uses are characterized by medium to small office buildings with surface parking areas. Hospital Uses The General Plan EIR states that approximately 79 acres, or 1.8 percent, of land in Duarte is occupied by major hospital land uses. The hospital uses are concentrated in two areas: the City of Hope in the southern portion of the City, and Santa Teresita Medical Center north of Huntington Drive along Buena Vista Street. Santa Teresita closed as an acute care hospital in 2004, and currently (2016) provides assisted living and skilling nursing care for seniors. There are currently no existing major hospital uses within the Planning Area, although institutional uses include two skilled nursing and assisted living facilities. City of Duarte General Plan Supplemental EIR for the Town Center Specific Plan 4.1-3 Environmental Impact Report Industrial Uses According to the General Plan EIR, industrial uses account for approximately 89 acres, or two percent, of Duarte. Industrial areas are primarily located in the central and easterly sections of the City, with access to major transportation routes, including freeways and rail. There are currently no existing industrial uses within the Planning Area. Open Space Uses According to the General Plan EIR, open space comprises the largest land use within Duarte. The northern half of Duarte consists of approximately 2,331 acres of the Angeles National Forest and San Gabriel Mountains. Approximately 52 percent of Duarte’s land area is open space due to the Angeles National Forest, other wilderness areas, parks, and recreation areas. Open space land accounts for a total of 2,370 acres of land throughout Duarte, divided into the following categories: wilderness area, national forest, parks, and golf course. There are currently no existing open space uses within the Planning Area. There is one public plaza located within the district, on Huntington Drive across from City Hall (“Plaza Duarte”). This parcel is identified in the existing land use summary as public facilities/government but also serves an open space function. Public/Quasi-Public Uses Public and quasi-public uses, according to the General Plan EIR, include community facilities (667 acres or 15.3 percent of the City), streets and highways (478 acres or 11 percent of the City), civic and government facilities (12 acres), schools (80 acres or 1.8 percent of the City), and a library, museum, churches, cemetery, and drainage channels/utility easements. Civic uses make up 14 percent of the Planning Area, located along the central portion of Huntington Drive, as well as along Buena Vista Street. These uses include the Civic Center (including City Hall and the Fitness Center with its 25- yard competition pool), Public Library, U.S.