Fall River Downtown URP To

Environmental Notification Form For Office Use Only EEA#: MEPA Analyst: The information requested on this form must be completed in order to submit a document electronically for review under the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act, 301 CMR 11.00. Project Name: Fall River Downtown Urban Renewal Plan Street Address: Not applicable Municipality: City of Fall River Watershed: Taunton; Mount Hope Bay Point furthest North: Point furthest North: Pine & N. Main Street Pine & N. Main Street UTM: 320702.15 E; 4619229.86 N Latitude: 41° 42’ 17” N Longitude: 71° 9’ 18” W Point furthest East: Plymouth Avenue & 13th Street Point furthest East: UTM: 321455.22 E; 4618563.53 N Plymouth Avenue & 13th Street Latitude: 41° 41’ 56” N Point furthest South: Longitude: 71° 8’ 47” W Plymouth Avenue & Rodman Street UTM: 320900.15 E; 4618201.25 N Point furthest South: Plymouth Avenue & Rodman Street Point furthest West: Latitude: 41° 41’ 44” N Union & Hope Streets Longitude: 71° 9’ 8” W UTM: 320229.20 E; 4618493.02 N Point furthest West: Union & Hope Streets Latitude: 41° 41’ 53” N Longitude: 71° 9’ 38” W Estimated commencement date: 2018 Estimated completion date: 2038 Project Type: New Urban Renewal Plan Status of project design (% complete): Not applicable Proponent: Fall River Redevelopment Authority Street Address: One Government Center, Room 535 Municipality: Fall River State: MA Zip Code: 02722 Name of Contact Person: William Roth, Director of Planning/City Planner Firm/Agency: Fall River Redevelopment Authority Street Address: One Government Center, Room 535 Municipality: Fall River State: MA Zip Code: 02722 Phone: (508) 324-2561 Fax: - E-mail: [email protected] Does this project meet or exceed a mandatory EIR threshold (see 301 CMR 11.03)? Yes No If this is an Expanded Environmental Notification Form (ENF) (see 301 CMR 11.05(7)) or a Notice of Project Change (NPC), are you requesting: a Single EIR? (see 301 CMR 11.06(8)) Yes No a Special Review Procedure? (see 301CMR 11.09) Yes No a Waiver of mandatory EIR? (see 301 CMR 11.11) Yes No a Phase I Waiver? (see 301 CMR 11.11) Yes No (Note: Greenhouse Gas Emissions analysis must be included in the Expanded ENF.) Which MEPA review threshold(s) does the project meet or exceed (see 301 CMR 11.03)? 301 CMR 11.03 (1)(b) 7. Approval in accordance with M.G.L. c. 121B of a New urban renewal plan. Which State Agency Permits will the project require? The Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) must review and approve the Fall River Downtown Urban Renewal Plan. No other State Agency Permits are required at this time. Identify any financial assistance or land transfer from an Agency of the Commonwealth, including the Agency name and the amount of funding or land area in acres: Please note that the Fall River Downtown Urban Renewal Plan does not have an immediate specific development project. The Fall River Redevelopment Authority or the project developer will file a revised ENF as required by each project. If the FRRA files a major Plan update with DHCD, it will also file a revised ENF. The information below is provided for sites within the urban renewal boundary. The Fall River Downtown Urban Renewal Plan assumes that the Fall River Redevelopment Authority will apply for state grants and other funding programs throughout the 20-year life of the Plan in order to implement the actions proposed in the Plan. Summary of Project Size Existing Change Total & Environmental Impacts LAND Total site acreage Approx. 200 acres New acres of land altered No change Acres of impervious area Approx. 145 acres No change Square feet of new bordering No change vegetated wetlands alteration Square feet of new other wetland No change alteration Acres of new non-water dependent use No change of tidelands or waterways STRUCTURES Gross square footage Approx. 5.7 million No change Approx. 5.7 million Number of housing units Approx. 190 No change Approx. 190 Maximum height (feet) 7 stories (~75 F) No change 7 stories (~75 F) TRANSPORTATION Vehicle trips per day Unknown No change Unknown Parking spaces Unknown No change Unknown WASTEWATER Water Use (Gallons per day) Unknown No change Unknown Water withdrawal (GPD) Unknown No change Unknown Wastewater generation/treatment Unknown No change Unknown (GPD) Length of water mains (miles) Unknown No change Unknown Length of sewer mains (miles) Unknown No change Unknown Has this project been filed with MEPA before? Yes No Has any project on this site been filed with MEPA before? Yes (See below) No EEA # 9096 EEA # 14917 EEA # 10494 EEA # 6217 EEA # 6160 EEA # 4843 EEA # 3539 EEA # 3534 EEA # 3181 EEA # 2493 EEA # 2150 EEA # 394 EEA # 389 EEA # 250 EEA # 231 GENERAL PROJECT INFORMATION – all proponents must fill out this section PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Describe the existing conditions and land uses on the project site: Please note that the Fall River Downtown Urban Renewal Plan does not have an immediate specific development project. The Fall River Redevelopment Authority or the project developer will file a revised ENF as required by each project. If the FRRA files a major Plan update with DHCD, it will also file a revised ENF. The information below is provided for sites within the urban renewal boundary. Fall River is located in southeastern Massachusetts, just north of Rhode Island, and next to the Massachusetts towns of Westport, Dartmouth, Freetown, and Somerset. It is accessible by several major roadways: I-195, which connects Fall River to Providence, RI; US Route 6, which runs from Providence, RI to Cape Cod; and State Routes 79 and 24, which run north to Boston. This urban renewal area is located in the city's downtown, which is close to, but not touching, the banks of the Taunton River. Cherry Street delineates the Area's northern boundary; Morgan Street, generally, delineates its southern boundary. The eastern edge of the Area is defined by Plymouth Avenue and 13th Street; Pearl Street marks the western edge south of I-195, while Green Street marks the western edge north of I-195. The project area sits above the waterfront with grades rising steeply from the waterfront to North and South Main Streets. Most of the downtown is 100 feet or more above sea level and the waterfront, and many of the streets are noticeably sloped, with the exception of the area around City Hall and between Bedford and Pleasant Streets. The urban renewal area exhibits a diversity of land uses: residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional. In general, residential uses are clustered along the northern edge of the urban renewal area and in a grouping within the southern quadrant. Commercial parcels, in contrast, are located everywhere but these zones. These parcels do appear with increased density along South and North Main Streets, where they loosely form a commercial corridor. Mixed-use parcels are uncommon; those that do exist border residential and commercial parcels, producing a gradient of use. Around 22 of the 238 parcels in the urban renewal area (10%) are classified as industrial. For the most part, these parcels lie in the eastern portion of the area, concentrated along Bedford Avenue and Pleasant Street. Institutional uses are almost entirely located in the western portion of the urban renewal area. The project area also has approximately 0.2 acres of open space. Describe the proposed project and its programmatic and physical elements: Please note that the Fall River Downtown Urban Renewal Plan does not have an immediate specific development project. The Fall River Redevelopment Authority or the project developer will file a revised ENF as required by each project. If the FRRA files a major Plan update with DHCD, it will also file a revised ENF. The information below is provided for sites within the urban renewal boundary. The general purpose of this Urban Renewal Plan is to identify current conditions that have been obstacles to investment, determine the needs of the downtown and the goals for its redevelopment, and define those actions that will create incentives for the private market, over time, to address the existing conditions. The primary purpose of this plan is to create a catalyst for the revitalization of Fall River's historic downtown. Despite anchor uses, such as the Fall River Justice Center and City Hall, this urban renewal area has significant vacancies. Both the Bristol County Superior Court and the Fall River District Court close at 4:30 pm, while the isolation of City Hall from North and South Main Streets make it an ineffective single anchor for the area. The FRRA has identified a number of properties that could be redeveloped as mixed-use buildings, including residential and retail or other commercial uses. Adding more residents to the downtown would create incentives for businesses to remain open into the evening hours, increasing the activity and vitality downtown. However, a parking analysis of the downtown suggests that if the existing buildings downtown were fully occupied, the available parking might not be sufficient for all uses. The conditions under which cars are parked, or stored, during the day is in flux as the advent of ride-sharing services and the early promise of autonomous vehicles are projected to have significant impact on the need to store vehicles for long periods of time downtown. These potential benefits have not yet materialized, and the FRRA understands that additional public parking may be needed during the life of this urban renewal plan to support increased activity downtown. The goals for this urban renewal area are

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