11 March 2010 Revised 6 July 2010 Mr. Todd Paradis Safeway, Inc. 5918 Stoneridge Mall Road Pleasanton, California 94588-3229
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11 March 2010 revised 6 July 2010 Mr. Todd Paradis Safeway, Inc. 5918 Stoneridge Mall Road Pleasanton, California 94588-3229 Subject: Safeway Berkeley Renovation (0691) - Berkeley, California Dear Mr. Paradis: This report provides the results of our noise study for the proposed renovation of the Safeway Store No. 0691 at 1425 Henry Street in Berkeley, California. Recent revisions to the report were made to include the sound walls at the loading dock and on the rooftop. The existing Safeway store is on a triangular shaped site, bounded by Shattuck Avenue and Shattuck Place on its east side, Henry Street on its west side, and by existing residential and commercial properties along Vine Street on the south side of the store. Figure 1 provides an aerial view of the existing store and surrounding areas. The store building occupies slightly less than one-half the area of the site. The northern part of the site is used for customer parking, with driveway access from Shattuck Avenue, Shattuck Place, and from Henry Street. There is also a parking garage below the store with access from Henry Street, although most customers use the street-level parking lot. The loading dock is on the west side of the store, and is partially screened from the existing homes along Henry Street by a wall on its west side (Figure 2). Trucks typically enter the parking lot from Shattuck Place, reverse into the loading dock, and subsequently depart onto Shattuck Place. Figure 3 is another view of the loading dock from the far side of Henry Street, showing the entrance to the basement parking garage. At the time of the noise survey in 2008, there was a recycling center on the east side of the existing Safeway store (Figure 4). However, the recycling center has been removed due to State budget cuts. The existing store would be renovated and expanded slightly. Some of renovations would include access improvements to the basement parking lot including a new access ramp for the basement parking lot from the street-level parking lot, and a new ramp for vehicle egress onto Henry Street. The expansion of the existing store would provide additional ground-level retail areas along Shattuck Place. WILSON, IHRIG & ASSOCIATES 2 Safeway Berkeley Store Renovation This report provides a discussion of applicable noise standards, the results of an ambient noise survey previously performed for this project in 2008, an assessment of potential future noise impacts on the neighboring residential properties, and preliminary noise control recommendations for the proposed development. Our main findings are that the proposed changes to the Safeway store layout would generate the same noise or less. Rooftop mechanical equipment would comply with the Berkeley Noise Ordinance requirements for mechanical noise 1. APPLICABLE REGULATIONS The City of Berkeley Municipal Code, Chapter 13.40, Community Noise, states that no person shall operate or cause to be operated any source of sound at any location within the incorporated City or allow the creation of any noise on property owned, leased, occupied or otherwise controlled by such person, which causes the sound level when measured on any other property, either incorporated or unincorporated, to exceed: a. The noise level for that land use as specified in Table 13.40-1 (of the Code) for a cumulative period of more than 30 minutes in any one hour, or b. The noise standard plus five dB for a cumulative period of more than 15 minutes in any one hour, or c. The noise standard plus ten dB for a cumulative period of more than 5 minutes in any one hour, or d. The noise standard plus fifteen dB for a cumulative period of more than 1 minute in any one hour, or e. The noise standard plus twenty dB or the maximum measured ambient level for any period of time. If the measured ambient level differs from that permissible within any of the first four noise limit categories above, the allowable noise exposure standard shall be the ambient noise level. The noise limits provided in Table 13.40-1 of the Berkeley Municipal Code are reproduced in Table 1 of this report. The nearby residential properties are zoned R-2A. These values correspond to the median or L 50 statistic described further below. The sum total of provisions a. through e. for a time-varying noise source (e.g., loading dock activity, cars entering/exiting the basement garage, etc.) would generate an equivalent noise level (L eq ) 8 dBA higher than the median noise level. Continuous noise sources, however, such as mechanical equipment, would dominate the noise environment and should be evaluated against the median noise level limit. In the event an alleged offensive noise contains a steady pure tone, such as a whine, screech, or hum, or is an impulsive sound such as hammering or riveting, or contains music or speech, the standard limits set forth in Table 13.40-1 of the Berkeley Municipal Code shall be reduced by five dB. WILSON, IHRIG & ASSOCIATES 3 Safeway Berkeley Store Renovation Table 1 City of Berkeley Exterior Noise Limits (noise levels not to be exceeded for cumulative periods of more than 30 minutes per hour – L 50 ) Zone Time Period Noise Level (dBA) R-1, R-2 7:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. 55 10:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m. 45 R-3 and above 7:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. 60 10:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m. 55 Commercial 7:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. 65 10:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m. 55 Industry Anytime 70 The City of Berkeley Municipal Code prohibits the loading, unloading, closing or other handling of boxes, crates, containers, building materials, or similar objects between the hours of ten p.m. and seven a.m. in such a manner as to cause a noise disturbance across a residential real property line. The City of Berkeley Municipal Code also prohibits operating or causing the operation of any tools or equipment used in construction, drilling, repair, alteration, or demolition work between weekday hours of seven p.m. and seven a.m., or eight p.m. and nine a.m. on weekends or holidays, such that the sound creates a noise disturbance across a residential or commercial real property line, except for emergency work of public service utilities or variances issued by the Noise Control Officer. The Noise Element of the City of Berkeley’s General Plan provides land-use compatibility in terms of the Day-Night Average Sound Level (L dn ). While these guidelines apply to new residential development, they nonetheless provide an indication of the acceptability of noise levels in existing residential areas. For example, noise levels of less than 60 dB L dn are considered “normally acceptable” for new residential development without the need for additional noise control measures such as sound-rated windows and the provision of forced ventilation. 2. ENVIRONMENTAL NOISE SURVEY 2.1 Procedure Long-term noise surveys were performed at four locations adjacent to the site over a one-week period between Saturday, 31 May and Friday, 6 June 2008 using precision, calibrated, Type 1 logging sound level meters. These monitoring locations are indicated on an aerial photo of the site in Figure 1 and as follows: A. The first location ( A) was at the front facade of the apartment building at 1406 Henry Street, opposite the entrance to the existing street-level parking lot. B. The second location ( B) was on a tree on the west side of Henry Street opposite to the loading dock. C. The third location ( C) was in the fenced-off area at the rear of the Safeway building, adjacent to the residence at 1451 Henry Street. D. The fourth location ( D) was on a light pole in the Bank of the West parking lot, adjacent to the rear of the building located at 2083-2085 Vine Street (currently used as a restaurant) and the neighboring apartment building at 2037 Vine. WILSON, IHRIG & ASSOCIATES 4 Safeway Berkeley Store Renovation A description of various acoustical terms is included in Appendix A. The noise loggers were programmed to record various statistical noise levels over consecutive hourly intervals. The statistical noise levels included the L eq (equivalent continuous, or essentially the energy mean noise level) and the L8, L 25 , L 50 , and L 90 (the levels exceeded for 8%, 25%, 50%, and 90% of each hour, respectively). L90 is a commonly used measure of the background or average minimum noise level. The other metrics were chosen for general consistency with some of the metrics used in the City of Berkeley Noise Ordinance, which includes limits for noise occurring 30 minutes per hour (50% of the time), 15 minutes per hour (25% of the time) and 5 minutes per hour (8% of the time). Short-term noise samples were also recorded between 1:40 p.m. and 3:35 p.m. on Friday, 6/6/08 at the front of the apartment building at 1406 Henry Street, and between 2:00 p.m. and 3:35 p.m. at the front of the residence at 1422 Henry Street. The samples were recorded on Digital Audio Tape using precision, calibrated sound level meters and DAT recorders. 1.2 Results Graphs showing the hourly statistical noise levels for each complete 24-hour period are 1 presented in Appendix B. The Day-Night Average Sound Level (L dn ) values at the long-term monitoring locations over each complete 24-hour period are summarized in Table 2. The weather during the survey was generally dry with no rainfall recorded.