49Ers SANTA CLARA STADIUM PROJECT
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DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT 49ers SANTA CLARA STADIUM PROJECT VOLUME I of III EIR Text City of Santa Clara July 2009 PREFACE The document has been prepared by the City of Santa Clara as the Lead Agency, in conformance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The purpose of this Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is to inform decision makers and the general public of the environmental effects of the proposed project. This document provides environmental review appropriate for the approval of the proposed 49ers Santa Clara Stadium project in accordance with CEQA Guidelines Sections 15121, 15145, and 15151. Purpose of the EIR In accordance with CEQA, this EIR provides objective information regarding the environmental consequences of the proposed project to the decision makers who will be considering and reviewing the proposed project. The CEQA Guidelines contain the following general information on the role of an EIR and its contents: §15121(a). Informational Document. An EIR is an informational document, which will inform public agency decision makers, and the public of the significant environmental effects of a project, identify possible ways to minimize the significant effects, and describe reasonable alternatives to the project. The public agency shall consider the information in the EIR, along with other information that may be presented to the agency. §15145. Speculation. If, after thorough investigation, a Lead Agency finds that a particular impact is too speculative for evaluation, the agency should note its conclusion and terminate discussion of the impact. §15151. Standards for Adequacy of an EIR. An EIR should be prepared with a sufficient degree of analysis to provide decision-makers with information that enables them to make a decision that intelligently considers environmental consequences. An evaluation of the environmental effects of the proposed project need not be exhaustive, but the sufficiency of an EIR is to be reviewed in light of what is reasonably feasible. Disagreement among experts does not make an EIR inadequate, but the EIR should summarize the main points of disagreement among the experts. The courts have looked not for perfection, but for adequacy, completeness, and a good-faith effort at full disclosure. In accordance with Section 15082 of the CEQA Guidelines, a Notice of Preparation (NOP) was circulated to the public and responsible agencies for input regarding the analysis in this EIR. This EIR addresses those issues which were raised by the public and responsible agencies in response to the NOP. The NOP and the responses to the NOP are presented in Appendix M of this EIR. This EIR, and all documents referenced in this EIR, are available for public review in the Department of Planning and Inspection, 1500 Warburton Ave Santa Clara, California, on weekdays during normal business hours. i TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE……………………………………………………………………………………... i SUMMARY…………………………………………………………………………………… vii Section 1.0 – Introduction and Purpose……………………………………………………... 1 1.1 OVERVIEW………………………………………………………………. 1 1.2 PROJECT LOCATION…………………………………………………… 1 1.3 PROJECT OBJECTIVES…………………………………………………. 5 1.4 USES OF THE EIR……………………………………………………….. 7 Section 2.0 – Description of the Proposed Project………………………………………….. 8 Section 3.0 – Consistency with Plans and Policies…………………………………………... 23 Section 4.0 – Environmental Setting, Impacts, and Mitigation Measures………………… 29 4.1 LAND USE……………………………………………………………… 29 4.2 VISUAL…………………………………………………………………. 42 4.3 GEOLOGY AND SOILS……………………………………………….. 72 4.4 HYDROLOGY…………………………………………………………. 76 4.5 VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE……………………………………… 84 4.6 HAZARDOUS MATERIALS………………………………………….. 100 4.7 CULTURAL RESOURCES…………………………………………….. 115 4.8 TRANSPORTATION AND CIRCULATION………………………….. 120 4.9 AIR QUALITY………………………………………………………….. 211 4.10 NOISE…………………………………………………………………… 233 4.11 UTILITIES……………………………………………………………… 256 4.12 ENERGY………………………………………………………………... 262 Section 5.0 – Public Facilities and Services…………………………………………………. 267 Section 6.0 – Cumulative Impacts……………………………………………………………. 270 Section 7.0 – Alternatives to the Proposed Project…………………………………………. 314 Section 8.0 – Significant Unavoidable Impacts of the Project……………………………... 340 Section 9.0 – Irreversible Environmental Changes and Irretrievable Commitment of Resources…………………………………………………... 341 Section 10.0 – Growth Inducing Impacts of the Project……………………………………. 342 Section 11.0 – Authors and Consultants…………………………………………………….. 343 Section 12.0 – References……………………………………………………………………... 344 ii FIGURES Figure 1 Project Locations……………………………………..………………............... 1 Figure 2 Regional……………………………………...………………………………... 2 Figure 3 Vicinity………………………………………………………………………....3 Figure 4 Project Area…………………………………………………………………….4 Figure 5 Parking Locations.…………………………………...………………………. 6 Figure 6 Site Plan…………………………………………………………………….…. 9 Figure 7 Proposed and Available Parking……..………………………………………... 17 Figure 8 Photo Locations……………………………..………………………..………... 42 Figure 9 Photo Simulations…………...………………………………………..……….. 55 Figure 10 Photo Simulation 1…………………………………………………………..… 56 Figure 11 Photo Simulation 2…………………………………………………………….. 57 Figure 12 Photo Simulation 3…………………………………………………………...... 58 Figure 13 Photo Simulation 4…………………………………………………………….. 59 Figure 14 Shade and Shadow March 9am………………………………………………... 62 Figure 15 Shade and Shadow March 3pm……………..……………………………….… 63 Figure 16 Shade and Shadow June 9am………..………………………………………… 64 Figure 17 Shade and Shadow June 3pm……………………….……………………….… 65 Figure 18 Shade and Shadow September 9am…………………………………………… 66 Figure 19 Shade and Shadow September 3pm…………………………………………… 67 Figure 20 Shade and Shadow December 9am……………………………………………. 68 Figure 21 Shade and Shadow December 3pm………………………………………….… 69 Figure 22 Tree Survey Sub-Area A…………………………………………………..…... 86 Figure 23 Tree Survey Sub-Areas B and C…………………………………………….… 87 Figure 24 Trees to be Removed…………………………………………………………... 97 Figure 25 Hazardous Release Impact Zone………………………………………………….. 112 Figure 26 Stadium Core Study Intersections………………………………………………..... 124 Figure 27 Santa Clara Intersections Part 1………………………………………………….... 125 Figure 28 Santa Clara Intersections Part 2…………………………………………………… 126 Figure 29 San José Intersections……………………………………………………….…..… 127 Figure 30 Sunnyvale Intersections……………………………………………………..…..… 128 Figure 31 Milpitas Intersections………………………………………………………..…..… 129 Figure 32 Existing Bicycle Facilities…………………………………………………..…. 138 Figure 33 Existing Transit Service……………………………………………………..… 139 Figure 34 Stadium Core Study Intersections Existing Level of Service Weekday…………... 144 Figure 35 Santa Clara Intersections Part 1 Existing Level of Service Weekday……….... 145 Figure 36 Santa Clara Intersections Part 2 Existing Level of Service Weekday……..….. 146 Figure 37 San José Intersections Existing Level of Service Weekday…………………… 147 Figure 38 Sunnyvale Intersections Existing Level of Service Weekday…………...…….. 148 Figure 39 Milpitas Intersections Existing Level of Service Weekday………….……..…. 149 Figure 40 Stadium Core Study Intersections Existing Level of Service Weekend….…… 151 Figure 41 Santa Clara Intersections Part 1 Existing Level of Service Weekend…….…... 152 Figure 42 Santa Clara Intersections Part 2 Existing Level of Service Weekend…...……. 153 Figure 43 San José Intersections Existing Level of Service Weekend…………………… 154 Figure 44 Sunnyvale Intersections Existing Level of Service Weekend…………..…….. 155 Figure 45 Milpitas Intersections Existing Level of Service Weekend……………………156 Figure 46 Stadium Core Study Intersections Background Level of Service Weekday…... 160 Figure 47 Santa Clara Intersections Part 1 Background Level of Service Weekday…….. 161 iii Figure 48 Santa Clara Intersections Part 2 Background Level of Service Weekday…….. 162 Figure 49 San José Intersections Background Level of Service Weekday………………..163 Figure 50 Sunnyvale Intersections Background Level of Service Weekday………….…..164 Figure 51 Milpitas Intersections Background Level of Service Weekday……………….. 165 Figure 52 Stadium Core Study Intersections Background Level of Service Weekend……… 168 Figure 53 Santa Clara Intersections Part 1 Background Level of Service Weekend…….. 169 Figure 54 Santa Clara Intersections Part 2 Background Level of Service Weekend…….. 170 Figure 55 San José Intersections Background Level of Service Weekend………………. 171 Figure 56 Sunnyvale Intersections Background Level of Service Weekend…………….. 172 Figure 57 Milpitas Intersections Background Level of Service Weekend……………….. 173 Figure 58 Identified Potential Parking Area……………………………………………… 181 Figure 59 Micro Stadium Project Trip Distribution……………………………………......… 184 Figure 60 General Routes to Identified Parking Zones…………………………………...185 Figure 61 Planned Road Closures……………………………………………………...… 186 Figure 62 Stadium Core Study Intersections Level of Service with Project Weekday………. 189 Figure 63 Santa Clara Intersections Part 1 Level of Service with Project Weekday…….. 190 Figure 64 Santa Clara Intersections Part 2 Level of Service with Project Weekday……...191 Figure 65 San José Intersections Level of Service with Project Weekday………………. 192 Figure 66 Sunnyvale Intersections Level of Service with Project Weekday…………….. 193 Figure 67 Milpitas intersections Level of Service with Project Weekday……………..… 194 Figure 68 Stadium Core Study Intersections Level of Service with Project Weekend…... 196 Figure 69 Identified Routes and Stadium Trips………………………………………….. 200 Figure 70 Pedestrian Routes and Volumes……………………………………………….. 202