MACARTHUR TRANSIT VILLAGE PROJECT Volume 4
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MACARTHUR TRANSIT VILLAGE PROJECT Volume 4. Response to Comments Document SCH No. 2006022075 Prepared for: City of Oakland May 2008 MACARTHUR TRANSIT VILLAGE PROJECT Volume 4. Response to Comments Document SCH No. 2006022075 Prepared for: City of Oakland May 2008 CITY OF OAKLAND 2 5 0 F R A N K H. O G A W A P L A Z A O A K L A N D, C A L I F O R N I A 9 4 6 1 2 – 2 0 3 3 Community and Economic Development Agency (510) 238‐3941 Planning & Zoning Services Division FAX (510) 238‐6538 TDD (510) 839‐6451 NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FOR THE MACARTHUR TRANSIT VILLAGE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT TO: All Interested Parties SUBJECT: Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Impact Report for the MacArthur Transit Village Project CASE NUMBER: ER 06-004 PROJECT SPONSOR: MacArthur Transit Community Partners, LLC PROJECT LOCATION: The project site is approximately 8.2 acres and is comprised of 10 parcels, the existing BART Plaza, two unimproved roadway rights-of-way between Telegraph Avenue and Frontage Road, and Frontage Road between West MacArthur Boulevard and 40th Street. BREIF DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT: The proposed project consists of a new Transit Village at the MacArthur BART station and includes 5 new buildings containing 624 residential units, 42,500 square feet of commercial space (including 7,000 square feet of live/work and flex space), 5,000 square feet of child care/community space, a 300-space replacement parking garage for BART patrons, and approximately 680 parking spaces for the residential and commercial units. The proposed project includes a rezone from C-28/S-18 and R-70/S-18 to Transit Oriented Development (S-15). ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: A Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) was prepared for the project and released for a public review period. All comments that were received have been compiled and responded to in the Response to Comment document/Final EIR (RTC), along with changes and clarifications to the Draft EIR. The preparation of the RTC has been overseen by the City’s Environmental Review Officer and the conclusions and recommendations in the document represent the independent conclusions and recommendation of the City. Copies of the RTC EIR are available for distribution to interested parties at no charge at the Community and Economic Development Agency, Planning Division, 250 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Suite 3315, Oakland, CA 94612, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Final EIR is also available on the City of Oakland website at www.oaklandnet.com under “Major Projects” on the front page. PUBLIC HEARING: The Oakland Planning Commission will hold a public hearing to consider approval of the MacArthur Transit Village Project on June 4, 2008. This action consists of the certification of the Final EIR and consideration of the planning-related items discussed above. The Planning Commission hearing begins at 6:00 p.m. in Hearing Room 1, City Hall, 1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza. For further information, please contact Charity Wagner, Consulting Planner, at (415) 730-6718 or [email protected]. _______________________________________ May 23, 2008 Gary Patton, Deputy Director of Planning File Number ER 0006-04 & Zoning Major Development Projects TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 1 A. PURPOSE OF THE RESPONSES TO COMMENTS DOCUMENT................................... 1 B. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW PROCESS .................................................................... 1 C. DOCUMENT ORGANIZATION............................................................................... 2 D. PROJECT REFINEMENT ........................................................................................ 2 II. LIST OF COMMENTING AGENCIES, ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS ........................ 5 A. ORGANIZATION OF COMMENT LETTERS AND RESPONSES.................................... 5 B. LIST OF AGENCIES, ORGANIZATIONS, AND INDIVIDUALS COMMENTING ON THE DRAFT EIR............................................................................................. 5 III. COMMENTS AND RESPONSES .......................................................................................... 7 A. STATE, LOCAL AND REGIONAL AGENCIES AND COMMISSIONS............................. 8 B. INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS ................................................................. 33 C. PUBLIC HEARING COMMENTS ......................................................................... 114 IV. TEXT REVISIONS......................................................................................................... 119 C:\JOB\RRM_MacArthur\FEIR\00_TOC-latest.doc (5/22/2008) i MACARTHUR TRANSIT VILLAGE PROJECT EIR MAY 2008 TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures Figure IV.K-1 MacArthur Transit Village Project EIR...................................................123 List of Tables Table IV.K-2 Property Ratings/Historical Resource Status for Buildings Within Project Site..........................................................................................120 Table IV.K-3 Property Ratings/Historical Resource Status for Buildings Adjacent to Project ............................................................................................121 Appendix B Table 1 Emission Rates....................................................................................124 Table 3 Inhalation Health Risks from Roadway Vehicle Sources ........................126 ii C:\JOB\RRM_MacArthur\FEIR\00_TOC-latest.doc (5/22/2008) I. INTRODUCTION A. PURPOSE OF THE RESPONSES TO COMMENTS DOCUMENT This document has been prepared to respond to comments received on the Draft Environmental Impact Report (Draft EIR) prepared for the MacArthur Transit Village Project (SCH# 2006022075). The Draft EIR identifies the likely environmental consequences associated with the implementation of the proposed project, and recommends mitigation measures to reduce potentially significant impacts. This Response to Comments (RTC) Document provides responses to comments on the Draft EIR and makes revisions to the Draft EIR, as necessary, in response to these comments or to amplify or clarify material in the Draft EIR. This RTC Document, together with the Draft EIR, constitutes the Final EIR for the proposed project. B. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW PROCESS According to CEQA, lead agencies are required to consult with public agencies having jurisdiction over a proposed project and to provide the general public with an opportunity to comment on the Draft EIR. The City of Oakland circulated two Notices of Preparation (NOP), which stated that all environmental topics identified in Appendix G of the CEQA Guidelines would be evaluated in the EIR. The first NOP was published on February 15, 2006, and the public comment period for the scope of the EIR lasted from February 15, 2006 to March 16, 2006. Due to changes in the project description, a second NOP was circulated on June 13, 2007. The public comment period lasted from June 13, 2007 to July 13, 2007. Two scoping sessions were held for the project. The first was a public scoping session for public agencies on February 28, 2006. Additionally, a scoping meeting was held in conjunction with a Planning Commission meeting on March 15, 2006. Comments received by the City on the NOP at the agency scoping meeting and at the public scoping meeting were taken into account during the preparation of the EIR. The Draft EIR was made available for public review on January 31, 2008 and distributed to applicable local and State agencies. Copies of the Notice of Availability of the Draft EIR (NOA) were mailed to all individuals previously requesting to be notified of the Draft EIR, in addition to those agencies and individuals who received a copy of the NOP. C:\JOB\RRM_MacArthur\FEIR\1-Introduction_final.doc (5/22/2008) 1 MACARTHUR TRANSIT VILLAGE PROJECT EIR MAY 2008 I. INTRODUCTION The CEQA-mandated 45-day public comment period for the Draft EIR ended on March 17, 2008. A public hearing was held before the City of Oakland Planning Commission on March 5, 2008. Copies of all written comments received during the comment period and comments made at the public hearing before the Planning Commission are included in Chapter III of this document. C. DOCUMENT ORGANIZATION This RTC Document consists of the following chapters: • Chapter I: Introduction. This chapter discusses the purpose and organization of this RTC Document and the Final EIR, and summarizes the environmental review process for the project. • Chapter II: List of Commenting Agencies, Organizations and Individuals. This chapter contains a list of agencies, organizations, and persons who submitted written comments or spoke at the public hearing on the Draft EIR during the public review period. • Chapter III: Comments and Responses. This chapter contains reproductions of all comment letters received on the Draft EIR as well as a summary of the comments provided at the public hearing. A written response for each CEQA-related comment received during the public review period is provided. Each response is keyed to the preceding comment. • Chapter IV: Text Revisions. Corrections to the Draft EIR necessary in light of the comments received and responses provided, or necessary to amplify or clarify material in the Draft EIR, are contained in this chapter. Text with underline represents language that has been added to the Draft EIR; text with strikeout has been deleted from the Draft EIR. Revisions to figures are also