GENERAL PLAN UPDATE Final Environmental Impact Report SCH No
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
City of Tehachapi CITY OF TEHACHAPI GENERAL PLAN UPDATE Final Environmental Impact Report SCH No. 2009101084 Prepared for: City of Tehachapi Community Development Department 115 South Robinson Street Tehachapi, California 93561 Contact: David James Community Development Director Prepared by: IMPACT SCIENCES, INC. 234 E. Colorado Boulevard, Suite 205 Pasadena, California 91101 April 2012 TEHACHAPI GENERAL PLAN UPDATE Final Environmental Impact Report SCH No. 2009101084 Prepared for: City of Tehachapi Community Development Department 115 South Robinson Street Tehachapi, California 93561 Prepared by: Impact Sciences, Inc. 234 East Colorado Boulevard, Suite 205 Pasadena, California 91101 April 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS Section Page 1.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................1.0-1 2.0 Executive Summary ...............................................................................................................................2.0-1 3.0 Responses to Comments........................................................................................................................3.0-1 State and Regional Agencies Letter 1 State of California, Department of Transportation, District 9, March 14, 2012 ........3.0-3 Letter 2 State of California, Public Utilities Commission, February 13, 2012........................3.0-13 4.0 Additions and Corrections to Draft EIR..............................................................................................4.0-1 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 2.0-1 Residential Development ......................................................................................................................2.0-2 2.0-2 Population ...............................................................................................................................................2.0-3 2.0-3 Non-Residential Floor Area (Square Feet) ..........................................................................................2.0-3 2.0-4 Employment by Sector...........................................................................................................................2.0-4 2.0-5 Summary of Impacts..............................................................................................................................2.0-8 Impact Sciences, Inc. i City of Tehachapi General Plan Update Final EIR 1135.001 April 2012 1.0 INTRODUCTION CEQA REQUIREMENTS In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), specifically State CEQA Guidelines Sections 15088, 15089, and 15132, the City of Tehachapi has prepared the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the proposed City of Tehachapi General Plan Update project. A Final EIR is defined by Section 15362(b) of the State CEQA Guidelines as “containing the information contained in the Draft EIR; comments, either in verbatim or in summary received in the review process; a list of persons commenting; and the responses of the Lead Agency to the comments received.” Section 3.0 of this document contains all comments received on the Draft EIR during the document’s 45‐day public review period of January 31, 2012 to March 15, 2012. Responses to comments received by all interested parties have been prepared and are included in this document. Also, as necessary, corrections and additions are included in the response to comments received on the document, or as initiated by the Lead Agency (City of Tehachapi) on the Draft EIR. This document, along with the Draft EIR (incorporated by reference), make up the Final EIR as defined in the State CEQA Guidelines, Section 15132, which states that: The Final EIR shall consist of: (a) The Draft EIR or a revision of the Draft. (b) Comments and recommendations received on the Draft EIR either verbatim or in summary. (c) A list of persons, organizations, and public agencies comment on the Draft EIR. (d) The responses of the Lead Agency to significant environmental points raised in the review and consultation process. (e) Any other information added by the Lead Agency.” USES OF THE FINAL EIR The Final EIR allows the public and the decision makers an opportunity to review revisions to the Draft EIR, the response to comments, and other components of the EIR, such as the Mitigation Monitoring Program, prior to approval of the project. The Final EIR serves as the environmental document to support approval of the proposed project, either in whole or in part. Impact Sciences, Inc. 1.0-1 City of Tehachapi General Plan Update Final EIR 1135.001 April 2012 1.0 Introduction After completing the Final EIR, and before approving the project, the Lead Agency must make the following three certifications as required by Section 15090 of the State CEQA Guidelines: That the Final EIR has been completed in compliance with CEQA; That the Final EIR was presented to the decision‐making body of the Lead Agency, and that the decision‐making body reviewed and considered the information in the Final EIR prior to approving the project; and That the Final EIR reflects the Lead Agency’s independent judgment and analysis. Additionally, pursuant to Section 15093(b) of the State CEQA Guidelines, when a Lead Agency approves a project that would result in significant unavoidable impacts that are disclosed in the Final EIR, the agency must state its reasons for supporting the approved action in writing. This Statement of Overriding Considerations is supported by substantial information in the record, which includes the Final EIR. Since the proposed project would result in significant unavoidable impacts, the decision‐making body (Planning Commission) would be required to adopt a Statement of Overriding Considerations if it approves the proposed project. These certifications, along with the Facts, Findings, and the Statement of Overriding Considerations will be included in a separate document. Both the Final EIR and the Findings are submitted to the decision- making body for consideration of the proposed project. REVISIONS TO THE DRAFT EIR Text changes are intended to clarify or correct information in the Draft EIR in response to comments received on the document, or as initiated by Lead Agency (City) staff. Text changes are included in this Final EIR in Section 3. SUMMARY OF THE PROPOSED PROJECT The proposed General Plan transitions the 1999 General Plan from a land use-based city planning approach to a physical design-based approach. The physically based approach recognizes that while land use is an important factor in city planning, it is not the only or most important factor that comprises a community, as is typical of the land use-based approach. Overall, implementation of the proposed General Plan at buildout would result in the addition of approximately 2,012 dwelling units, 766,000 square feet of commercial space, and approximately 759,000 square feet of industrial space. In addition, implementation of the proposed General Plan would result in the addition of 206.6 acres of park/open space, 454.83 acres of rights-of-way, and a conversion of Impact Sciences, Inc. 1.0-2 City of Tehachapi General Plan Update Final EIR 1135.001 April 2012 1.0 Introduction approximately 2,414 acres of agricultural space to residential, commercial, and industrial space. It should be noted that, portions of this agricultural space are being used for agriculture but do not contain the soil types necessary for it to be classified as agricultural land. SUMMARY OF ALTERNATIVES ANALYZED IN THE DRAFT EIR As indicated above, project alternatives should feasibly be able to attain “most of the basic objectives of the project” (Section 15126.6(a) of the State CEQA Guidelines), even though implementation of the project alternatives might, to some degree, impede the attainment of those objectives or be more costly (Section 15126.6(b) of the State CEQA Guidelines). The proposed project objectives include thefollowing: Identifies and articulates the community’s vision for the City’s next 100 years with an initial planning horizon of 2035; Recasts the 1999 General Plan to incrementally generate a place that fulfills the community’s 2035 vision; Sets forth the principles, goals, strategies, objectives and policies that will help achieve the community vision, establishing the basis for evaluating choices and making near- and long-term decisions to maintain the “small-town character” and to preserve and enhance that character; Use form-based code to allow for a mix and range of land use types to efficiently use land resources; Use form-based code to enhance walkability and decrease dependency on vehicle trips; Use form-based code to maintain small-town character; Use form-based code to provide flexibility of building types within pre-set parameters; Defines integrated strategies for economic development, environmental sustainability, transportation, land use, housing and community design to help achieve the City’s vision; and Prioritizes actions to advance ongoing implementation. Therefore, for purposes of this alternatives analysis, to compare the merits of an alternative’s ability to reduce environmental impacts, and meet the project’s objectives, a No Project Alternative, a Reduced Intensity Alternative, and a Traditional General Plan Alternative were defined and analyzed. Environmentally Superior Alternative In general, the environmentally superior alternative as defined by CEQA should minimize adverse impacts to the project site and its surrounding environment. Of the alternatives