Appendices Appendix FEIR-1 Draft EIR Comment Letters STATE of CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR's OFFICE A/PLANNING and RESEARCH STATE CLEARINGHOUSE and PLANNING UNIT EDMUND G
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Appendices Appendix FEIR-1 Draft EIR Comment Letters STATE OF CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR'S OFFICE a/PLANNING AND RESEARCH STATE CLEARINGHOUSE AND PLANNING UNIT EDMUND G. BROWN JR. GoVERNOR November 28,2017 Milena Zasadzien City of Los Angeles AJ 200 N. Spring St, Rm 750 Los Angeles, CA 90012 Subject: The Fig Project SCH#: 2016071049 Dear Milena Zasadzien: The State Clearinghouse submitted the above named Draft EIR to selected state agencies for review. On the enclosed Document Details Report please note that the Clearinghouse has listed the state agencies that reviewed your document. The review period closed on November 27, 2017, and the comments from the responding agency (ies) is (are) enclosed. If this comment package is not in order, please notify the State Clearinghouse immediately. Please refer to the project's ten-digit State Clearinghouse number in future correspondence so that we may respond promptly. Please note that Section 21104( c) of the California Public Resources Code states that: "A responsible or other public agency shall only make substantive comments regarding those activities involved in a project which are within an area of expertise of the agency or which are required to be carried out or approved by the agency. Those comments shall be supported by specific documentation." These comments are forwarded for use in preparing your final environmental document. Should you need more infornlation or clarification of the enclosed comments, we recommend that you contact the commenting agency directly. This letter acknowledges that you have complied with the State Clearinghouse review requirements for draft environmental documents, pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act. Please contact the State Clearinghouse at (916) 445-0613 if you have any questions regarding the environmental review process. ~ . ~ ~"~;~ -Scott Morgan Director, State Clearinghouse Enclosures cc: Resources Agency 1400 10th Street P.O. Box 3044 Sacramento, California 95812-3044 (916) 445-0613 FAX (916) 323-3018 www.opr.ca.gov Document Details Report State Clearinghouse Data Base SCH# 2016071049 Project Title The Fig Project Lead Agency Los Angeles, City of Type EIR Draft EIR Description The project would remove eight existing multi-family residential buildings and surface parking areas in order to develop a 624,167 sf mixed use project comprised of three components. The Hotel Component would include 298 rooms, 15,335 sf of retail and restaurant uses, 13,553 sf of shared guest and public amenities, and 7,203 sf of public meeting spaces. The student housing component would include 222 student housing units and 32,991 sf of community-serving retail and restaurant uses. The mixed income housing component would include 186 dwelling units, 20,364 sf of creative office space, and 7,000 sf of retail and restaurant uses. The project would also construct a seven story above ground parking structure to provide parking for all three components. Lead Agency Contact Name Milena Zasadzien Agency City of Los Angeles Phone 213-978-1360 Fax email Address 200 N. Spring St, Rm 750 City Los Angeles State CA Zip 90012 Project Location County Los Angeles City Los Angeles, City of Region Latl Long 34° 0' 48.80" N 1118° 16' 55.31 " W Cross Streets S. Figuerroa Street and W. 39th Street, S. Flower Dr Parcel No. 5037-032-003/008,022/033,041/048 Township Range Section Base Proximity to: Highways 1-110 Airports Rai/ways Metro Expo & Blue Line Waterways Schools Various Land Use Multi-family residential & surface parking / C2-1 L (Commercial, Height District 1L) / Community Commercial Project Issues AestheticNisual; Air Quality; Archaeologic-Historic; Geologic/Seismic; Noise; Public Services; Recreation/Parks; Schools/Universities; Sewer Capacity; Solid Waste; Toxic/Hazardous; Traffic/Circulation; Water Supply; Landuse; Cumulative Effects; Other Issues Reviewing Resources Agency; Department of Fish and Wildlife, Region 5; Department of Parks and Recreation; Agencies California Highway Patrol; Caltrans, District 7; Office of Emergency Services, California; Department of Housing and Community Development; Regional Water Quality Control Board, Region 4; Resources, Recycling and Recovery; Native American Heritage Commission; Public Utilities Commission Date Received 10/12/2017 Start of Review 10/12/2017 End of Review 11/27/2017 Note: Blanks in data fields result from insufficient information provided by lead agency. STAtE OF CALIFORNIA NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE COMMISSION Environmental and Cultural Department 1550 Harbor BII/d., Suite 100 West Sacramento, CA 95691 Phone (916) 313-3710 Fax (916) 313.s411 October 18, 2017 30vem0rsOfflceofPIlMino&_rc~ Melina Zasadzien City of Los Angeles 200 N. Spring Street, Room 750 OCT 242017 Los Angeles, CA 90012 STATE CLEARINGHOUSE Sent via e-mail: [email protected] Re: SCH# 2016071049, The Fig Project, City of Los Angeles; Los Angeles County, California Dear Ms. Zasadzien: The Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC) has reviewed the Draft Environmental Impact Report prepared for the project referenced above. The review included the Executive Summary with Table 1-2, Analysis of Project Impacts and Mitigation Measures, section C - Cultural Resources, and section K - Tribal Cultural Resources; the Project Description; Initial Study Environmental Checklist; Appendix C, Cultural Resources Report, prepared by Eyestone Environmental for the City of Los Angeles. We have the following concems: 1. The Initial Study indicates the determination for Archeological Resources and Tribal Cultural Resources is "Potentially Significant Impacts" and indicates there would be further analysiS in the EIR Tribal input on the project indicated the area to be sensitive for Cultural Resources (without specifics). The EIR did not provide any significant analysis of Archaeological or Tribal Cultural Resources and indicated a determination of "Less Than Significant" which may be in error. 2. Lack of information from tribes does not mean there are no potential impacts to Tribal Cultural Resources. Mitigation measures must take Tribal Cultural Resources into consideration as required under AS-52, with or without consultation occurring. Mitigation language for archaeological resources is not always appropriate for or similar to measures specifically for handling Tribal Cultural Resources. For sample mitigation measures, please refer to California Natural Resources Agency (2016) "Final Text for tribal cultural resources update to Appendix G: Environmental CheCklist Form," http://resources.ca.gov/cega/docs/ab52/Clean-final-AS-52-App-G-text-Submitted.pdf 3. Mitigation for inadvertent finds of Archaeology Resources and Tribal Cultural Resources is missing or incomplete. Standard mitigation measures should be included in the document ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: 1 The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) , specifically Public Resources Code section 21084.1, states that a project that may cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a historical resource is a project that may have a significant effect on the environment2 If there is substantial evidence, in light of the whole record before a lead agency, that a project may have a significant effect on the environment, an environmental impact report (EIR) shall be prepared.3 In order to determine whether a project will cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a historical resource, a lead agency will need to determine whether there are historical resources with the area of project effect (APE). CEQA was amended in 2014 by Assembly Bill 52. (AS 52).4 AB 52 applies to any project for which a notice of preparation or a notice of negative declaration or miti~ated negative declaration is filed on or after July 1, 2015. AS 52 created a separate category for "tribal cultural resol,lrces" , that now includes "a project with an effect that may cause a substantial adverse change in the Significance of a tribal cultural resource is a project that may have a significant effect on the environment6 Public agencies shall, when feasible, avoid damaging effects to any tribal cultural resource.7 Your project may also be subject to Senate Bill 18 (5B 18) (Burton, Chapter 905, Statutes of 2004), Government Code 65352.3, if it also involves the adoption of or amendment to a general plan or a specific plan, or the deSignation or proposed designation of open space. Both 5B 18 and AB 52 have tribal consultation requirements. Additionally, if your project is also subject to the federal National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. § 4321 et seq.) (NEPA), the tribal consultation requirements of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 19668 may also apply. , Pub. Resources Code § 21000 et seq. 2 Pub. Resources Code § 21084.1 ; Cal. Code Regs., til14, § 15064.5 (b) ; CEaA Guidelines Section 15064.5 (b) 3 Pub. Resources Code § 21080 (d); Cal. Code Regs., til 14, § 15064 subd.(a}(1}; CEQA Guidelines § 15064 (a}(1) 4 Govemment Code 65352.3 5 Pub. Resources Code § 21074 S Pub. Resources Code § 21084.2 7 Pub. Resources Code § 21084.3 (a) 6 154 U.S.C. 300101 , 36 C.F.R § 800 et seq. Consult your legal counsel about compliance with AS 52 and S8 18 as well as compliance with any other applicable laws. Agencies should be aware that A8 52 does not preclude agencies from initiating tribal consultation with tribes that are traditionally and culturally affiliated with their jurisdictions before the timeframes provided in A8 52. For that reason, we urge you to continue to request Native American Tribal Consultation Lists and Sacred Lands File searches from the NAHC. The request forms can be found online at: http://nahc.ca.gov/resources/forms/. Additional information regarding A8 52 can be found online at http://nahc.ca.gov/wp-contentJuoloads/2015/1 O/AB52TribaiConsuitation CalEPAPDF .odf, entitled "Tribal Consultation Under A8 52: Requirements and 8est Practices". The NAHC recommends lead agencies consult with all California Native American tribes that are traditionally and culturally affiliated with the geographic area of your proposed project as early as possible in order to avoid inadvertent discoveries of Native American human remains and best protect tribal cultural resources.