SR-710 Gap Scoping Summary Report Volume I
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D-2 – Organizations April 15, 2011 Ron Kosinski, Deputy District Director Division of Environmental Planning Caltrans District 7 100 South Main Street, MS 164 Los Angeles, CA 90012 R-F.: State Route 710 Scoping Analysis Dear Mr. Kosinski: I am writing in my capacrty as Head of school at The waverly School. 'Waverly The School is a pre-k through grade 12 pivate school, with classroom buildings located at 108 Waverly Drive, 67 West Bellevue Drive, and 96 Pasadena Avenue. All of these sites include outdoor play areas and are within one block of the existing State Route 710 right-of-way. We also lease a one acre space adjacent to 629 Pasadena Drive, which we use as a farm, outdoor classtoom, and green play space. We are very disturbed about several aspects of the proposed SR 710 tunnel. Because our facilities are within one block of the existing right-of-way, air quality and related lrealth impacts ate our greatest concerns. We requesf a"hot spot analysis" for all four of our locations due to them being sensitive receptor community sites. We request a thorough study and specihc infolmation on locations, sizes, and the projected numbers of towers needed for each tunnel route. We ask that this study be done by experienced and respected scientists. We will need to knorn'holv the pollution caused from the tunnel will be cleaned. Also, what will happen to the pollution that is not able to be cleaned, especially intimes of gridlock? Finally, if these towers are built, how will they be monitored and maintained? On behalf of The Waverly School, thank you for consideration of our requests and we await your response. Sincerelv.eW Heidi Johnson Head of School ó7 West Bellevue Drive, Posodeno, Colifornio 9l 105 ph: 626 792 5940 fox: 626 683 54ó0 www,thewoverlyschool.org April6,2O11 Mr. Ron Kosinski, Deputy District Director Division of Environmental Planning Caltrans District 7 100 S. Main Street, MS 164 Los Angeles, CA90012 RE: State Route 210 Scoping Analysis Dear Mr. Kosinski: I am writing in my capacity as Chair of the Board of Trustees of The Waverly School. The Waverly School is a pre-Kthrough 12th grade private school, with classroom buildings located at 108 Waverly Drive, 67 West Bellevue Drive, and 96 Pasadena Avenue. All of our school buildings include outdoor play areas. All of these sites are within one block of the existing State Route 710 right-of-way. The School also leases a 48,000 sq. ft, property adjacentto 629 Pasadena Avenue. The site is called the "Waverly Farm". The School uses this property as both an outdoor classroom and a recreation space, mostly for our elementary school students.. There are several aspects of the proposed SR 710 tunnel which are of conern to our School. With all of our facilities within a short distance of the existing right-of-way, air quality and related health impacts are of the utmost concern. With this in mind we requestthatthe SR 710 tunnel EIR include a thorough "hot spot analysis" of all our school facilities. '"\ê fi,-,ihe¡' unde¡'stand that the vehiclc cxha+st frcm the '-nnel l,'ill be "€leaned" and discharged through a series of cleaning towers. We would like to know the locations of any artd all cleaning towers within the vicinity of all our School facilities, and what will be the air quality impacts adjacent to these towers. We would like to have a better understanding of the "cleaning" technology to be used in these towers, and what protections will be provided in case this technology does not perform as expected. On behalf of the Waverly Board of Trustees, thank you for consideration of our request. Very truly yours, Charles E. Loveman, Jr. Chair, Board of Trustees ,l05 óZ West Bellevue Drive, Posodeno, Colifornio 9l ph: 626.792"5940 fox: 626.683.54ó0 t$ Huntington Hospital Huntington Memorìal Hospital Stephen A. Ralph 100 ì?l California Boulevard presirlent Po' Box 7013 chief Exe*tiue oficer Pasadena. California 9 | I 09 -7 0 13 (626) 397-5555 F'\X(626) 397-2995 March 14.2011 Mr. Ron Kosinski â4 Deputy District Director Division of Environmental Planning I Call'rans, District 7 100 S. Main Street, MS 164 Los Angeles. California 90012 RE: SR-710 Environmental Impact Report / Scoping Requests Dear Mr. Kosinski: On behalf of Huntington Memorial Hospital, I wish to formally request the following elements be included in the SR-710 Environmental lmpact Report: . Designate Huntington Hospital as a sensitive receptor ' Conduct a hot spot analysis of air quality at and around Huntington Hospital . Conduct a health impact/health risk assessment at and around Huntington Hospital These elements should be included in the scope of the EIR in order to appropriately assess the impact of gases and other particulates that will be exhausted from the ventilation towers to be located immediately west of the hospital's campus. 'We are, of course, concerned about the safety of our patients, employees and visitors, and we believe this information will be important in determining the full effect of the proposed project on Huntington Hospital and its surrounding neighborhoods. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Stephen A Ralph President and Chief Executive Officer cc: Bill Bogaard Steve Madison William Sherman, M.D. Jane Haderlein Via U.S. Mail and Electronic Mail ([email protected]) April 14, 2011 Mr. Ron Kosinski Deputy District Director Caltrans District 7 100 S. Main St. Los Angeles, CA 90012 Re: Scoping Comments Regarding the Notice of Intent to Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Notice of Preparation of a Draft Environmental Impact Report for the SR-710 North “Gap Closure” Project in Los Angeles County, California Dear Deputy Director Kosinski: On behalf of the El Sereno Organizing Committee (“ESOC”), a grassroots community- based organization from El Sereno whose mission is to advocate on behalf of the interests of the community in relation to the proposed 710 Freeway/Tunnel project, and the Natural Resources Defense Council (“NRDC”), a national, non-profit environmental organization with tens of thousands of members and activists in southern California, we submit the following scoping comments on the Notice of Intent (“NOI”) to prepare a draft environmental impact statement (“EIS”) and Notice of Preparation (“NOP”) of a draft environmental impact report (“EIR”) for what Caltrans refers to as the SR-710 North “Gap Closure” Project (“Project”). Our organizations have longstanding environmental justice concerns about building a freeway through the predominantly Latino neighborhood of El Sereno. ESOC was one of the named plaintiffs, and NRDC represented the plaintiffs as counsel, in the still-pending federal court lawsuit that alleged that the allocation of mitigation measures for the proposed 710 Freeway extension was racially discriminatory. El Sereno Neighborhood Action Committee et al. v. California Transportation Commission, No. CV-95-6106 (C.D. Cal. filed Sep. 13, 1995). If the Project moves forward now, no matter what form it ends up taking, it must not impose disproportionate environmental and housing burdens on the minority community of El Sereno. At a minimum, the EIR/EIS must consider and carefully analyze and mitigate any and all environmental justice impacts. We also wish to express our dismay at the woefully inadequate outreach efforts that the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (“Metro”) has made thus far to the El Sereno community with respect to the Project. Located immediately north and west of the Natural Resources Defense Council El Sereno Organizing Committee 1314 Second Street 5302 Borland Road Santa Monica, CA 90401 Los Angeles, CA 90032 310-434-2300 323-222-6625 Mr. Ron Kosinski April 14, 2011 Page 2 of 9 intersection where SR-710 meets Valley Boulevard, El Sereno includes neighborhoods that will be directly and heavily impacted by the Project. Metro’s ineffective attempts to include El Sereno residents in discussions about the Project have failed to live up to the agency’s promises to involve “an education and public involvement program to seek both regional and community- based solutions that are suggested by you, your friends and family, your neighbors, and everyone else in your community.”1 This is unacceptable and contravenes the basic principles behind the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) and the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”), which state unequivocally that public participation is an essential part of the environmental review process. We are bringing this issue to Caltrans’s attention now to ensure that these problems are fixed before the next round of community engagement on this Project. In addition, we continue to strongly oppose all surface or tunnel highway alternatives for the Project. We are extremely concerned about the environmental and public health impacts that would result from building a five-mile highway or tunnel in this location. We also believe that the immense financial outlay necessary to fund a tunnel or surface route would be much more effectively directed toward transit investments and improvements across Los Angeles County. We believe, therefore, that it is essential that Caltrans not only fully assess and mitigate the significant impacts from the proposed Project under NEPA, CEQA, and their regulations, but also seriously consider other alternatives to the Project, including no project at all. We are encouraged that Caltrans is now taking a fresh look at the regional congestion problem and considering “heavy rail and bus/light rail systems, local street upgrades, [and] traffic management systems” as potential Project components. We would support a multi-modal alternative that included these components, rather than a highway or tunnel that would exacerbate the region’s intractable air pollution and resultant health problems while doing nothing to reduce traffic congestion.