Making Downtown Bakersfield Project Draft Environmental Impact Report - Executive Summary SCH#2016081071 prepared by City of Bakersfield Community Development Department, Planning Division 1715 Chester Avenue Bakersfield, California 93301 prepared with the assistance of Rincon Consultants, Inc. 180 North Ashwood Avenue Ventura, California 93001 January 2018 Making Downtown Bakersfield Project Draft Environmental Impact Report - Executive Summary SCH#2016081005 prepared by City of Bakersfield Community Development Department, Planning Division 1715 Chester Avenue Bakersfield, California 93301 prepared with the assistance of Rincon Consultants, Inc. 180 North Ashwood Avenue Ventura, California 93001 January 2018 This report prepared on 50% recycled paper with 50% post-consumer content. Executive Summary 1 Executive Summary 1.1 Introduction The California High-Speed Rail (HSR) Authority is a State Agency charged with planning, designing, building and operation of the first high-speed rail system in the nation. By 2029, the system would run from San Francisco to the Los Angeles basin in under three hours at speeds capable of over 200 miles per hour; and would eventually extend to Sacramento and San Diego, totaling 800 miles with up to 24 stations. The City of Bakersfield (City) is located at the center of this state-wide system, and has been selected as one of the 24 Cities that will be a “Station Community” with construction of a station in Downtown Bakersfield. This infrastructure investment will serve to further revitalize the urban core, expand economic opportunity, and support growth throughout the area. In order to prepare for this introduction of HSR into Bakersfield, the City initiated a planning effort called “Making Downtown Bakersfield.” The purpose of the effort was to seek public input to develop a Project (the Project) for the area around the future Station in Downtown Bakersfield (Project area). 1.2 Project Description The Project area encompasses approximately 2.3 square miles (1,472 acres) surrounding the proposed Bakersfield HSR Station site, which is located along Golden State Avenue near intersections with Chester Avenue and F Street. The Project area is bound by California Avenue to the south, Union Avenue to the east, 38th Street and the Kern River to the north, and F Street to the west (See Figure 3). The Project is a Station Area Project that establishes a strategic vision for the future development of the areas surrounding the future HSR Station in Downtown Bakersfield. The Project addresses key factors affecting future development within the Project area, including, but not limited to: land use patterns in the context of the Metropolitan Bakersfield General Plan, architecture and urban design, infrastructure, multi-modal transportation services and circulation, parking, pedestrian and bicycle access, open space and recreation, arts and culture, and other principal factors. The Project establishes a phased approach to future physical development, including a long-term (30-year) development projection which would include up to 2,005,000 square feet of office; up to 8,570 residential units; up to 906,988 square feet of retail; and up to 2,413 hotel rooms. 1.3 Project Objectives The Project would provide guidance for future development in Downtown Bakersfield. The following is a list of project objectives: Draft Environmental Impact Report 1 City of Bakersfield Making Downtown Bakersfield Project 1. Increase Population and Economic Density In The Urban Core Under the Project, the downtown area would experience significant population growth throughout the 30-year study period. This would include up to 8,570 new residential units, increasing population density in addition to greater economic density based on major increases in retail and office space. 2. Support Residential and Commercial Activity The growth in retail, commercial, and residential space in Downtown Bakersfield that would occur under the Project would support increased residential and commercial activity, both by downtown residents and from others coming into downtown as the economic engine of the region. 3. Develop Underutilized and Vacant Properties By creating a framework for increased population and economic activity in the urban core, the Project would encourage further development of underutilized and vacant properties through increased demand for space in the area. 4. Connect Existing Activity and Cultural Centers The Project seeks to increase the walkability of Downtown Bakersfield as well as provide for increased bicycle access. This, coupled with intercity HSR, would ensure that cultural centers and other areas of activity are increasingly interconnected throughout the life of the Plan. 5. Create an Efficient, Reliable, and Effective Multi-Modal Transportation System Downtown Bakersfield would benefit from an effective multi-modal transportation system through the presence of the HSR station, the existing road network, and an increase in pedestrian and bicycle options. 6. Enhance Sustainability, Livability and a Unique Sense of Place The creation of additional downtown residential units coupled with a more pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly environment would ensure that Downtown Bakersfield would be a sustainable, livable, and unique community well into the future. 7. Secure Funding for Identified Implementation Actions By ensuring that the Project area becomes increasingly vibrant through increased population and economic growth, Bakersfield would be an attractive candidate for local, state, and federal funding for the implementation actions associated with the Project. 1.4 Areas of Controversy Environmental issues known to the City of Bakersfield for the Project include decreased levels of service for the City’s transportation network, lack of sufficient pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, insufficient parking, insufficient housing for the projected population increases, excessive noise during construction activities, an increased demand for public services (including police, fire, parks, and schools), and insufficient transit-oriented development planning in the Project area. In addition, 2 Executive Summary there are known concerns about air quality and greenhouse gas emissions both locally and in the larger region, the potential effects on biological resources, and the potential for transportation of hazardous materials within the Project area. Please see Table 2, below, for a summary of comments received in response to the Notice of Preparation and Appendix A to this EIR for the written comments received. 1.5 Scope and Content of the EIR The following issues are evaluated in the Draft EIR: . Aesthetics . Land Use and Planning . Air Quality . Noise . Biological Resources . Population and Housing . Cultural Resources . Public Services . Geology and Soils . Transportation . Greenhouse Gas Emissions . Tribal Cultural Resources . Hazards and Hazardous Materials . Utilities and Service Systems . Hydrology and Water Quality . Other CEQA Discussions 1.6 Alternatives to the Project As required by Section 15126.6 of the State CEQA Guidelines, this EIR examines a reasonable range of alternatives to the Project, and identifies the Environmentally Superior Alternative as also required by the State CEQA Guidelines. The following alternatives are evaluated in this EIR and are discussed in greater detail in Chapter 7.0 Alternatives: . Alternative 1: No Project. Buildout would occur under the exiting Metropolitan Bakersfield General Plan or any future General Plan. Alternative 2: Low Intensity/Density Design Alternative. This would consist of a reduction of overall commercial square footage/residential units and would focus future development around the HSR station. Alternative 3: Medium Intensity/Design Alternative. This would consist of a reduction of overall commercial square footage/residential units, but less than the Low Intensity/Density Alternative. In addition, it would incorporate a building height cap to limit the height of any future high rise development in the Project area. Of the development alternatives being considered, the Low Intensity/Density Design Alternative (Alternative 2) could be considered environmentally superior, as it would reduce impacts in many issue areas, due primarily to the reduction in future commercial housing unit construction as well as less of a strain on both transportation and utilities infrastructure. Draft Environmental Impact Report 3 City of Bakersfield Making Downtown Bakersfield Project 1.7 Environmental Impacts CEQA Guidelines Section 15128 requires that an EIR contain a brief statement indicating the reasons why any new and possibly significant effects of a project were determined not to be significant and therefore, were not discussed in detail in the EIR. The contents of this EIR were established based on a Notice of Preparation (NOP) prepared in accordance with the CEQA Guidelines as well as public and agency input that was received during the NOP scoping process. Those specific environmental issue areas that are found to have no impact or less-than-significant impact as a result of the Project during preparation of the NOP do not need to be addressed further in the EIR. The following provides those environmental issue areas that we determined to have no impact or a less-than-significant impact during the NOP scoping process and therefore, are not further considered in this EIR. 1.7.1 Impacts Not Further Considered in this EIR As discussed in Chapter 5 of this EIR, the Project was determined