San Mateo Union High School District NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT SMUHSD Stadium Improvement Project Pursuant to Sections 15086 and 15087, Title 14, California Code of Regulations, this Notice is given to advise interested parties that the San Mateo Union High School District (SMUHSD) has completed a Draft Environmental Impact Report (Draft EIR) for the proposed project described below and that the Draft EIR is available for public review. The project description, location, and the potential environmental effects are discussed below. Project Title: SMUHSD Stadium Improvement Project Project Applicant: San Mateo Union High School District Project Description: San Mateo Union High School District is the only school district in the Athletic League that does not have or plan to have permanent stadium lights (with the exception of the lights at Burlingame High School). The proposed project would address this deficiency with installation of new stadium lighting and public address (PA) systems at five district high schools: Aragon High School, Capuchino High School, Hillsdale High School. Mills High School, and San Mateo High School. This would replace the current system of portable lights, which are diesel powered and generate noise, diesel emissions and light pollution. Current stadium lighting technology allows stadium lights to provide focused light with minimal glare. The lighting installation at each stadium would generally consist of two sets of poles. The first set of poles would support lighting fixtures for illuminating the field during sports competitions, practices, and other events. These poles would be approximately 80 feet tall and would be installed at eight locations within each stadium, typically arranged as four poles spaced evenly along each long side of the athletic field. The second set of poles would support lighting fixtures for illuminating the field during post-event egress, clean-up, early morning track use, and potentially during sports team practices. These poles would be up to approximately 30 feet tall and would be installed at up to 18 locations throughout the stadium to provide adequate lighting for safe egress. A new public address system would also be installed at each stadium. The public address system would typically consist of speakers mounted on up to 18 poles, each up to approximately 30 feet tall. These poles generally would be located behind the bleachers on either side of the athletic fields. The speakers would be directed towards the spectators and the field, and they would be designed to minimize the amount of sound that would leave the stadium. The systems would be set to limit the sound level to conform to the requirements of the applicable local noise ordinance. The new stadium lighting systems would allow for the expansion of nighttime activities in the stadiums. These activities would generally end no later than 9:30 p.m. Project Location: The five high school sites are located as follows: • Aragon High School, 900 Alameda de las Pulgas, San Mateo. The stadium is in the eastern portion of the high school, near the intersection of Alameda de las Pulgas and Seville Way San Mateo Union High School District NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT SMUHSD Stadium Improvement Project Page 2 • Capuchino High School, 1501 Magnolia Avenue, San Bruno. The stadium is in the southwest portion of the high school, near the intersection of Park Boulevard and Santa Florita Avenue • Hillsdale High School, 3115 Del Monte Street, San Mateo. The stadium is in the eastern portion of the high school, near the intersection of Alameda de las Pulgas and 31 st Avenue • Mills High School, 400 Murchison Drive, Millbrae. The stadium is in the northwest portion of the high school, near the intersection of Millbrae Avenue and Poplar Avenue • San Mateo High School, 506 North Delaware Street, San Mateo. The stadium is in the western portion of the high school, near the intersection of North Delaware Street and State Street Potentially Significant Environmental Effects: The Draft EIR identifies potentially significant environmental impacts in the following issue area topics: • Aesthetics • Air quality • Greenhouse gas emissions • Noise • Traffic Review Period: As specified by the State CEQA Guidelines, the Draft Environmental Impact Report will be available for public comment for a 30-day review period. The public comment period for the Draft Environmental Impact Report will begin on May 20, 2016 and end on June 20 , 2016. Comments may be submitted, in writing, by 5:00 p.m. on June 20,2016 and addressed to: Elizabeth McManus, Deputy Superintendent San Mateo Union High School District 650 North Delaware Street, San Mateo, CA 94401 Fax: (650) 762-0249 Email: [email protected] Public Meeting: SMUHSD will hold a public meeting to consider the proposed project and the EIR at their meeting of the Board of Trustees on June 23 , 2016. The meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. at the San Mateo Adult School, 789 East Poplar Avenue in San Mateo. Document Availability: The Draft EIR is available for public review at the District offices, 650 North Delaware Street in San Mateo, and at public libraries near the five sites. The Draft EIR may also be accessed from the SMUHSD website, www.smuhsd.org/stadiumlights. For more project information please contact Todd Lee, project coordinator, at 707.933.0624 or [email protected] . atJ/6 cManus, Deputy Superintendent .