Buffalo Consolidated Development Framework Also known as the Buffalo Green Code Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement For the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act City of Buffalo Erie County, New York Prepared on behalf of: City of Buffalo Common Council For additional information: Dinash Lal 716-851-5144 Prepared by: City of Buffalo Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning 901 City Hall Buffalo, NY 14202 And : Fisher Associates 325 Delaware Ave Suite 200 Buffalo, NY 14202 Accepted by the Lead Agency: February 16, 2016 Comments must be received by: April 22, 2016 Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................... 1.0 OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 ACTIONS ........................................................................................................................................ 2 1.1.1 Land Use Plan ........................................................................................................................ 2 1.1.2 Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan (“LWRP”) .................................................................... 3 1.1.3 Updated Homestead Plan ..................................................................................................... 4 1.1.4 Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) Nomination Packages ................................................. 4 1.1.5 Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) ............................................................................... 7 1.1.6 Urban Renewal Plans (URP) and Local Laws ....................................................................... 10 1.2 PURPOSE AND NEED - BUILDING ON THE QUEEN CITY COMPREHENSIVE PLAN ....................... 12 1.3 PUBLIC OUTREACH AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT ............................................................. 13 1.3.1 Community Input ................................................................................................................ 13 1.4 SEQRA PROCESS AND LWRP REVIEW .......................................................................................... 14 1.4.1 SEQR Process ....................................................................................................................... 14 1.4.2 LWRP Agency Review .......................................................................................................... 15 1.5 Approval and Adoption ............................................................................................................... 15 2.0 ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING, IMPACTS AND MITIGATION ..................................................................... 16 2.1 LAND USE AND ZONING .............................................................................................................. 16 2.1.1 Planning Framework .................................................................................................................. 16 2.1.2 Existing Land Use ....................................................................................................................... 26 2.1.3 Existing Zoning ........................................................................................................................... 28 2.2 SOCIOECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS .......................................................................................... 35 2.2.1 Population .............................................................................................................................. 35 2.2.2 Poverty ................................................................................................................................... 40 2.3 TRANSPORTATION ...................................................................................................................... 43 2.4 UTILITIES ...................................................................................................................................... 54 2.5 HISTORIC AND ARCHEOLOGICAL RESOURCES ............................................................................ 58 2.5.1 Historic Resources .................................................................................................................. 58 2.5.2 Archeological Resources.......................................................................................................... 64 2.6 PARKS AND OPEN SPACE............................................................................................................. 65 2.7 COMMUNITY CHARACTER AND VISUAL QUALITY ....................................................................... 71 2.7.1 Community Character ............................................................................................................ 71 2.7.2 Views ..................................................................................................................................... 74 2.7.3 Signs ........................................................................................................................................ 77 2.8 PUBLIC SERVICES ......................................................................................................................... 82 2.9 HAZARDOUS AND CONTAMINATED SITES .................................................................................. 85 2.10 NATURAL RESOURCES ................................................................................................................. 95 3.0 ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS .................................................................................................................... 107 3.1 No Action ........................................................................................................................................ 107 3.2 Partial Adoption ............................................................................................................................. 109 3.3 New Euclidian Zoning ..................................................................................................................... 110 4.0 EFFECTS ON THE USE AND CONSERVATION OF ENERGY .................................................................... 111 5.0 UNAVOIDABLE ADVERSE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS ....................................................................... 113 6.0 IRREVERSIBLE AND IRRETRIEVABLE COMMITMENT OF RESOURCES .................................................. 114 7.0 GROWTH-INDUCING, CUMULATIVE AND SECONDARY IMPACTS ....................................................... 116 8.0 THRESHOLDS FOR FURTHER EVALUATION ......................................................................................... 117 List of Tables Table 1: City of Buffalo Total Population by Census Tract (1990-2010) ..................................................... 35 Table 2: City of Buffalo Demographic and Household Shift (1990-2010) ................................................... 38 Table 3: City of Buffalo Resident’s Change in Income (2000-2011) ............................................................ 40 Table 4: Current Parking Requirement ................................................................................................... 50 Table 5: City of Buffalo National Register of Historic Places Sites (Including Maritime Resources)........... 58 Table 6: City of Buffalo National Register of Historic Places Districts ........................................................ 62 Table 7: City of Buffalo Locally-Designated Historic Districts and Landmarks ............................................ 62 Table 8: City of Buffalo Locally-Designated Historic Properties ................................................................. 62 Table 9: City of Buffalo Parks and Parkways ............................................................................................... 66 Table 10: City of Buffalo Signage Summary ................................................................................................ 78 Table 11: Fire Station Locations within the City of Buffalo ......................................................................... 82 Table 12: Law Enforcement Districts and Locations in the City of Buffalo ................................................. 83 Table 13: Class 2 Inactive Hazardous Waste Sites within the City of Buffalo ............................................. 86 Table 14: Class 3 Inactive Hazardous Waste Sites within the City of Buffalo ............................................. 86 Table 15: Class 4 and C Inactive Hazardous Waste Sites within the City of Buffalo ................................... 87 Table 16: NYSDEC’s “No Further Action Remedy” Sites within the City of Buffalo .................................... 89 Table 17: City of Buffalo Sites Enrolled in NYSDEC Brownfields Remedial Program .................................. 90 Table 18: NYSDEC Water Classifications for the City of Buffalo ................................................................. 97 Table 19: 2013 Priority Waterbodies List within the City of Buffalo .......................................................... 99 List of Figures (following text) Figure 1: Consolidated Development Framework Figure 2: Existing Property Class Codes Figure 3: Existing Land Use Figure 4: Proposed Land Use Figure 5: Existing Zoning Figure 6: Proposed Zoning Figure 7: Environmental Justice Populations Figure 8: National Register Sites Figure